Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!tektronix!tekecs!andrew
From: andrew@tekecs.UUCP (Andrew Klossner)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: numbering alternate universes
Message-ID: <1944@tekecs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 27-Aug-83 12:52:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekecs.1944
Posted: Sat Aug 27 12:52:45 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 29-Aug-83 02:11:06 EDT
References: dciem.324
Lines: 18


	"You cannot assume that all decisions are binary.  The various
	constants of nature had to be chosen (by God, or whomever), for
	instance, and they are in general irrational numbers.  The
	entire irrational number would have to be included in the
	universe-description, but that requires an infinite number of
	bits, so you can never get to the part that represents the next
	decision."

A single bit stream can still be used, as long as there are only a
countable number of such irrational numbers.  You simply interleave the
bit stream representations of those irrationals with the rest of the
information describing the universe.  Of course, your bit stream is now
infinitely long, and so problems such as comparing two universes become
rather hard.

  -- Andrew Klossner   (decvax!tektronix!tekecs!andrew)  [UUCP]
                       (andrew.tektronix@rand-relay)     [ARPA]