On 08 Jan 2014, at 16:22, [email protected] wrote:
I plan to buy his book, but I always have my meta goal of making
life better or less despairing for people. If the book, even,
unintentionally, contributes to this, its all good, if its just
number mumbling, I will always appreciate the creativity of the
abstract mind/brain at work. Enviously, even. But unless myself or
somebody else can process the work into something greater (better)
it will fade back into my mental background. I respect the fact that
others feel differently, and view the intellectual pursuit as a goal
in itself.
It is hard for me to really separate the quest for truth from the
quest for good.
It is not that truth is good, as it is often not the case, but it is
that lying when truth is not good makes things worse.
I am not sure you can help the others, except by helping yourself and
give the example.
Help yourself and the others will help themselves.
With comp it is very plausibly true that hell is paved with the good
intentions.
As I said, put the grain of salt on all this, but I am pretty sure
Tegmark tries to communicate something that he feel as good for its
fellow.
Bruno
Mitch
-----Original Message-----
From: Kim Jones <[email protected]>
To: Everything List <[email protected]>
Sent: Wed, Jan 8, 2014 12:49 am
Subject: Tegmark's New Book
Maximus writes:
The Higgs Boson was predicted with the same tool as the planet
Neptune and the
radio wave: with mathematics. Why does our universe seem so
mathematical, and
what does it mean? In my new book, Our Mathematical Universe, which
comes out
today, I argue that it means that our universe isn't just described
by math, but
that it is math in the sense that we're all parts of a giant
mathematical
object, which in turn is part of a multiverse so huge that it makes
the other
multiverses debated in recent years seem puny in comparison.
At first glance, our universe doesn't seem very mathematical at all.
The
groundhog who trims our lawn has properties such as cuteness and
fluffiness --
not mathematical properties. Yet we know that this groundhog -- and
everything
else in our universe -- is ultimately made of elementary particles
such as
quarks and electrons. And what properties does an electron have?
Properties like
-1, ½ and 1! We physicists call these properties electric charge,
spin and
lepton number, but those are just words that we've made up and the
fundamental
properties that an electron has are just numbers, mathematical
properties. All
elementary particles, the building blocks of everything around, are
purely
mathematical objects in the sense that they don't have any
properties except for
mathematical properties. The same goes for the space that these
particles are
in, which has only mathematical properties -- for example 3, the
number of
dimensions. If space is mathematical and everything in space is also
mathematical, then the idea that everything is mathematical doesn't
sound as
crazy anymore.
That our universe is approximately described by mathematics means
that some but
not all of its properties are mathematical, and is a venerable idea
dating back
to the ancient Greeks. That it is mathematical means that all of its
properties
are mathematical, i.e., that it has no properties at all except
mathematical
ones. If I'm right and this is true, then it's good news for
physics, because
all properties of our universe can in principle be understood if we're
intelligent and creative enough. For example, this challenges the
common
assumption that we can never understand consciousness. Instead, it
optimistically suggests that consciousness can one day be understood
as a form
of matter, forming the most beautifully complex structure in space
and time that
our universe has ever known. Such understanding would enlighten our
approaches
to animals, unresponsive patients and future ultra-intelligent
machines, with
wide-ranging ethical, legal and technological implications.
As I argue in detail in my book, it also implies that our reality is
vastly
larger than we thought, containing a diverse collection of universes
obeying all
mathematically possible laws of physics. An advanced computer
program could in
principle start generating an atlas of all such mathematically
possible
universes. The discovery of other solar systems has taught us that
8, the number
of planets in ours, doesn't tell us anything fundamental about
reality, merely
something about which particular solar system we inhabit -- the
number 8 is
essentially part of our cosmic ZIP code. Similarly, this
mathematical atlas
tells us that if we one day discover the equations of quantum
gravity and print
them on a T-shirt, we should not hübristically view these equations
as the
"Theory of Everything," but as information about our location in the
mathematical atlas of the ultimate multiverse.
It's easy feel small and powerless when faced with this vast
reality. Indeed, we
humans have had this experience before, over and over again
discovering that
what we thought was everything was merely a small part of a larger
structure:
our planet, our solar system, our galaxy, our universe and perhaps a
hierarchy
of parallel universes, nested like Russian dolls. However, I find this
empowering as well, because we've repeatedly underestimated not only
the size of
our cosmos, but also the power of our human mind to understand it. Our
cave-dwelling ancestors had just as big brains as we have, and since
they didn't
spend their evenings watching TV, I'm sure they asked questions like
"What's all
that stuff up there in the sky?" and "Where does it all come from?".
They'd been
told beautiful myths and stories, but little did they realize that
they had it
in them to actually figure out the answers to these questions for
themselves.
And that the secret lay not in learning to fly into space to examine
the
celestial objects, but in letting their human minds fly. When our
human
imagination first got off the ground and started deciphering the
mysteries of
space, it was done with mental power rather than rocket power.
I find this quest for knowledge so inspiring that I decided to join
it and
become a physicist, and I've written this book because I want to
share these
empowering journeys of discovery, especially in this day and age
when it's so
easy to feel powerless. If you decide to read it, then it will be
not only the
quest of me and my fellow physicists, but our quest.
——————————————
OK - now rip into him! He may well be edging closer and closer to
Bruno’s Comp
but I think he will need a few Salvia trips to get past his clear
and evident
physicalism...
Kim Jones
============================
Kim Jones B.Mus.GDTL
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 0450 963 719
Landline: 02 9389 4239
Web: http://www.eportfolio.kmjcommp.com
"Never let your schooling get in the way of your education" - Mark
Twain
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