Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Konohamaru 2116 days ago
How do we know that opponents of MWI aren't succumbing to antibrunoist prejudice?

> [Giordano Bruno] is known for his cosmological theories, which conceptually extended the then-novel Copernican model. He proposed that the stars were distant suns surrounded by their own planets, and he raised the possibility that these planets might foster life of their own, a philosophical position known as cosmic pluralism.

I need to point out that he was burned at the stake for advocating cosmic pluralism.

2 comments

Later observations proved Bruno's speculations to be correct.

But MWI does not make different predictions from other quantum interpretations. No observations can confirm or falsify it.

Modern cosmology by definition doesn’t make different predictions than saying “cosmological models mention things like stars and galaxies, and those models fit our observations, but those stars and galaxies aren’t technically real.”
Maybe in the greater context of our universe cosmic pluralism is a design pattern, which would make MWI a more preferred interpretation.
> I need to point out that he was burned at the stake for advocating cosmic pluralism

I need to point out that he wasn't. His heresy trial had nothing to do with his cosmic beliefs. He was convicted for teaching religious beliefs, as a Catholic, that were contrary to Catholic dogma. The church punishment for this was excommunication but the secular punishment was execution, so he got burned.