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Why the Black Hole Information Paradox Is Such a Problem

New submitter TheAlexKnapp writes: Here's a really nice explanation of the Black Hole Information Paradox for those who are unfamiliar with it. The article lays out the basic gist — that right now if you take two black holes, one made from the collapse of one type of star, and the second from the collapse of a different type, you can't tell which is which. Ethan Siegel points out that Hawking's big announcement was really just a small step heading towards a possible solution, and highlights that the paradox highlights the incompleteness of our understanding of some types of physics.

2 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Re:So? by Fragnet · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You do know. There's information on and within both phones that's a record of which owner they had.

  2. Re:So? by willworkforbeer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Obvious non-physicist here, but in absolute terms, information theory says that the original systems' (ice sculptures) information -- every particle's directions etc. was not destroyed, though it may be terribly difficult to ascertain by us at a later time.

    I don't pretend to understand why, but the fundamental premise is that information is a conserved property.

    --
    Pretending this is my office full of bitter coworkers..