Re: An All/Nothing multiverse model

From: Jesse Mazer <lasermazer.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 18:37:18 -0500

>From: Hal Ruhl <HalRuhl.domain.name.hidden>
>To: everything-list.domain.name.hidden
>Subject: Re: An All/Nothing multiverse model
>Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 10:46:04 -0500
>
>Hi Jesse:
>
>To clarify - the All contains all information simultaneously [see the
>definition in the original post] - including ALL Truing machines with ALL
>possible output tapes - so it contains simultaneously both output tapes re
>your comment below.

But if there is a fact which is true in one "world" being simulated by a
given Turing machine, but false in a different Turing machine simulation,
that doesn't mean that "the All" is contradictory. After all, the statement
"this planet contains life" is true of Earth but not true of Pluto, but that
doesn't mean the solar system is contradictory, it just means that different
facts are true of different planets. Similarly, if the All contains all
"possible worlds" in some sense (all possible Turing machine programs, for
example), then different facts could be true of different worlds, without
this meaning the All itself is inconsistent. If Turing machine program #2334
simulates a 3-dimensional universe while Turing machine program #716482
simulates a 2-dimensional universe, that doesn't mean the inconsistent
statements "the universe is 3-dimensional" and "the universe is
2-dimensional" are simultaneously true in the All--rather, it just means the
statements "the universe described by program #2334 is 3-dimensional" and
"the universe described by program #716482 is 2-dimensional" are
simultaneously true in the All, and there is no contradiction between these
statements. As long as you always describe the *context* of any statement, I
don't see any reason why we should describe the All as inconsistent. So if
you think the All is inconsistent somehow, you need to explain in more
detail why you think this is.

Also, you didn't answer my earlier question about whether your idea of the
All only includes worlds that could be simulated on a Turing machine, or if
it also includes worlds that could be simulated by a "hypercomputer" which
is capable of performing uncomputable operations (like instantly deciding if
a given Turing machine program will halt or not).

Jesse
Received on Tue Dec 07 2004 - 18:47:04 PST