Jonathan,

I'm glad that you enjoyed the paper, and feel bad that you think I bashed Plato too hard. I have another friend who likes the physical aspects of my theory but wishes I had left out any mention of 'awareness'. He feels like you that it is "wholly unnecessary to your point or its establishment".

Of course I point out that one can omit the 'awareness' aspect and the physics still holds. But then one must explain awareness, which no one has done (satisfactorily). You are probably correct that I could omit any mention of Plato and the physics of my model would still hold. But the essay is not just about my model of physics, but about the main question of whether physical reality is fundamental, and it seems to me that if one believes that math lives, and particularly in Tegmark's MUH, then one can believe somehow that 'information' is real, and 'It from Bit' is possible, which I decidedly do not. So at the very least my whole argument is weakened, and much of the rational for assuming only 'ONE' field disappears. If there are TWO fundamentals there may as well be Susskind's hundreds of fields.

So I'm not so sure that it is wholly unnecessary to my point. As you know, we both agree on very many things, and I have expressed my surprise that you are so in tune with Eastern process thinking and Taoism, yet do not seem to accept the 'Not-two' basis of reality. Yet you and I actually do get along rather well.

I am sure that you came to Platonism through a path that was meaningful to you, such as the Mandelbrot Set. But it is incompatible with the way I make sense of things, which is outlined (far too briefly) in my essay. So I particularly look forward to hearing your idea about how our ideas can coexist.

Best wishes and I look forward to reading your paper.

Best Regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Jonathan,

Thanks for commenting on my point about linearization. I agree about "a tendency to ignore the fact a simplifying assumption was made." Your example of cos(theta) = 1 as an approximation that works in a limited range is appropriate. I am suggesting that it is misleading to assume that there is even a limited range where a non-linear field behaves linearly. There are only ranges where the available energy is exhausted before non-linear effects become dominant. The effect may look 'linear', but the mechanism is never so.

By the way, I have you to thank for my development of my n-GEM non-linearization scheme, as it was Kauffmann's paper which you brought to our attention that made me realize that gravity can dominate other forces. Then the East and Pretorius paper in Phys Rev Letters the next week sealed the deal!

Thus I'm pleased to point out to you the existence of a current essay that I believe is very significant, and supports my C-field theory.

However, I just looked at Professor Vishwakarma's page and see that you have already discovered it! It's hard to keep ahead of you, Jonathan. I agree with you that "The ideas presented in this essay are indeed worthy of note." I have read it twice and his arXiv paper, and find it very exciting. In case you haven't realized it, the 'angular momentum of the gravitational field' that he speaks of is just the C-field! And I have, in previous essays, proposed this model, and the associated energy of the field, as the source of dark matter, dark energy, and the WMAP anisotropy, as he seems to be doing. My non-linearization supports these claims even more strongly, as does his paper. I am trying to relate my model to the Kasner solution and finding interesting results. So if you feel his essay is worth a high score, I hope you don't decide to punish me for 'Plato-bashing'!

These FQXi essays are more valuable than most seem to believe. Every year very significant ideas are published here.

Thanks again for the comments,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

Thanks, Edwin. It's a delightful essay full of pearls of wisdom, seemingly simple concepts but steeped in meaning and nuance. I'm impressed.

Perhaps in my simple way I touch upon some of your concepts, probably because you open so many boxes.

Jim

    Jim,

    Thank you. I appreciate your comments at face value, but after reading your essay I treasure your comment. You've obviously put much thought into the topic at hand with emphasis on the role of consciousness and its nature. I enjoyed your entire essay. Your discussion of the number of neurons (100 billion) and connections (1000 trillion) "channeling countless sub-atomic particles in a consciously assembled reality" was excellent! As was collapsing the electron into one state when observed, versus all states when not observed! And the "unimaginable assemblage of trillions upon trillions of ... particles from the superposition state" into a cat! In short, you put the "It from Bit" picture into clear perspective. It helps to bring all scales into view, as opposed to focusing on one particle.

    Your summary of various current beliefs about consciousness was masterful. As was your discussion of the Anthropic era. Although your previous essays have focused on gravity and the flow of time and space, this topic seems to tie it all together for you. You succeed in shining a light on some of the fuzzy thinking that resulted in It from Bit. This is not your first essay, but it is your best. Both your writing style and content are superb.

    Thanks again for reading my essay and commenting so graciously.

    Edwin Eugene Klingman

    Hi Edwin

    It's nice to read you again. You did such an excellent job that I'm afraid I have no points of disagreement. I'm interested in your work because I think we have many points of common, specially, we are suggesting simplicity in theories.

    I only have a request. In your work you claim that GR (and perhaps QM) can be derived from your formulation. Of course, the space in this essay is so short that one cannot put all the information. So I'd be glad, if it's not much to ask, if you could show me the derivation of Einstein's equations (and QM if you have it) according to your formulation. Do you have any publication about the derivation?

    As well, I wonder if your approach make some new predictions. do you have any comments?

    You also say: Gravity is a field, not abstract geometry.

