Physical unknowables
General Physics
2011-07-22 v4
Abstract
A variety of physical unknowables are discussed. Provable lack of physical omniscience, omnipredictability and omnipotence is derived by reduction to problems which are known to be recursively unsolvable. "Chaotic" symbolic dynamical systems are unstable with respect to variations of initial states. Quantum unknowables include the random occurrence of single events, complementarity and value indefiniteness.
Cite
@article{arxiv.physics/0701163,
title = {Physical unknowables},
author = {Karl Svozil},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0701163},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
Contribution to the international symposium "Horizons of Truth" celebrating the 100th birthday of Kurt Goedel, University of Vienna, from April 27th-29th, 2006; completely rewritten