On Wed, Oct 6, Levi Pearson wrote: > On a related note, Hawking has apparently given up the search for a > unifying "theory of everything" that describes the real fundamental > "stuff" that everything is made of. He instead favors the idea that > the ultimate theory is actually a set of theories that only apply in > certain circumstances. He compares this to the way that a given > Mercator projection of the globe is only accurate within a certain > range, and looking at different parts of the globe accurately requires > using different projections.
Only if you insist on using a two-dimensional surface; a full globe can be much more accurate. That implies that there is a TOE, but it might remain beyond our ability to formulate or understand from within the limitations of too few dimensions. I would hope that at least the mathematics can be worked out, though. - Eric /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
