Re:Ask HN: Why does an infinite universe mean a duplicate of...
by bell-cot on Sunday April 14, 2024 @07:16AM
(#40030327)
> I've heard it said...
That sounds like the sort of sounds-cool concept that's often founded in popularized / kinda-sensationalized / as-understood-by-a-philosopher "science".
If one makes a bunch of carefully chosen, arbitrary assumptions about an infinite universe, then there could be quite a few copies of you out there. But I can make a few carefully chosen assumptions about this universe, and conclude that 999 invisible copies of you are hiding in my living room right now. And listening to my noisy keyboard as I type these words, and...
More realistically - there are a huge number of ways for the universe to be infinite...yet contain zero copies of you. But such dull facts don't get nearly as many clicks, so you hear less about them.
That sounds like the sort of sounds-cool concept that's often founded in popularized / kinda-sensationalized / as-understood-by-a-philosopher "science".
If one makes a bunch of carefully chosen, arbitrary assumptions about an infinite universe, then there could be quite a few copies of you out there. But I can make a few carefully chosen assumptions about this universe, and conclude that 999 invisible copies of you are hiding in my living room right now. And listening to my noisy keyboard as I type these words, and...
More realistically - there are a huge number of ways for the universe to be infinite...yet contain zero copies of you. But such dull facts don't get nearly as many clicks, so you hear less about them.