Theyre conjuring pedantic monsters, murdering innumerable cats, and putting humans inside of computers.
Sure, these thought experiments are all in their heads.
But thats how it starts.
And well decide once-and-for-all whose big, bright ideas are the worst.
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So this demon being controls which particles go from one side of the box to the other.
This particular thought experiment is awful.
As in:its awfully good at being awesome!
It might be the best scientific thought experiment ever.
But you have to go through Maxwells Demon to get there.
This difference in opinion over the efficacy of entropy caused a kerfuffle.
Well, Maxwells Demon essentially says sure, but what if were talking about really tiny things experiencing somewhatquantuminteractions?
This made a lot of sense and has led to numerous breakthroughs in the field of quantum physics.
Those probably arent their exact words.
Dont just take my word for it.
It is the worst thought experiment I know in science.
Let me count the ways it has misled us.
Thats borderline hate-poetry and I love it.
The missed opportunity alone gets it our stamp for worst scientific thought experiment.
But theres not much to discuss.
Imagine that, but at the multiverse level.
But, admittedly, thats low hanging fruit.
Nick Bostroms Simulation Argument lies at the intersection of lazy physics and brilliant philosophy.
It goes like this:Uh, what if, like, we live inside a computer?
Think about it for a second.
It doesnt go any deeper.
Its uh, kinda dumb, right?
But that doesnt mean Bostroms paper isnt important.
If I can channel our pal John D. Norton from above: these thought experiments are the worst.
Allow me to list the ways I hate them.
Both sides had done the math and determined it wasnt really a problem.
Unfortunately, the reason were aware of this is because both sideswere also keen to talk to outsiders.
Heisenberg famously joked about it to a German politician.
Thats Day One stuff right there.
Thats a question you should have to answer during orientation.
You dont start building a literal atom bomb andthenhold an all-hands meeting to dig into the wholekilling all lifething.
We can do better
Those are all great examples of terrible thought experiments.
For scientists and philosophers anyway.
But everyone knows theworst ideascome from journalists.
I think I can come up with a terrible thought experiment thatll trump each of the above.
So lets do this.
The most important part of any thought experiment is its title.
Unlike those theories, Ogres Ogre doesnt require you to understand or know anything.
Its just quietly cajoling you into a natural state of curiosity.
In short, Ogres Ogre isnt some overeager overachiever like those others.
It goes like this: What if C-A-T really spelled dog?
