Here’s something interesting - a new paper by physicists at Penn State provides a theoretical mechanism as to how information swallowed up by black holes might escape later.

For many years, physicists believed that anything yanked into a black hole was destroyed, even though that concept ran contrary to basic quantum mechanics, which states that information cannot be lost, unlike car keys, jewelry, innocence, and about half of the space probes sent to Mars.  [Speaking of which, NASA’s Memorial Day weekend travel plans included taking their old Phoenix there this past Sunday. Congrats to them for a safe and successful trip without having to stop and ask for directions and for leaving before gas hit $4.00 per gallon] 

Now, this new theory depends on a couple of other theories being true (naturally) - some regarding quantum gravity and the notion that space-time is not a continuum (somebody better tell  Q)!) but in fact made up of discrete chunks or loops. Instead of the tradtional flat rubbery sheet used in two-dimensional modeling to represent the fabric of space-time, think about space-time as chain mail, a nice afghan, or a very intricate doily.

But back to the original topic. A short time back in the Achenblog, guest Kitter Caitlin Gibson put forth The Bloopy Brain Theory in which she proposes that when a brain gets too crowded, unused or unneeded information can get bumped out and away as if into a black hole, “blooped into nonexistence.”

But if black holes don’t destroy information, and can in fact retain it intact under the worst conditions Stephen Hawking could dream up, then they could be fantastic information storage devices. A black hole storage device would be able to store a whole galaxy’s worth of information (yes, more than Wikipedia) and protect it from space and time, only able to be recalled if you had Mad Space Time Skilz and/or were God’s Own Hacker. A black hole would be the Ultimately Hard Disk.

This also puts an interesting spin on the recent  lawsuit filed to prevent the LHC from operating. What if there was a secret plan for the LHC to actually generate a black hole and gobble up the entire Earth with it, pulling it out of space and time into some sort of stasis, to be restored in the future like a Model A Ford or Ted Williams’ head. And like many restorations (some might suggest ‘Pebble Beach Concours-level over-restorations’) of historic cars, they would make Earth better than it was originally by eliminating some of its shortcomings like non-synchronized transmissions, Global Warming and the Republican Party. 

Giant black holes are at the center of almost all of the known galaxies and are thought to be a sort of gravitational anchor, similar to the Sun in our Solar System. Most galaxies have many smaller black holes scattered throughout them, gobbling up loose matter and information like hungry news bloggers. Which makes me think - is there a model here for the universe to be some giant quantum information network, with galaxies as network nodes/servers and black holes as information storage and backup systems? This, of course makes us essentially clever dust mites in the Big Computer Room in the Sky, but that’s not so bad as long as no one important notices us (Note to self: Can we recall those ”I Love Lucy” telecasts we started beaming willy-nilly through the universe a half-decade ago? I, for one, wouldn’t want Someone clean out the little infestation in the Milky Way Server chassis…) 

On a more personal level, perhaps I should work with the CERN LHC folks on developing a mini-black hole information storage system, so people (with the means to pay me Substantial Sums, of course) can “bloop” information out of their memories whenever they’d like, such as prior to answering a summons to testify before Congress, at the departure gate at McCarran International Airport , or just before attending their 25th High School Reunion. They can decide to replace them later, if they can remember, of course.

For me, as appealing as having the Eternally Spotless Mind sounds, I’ll keep as many of my memories and thoughts as I can, and all the information I can retain. Of course, there are the questions of accuracy - relativity and subjectivity being what they are - and frankly, some of the memfomation in my head is quite painful and unpleasant. It would be tempting to get rid of them if I could, give myself a good thorough cleaning (note: I did *not* use the phrase “brain enema”). And then I’d have to do it regularly, like taking out the trash on Tuesdays or Saturday afternoon Confession.

The entire universe may just be information, but in order for me to experience it, my perceptions of Everything are filtered through my head and my heart. Contrary to some peoples’ opinions, my mind and heart aren’t black holes, but I’m willing to consider the idea that they might be intellectual and emotional junkyards. But they’re *my* junkyards, aren’t they?

Still, I might be willing to set up black hole storage pod by my front door, so folks can leave any bad feelings and memories they choose to when they enter - and any new ones they picked up during their visit when they leave.

Everybody has a bloopin’ good time at my house, whether they remember it or not.

bc 

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