Russell Standish wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 10, 2006 at 12:03:47AM -0700, Brent Meeker wrote:
>
>>Russell Standish wrote:
>>
>>>Unitary evolution preserves information. It is only through
>>>measurement by an observer that information can be created or
>>>destroyed. Usually, the second law is interpreted as the destruction
>>>of information (anyone observing a closed system will over time know
>>>less information about the system), so it puzzles me that you have the
>>>sign the other way.
>>
>>What? You're saying that if I observe a system, then I know less about it. You
>>must be using some non-standard meaning of "know".
>>
>>Brent Meeker
>>
>
>
> Yes - in the case of milk being stirred into coffee. Strange as it may
> seem, you know more information when the system is initially
> structured than after that initial structure has dispersed.
What's that have to do with observing it? Stirring milk into coffee isn't
observing it - and as you point out below, entropy depends on "observation",
i.e. on some coarse grained constraint.
Your answer seems to consist of non-sequiturs. ISTM that my knowledge is
increased when I observe something. Physically this corresponds to some small
decrease in the entropy of a few neural connections in my brain. This is
accompanied by a relative large increase in entropy of my body which I have to
make up for by consuming some low entropy organic material.
Whether the entropy the thing I observe is increased or decreased by the
observation is a different question.
Brent Meeker
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Received on Tue Apr 11 2006 - 00:46:51 PDT