RE: Actual Infinities
October 28, 2015 at 2:57 pm
(This post was last modified: October 28, 2015 at 3:00 pm by Alex K.)
@Jörmungandr, Nestor
In Newtonian physics, a snapshot of all positions of all particles is indeed not enough to know the future. A snapshot of all positions and momenta at a single point in time however is enough to exactly determine the evolution of the system in the future and the past, and this is indeed what I meant. In deterministic quantum theory (and I take the many worlds interpretation as the easiest example), the equivalent that you would have to do is get a snapshot of the wave function at a single point in time - it includes all position and momentum distributions, and is hence enough to know the time evolution.
@Nestor,
Your experience of knowing the past and the unknown future lying ahead is mostly a statistical phenomenon connected to the increase of entropy.
In Newtonian physics, a snapshot of all positions of all particles is indeed not enough to know the future. A snapshot of all positions and momenta at a single point in time however is enough to exactly determine the evolution of the system in the future and the past, and this is indeed what I meant. In deterministic quantum theory (and I take the many worlds interpretation as the easiest example), the equivalent that you would have to do is get a snapshot of the wave function at a single point in time - it includes all position and momentum distributions, and is hence enough to know the time evolution.
@Nestor,
Your experience of knowing the past and the unknown future lying ahead is mostly a statistical phenomenon connected to the increase of entropy.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
