SETI public: Transient Observers and Variable Constants, or Repelling the Invasion of the Bol

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High Energy Physics - Theory, abstract
hep-th/0703115

From: Steven Carlip [view email]

Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:21:19 GMT (6kb)

Transient Observers and Variable Constants, or Repelling the Invasion of the
Boltzmann's Brains

Authors: S. Carlip

Comments: 4 pages, LaTeX

If the universe expands exponentially without end, ``ordinary observers''
like ourselves may be vastly outnumbered by ``Boltzmann's brains,''
transient observers who briefly flicker into existence as a result of
quantum or thermal fluctuations. One might then wonder why we are so
atypical. I show that tiny changes in physics--for instance, extremely slow
variations of fundamental constants--can drastically change this result, and
argue that one should be wary of conclusions that rely on exact knowledge of
the laws of physics in the very distant future.

http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0703115

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