Concerning Reality in an Arbitrary Universe

2005-12-22 Thread Zell, Chris
In science , we are accustomed to think in reductionist terms and search for a cause whenever we see an interesting effect - but what if we looked at the world in the other direction? Suppose we started with the fact that the universe is ultimately arbitrary? To some, the idea that the universe

Re: Concerning Reality in an Arbitrary Universe

2005-12-22 Thread Harry Veeder
Zell, Chris wrote: Does it ever seem that, although the Newtonian view of a mechanical universe is obsolete, we are still struggling to maintain a mechanical viewpoint, while nature keeps slipping effects between the moving gears, somehow? Yes, and what is both good and bad about quantum