natural theology

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Notes

Sunday 25 October 2020 - Saturday 31 October 2020

[Notebook: DB 85 Science]

[page 210]

Sunday 25 October 2020

The logical nature of digital computations makes them immune to Lorentz transformations. Since we identify energy as a processing rate and mass as energy, this might explain why 'rest mass' is a relativistic invariant.

How does energy get localized to make a particle? Standard quantum theory does it by superposition of plane waves of momentum but we do not like this because first it presupposes the existence of space and momentum and second it involves a quasi-infinite superposition which raises representation problems. Better to see a particle as a quantum of action whose energy comes from self interaction. This interaction we model as a turing machine beginning with nop which might have something do with a photon, or perhaps a photon is a repeated not

[page 247]

and more complex particles make larger and larger groups of actions which are localized by group closure. From this point of view a photon or a boson might be a group identity operation. We would see all these groups as discrete, the simplest being abelian and (commutative) and more complex ones non-commutative. Particles and antiparticles are distinguished by the order of group operations and these things do not need space to exist but they are the source of space (perhaps perhaps).

Time is the independent variable of the universe, born out of action.

Monday 26 October 2020

A calculation [is a day's solar energy equivalent to a year's fossil fuel consumption?] Fossil consumption say 15 GTe coal equivalent pa @ 8000 kWh per tonne = 1.5E10 x 8E3 x 3.6E6 = 4.5E(1 + 10 + 3 +6) = 4.5E20 Joule per annum.

Solar energy say 100 W/m2 x π x (6E6)2 [radius of Earth squared] x 8.65E5 [seconds per day] = (3.14 x 36 x 8.64)E(2 + 12 + 5) = 9.8E(2 + 2 + 12 + 5) = E22 Joule per day.

Kajillionairie. Made me feel a bit inauthentic and wonder whether my natural theology project really has a future. Back on track now, possibly after reading Strogatz's account of the leap of faith required by Newton to see the orbit of the Moon and objects falling on earth as the result of the same force. I also feel that although my feelings about particle physics and field theory are a long way from current taste their simplicity and clarity is promising although it may take some time to come home. Kajillionaire - Wikipedia, Steven Strogatz: Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe

[page 248]

Let us code up the Dirac equation in one dimension of spacetime based on a) the generic quantum of action; b) the photon quantum of action; and c) the electron quantum of action and use this to create one Feynman vertex. Our spacetime is one dimension of space and one of time with PCT ie electron and positron, time and parity + and -.

Tuesday 27 October 2020

I am Greta I Am Greta - Wikipedia

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Corpus Christi Corpus Christi (2019 film) - Wikipedia

I am my own hardest person to please because I am having difficulty finding the words to express my dream. As usual the only answer is to press on and revise, revise, revise, listening to what I write for the tone that rings a bell. Perhaps the best analogy lies in film scripts that carry a message that is both surprising and true to life. Corpus Christi seems to fill this bill even though there are segments within it which appear off the track. At least it shows me why I might not have been a good priest if I had played out my vocation because I am radially opposed to the intitutionalized Christian message while I am radically

[page 249]

in favour of an institutional position that gives strong emotional support to every member by providing a real environment of welfare so nobody is left behind. That is one which cooperates with nature in contrast to Christianity whose fundamental premise that we are all sinners in need of a spurious and violent redemption flies in the face of nature to establish a milieu which promotes the divine right of inhuman rule.

Thursday 29 October 2020

On the evolution of the fair go draft complete. Now a week of polishing and back to constructing the world.

Friday 30 October 2020

Descartes suggested a bit of doubt is good medicine. I have been taking it for about a week with respect to the entropic view of metaethics put forward in one of my honours essays and my essay on the fair go. After quite a bit of worry I still feel that it is good, so go ahead and incorporate an extended exposition of the idea in the last four chapters of scientific theology. Jeffrey Nicholls (July 2019): Entropy and metaethics

. . .

[page 250]

War is a wasteful and unnecessary consequence of a spiritual deficit. Margaret Macmillan: War: How Conflict Shaped Us

Saturday 31 October 2020

Whether the universe started at infinite temperate or 0, the entropy is still zero.

Isolated quantum system is reversible. Isolated classical system increases entropy by expanding when it can, getting more states for itself. Is this why the universe expands?

We imagine a universe coming from a cold start, which is a quantum of action, which we interpret as potential energy. This then bifurcate into potential and kinetic, reversible like a pendulum. Potential is as real as kinetic, so Aristotle's axiom is wrong. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary on Aristotle's Physics

Potential energy is formalist energy, outside time. This is what we see in Hilbert space [time evolution does not change a ray]. So maybe space is potential and identical to formalism and the quantum of action is a representation of the not operator. In quantum mechanics reversibility implies not at constant entropy, ie the entropy of not-p is the same as the entropy of p [in other circumstances the entropy of not-p and p may be very different, eg me and all the people who are not me].