    I definitely agree. I'd like to invite you to read my essay and leave some comments. There I discuss about Wheeler's dream and propose a potential way to get out of the present crisis assuming also that space is not geometry.

    I'll be looking forward to hearing any comments you may have.

    Regards

    Israel

      Let me answer mathematically.

      One can speak of smooth, topological, and measurable objects and spaces - and relations between same. Waves and fields require spaces that admit smooth relations, and this is considered a looser condition than topological or measurable, which are respectively more strictly defined. I first saw this hierarchy spelled out in a 2000 paper by Connes, but I understand it forms the basis for differential geometry and topology.

      However; this all comes into play more or less automatically, when considering how some of the very simplest forms arise. An unbroken space possesses the quality of oneness, or not-two, but the presence of an observer (of whatever form) induces a sense of toward and away from some center. But consider a loop in the C-field and the induced geometry - as it is analogous. A circle is a topological object, having an inside and outside, and a 1-dimensional face, but the space is no longer unbroken - oneness is now divided.

      Somehow; even though you have but one field, the whole of Mathematics comes into play as it evolves and complex form emerges.

      More later,

      Jonathan

      Ah so My Friend,

      I had the pleasure to share a meal with and hear a lecture from Ram Gopal Vishwakarma a few years back, when in Port Angeles for CCC-2. As I recall; he was a student and later colleague of Narlikar, and presented a cyclical universe model at that conference. I think that work may have been related to his essay offering, focusing on one of the solutions mentioned.

      And I am very happy to have inspired you by promoting Kauffmann's paper on an upper bound for concentrations of energy. It is interesting that the point of how energy and even gravity are self gravitating is missed. But the subtle point that this leads to an upper bound for energy concentrations is all too easy to miss entirely, so we owe bold thinkers like Steven Kenneth Kauffmann, Christoph, and Gibbons a vote of thanks.

      All the Best,

      Jonathan

      Let me expound further here;

      You speak of one thing acting upon itself, and it is notable that the one free standing form which can arise and propagate in a single medium (physical systems in nature) is the torus, as is the case with smoke rings. Now of course; the loop or circle constructed above is actually a special case of a torus. If, as in String Theory, we consider the curved field line to be a flux tube - this analogy is made explicit.

      But the question of the dimensionality of the space inhabited by such a loop is not a trivial one. I am coming to favor a bi-metric view of the early universe, where one must keep track of both an upper bound and a lower bound upon the array of dimensions that has evolved at a particular stage of the universe's evolution. If the space in which we reside has a non-trivial topology, at this point, that has some interesting consequences we have discussed elsewhere, but its relevance rests upon the very nature of topology.

      So the question of whether such Maths are pre-existing is moot.

      Regards,

      Jonathan

      Hi Israel,

      Very happy to see you back. Even happier that we have no points of disagreement. Having just read your essay I found nothing to disagree with either. In fact, your final argument about the vacuum as 'material substance' is the major physical fact underlying my model. I don't recall this particular argument. Is it new with you? It is very effective.

      Your requests are reasonable and I address them here. Recall that I do not claim my Master equation for the evolution of the vacuum 'is' GR or QM but that it 'reduces to' GR and QM in appropriate cases. I have showed that my equation reduces to Einstein's weak field equations in 'Gene Man's World' (on Amazon) and, in abbreviated form, in an earlier FQXi essay. This is done in terms of vector algebra. I'm developing a more generalized derivation using Geometric Algebra. These of course derive only the weak field equations of GR. But Vishwakarma's current essay points out that the stress-energy tensor cannot handle self-gravitation or angular momentum of the gravitational field and has inspired me to investigate a tensor-based derivation of the full field equation.

      As for QM, I follow an approach by Sakurai (in 'Modern Quantum Mechanics') to derive Schroedinger's equation from the C-field equation (which is derived from the Master equation). This is presented in my last FQXi essay, 'The Nature of the Wave Function'. It has since been pointed out to me that this is an idealization, treating the C-field as constant, and I have extended this to the case of a variable C-field induced by the particle motion. I've not yet published this generalization.

      Since my previous essay I have developed some proficiency using Mathematica. This is reflected in the n-GEM non-linearization technique described in my current essay.

      Finally you ask about predictions. I've made a number of predictions in the past, in essays and books, but all of these were based on the assumption of a constant scale factor associated with the C-field, with the value as measured by Martin Tajmar. My n-GEM approach seems to indicate that this is actually a variable factor obtained from the inherent nonlinearity of the field. Therefore I am in the process of reconfirming the results obtained based on the assumption of a constant factor. Additionally, some of my intuitions failed based on the use of the constant, but it looks like they may succeed on the basis of a nonlinear approach. So I'm cautious about predictions until I feel that I fully understand all of the implications of moving from a constant C-field scale factor to a variable strength field. I'm very optimistic about the new approach.

      I will make further comments on your essay page.

      Thanks again for reading my essay and agreeing with it.

