Re: Pizza Example

From: Anthony W. Youngman <wol_at_thewolery.demon.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2004 00:53:54 +0100
Message-ID: <kaXeN8ESmwhAFw3Z_at_thewolery.demon.co.uk>


In message <c0e3f26e.0404191515.429e6820_at_posting.google.com>, Tony <andrewst_at_onetel.net.uk> writes
>> Yes, you CAN try to analyse and store that information, but you CANNOT
>> do it in Science - entropy is a one-way-street. If you treat a database
>> as an exercise in Pure Maths, I might agree with you, but as soon as you
>> drag the real world into it (and if you don't, what's the *point* of a
>> database), you have to deal with entropy.
>
>Since nothing is lost by the decomposition process (by definition),
>entropy is about as relevant as Schrodinger's Cat and all your other
>pop-science book obsessions.

Let's decompose the real world into its fundamental particles. Ooops ... we've suddenly lost cause-and-effect !

There is a limit to lossless decomposition - quantum mechanics says so. Okay, a GUT or TOE might revise our opinion of this, but that's beyond current knowledge.

Cheers,
Wol

-- 
Anthony W. Youngman - wol at thewolery dot demon dot co dot uk
HEX wondered how much he should tell the Wizards. He felt it would not be a
good idea to burden them with too much input. Hex always thought of his reports
as Lies-to-People.
The Science of Discworld : (c) Terry Pratchett 1999
Received on Thu Apr 22 2004 - 01:53:54 CEST

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