Part 2/8:
However, this deterministic outlook does not necessarily imply that the past can similarly be reconstructed. O'Dowd explains that while future states can be predicted with complete accuracy, the same may not hold true for the past, presenting us with a fascinating challenge: can we truly claim that all information is conserved through time?
Conservation of Information
The concept of time-reversal symmetry arises from the notion that if we know the state of a system at one point, we should ideally be able to backtrack and ascertain its history. This conservation of information is crucial in quantum mechanics and is linked to so-called conservation laws, such as those derived from Noether's theorem, which relates symmetries in the equations of motion to conserved quantities.