All this comes from a lovely trip to the beach and demands the nth rewrite of st06_constructing_world, but each one seems to be better and more exciting.

[page 251]

In [the] general theory [of relativity] kinetic energy (positive definite) shapes potential (negative definite) and vice versa and this demonstrates that we can treat Wigner's insight about mathematics in the same way as Feynman treated Dirac's insight about action: it is not just an analogy, it is part of the system [words carry weight]. Eugene Wigner: The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences, Feynman & Hibbs; Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals

This gives us a direct route to space and time, form and energy so now we just have to work out the 3D thing. The relationship between kinetic and potential is inherent in the Lagrangian and our guess is that events occur when the action integral of the Lagrangian is zero, ie (KE - PE)dt = zero when an event occurs, ie when two state funtions meet and mate to create a new particle.

The fact that mass and energy are identical means that the transform between them is simply multiplication by c2.

The bifurcation of space and time automatically creates the velocity of light since in naked quantum mechanics all works by contact so [the emergence of the higher layer of space-time] in effect creates null geodesics [to maintain contact]. Once we have naked quantum mechanics we have communication of state functions and the creation of particles.

Weinberg writes that it is silly talking about the quantum / classical interface because everything is quantum, just as it is silly talking about the mass energy interface because everything is energy. So what is the actual source of gravitation? Network communication in a naked quantum world by null geodesics, gravitational and electromagnetic. Steven Weinberg: Einstein's Mistakes

[page 252]

The Lagrangian action of any process where PE = KE . . . is by that fact 0. If we live in a zero energy universe ∫(PE-KE)dt = 0 and we might be led to guess that all classical processes in this universe have stationary action, S = 0.

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Further reading

Books

Auyang, Sunny Y., How is Quantum Field Theory Possible?, Oxford University Press 1995 Jacket: 'Quantum field theory (QFT) combines quantum mechanics with Einstein's special theory of relativity and underlies elementary particle physics. This book presents a philosophical analysis of QFT. It is the first treatise in which the philosophies of space-time, quantum phenomena and particle interactions are encompassed in a unified framework.' 
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Bleasdale, Faith, Peep Show, 544 pages Publisher: Flame (January 1, 2002) Language: English ISBN-10: 0340818611 ISBN-13: 978-0340818619 2002 Amazon Product Description 'Tanya, a wannabe producer with big dreams; Harvey, an LA film guru with a big idea; four slightly odd flatmates in a big house; and the little secret that's about to turn all their lives upside down ...Harvey arrives in London and meets Tanya, who is desperately searching for her first big thing. Ambition meets avarice and somehow a film is born, starring Tanya and her unsuspecting housemates. Three boys and two girls are thrown together with their many, various hang-ups still fully intact, as the ultimate peep show begins. But action is slow and Tanya is desperate ...so she decides to turn their lives into one hell of a performance. And you just can't help but watch. Faith Bleasdale's third novel is a sharp, clever, often hilarious look at society's current obsession with watching other people's lives in the name of entertainment.' 
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Feynman (1965), Richard P, and Albert P Hibbs, Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals, McGraw Hill 1965 Preface: 'The fundamental physical and mathematical concepts which underlie the path integral approach were first developed by R P Feynman in the course of his graduate studies at Princeton, ... . These early inquiries were involved with the problem of the infinte self-energy of the electron. In working on that problem, a "least action" principle was discovered [which] could deal succesfully with the infinity arising in the application of classical electrodynamics.' As described in this book. Feynam, inspired by Dirac, went on the develop this insight into a fruitful source of solutions to many quantum mechanical problems.  
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Feynman (1988), Richard, QED: The Strange Story of Light and Matter, Princeton UP 1988 Jacket: 'Quantum electrodynamics - or QED for short - is the 'strange theory' that explains how light and electrons interact. Thanks to Richard Feynmann and his colleagues, it is also one of the rare parts of physics that is known for sure, a theory that has stood the test of time. . . . In this beautifully lucid set of lectures he provides a definitive introduction to QED.' 
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Fortun, Mike, and Herbert J Bernstein, Muddling Through: Pursuing Science and Truths in the Twenty-First Century, Counterpoint 1998 Amazon editorial review: 'Does science discover truths or create them? Does dioxin cause cancer or not? Is corporate-sponsored research valid or not? Although these questions reflect the way we're used to thinking, maybe they're not the best way to approach science and its place in our culture. Physicist Herbert J. Bernstein and science historian Mike Fortun, both of the Institute for Science and Interdisciplinary Studies (ISIS), suggest a third way of seeing, beyond taking one side or another, in Muddling Through: Pursuing Science and Truths in the 21st Century. While they deal with weighty issues and encourage us to completely rethink our beliefs about science and truth, they do so with such grace and humor that we follow with ease discussions of toxic-waste disposal, the Human Genome Project, and retooling our language to better fit the way science is actually done.' 
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Grgin, Emile, The Algebra of Quantions: A Unifying Number System for Quantum Mechanics and Relativity, AuthorHouse 2005 Amazon Product Description 'Quantum mechanics and relativity have been in structural conflict for eighty years. This work shows that the incompatibility in question stems only from the assumption that their unification must be based on the field of complex numbers. Dropping this assumption, one can derive a simple mathematical structure which subsumes both theories as special cases. While the idea of generalizing the number system of quantum mechanics to make structural room for relativity is very old, no attempt has been successful in the past. The novelty brought out in the present work is based on a self-evident observation: there is no reason to expect the development of mathematics and physics to be synchronized in a manner that would keep the former forever one step ahead of the latter. More specifically, if a new number system seems to be needed in physics, there is no reason to believe that this system already belongs to our mathematical heritage.This observation changes the nature of the problem from 'finding' a unifying number system among the algebras already studied by mathematicians, to 'discovering' it ab initio from the requirement that it should lead to a structural merging of quantum mechanics and relativity. The solution, named "algebra of quantions", is derived in this book from several viewpoints, together with proofs of its mathematical uniqueness. Its physical relevance stems from the fact that the Standard Model depends less on observations if formulated over the quantions. This work is a philosophical and technical introduction to the algebra of quantions, to quantionic analysis, and to quantionic field equations.' 
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Grgin, Emile, Structural Unification of Quantum Mechanics and Relativity (Volume 1), 268 pages Publisher: AuthorHouse (December 19, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 1434310485 ISBN-13: 978-1434310484 2007 Chapter 1: Only two types of numbers support all of contemporary physics: Classical mechanics and relativity are built over the real numbers; nonrelativitic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory are built over the complex numbersl Since both types of numbers are well known and taken for granted by students, the general concept of a number system and the role number systems play in physics are never discussed in physics textbooks.

