On 08 Jan 2014, at 18:33, Alberto G. Corona wrote:
That is not physicalism IMHO that is mathemathicalism
It might be mathematicalism which keeps the physicalist identity
thesis of the Aristotelian, and physicalize mathematical object. It
still ignore the FPI, the reversal with arithmetic, the comp
constraints. But I have not read the book, so I can't say.
Arithmeticalism is already sufficient for the comp ontology, but
mathematicalism is not enough for the inside view, unless
"mathematics" is taken in a *very* large sense, capable of making
sense of a mathematical consciousness (but this might be inconsistent
with comp). Tegmark might still hide a piece of the mind-body problem
under the rug.
Bruno
2014/1/8 Kim Jones <[email protected]>
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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