Abstract
We speculate that the arrow of time stems from the growth of an information space housing the full gamut of quantum states in the universe. As this information space dynamically expands, in conjunction with the growth of the physical universe, the network of alternatives would become increasingly complex, explaining why wave-function collapse is future-directed and why causality due to conscious decision-making is in the forward direction. In other words, an arrow of information entropy increase would set the order of cause and effect. Because the labyrinth of possibilities could grow in a deterministic fashion, yet the choices themselves could be arbitrary, our model could offer a means of reconciling mechanistic, probabilistic, and freely-chosen aspects of how natural interactions transpire. We examine how this model bears on the question of time travel, and contrast its implications with those of earlier descriptions of time as a cycle or as a steady stream.
Paul Halpern