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linkhyrule5 comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 21, chapters 91 & 92 - Less Wrong Discussion

4 Post author: NancyLebovitz 04 July 2013 11:49AM

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Comment author: linkhyrule5 06 July 2013 12:31:48AM -1 points [-]

By definition, however, an information-theoretic death means that such an error-correction scheme would be impossible; such a machine would require knowledge that, by the Uncertainty Principle, cannot be attained.

Thus, if you did have that capability regardless, it could then be used to rewind an arbitrary section of the universe to an arbitrary time, which is equivalent to time travel.

Comment author: lfghjkl 06 July 2013 01:18:36AM 2 points [-]

By definition, however, an information-theoretic death means that such an error-correction scheme would be impossible; such a machine would require knowledge that, by the Uncertainty Principle, cannot be attained.

Ok, now we're just talking past each other. Just googled the term "information-theoretic death" and got the following definition from wikipedia:

Information-theoretic death is the destruction of the information within a human brain (or any cognitive structure capable of constituting a person) to such an extent that recovery of the original person is theoretically impossible by any physical means.

This is obviously the situation that Harry has to avoid. If his plan was:

  1. Allow Hermione's brain to decay so much that it becomes theoretically impossible to restore it.
  2. Do something theoretically impossible.

Then his plan is just wrong.

Comment author: linkhyrule5 06 July 2013 05:46:57AM 1 point [-]

Information-theoretic death implies the absence of time travel.

With time travel, the concept is nonsensical.

Comment author: lfghjkl 06 July 2013 01:03:49PM *  0 points [-]

Well, that would depend entirely on whether or not time travel beyond 6 hours into the past is possible. So, in other words, it's time travel arbitrarily far back in time that would make this term nonsensical.

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