Russell Standish wrote: > On Mon, Apr 10, 2006 at 12:03:47AM -0700, Brent Meeker wrote: > >>Russell Standish wrote: >> >>>Unitary evolution preserves information. It is only through >>>measurement by an observer that information can be created or >>>destroyed. Usually, the second law is interpreted as the destruction >>>of information (anyone observing a closed system will over time know >>>less information about the system), so it puzzles me that you have the >>>sign the other way. >> >>What? You're saying that if I observe a system, then I know less about it. >>You >>must be using some non-standard meaning of "know". >> >>Brent Meeker >> > > > Yes - in the case of milk being stirred into coffee. Strange as it may > seem, you know more information when the system is initially > structured than after that initial structure has dispersed.
What's that have to do with observing it? Stirring milk into coffee isn't observing it - and as you point out below, entropy depends on "observation", i.e. on some coarse grained constraint. Your answer seems to consist of non-sequiturs. ISTM that my knowledge is increased when I observe something. Physically this corresponds to some small decrease in the entropy of a few neural connections in my brain. This is accompanied by a relative large increase in entropy of my body which I have to make up for by consuming some low entropy organic material. Whether the entropy the thing I observe is increased or decreased by the observation is a different question. Brent Meeker --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
