Intractability Explains Physical Laws

Updated: 2025.10.16 5D ago 1 sources
The piece argues computational hardness is not just a practical limit but can itself explain physical reality. If classical simulation of quantum systems is exponentially hard, that supports many‑worlds; if time travel or nonlinear quantum mechanics grant absurd computation, that disfavors them; and some effective laws (e.g., black‑hole firewall resolutions, even the Second Law) may hold because violating them is computationally infeasible. This reframes which theories are plausible by adding a computational‑constraint layer to physical explanation. — It pushes physics and philosophy to treat computational limits as a principled filter on theories, influencing how we judge interpretations and speculative proposals.

Sources

My talk at Columbia University: “Computational Complexity and Explanations in Physics”
Scott 2025.10.16 100% relevant
Aaronson’s abstract lays out three cases—Deutsch’s many‑worlds claim, 'absurd computational superpowers' from exotic physics, and Harlow‑Hayden’s firewall/Second Law arguments—as examples of complexity‑based explanation.
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