The essential point of the present work is that it introduces a new number sustem for relativitic quantum physics. This system, referred to as the "algebra of quantions", is also new as a mathematical structure. . . . ' 
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Le Carre, John, A Most Wanted Man, Scribner 2008 Amazon Editorial Review From Publishers Weekly 'When boxer Melik Oktay and his mother, both Turkish Muslims living in Hamburg, take in a street person calling himself Issa at the start of this morally complex thriller from le Carré (The Mission Song), they set off a chain of events implicating intelligence agencies from three countries. Issa, who claims to be a Muslim medical student, is, in fact, a wanted terrorist and the son of Grigori Karpov, a Red Army colonel whose considerable assets are concealed in a mysterious portfolio at a Hamburg bank. Tommy Brue, a stereotypical flawed everyman caught up in the machinations of spies and counterspies, enters the plot when Issa's attorney seeks to claim these assets. The book works best in its depiction of the rivalries besetting even post-9/11 intelligence agencies that should be allies, but none of the characters is as memorable as George Smiley or Magnus Pym. Still, even a lesser le Carré effort is far above the common run of thrillers.' Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 
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Lonergan, Bernard J F, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding (Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan : Volume 3), University of Toronto Press 1992 '. . . Bernard Lonergan's masterwork. Its aim is nothing less than insight into insight itself, an understanding of understanding' 
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Macmillan, Margaret, War: How Conflict Shaped Us, Profile Books 2020 ' In War, Professor Margaret MacMillan explores the deep links between society and war and the questions they raise. We learn when war began - whether among early homo sapiens or later, as we began to organise ourselves into tribes and settle in communities. We see the ways in which war reflects changing societies and how war has brought change - for better and worse. Economies, science, technology, medicine, culture: all are instrumental in war and have been shaped by it - without conflict it we might not have had penicillin, female emancipation, radar or rockets. Throughout history, writers, artists, film-makers, playwrights, and composers have been inspired by war - whether to condemn, exalt or simply puzzle about it. If we are never to be rid of war, how should we think about it and what does that mean for peace? 
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Strogatz, Steven, Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe, Haughton Mifflin Harcourt 2019 ' For reasons nobody understands, the universe is deeply mathematical. Maybe God made it that way, or maybe it is the only way a universe with us in it could be, because nonmathematical universes can't harbour life intelligent enough to ask the question. In any case it's a mysterious and marvellous fact that our universe obeys laws of nature that always turnout to be expressible in the language of calculus as sentenced called differential equations.' Introduction, vii 
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Zee, Anthony, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press 2003 Amazon book description: 'An esteemed researcher and acclaimed popular author takes up the challenge of providing a clear, relatively brief, and fully up-to-date introduction to one of the most vital but notoriously difficult subjects in theoretical physics. A quantum field theory text for the twenty-first century, this book makes the essential tool of modern theoretical physics available to any student who has completed a course on quantum mechanics and is eager to go on. Quantum field theory was invented to deal simultaneously with special relativity and quantum mechanics, the two greatest discoveries of early twentieth-century physics, but it has become increasingly important to many areas of physics. These days, physicists turn to quantum field theory to describe a multitude of phenomena. Stressing critical ideas and insights, Zee uses numerous examples to lead students to a true conceptual understanding of quantum field theory--what it means and what it can do. He covers an unusually diverse range of topics, including various contemporary developments,while guiding readers through thoughtfully designed problems. In contrast to previous texts, Zee incorporates gravity from the outset and discusses the innovative use of quantum field theory in modern condensed matter theory. Without a solid understanding of quantum field theory, no student can claim to have mastered contemporary theoretical physics. Offering a remarkably accessible conceptual introduction, this text will be widely welcomed and used.  
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Papers

