Lost Data

For John, BLUF:  As good an explanation as any.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From the InstaPundit himself a discussion of what happens when a star collapses into a black hole and then further decays.  The question is, is all that "information" that existed, lost?  Here is the crux of the problem as reported in The Washington Post.

[Stephen] Hawking focused on something called the information paradox, which continues to puzzle scientists who study black holes.  In a nutshell, the paradox involves the fact that information about the star that formed a black hole seems to be lost inside it, presumably disappearing when the black hole inevitably disappears.  These things cannot be lost, according to the way we think the universe works, and physicists generally believe that they aren't really lost.  But where does the information go when the black hole that's absorbed it goes kaput?

Stephen Hawking, believes he’s solved a huge mystery about black holes. But, the InstaPundit has his own view:

ACTUALLY, WHEN A STAR BECOMES A BLACK HOLE, THE “LOST” INFORMATION APPEARS ON A THUMB DRIVE IN HILLARY CLINTON’S LAWYER’S OFFICE.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff