Re: An All/Nothing multiverse model

From: Jesse Mazer <lasermazer.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:10:20 -0500

Hal Ruhl wrote:

>A kernel of information is the that information constituting a particular
>potential to divide.
>
>The All contains all such kernels.
>
>The All is internally inconsistent because it contains for example a
>complete axiomatized arithmetic as well as an infinity of other such
>kernels of information.

So a set of all statements generated by an axiomatic system would qualify as
a "kernel of information"? Even if you allow inconsistent axiomatic systems
(as opposed to just consistent but incomplete ones), I still don't see why
this makes the All inconsistent. After all, an axiomatic system is just a
rule for generating strings of symbols which have no inherent meaning, such
as "TBc3\". It is only when we make a mapping between the symbols and a
*model* in our head (like 'in terms of my model of arithmetic, let T
represent the number two, B represent addition, c represent the number
three, 3 represent equality, and \ represent the number five') that we can
judge whether any pair of symbol-strings is "inconsistent". Without such a
mapping between symbols and models there can be no notion of
"inconsistency", because two meaningless strings of symbols cannot possibly
be inconsistent. And if we do assign symbol-strings a meaning in terms of a
model, then if we find that two strings *are* inconsistent, that doesn't
mean the symbols represent an inconsistent model, it just means that one of
the statements must be *false* when applied to the model (for example, the
symbol-string 7+1=9 is false when applied to our model of arithmetic). The
model itself is always consistent. So unless you believe that inconsistent
axiomatic systems represent true facts about inconsistent models, I don't
think you can say the All must be inconsistent based on the fact that it
contains rules which generate false statements about models as well as true
ones.

Jesse
Received on Fri Dec 10 2004 - 21:14:04 PST