I’m not sure that is all there is to a thought experiment. Quantum Suicide is described as a thought experiment and suffers a somewhat similar problem.
While there presumably would be a branch in which the subject will find at least a positive result (they observe themselves surviving long past the odds say they should) that is a completely subjective result. From the outside view they just see the Born probabilities; we can’t expect any empirical difference in running this experiment but it is still a useful thought experiment because it challenges us to rigorously accept some of the less intuitive consequences of MWI.
Performing quantum suicide would—very briefly—allow you to learn whether you were still alive or about to die—which seems as though it might be some kind of result.
Searle’s “Chinese room” appears to me to be another dodgy non-experiment, that is still described as being a thought experiment—since Searle apparently doesn’t dispute that the room can actually speak Chinese. Maybe we need the concept of a fake thought experiment—to help distinguish between the science and the baloney.
I’m not sure that is all there is to a thought experiment. Quantum Suicide is described as a thought experiment and suffers a somewhat similar problem.
While there presumably would be a branch in which the subject will find at least a positive result (they observe themselves surviving long past the odds say they should) that is a completely subjective result. From the outside view they just see the Born probabilities; we can’t expect any empirical difference in running this experiment but it is still a useful thought experiment because it challenges us to rigorously accept some of the less intuitive consequences of MWI.
Performing quantum suicide would—very briefly—allow you to learn whether you were still alive or about to die—which seems as though it might be some kind of result.
Searle’s “Chinese room” appears to me to be another dodgy non-experiment, that is still described as being a thought experiment—since Searle apparently doesn’t dispute that the room can actually speak Chinese. Maybe we need the concept of a fake thought experiment—to help distinguish between the science and the baloney.
Say “intuition pump” and describe reality with other symbols than a single metaphor.