Partovi, M H, "Entanglement versus Stosszahlansatz: Disappearance of the thermodynamic arrow in a high-correlation environment", Physical Review, E77, 021110, 2008, page . Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Sacramento, California 95819-6041, USA Received 20 August 2007; revised 7 January 2008; published 11 February 2008 The crucial role of ambient correlations in determining thermodynamic behavior is established. A class of entangled states of two macroscopic systems is constructed such that each component is in a state of thermal equilibrium at a given temperature, and when the two are allowed to interact heat can flow from the colder to the hotter system. A dilute gas model exhibiting this behavior is presented. This reversal of the thermodynamic arrow is a consequence of the entanglement between the two systems, a condition that is opposite to molecular chaos and shown to be unlikely in a low-entropy environment. By contrast, the second law is established by proving Clausius' inequality in a low-entropy environment. These general results strongly support the expectation, first expressed by Boltzmann and subsequently elaborated by others, that the second law is an emergent phenomenon which requires a low-entropy cosmological environment, one that can effectively function as an ideal information sink.. back

Weinberg, Steven, "The cosmological constant problem", Reviews of Modern Physics, 61, , 1989, page 1-23. 'Astronomical observations indicate that the cosmological constant is many orders of magnitude smaller than estimated in modern theories of elementary particles. After a brief review of the history of this problem, five different approaches to its solution are described.'. back

Links

Abel Francoise etRaoul Magni-Berton, Chercheur, dis-moi qui tu es, 'Dans une enquête récente intitulée « Que pensent les penseurs ? » et que nous avons menée auprès d’environ 2 000 universitaires et chercheurs français, nous apprenons que les penseurs français se distinguent très nettement de la population française générale quant à leurs opinions et valeurs. . . . Les attitudes politiques semblent donc être un élément déterminant de compréhension de cette population. Ainsi, 73 % des universitaires se disent de gauche, soit deux fois plus que les Français en général (36 %). Cette tendance forte, observée un peu partout dans le monde, a souvent été expliquée par une autosélection : les familles de gauche orienteraient plus leurs enfants vers des carrières intellectuelles que les familles de droite.' back

Ahdaf Soueif, What ancient Egypt tells us about a world without religious conflict, back

Alfred Tang, Ignoramus and Ignorabimus, Essay Abstract 'The limit of physics is not the same as the physics of limit. Limitology is partially physical in nature but is not reduced to physical materialism. The most important source of the limit of physics is the neglect of the supernatural. The question of the limit of physics cannot be answered a priori. The integration of science and theology is mutually beneficial and will push back the limit of physics to some extent.' ' back

Anna Shea, Stopping boats doesn't save lives - it puts them in danger, 'In our report By Hook Or By Crook: Australia's Abuse Of Asylum Seekers At Sea, we provide compelling evidence that boat "turn backs" (or "push backs") not only violate international law, but put people in danger, are accompanied by human rights abuses such as unlawful detention and denial of medical care, and - in at least one apparent case - involve the payment of money to boat crews, which would qualify as a crime under Australian and international law.' back

Assaf Gavron, Confessions of an Israeli traitor, 'The cumulative effect of this recent mindless violence is hugely disturbing. We seem to be in a fast and alarming downward swirl into a savage, unrepairable society. There is only one way to respond to what’s happening in Israel today: We must stop the occupation. Not for peace with the Palestinians or for their sake (though they have surely suffered at our hands for too long). Not for some vision of an idyllic Middle East — those arguments will never end, because neither side will ever budge, or ever be proved wrong by anything. No, we must stop the occupation for ourselves. So that we can look ourselves in the eyes. So that we can legitimately ask for, and receive, support from the world. So that we can return to being human.' back

