Category Archives: Paranoia

Q: Is it possible to create an “almanac” of human behavior that predicts everything a person will do?

The original question was: “Furthermore, you say, science will teach men (although in my opinion a superfluity) that they have not, in fact, and never have had, either will or fancy, and are no more than a sort of piano … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Biology, Entropy/Information, Machine Learning & A.I., Paranoia, Philosophical | 10 Comments

Q: If the universe gets split in the Many Worlds Interpretation, then why aren’t all probabilities 50/50? Does stuff get spread thinner and thinner with each split?

The original question from “A” was: I’m reading Sean Carroll’s book Something Deeply Hidden, which is entirely about Many Worlds, and I’m following along for the most part, but there’s something I still don’t understand. […] Carroll considers an example … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Paranoia, Philosophical, Physics, Quantum Theory, Skepticism | 12 Comments

Q: How likely is it that there’s dark matter in me right now?

Physicist: Probably very likely!  Probably! When we look out into the universe we find that on galactic scales and up that most of the mass in the universe is “dark”.  Based on how galaxies form, move, collide, and bend light … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Astronomy, Paranoia, Particle Physics, Physics, Probability | 8 Comments

Q: What if the particles in the double slit experiment were conscious? Could you ask them which slit they went through afterwards?

The original question was: I find the double slit experiment super interesting and have lots of questions about it. But here’s one. What if the particles you send through the slits are conscious? You send them through without measuring anything, … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Paranoia, Philosophical, Physics, Quantum Theory | 17 Comments

Q: Why are the laws of quantum mechanics so strange? Does it mean that we’re missing something?

Physicist: We’re definitely missing something, but we’re always missing something.  One of the most famous quotes about quantum physics, often used in lieu of a shrug, is due to St. Feynman: “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Evolution, Paranoia, Philosophical, Physics, Quantum Theory | 22 Comments

Q: Do we actually live in a computer simulation?

Physicist: This has become a whole thing.  Although it has shown up in a lot of incarnations throughout history, the most recent is something like this: Computers are getting better all the time and some day artificial reality will be … Continue reading

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Computer Science, Paranoia, Philosophical, Skepticism | 15 Comments