No, the actual criterion being used here is what is simplest according to Kolmogorov complexity. In other words, Occam's razor. Nothing to do with human intuitions. If you have Occam's priors, then MWI is far more probable than OWI, and the fact that physicists thought about it later simply doesn't count. (Well, it counts in the social process that is Science, but Science is different from Occam's priors + probability theory).
Anyway, MWI is irrelevant with respect to cut & paste transportation. Just remember that perfect equality in QM is different in kind from almost perfect equality. Meaning that even with imperfect instruments, the result you obtain with perfect equality are wildly different from the results you obtain otherwise. Way past the margin for error of the instruments we have.
Yes, the theory says that there is a way for testing something perfectly, with imperfect instruments. By some miracle, the theory is the Kolmogorov-simplest one we currently know that match the experimental results. By another miracle, the theory is (as far as I know) uncontroversial up to MWI vs OWI.
Another thing the theory says is that the notion of identity should be thrown out the window. That applies to small factors in configuration space (particles) as well as large ones (paintings, human bodies). It doesn't say we should treat small factors differently than large ones. So basically, if you manage to make a copy accurate up to thermal noise, you got yourself a second original. And if the "original" original were destroyed, well, what's left is the "copy" original, which actually is the original, period (because identity doesn't count).
I'd be surprised to learn that this argument is controversial among physicists.
I'm not sure what the best place to continue such subdiscussions is, but I think we should put an end to it here. Let me just conclude with this:
I'd be surprised to learn that this argument is controversial among physicists.
The fact that an argument in philosophy is uncontroversial among physicists means exactly nothing, because they are generally too philosophically unsophisticated to respect the post-Popperian criticisms of what their jobs entail and what it is that 'science' produces.
Anyway, MWI is irrelevant with respect to cut & paste transportation. Just remember that perfect equality in QM is different in kind from almost perfect equality. Meaning that even with imperfect instruments, the result you obtain with perfect equality are wildly different from the results you obtain otherwise. Way past the margin for error of the instruments we have.
Yes, the theory says that there is a way for testing something perfectly, with imperfect instruments. By some miracle, the theory is the Kolmogorov-simplest one we currently know that match the experimental results. By another miracle, the theory is (as far as I know) uncontroversial up to MWI vs OWI.
Another thing the theory says is that the notion of identity should be thrown out the window. That applies to small factors in configuration space (particles) as well as large ones (paintings, human bodies). It doesn't say we should treat small factors differently than large ones. So basically, if you manage to make a copy accurate up to thermal noise, you got yourself a second original. And if the "original" original were destroyed, well, what's left is the "copy" original, which actually is the original, period (because identity doesn't count).
I'd be surprised to learn that this argument is controversial among physicists.