Barry Cassidy, Tony Abbott's ideology laid bare: no compromise, just fight, fight, fight, 'The political shackles that bind leaders - the restraint against their most basic instincts - are sometimes a helpful thing. This week Tony Abbott broke free of the shackles and exposed his creed: a fundamental rejection of negotiation and compromise, and a refusal to allow compassion to get in the way of a nation's self-interest.' back

Benjamin Weiser, Fast Boat, Tiny Flag: Government's High-Flying Rationale for Drug Seizure , 'The United States attorney’s office has a rich history of bringing international suspects to New York to face prosecution, particularly in terrorism, arms trafficking and drug dealing cases. The office’s reach is so broad that Preet Bharara, the United States attorney, said in a recent talk at New York University School of Law that someone once “made the mistake of asking me the question, ‘What again is your jurisdiction, exactly?’ ” “And I said, ‘Are you familiar with Earth?’ ” he deadpanned.' back

Berg J M, Tymoczko J L & Stryer L, Biochemistry Section 2.2 Evolution Requires Reproduction, Variation and Selective Pressure, 'Once the necessary building blocks were available, how did a living system arise and evolve? Before the appearance of life, simple molecular systems must have existed that subsequently evolved into the complex chemical systems that are characteristic of organisms. To address how this evolution occurred, we need to consider the process of evolution.' back

CERN - Compact Muon Solenoid, CMS | CERN, 'The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a general-purpose detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It has a broad physics programme ranging from studying the Standard Model (including the Higgs boson) to searching for extra dimensions and particles that could make up dark matter. Although it has the same scientific goals as the ATLAS experiment, it uses different technical solutions and a different magnet-system design.' back

Claire Harman, 'I pine away' . . . Charlotte Bronte's romantic obsession, back

Corpus Christi (2019 film) - Wikipedia, Corpus Christi (2019 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Daniel has a spiritual awakening while serving his sentence in a youth detention center for second-degree murder, but his criminal background prevents him from pursuing his dream to become a priest once he is released. He is assigned to work in a sawmill in a village, and while visiting the local church, he pretends to be a priest. The vicar of that church meets Daniel wholly believing his lie, and leaves him in charge of the church while he goes to rehab for a medical problem. Daniel begins performing all the duties of priesthood, and enjoys it.' back

Curtis LeMay - Wikipedia, Curtis LeMay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Curtis Emerson LeMay (15 November 1906 – 1 October 1990) was a General in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968. He is credited with designing and implementing an effective systematic strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. During the war, he was known for planning and executing a massive bombing campaign against industrial cities in Japan. After the war, he headed the Berlin airlift, then reorganized the Strategic Air Command (SAC) into an effective means of conducting nuclear war.' back

Emile Grgin, A Historical Approach to research in Fundamental Phyiscs, Essay Abstract 'Research that aims at identifying new fundamental ideas in physics can greatly profit from a historical approach. The present essay develops this idea by conceptually analyzing the major physical theories created since antiquity and by distilling from them the research trends that have been unmistakably successful. The author's approach to research is based on extrapolating these trends into the future. It is a method that led to a unification of quantum mechanics and relativity based on a new number system structurally located between the complex numbers and the quaternions. Following a brief description of the concrete results obtained so far, the question of what's ultimately possible in physics is addressed by speculatively generalizing the results in question. back

Enrico Prati, The experimental method and the constitutive limit of the mathematical description of physics, Essay Abstract .Nature is believed to be organized by a mathematical fundamental structure. Therefore, the experiments are interpreted through mathematical models. Unfortunately, experiments can only provide macroscopic outputs, even when referred to quantum elementary object. Starting from such observation, I first consider the concept of anomaly as groundbreaking information to falsify a theory. The separability of a system between an experimental equipment and a microscopic object is discussed. Non commutative microscopic observables of elementary entities are postulated from a set of measurements of macroscopic observables interpreted as their eigenvalues. I explain the major role of the Gelfand-Naimark-Segal construction of the representation of classical and quantum abstract $C^*$-algebras to recognize the impossibility of building a theory with a unified domain for the microscopic and the unavoidable macroscopic observables. I discuss implications of the Gelfand theorems on both macrorealism emergence from coarse grained measurements and decoherence programs. Finally I apply the results to determine the fundamental impossibility to identify a Theory of Everything with the mathematical structure attributed to Nature.' back

Eugene Fredrick Mische, The Imitation of Christ: The Universal Security State, Freedom and Responsibility, Essay Abstract 'Highlights the need for studying the Master of the Universe when regarding Physics and its ultimate goals.' back

