(Information) Paradox Lost

Abstract

Since Stephen Hawking's original 1975 paper on black hole evaporation, there has been a consensus that the problem of "loss of information" is both deep and troubling. It is also thought that resolution of the problem may hold some conceptual keys to the unification of gravity with the other forces. I argue that this consensus view is mistaken. The so-called "information loss paradox" arises rather from the inaccurate application of foundational principles, involving both mathematical and conceptual errors. The resources for resolving the "paradox" are familiar and uncontroversial, as has been pointed out in the literature. The problem ought to have been dismissed 40 years ago. Recent radical attempts to solve the problem are blind alleys, solutions in search of a problem.

25 pages, 9 figures

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