      Edwin Eugene Klingman

      Hi Edwin,

      I really enjoyed reading your essay. It is lucid, well argued and relevant.I thought it was an interesting approach to the question. I liked your introduction referring to the illustration of the two pointing men and how easy it was to just keep reading to the end. Good luck, Georgina

        Jonathan,

        You say "let me speak mathematically", then discuss smooth, topological, and measurable objects and spaces, - and relations between same." I could say "let me speak physically, then discuss smooth, topological, and measurable objects - and relations between same."

        That is my point. Yes "waves and fields require spaces that admit smooth relations", but that's physical reality! And to say it is "a looser condition than topological or measurable" is simply to impose abstractions on physical reality. And you do this with your physically real brain, and, if I'm correct, your consciousness which is integral with physical reality. I have no objection to the creation or derivation of arbitrarily complex mathematical relations from physical reality. Only to the assumption that these have real existence apart from physical reality.

        You note that the unbroken space [or field] has the not-two quality, which is divided when symmetry breaks and more complex forms emerge. This is exactly my point, that all this emerges from an initial unity [or not-two-ness]. Yes, the whole of mathematics emerges as the field evolves. But it emerges from the inherent logic of the physical field, which as far as I can tell, demands self-consistency and forbids contradiction. This alone leads to math. It leads to endless logical physical structures, one of the simplest of which is the counter, which physically implements the Peano axioms, leading to the natural numbers, which Kronecker said leads to all the rest of math.

        Yes, the key is the self-interaction, which, as you note, can lead to a torus [and does so in my theory]. All abstract questions of topology and dimension, and what have you, are consequent creations of mind, not inherent "FORMs" existing in Plato-land.

        The question is, can one start with real objects and actions, and logical combinations thereof and, first, form a language map that accurately reflects the reality that served as the basis for the evolution of the language, and, second, can one use this language to spin tales that are not physically possible, such as, for example, the sun rising and setting at the same time? Math is the evolved language that emerges from a conscious physical world, such that it can map physical reality, and then go beyond physical reality, just as language allows fairy-tales to go beyond historical novels. But the natural language does not exist in another realm. It evolved from physical reality. And so does math, which is just a 'purer, formal' language.

        I think the only point we don't agree on is the supernatural existence of math outside the natural physical realm.

        We seem to agree on everything else.

        Edwin Eugene Klingman

        Edwin,

        Perhaps you haven't noticed my post of 25 June. Though I'm aware that you are having many discussions with other contestants, I do hope that you'll find some time to formulate a reply.

        Regards, Anton

          Hi Anton, I'll study these and reply. Thanks for pointing this out!

          Hello again,

          That should have been Christoph Schiller in the above comment, who also pointed out that a lower or upper bound (depending on how described) exists. But I think Kauffmann's insight that there can be a maximum concentration of energy is the cleanest conceptual formulation, or most useful to Cosmology.

          Have Fun,

          Jonathan

          Thanks for your replies above Ed,

          FYI, professor Vishwakarma is now responding to comments. And in private correspondence, he noted that the current work is indeed an outgrowth of the research in the lecture I attended.

          Please note that I have no wish to debate here further the relative value or Platonism or lack thereof. It it pleasant that we can debate and explore the edges of the subject in an academic way, without locking horns.

          Perhaps, though I took the attitude in my new essay that Math is integral, the same principles apply if it is emergent instead. You noted after reading my draft, that most of my points stood without that connection. Didn't I say the same about your paper above?

          Have Fun,

          Jonathan

            Jonathan,

            If it's emergent, then we agree on almost every thing. And if not, we still agree on almost everything. It's not necessary for friends to agree on everything. It would get boring. So you are right, let's focus on the things we both find exciting, such as Kauffmann's, Schiller's and Vishwakarma's work, and how it relates to ours.

            Best,

            Edwin Eugene Klingman

            Georgina,

            Thanks for reading my essay and for your kind words. I've read yours and will comment on your page. Good luck to you also! Edwin Eugene Klingman

            Dear Eugene,

            Thank you for asking me to give my opinion about your essay. I will do it in the coming days.

            As an invited editor at the journal Neuroquantology I have some interest in this kind of topics although, as many sientists, I do not have a clear opinion about the deep nature of gravity and the information it contains.

            Approaching the subject probably needs quite sophisticated mathematics. I just tried to think about the perception of time

            http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0403020

            and found afterwards that the formalism relates to Riemmann hypothesis as well

            http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/1012.4665

            You received many comments on your essay, and I will try to contribute.

            Best regards,

            Michel

              Dear Michel,

              I am pleased that you found something of interest, and look forward to your comments. I have printed out the two papers you reference and will study them.

              Best regards,

              Edwin Eugene Klingman

              In a conversation with Gerard 't Hooft during FFP10, when I inquired about the calculational mechanism for a computing universe (Planck sized space atoms perhaps?) he said it wasn't necessary, because the laws of nature do the calculating for us. Perhaps by calling them that, any dispute between us is avoided, because the same 'natural law' can have its expression in either Math or Physics - depending on what kind of knowledge we seek, concrete or abstract.

              All the Best,

              Jonathan