Eugene Wigner, The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences, 'The first point is that the enormous usefulness of mathematics in the natural sciences is something bordering on the mysterious and that there is no rational explanation for it. Second, it is just this uncanny usefulness of mathematical concepts that raises the question of the uniqueness of our physical theories.' back

Florin Moldoveanu, Heuristic rule for constructing physics axiomatization, Essay Abstract 'Constructing the Theory of Everything (TOE) is an elusive goal of today's physics. Godel's incompleteness theorem seems to forbid physics axiomatization, a necessary part of the TOE. The purpose of this contribution is to show how physics axiomatization can be achieved guided by a new heuristic rule. This will open up new roads into constructing the ultimate theory of everything. Three physical principles will be identified from the heuristic rule and they in turn will generate uniqueness results of various technical strengths regarding space, time, non-relativistic and relativistic quantum mechanics, electroweak symmetry and the dimensionality of space-time. The hope is that the strong force and the Standard Model axiomatizations are not too far out. Quantum gravity and cosmology are harder problems and maybe new approaches are needed. However, complete physics axiomatization seems to be an achievable goal, no longer part of philosophical discussions, but subject to rigorous mathematical proofs.' back

Geoffrey Robinson, Abbott stranded in between fuzzy nstalgia and a pessimistic present, 'Like many conservatives, Abbott shares one notable feature with the Marxist-Leninists and Jacobins of the past. Both have a secret pessimism behind their public bravado. The apparently secure edifices of Western civilisation and the utopias of existing socialism were both seen as desperately fragile. Russian peasants or Syrian refugees were not poor, desperate and frightened survivors but a potential enemy within.' back

Gheorghe Sorin Paraoanu, On the (im)possibility of quantum computing, Essay Abstract 'We are witnesses nowadays in physics to an intense effort to built a quantum computer. In this essay, I point out that the failure of this enterprize could be in fact more intellectually exciting than its success. I conjecture that, despite the fact that we do not know any law of nature that would prevent us from building such a machine, it might not be possible, after all, to scale up the few qubits that have been realized so far. If this turns out to be the case, the consequences could be truly amazing: it would mean that quantum mechanics is indeed an incomplete description of reality, as Einstein thought, and it would also imply that certain types of computation - and the knowledge derived from it - are fundamentally inaccessible.' back

Gwyn McClelland, ' I still cannot get over it': 75 years after Japan atomic bombs, a nuclear weapons ban treaty is finally realized, ' The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will finally come into force after the 50th country (Honduras) ratified it over the weekend. The treaty will make the development, testing, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons illegal for those countries that have signed it. This is an extraordinary achievement for those who have suffered the most from these weapons — including the hibakusha (survivors) of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the islanders who lived through nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. ' back

Hilbert's sixth problem - Wikipedia, Hilbert's sixth problem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Hilbert's sixth problem is to axiomatize those branches of science in which mathematics is prevalent. It occurs on the list of Hilbert's problems given out in 1900. The explicit statement reads 6. Mathematical Treatment of the Axioms of Physics. The investigations on the foundations of geometry suggest the problem: To treat in the same manner, by means of axioms, those physical sciences in which already today mathematics plays an important part; in the first rank are the theory of probabilities and mechanics' back

I Am Greta - Wikipedia, I Am Greta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' I Am Greta is a 2020 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Nathan Grossman, following climate change activist Greta Thunberg. The film had its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2020.' back

Ian T Durham, Unification and Emergence in Physics: The Problem of Articulation, Essay Abstract ,What is physics? What are the limits of what physics can say about the world? In seeking ever-broader theoretical `umbrellas' for physical phenomena, we are seeking unifying principles. Emergent phenomena have turned out to be some of the most difficult to explain, causing `clash of umbrellas,' so-to-speak. It is possible some of our difficulties lie in our way of articulating different parts of our field. I use articulation in its broadest sense here to include the purely mathematical as well as the conceptual. As such, even if articulation is not at the root of the problem, paying it special heed as we probe the explanatory limits of physics is imperative. This is especially true if we want physics to possess as logical and consistent a framework as possible. But it is also important from the standpoint of how we communicate (articulate) with each other as well as with the general public.' back

