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From: davidson@sdcsvax.UUCP (Greg Davidson)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Quantum Mechanics
Message-ID: <1031@sdcsvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 9-Aug-85 20:59:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.1031
Posted: Fri Aug  9 20:59:47 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Aug-85 07:47:17 EDT
References: <396@sri-arpa.ARPA> <1005@sdcsvax.UUCP> <208@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Reply-To: davidson@sdcsvax.UUCP (J. Greg Davidson)
Organization: EECS Dept. U.C. San Diego
Lines: 38
Keywords: Quantum Mechanics, Reality, Multiple Worlds
Summary: In multiple worlds, probability is irrelevant

>From: gwyn@brl-tgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
>Subject: Re: Quantum Mechanics
>Organization: Ballistic Research Lab

>> The multiple worlds interpretation has some severe problems ...

>Not all the alternate worlds are equiprobable!  There is no
>observable difference between the alternate-worlds QM and the
>Copenhagen QM.  It happens that there IS a small chance that
>your terminal would have imploded by now, but it is much more
>likely that it hasn't.  (And, a posteriori, it is certain that
>it hadn't, but that was not a priori the case.)

The probability of the multiple worlds is irrelevant to the dwellers
therein.  Each world is a complete spacetime continuum separate from
the others.  In some moments, at some places, in some of them, there is
an appearance of what we think of as normality.  In others there is not.

Maybe the latter worlds are less common, or maybe your thoughts of
normality, including your notions of what is probable, are due to
the peculiar accidents of your world.  Once you accept the multiple
worlds view, all action, including doing physics, becomes futile.

If you live in a world where this wasn't turned into a recipe for
Fettuccini by quantum mechanical accidents, consider yourself lucky!

_Greg Davidson			Virtual Infinity Systems, San Diego

P.S.  If all you want is a simple theory consistent with observation,
consider the possibility that all possible patterns of particles and
energy states exist with no time ordering, and you can have any
universe you want, with any appearance of physical laws, merely by
traversing them in the desired order.  If you think about it, Occam's
razor would prefer this above the conventional Multiple Worlds view.

See Borghes' story ``The Library''.

_JGD