Mind Games: The Demon of Laplace

What would have happened to the world if an unknown force had been at the mercy of man, capable of predicting the future events of any living organism or physical component for thousands of years ahead? Probably, the World War would begin for the right of possession of this force, and the country, having acquired new opportunities, would become the head of the whole planet. It's good that in the real world there is nothing like this, but in theoretical dogmas two centuries ago there were records about this unknown force. It was called the Demon of Laplace.

Who is Laplace?

Marquis de Laplace Pierre Simon is an outstanding mathematician, thinker, physicist, astronomer and mechanic of the early 19th century. Fame in scientific circles was due to the work with differential equations, is considered one of the founders of the theory of probability. For a long time he worked in the field of astronomy. He was the first to prove the stability of the elements of the solar system and was able to argue the process of the formation of celestial bodies. Research conducted by Laplace Pierre Simon, perfected and provoked the rapid development of virtually the entire scientific environment.

In addition to the outstanding formulas, theorems and axioms of the famous thinker, the world has acquired an interesting experiment called the Demon of Laplace. A lot of generations of scientists have been engaged in the practical use of this research, but no one has come to an unambiguous decision.

Test

1814 year. Laplace proposes to conduct a kind of mental experiment. Its essence consisted in the fact that it was assumed the existence of a kind of Reason that is capable at any time interval to perceive any particle of the universe, analyze its development and assume further development. The characters of mental experiments are fictional intelligent beings. Laplace created them to visually demonstrate the level of human ignorance in the statistical description of the operating processes.

The main problem of this experiment is not in the actual prediction of the event, but in the theoretical possibility to do this. This will be possible in the presence of conditions, given in the form of a mechanical description, taking into account dualism and dynamics.

Simply put, to make the Laplace Demon work, he needs to provide information about something in electronic form. Investigating this "something", a fictional intelligent creature can predict its further development until the end of time. This forecast will be more objective than the conclusions of scientists, because "a reasonable being" will not have limitations in knowledge.

The first formulation

For the first time such an experiment was described thus:

The universe at present is the product of its past and the starting point for the future. If the Reason has information about the factors that lead the world into dynamics, and also has information about all the components of the universe, then it can analyze them. Analyzing empirical information, Reason will provide information about all the components of the universe, and also be able to indicate the future of each individual part for many years to come .

The scientist himself believed that one day mankind will begin to actively explore the world and better understand it. Then there may be a need for a mechanism that has exceptional, incredibly powerful computing capabilities and instantly analyzes information.

Laplace realized that it would be difficult to create a machine that had such a Mind, but still believed. But the late teachings of quantum mechanics completely refute the existence of such a mechanism.

Infinite Computing

No matter how many scientists try to reach an unequivocal solution, the Demon Laplace is a stick with two ends. Assuming that such a technique exists, it is a material thing with unique computing abilities. The machine will be able to calculate what will happen in the world in 2 minutes. After the first result is output, the technique can calculate the events of the following minutes according to a given algorithm.

However, this is impractical, because the answer is contained in the first calculation: the apparatus does not exclude itself, but also forecasts its own actions. Thus, the machine predicts the events that will occur in the next 4 minutes. According to this information, the technician will be required to calculate every four minutes and so on ad infinitum.

Paradox

And if such a device existed, it would have been necessary for him 1 minute to find an answer containing all information about the world: from the beginning of time to the logical conclusion. But if we assume that the time is cyclic (that is, it has no end), then the device will start outputting an infinite data stream. This is the problem: the result can not be deduced or saved. RAM can have tremendous volume and power, but not infinity, because it is material.

The main paradox lies in the fact that the device must take into account itself in the calculations. That is, he must predict his subsequent actions to be taken. The result will be finite, and assuming that such a machine exists, it will predict the events that will occur in a minute. To achieve a prediction for several centuries ahead, the machine must exist outside the material world, and this is impossible.

So as not to be lost

Although the existence of such a device is subject to reasonable doubt, the thought experiment is an interesting and slightly mystical inference, which Japanese mangaks and animators enjoy with pleasure.

So, in the manga "The Virgin of Rosen" there is a character named Laplace, who directs the game of one of the heroes.

In 2015, an anime entitled "Stories of Rampo: The Laplace Game" is presented to the general overview, where one of the characters can be fully associated with the machine, which predicts the future of the universe, and also shows its cyclical nature.

This idea was also used to create the manga "Darwin and his games". One of the characters has an ability called "Laplace action". He can analyze and predict the behavior of everything that surrounds him.

If such a Reason was created in reality, this would lead to the transition of mankind to a new level of evolution. But it could become an "apple of discord" between countries. Therefore it is much better when such ideas exist as beautiful theoretical assumptions.