Jeffrey Nicholls, What is ultimately possible in physics, Essay Abstract 'Available written records suggest many human cultures hold or have held that there is more to reality than the observable physical Universe. Modern physics conforms to this pattern, postulating an invisible ‘wave function’ to explain observable phenomena. Many modern cosmologists appear to believe that the initial state of the universe was constrained in a way that dictated its evolution to its present state, which includes us. The Western Judaeo-Christian tradition attributes this constraint to an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient being called God. God is believed to have eternally pre-existed the Universe and to be in essence completely distinct from and unlike the Universe. The standard Western theological model proposes that the only constraint on God is self consistency. Here we explore the hypothesis that God and the Universe are the same reality, leading to the conclusion that ultimately physics and theology have the same subject and that the Universe is subject to no externally imposed constraint. The world of our experience is constrained only by self consistency as traditionally attributed to God. We explore this constraint in terms of a logical model based on the extension of practical finite computer networks into the transfinite domain first explored by Cantor and applied by to the foundations of quantum mechanics by von Neumann using the function theory developed by Hilbert back

Jeffrey Nicholls (July 2019), Entropy and metaethics, ' I propose an answer [to the problematic search for modern ethics] in terms of what Einstein considered to be the most fundamental and irrefutable law of nature, the second law of thermodynamics, which expresses the fact that entropy almost never decreases. In a more morally relevant frame, this law expresses the fact that the universe is inherently creative. Human spirituality, whatever it may be, has emerged from the natural world. back

John Keane, God, the gods and demcracy [part one], 'It’s a plain truth that democracies everywhere are witnessing the resurgence of religious bigotry. There are moments when it feels even as if something like a new global religious war has begun, on several fronts. Ignorant media hype, foul abuse of the faith or godlessness of others, ugly violence calculated to scare and kill: such practices are now familiar features of daily life in democratic polities where religion was once supposed to be a settled issue.' back

Julian Barbour, The Nature of Time, Essay Abstract 'A review of some basic facts of classical dynamics shows that time, or precisely duration, is redundant as a fundamental concept. Duration and the behaviour of clocks emerge from a timeless law that governs change.' back

Kajillionaire - Wikipedia, Kajillionaire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Kajillionaire is a 2020 American crime comedy-drama film, written and directed by Miranda July. The film stars Evan Rachel Wood, Debra Winger, Gina Rodriguez and Richard Jenkins as members of a close-knit petty crime family whose relationship becomes frayed when a stranger joins their schemes.' back

Lev Goldfarb, What is possible in physics depends on the chosen representational formalism, Essay Abstract 'All of science is built on the foundation of the millennia-old numeric forms of representation and the associated measurement processes. Hence, the most promising way to approach physical reality (and physics) afresh is to shift to a non-numeric representational formalism. I discuss here one such formalism for structural/relational representation—evolving transformations system (ETS)—developed by our group. In particular, the adoption of ETS obviates the introduction of consciousness into physics, since under the formalism, the two forms of object representation—by an agent (subjective) and in Nature (objective)—agree. Moreover, ETS suggests the primacy of the new temporal representation over conventional spatial representation, and it is not difficult to envisage that the latter is actually instantiated on the basis of the former, as has also been suggested by some quantum gravity researchers.' back

Lie Group - Wikipedia, Lie Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In mathematics, a Lie group . . . is a group that is also a differentiable manifold, with the property that the group operations are compatible with the smooth structure. Lie groups are named after Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie, who laid the foundations of the theory of continuous transformation groups. Lie groups represent the best-developed theory of continuous symmetry of mathematical objects and structures, which makes them indispensable tools for many parts of contemporary mathematics, as well as for modern theoretical physics. . . . One of the key ideas in the theory of Lie groups is to replace the global object, the group, with its local or linearized version, which Lie himself called its "infinitesimal group" and which has since become known as its Lie algebra.' back

Melissa Davey, Woman killled by 'culturally entrenched, patriarchal' husband - Victorian coroner, 'A woman burnt to death by her estranged husband was highly vulnerable because of his “culturally entrenched, patriarchal, male-entitlement attitude”, a Victorian coroner has found. Sargun Ragi did all she could to protect herself from a husband “determined to exact vengeance” on her before the domestic violence victim was murdered on 4 October 2010. Ragi had left her husband, Avjit Singh, when he tracked her down with help from his friends and a private investigator. Singh broke into Ragi’s home, stabbed her during a prolonged attack and set her on fire, the coroner, Ian Gray, said. She died from her burns.' back

Michael Kruse, 45 Self -Evident Truths About Donald Trump, ' It has been well-documented that the 45th president operates with evident disregard for norms and rules. But over the past 5 ½ years of reporting I have determined that he abides by a firm code of conduct as predictable as it is confounding. In more than 60 stories in the Politico Magazine oeuvre that came to be known as “Trumpology,” I documented how his unswerving allegiance to a certain set of principles, unprincipled as they might seem to some, elevated him to the pinnacle of global power. If widespread polling holds true on Election Day, these same traits and tics, and rock-ribbed beliefs, might also be the reasons he’s ousted from office.' back

