Event Detail

The Boltzmann Brain puzzle arises in response to scientific evidence which appears to support the claim that we each have a large numbers of Boltzmann Brain duplicates – short-lived brains that come into existence through the random fluctuation of particles, and whose experiences are identical to our own at the current moment. A dilemma arises, given a seemingly compelling principle called “Center Indifference”: either we should reject the scientific theory in question, or we should think that we are ourselves Boltzmann Brains. In this talk I’ll present some work based on conversations with Sinan Dogramaci, Simon Goldstein and John Hawthorne about the prospects of rejecting Center Indifference, and its consequences for our views about cosmology and ourselves.