On Wednesday, January 8, 2014 5:49:38 AM UTC, Kim Jones wrote: > > 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. *
that really had me on the floor > > 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] <javascript:> > 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 > > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