Michael Toole, Of all the places that have seen of a second coronavirus wave, only Vietnam and Hong Kong have done as well as Victorians, ' Of the 215 nations and territories that have reported COVID-19 cases, 120 have experienced clear second waves or late first waves that began in July or later. That’s according to the Worldometer global database, which sources data from national ministries of health and the World Health Organisation. Of these 120, only six have definitively emerged from their second wave: Australia, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore. I am not including New Zealand, as the series of clusters that arose in Auckland in mid-August never evolved into a clear second wave.' back

Peter Pollard, Viruses don't deserve their bad rap: they're the unsung heroes you never see, 'In freshwater, viruses are enhancing the rate of bacterial decomposition whereby complex organic matter is quickly and efficiently mineralised into their simple inorganic components such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Thus viruses are a critical part of inorganic nutrient recycling. So while they are tiny and seem insignificant, viruses actually play an essential global role in the recycling of nutrients through food webs. We are only just now beginning to appreciate the extent of their positive impact on our survival.' back

Philip Vos Fellman, Jonathan Vos Post ad Christine Carmichael, The Fundamental Importance of Discourse In Theoretical Physics, Essay Abstract 'The purpose of the following paper is to demonstrate that the “limits of physics” is in a very important way determined by the conceptual framework and language of discourse that we use in describing physical reality. In this paper we examine three particular problems, the problem of time, the problem of non-locality and the concept of maximality in quantum cosmology.' back

Protestant Reformation - Wikipedia, Protestant Reformation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to ("protested") the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led to the creation of new national Protestant churches. The Reformation was precipitated by earlier events within Europe, such as the Black Death and the Western Schism, which eroded people's faith in the Roman Catholic Church. This, as well as many other factors, contributed to the growth of lay criticism in the church and the creation of Protestantism.' back

Richard Holden, Vital Signs: Google's huge market share doesn't automatically mean it is a monopoly, ' But we should remember that consumers are huge beneficiaries from these tech companies. Think about how much it used to cost to take and print photographs. A 2018 International Monetary Fund report cites research suggesting US consumers would need more than US$25,000 a year to compensate for the loss of free services from tech companies. What is crucial for competition regulators around the world to note is that the markets in which big technology companies operate are not like other markets. Because of network externalities they tend to have big “in” firms (with a large market share) and smaller “out” firms (with small market shares but providing competitive discipline).' back

Robert Mickens, Letter from Rome: As Italy Goes, So Goes the Church, 'The appointment of the new archbishops to Palermo and Bologna are only part of a much bigger and more important picture. You can talk about living in a universal and globalized Church all you like, but the reality is that its Italian component is still the engine that drives the train. Pope Francis knows this. And that’s why he’s making exerted efforts to change the mentality and complexion of its hierarchy. Naturally, he’s run into opposition.' back

Robertscribbler.com, Scribbling for environmental, social and economic justice, 'It’s a world that’s adding more than 50 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent gasses to the atmosphere every single year. It’s a year where, according to Ralph Keeling, we are likely to never see atmospheric CO2 levels in the 300-399 parts per million range ever again in our lifetimes. And it’s a time when global temperatures are at their hottest ever recorded by human instruments — likely to hit a very dangerous range between 1 and 1.2 C hotter than 1880s averages during 2015 and 2016.' back

Staff and Agencies, Treaty to ban nuclear weapons made official with 50th UN signatory, ' The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, called it “the culmination of a worldwide movement to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons”, according to a statement from his spokesman. “It represents a meaningful commitment towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, which remains the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations.” ' back

Steven Weinberg, Einstein's Mistakes , ' The difficulty is not that quantum mechanics is probabilistic—that is something we apparently just have to live with. The real difficulty is that it is also deterministic, or more precisely, that it combines a probabilistic interpretation with deterministic dynamics.' back

Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Aristotle's Physics, ' BOOK I THE PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL THINGS Lectio 1 (184 a 9-b 14) The matter and the subject of natural science and of this book. We must proceed from the more universal principles which are better known to us. back

Tursi, Tursi - Tutorial, ' This is an introduction to Tursi. You will learn how to write tm-files, load and execute them using the GUI or console mode. If you want to use Tursi as soon as possible, I recommend to skip this tutorial and download the tm-file examples instead. Most things should be self-explanatory. If you don't get everything, you can always search this tutorial or the manual for an explanation.' back

Vannessa Hearman, Indonesians should be able to talk about 1965 massacre without fear of censorship, 'The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) has cancelled events discussing the 1965 Indonesian massacres, after police threatened to revoke the festival permit. I research and write about the massacres' impact on Indonesia. I was to moderate one of the five events that were dropped from this week’s festival.' back

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