Ask Ethan: Why Is The Black Hole Information Loss Paradox A Problem?
It was Stephen Hawking’s obsession for the last 30 years of his life. Here’s why it matters.
When it comes to the sciences, sometimes making two observations or measurements that appear to contradict each other is the best thing that could possibly happen. These apparent paradoxes help lead the field forward, and show us where to look for the solution. The fact that the night sky is dark, Olbers’ paradox, wasn’t resolved until the Big Bang came along. The Fermi paradox helps us understand how rare intelligent, spacefaring civilizations must truly be. And the black hole information loss paradox might truly be the key to unlocking quantum gravity. But is that last one really true? Gabe Eisenstein is skeptical, asking:
Why do physicists all seem to agree that the information loss paradox is a real problem? It seems to depend on determinism, which seems incompatible with QM.
Many people have a lot of preconceptions when it comes to the black hole information paradox, so let’s give you the full version on why it’s such a problem, and what its solution would mean.
