I’ve been following Deutsch and Marletto for over a decade, and had the pleasure of talking with Chiara Marletto over lunch at a How The Light Gets In event in Hay on Wye in 2016.
This interview from a few months ago, Dec 2020, is excellent because she is simply allowed to talk and describe her position. So much clearer now for me in being able to see the qubit as simply the most general concept of an information “bit” in the quantum world, AND the “constructor” as simply the most generic concept of a Turing machine – the most generic “machine” that can do constructive stuff and sustain itself in the process. Anything possible within the laws of physics that is. Hence the title of her book, which I now have on order at my local bookshop.
“The Science of Can and Can’t”
by Chiara Marletto
Still very reminiscent of the quote I recorded from Deutsch way back in 2005 after reading his “Fabric of Reality” that anything conceivable (epistemically) is possible (physically).
No real difference between inconceivable and impossible.
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[Additional notes – Lots more in that interview. More intelligible take on demystifying “causation” … constructor being a cause as opposed to mere participant. Open possibility for human will at a fundamental level – not over promising, but optimistic. Thinking on her feet also in response to the “illusory” take on reality as perceived? … obviously only illusory in misunderstood, our improperly modelled, aspects of reality. Reality is not an illusion, the only illusion is in our presumed adequate scientific description of it. And, ah! of course, 2nd law sets limits on possibility … and constructor theory information (qubit) level cause of the possible … great stuff.]
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Post Notes:
[And there is now a second interview with “The Dissenter” though I remain at a loss why Ricardo Lopes takes that online name since, as I say, he is about as empathetic as an interviewer can be. Maybe it’s deliberate irony?]
I do now in fact have her book, so will be reading and reviewing sometime soon. Cover blurbs from Philip Pullman and Lee Smolin.
Also just capturing recent links to other reviews and interviews:
With Andrew Anthony in the Guardian May 2020
Interview with Amanda Gefter in Quanta April 2021
Constructor Theory of Thermodynamics – Paper 2017
Book Review by Albert Wenger at Continuations May 2021
2 thoughts on “Information Theoretic Marletto”