Re: Quantum Immortality and Information Flow

From: George Levy <glevy.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2005 21:40:32 -0800

Stathis Papaioannou wrote:

>
> Stathis Papaioannou writes:
> If on the basis of a coin toss the world splits, and in one branch I
> am instantaneously killed while in the other I continue living, there
> are several possible ways this might be interpreted from the 1st
> person viewpoint:
>
> (a) Pr(I live) = Pr(I die) = 0.5
>
> (b) Pr(I live) = 1, Pr(I die) = 0
>
> (c) Pr(I live) = 0, Pr(I die) = 1


Your example underscores the need for interpreting Pr as a relative
concept ( this is my favorite point of view):
c) is A observing A. It is seen through the first person A who is killed
in one branch and live in another branch. This is called the first
person on this list.
a) is B observing A: It is seen through a first person B who witnesses
the event hapenning to A but lives in both branches. His point of view
is called the third person on this list:
b) is C observing A. It is seen through a first person C who experiences
the complement events of A. He lives when A dies and vice versa. The
probability that he will see A live is 0. We do not have a name for this
point of view on this list but I could suggest "the complement first
person."

Thus all answers are correct depending on your relative point of view.

George
Received on Sun Nov 27 2005 - 01:41:58 PST