Ok. Before we get into the philosophical side of it (which IS very interesting .. but should we follow CraigS' Law: That philosophy at IIS always comes at the
end of an IIS thread …?..
)
So, following on from Rob's message, I've reverted to Susskind to fill in some gaps:
Quote:
Putting it all together, we have proved an amazing fact: the maximum number of bits of information that can ever fit in a region of space is equal to the number of Planckian pixels that can be packed onto the area of the boundary.
.. {if the boundary is big then we can picture it being flat}…
Everything taking place within a few light years of the boundary can be thought of as a hologram on a flat sheet of pixels ..
Of course, you shouldn't get the idea that I am talking about an ordinary hologram. Needless to say, the graininess of an ordinary sheet of photographic film is far coarser than a sheet of Planck-sized pixels.
But the biggest difference is that the hologram is quantum mechanical. It flickers and shimmers with the uncertainty of a quantum system, in order that the three dimensional image have quantum jitters. We are all made of bits moving in complicated quantum motions, but when we look closely at those bits, we find they are located out at the farthest boundaries of space.
I don't know anything less intuitive about the world than this.
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the last statement is reassuring for me.
.. a big quote but I'm starting to get it.
The bits I've underlined would seem to relate it all to looking for planckian sized vibrations. One big question left is: Why should we assume its all imposed from a boundary condition ? Or is this just the paradigm of the thought experiment ? Once again Susskind says:
Quote:
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For me, this is the best kind of argument: a couple of basic principles, a thought experiment, and a far-reaching conclusion.
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I'll have to read on to find out what the far reaching conclusion is. Hopefully, it'll be some kind of prediction .. presumably what Hogan is now testing !
Thanks for the help, everyone .. I'm getting there (I think).
Cheers