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You are not a Boltzmann brain

Norton, John D. (2015) You are not a Boltzmann brain. [Preprint]

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Abstract

According to the “Boltzmann brain” hypothesis, we popped into existence as a thermal fluctuation in an otherwise chaotic universe, with our brains replete with spurious memories of a fictitious, orderly past. The hypothesis extends less ambitious argumentation by Ludwig Boltzmann in the late 19th century, but it lacks the physical foundation of Boltzmann’s original arguments. We are assured of neither the recurrence nor the reversibility of the time developments of the applicable physics. The Boltzmann brain scenario is much more likely to produce a physically spurious “batty brain” whose memories fail to conform to the scientifically well-behaved regularities of our brains.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Norton, John D.0000-0003-0936-5308
Keywords: Boltzmann brain entropy fluctuation statistical mechanics thermodynamics
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Depositing User: John Norton
Date Deposited: 02 Aug 2020 03:51
Last Modified: 02 Aug 2020 03:51
Item ID: 17689
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Date: June 2015
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17689

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