And the math will set you free by Cristinel Stoica

Cristinel,

After Phipps found better Maxwell's equations, we don't even try and admit what is wrong with Poincaré's Lorentz transformation. This is how science doesn't work.

Everybody persistently uses the expression Michelson-Morley experiment although Morley did definitely not contribute to the concept of Michelson's experiments in Potsdam 1881 and in Cleveland 1887.

Pentcho should admit at least the possibility that Michelson's 1881/78 null result does not need an explanation in terms of Relativity if one shares Leibniz' relativity, i.e. the opinion that space is not a medium but just mutual relations between objects.

You wrote to Michel: "it is possible to find for any object a mathematical description that captures everything that can be said about that object, precisely because mathematics is so versatile." Just consider the rather illusory Human Brain Project, or the future of humanity. Perhaps you cannot even calculate how many grandchildren your grandchildren will have.

Regards,

Eckard

Dear Cristi,

I read with great interest your depth analytical essays. I totally agree: "So, if we can understand the universe, it is because this immense complexity can be reduced to a small number of laws. And this reduction is made possible by mathematics." The way is simple: Mathematics as constructive ontology should "grab" the dialectic of eidos and logos, the dialectic of absolute forms of existence of matter.

Kind regards,

Vladimir

Dear Cristi,

In your excellent essay you ask crucial questions in current debate: what is mathematics? what is physics? and linking these: is mathematics merely a tool in physics? Referring also to Tegmark, I agree that everything is isomorphic to a mathematical structure and analogously to MUH I have coined Geometrical Universe Hypothesis. I propose to use the geometrization conjecture, proved by Perelman. We have the set of 8 Thurston geometries. We can treat them as a space-like, totally geodesic submanifolds of a 3+1 dimensional spacetime... and get all interactions and matter.

GUH makes the testable prediction resulting from Thurston geometries.

If you are interested you can find details in my essay

http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/2452

I would appreciate your comments. Thank you.

Jacek

Dear Cristi,

I mentioned the Human Brain Project because I see many participants of the contest sharing the rather naive idea that mathematics is versatile enough as to completely mimic even the brain. Having dealt in detail with auditory function, I would like to explain why this cannot be achieved: Physiological research shows that the biological solution is fundamentally different from any theoretical approach and with respect to aspects like for instance robustness, flexibility, and efficiency still by far superior. Spectrograms that are based on Einstein/Hilbert's denial of the now exhibit ridiculously unreal behavior.

Best regards,

Eckard

Dear Dr. Stoica,

Could you please explain to me why you thought that my comment about the real Universe was inappropriate?

You are I hope aware that suppression of the truth is unethical.

Eagerly awaiting your answer,

Joe Fisher

Dear Cristi,

What a great essay! I enjoyed reading it very much. The topic of your essay echos that of mine . However, my collaborator and I take the view that mathematics is invented, and from that we question its accuracy in describing nature.

I particularly liked your arguments for a theory of everything. I agree with you that there must be a unified theory because the universe obeys one set of laws. I used to think Godel's theorem might prevent us from finding that theory, but you provided compelling reasons against that argument. Maybe we can find that theory, and maybe we cannot. Either way, we can only try.

Good luck in the contest.

Mohammed

I have asked Dr. Foster, the moderator of this competition and he claims that he did not remove it and for me to enquire of the person at the site. I posted a revised comment to your site, and that has been removed. I will repost for a third time.

Ruefully,

Joe Fisher

Dear Dr. Stoica,

You wrote: "Some may hope that there are things in the universe which can't be described by mathematics. But can you name those things?" Thank you ever so much for asking. Please read and try to understand my definitive answer:

Accurate writing has enabled me to perfect a valid description of untangled unified reality: Proof exists that every real astronomer looking through a real telescope has failed to notice that each of the real galaxies he has observed is unique as to its structure and its perceived distance from all other real galaxies. Each real star is unique as to its structure and its perceived distance apart from all other real stars. Every real scientist who has peered at real snowflakes through a real microscope has concluded that each real snowflake is unique as to its structure. Real structure is unique, once. Unique, once does not consist of abstract amounts of abstract quanta. Based on one's normal observation, one must conclude that all of the stars, all of the planets, all of the asteroids, all of the comets, all of the meteors, all of the specks of astral dust and all real objects have only one real thing in common. Each real object has a real material surface that seems to be attached to a material sub-surface. All surfaces, no matter the apparent degree of separation, must travel at the same constant speed. No matter in which direction one looks, one will only ever see a plethora of real surfaces and those surfaces must all be traveling at the same constant speed or else it would be physically impossible for one to observe them instantly and simultaneously. Real surfaces are easy to spot because they are well lighted. Real light does not travel far from its source as can be confirmed by looking at the real stars, or a real lightning bolt. Reflected light needs to adhere to a surface in order for it to be observed, which means that real light cannot have a surface of its own. Real light must be the only stationary substance in the real Universe. The stars remain in place due to astral radiation. The planets orbit because of atmospheric accumulation. There is no space.

Warm regards,

Joe Fisher

Dear Cristi,

now I had the chance to read your essay. Very interesting. In many parts, we both agreed (or as Pauli expressed it in a letter to Heisenberg: "boring agreement" ;-)

But at one point I went farther than: in my opinion at the center of modern math is structure (as you explained in one section). Math is not a simple theory to relate one number to another, it is rather a theory of structures. Even this structures will be also important in the future for other sciences. You mention model theory and even this point is crucial: one can change the model (including the logic), i.e. one can change the math completely and only the structure is left.

Maybe an agreement again?

Torsten

Dear Cristi,

thanks for your words and vote, which I will give back! Other essays concentrated on the close relation between math and physics to forecast experiments. But not yours and I like it (and also your scientific work).

Best

Torsten

I get a little worried when Goedel comes into the picture. This is not because I don't think at some point this might rear its head, but because as you say this is misapplied. I think the real question is whether because we are a part of the universe that our attempt to completely codify the universe runs into this sort of incompleteness. We are in a way a piece of the universe that is working to encode its foundations, which is similar to a formal system listing or computing all its Goedel numbers. We may have an issue of this sort with the so called measurement problem and our inability to rectify quantum mechanics and measured outcomes with our macroscopic based thinking.

I am not sure one could say that 19th century physics was a unified theory as such. There were the three main areas of classical-Hamiltonian mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism. Thermodynamics ran into trouble with classical mechanics over the issue of time reversal invariance. Electromagnetic theory was not able to figure out how an arrangement of charges could be stable in a classical mechanical form. Then of course there was that annoying black body problem. I think physics then was filled with open questions that betrayed any idea of unification. I suppose in many at the time were confident that as Raleigh put it that all would be working once that black body problem is solved.

LC

Cool T-shirt! It would also work with "Mathematician" and "Physicist" reversed, which proves that math is physics and physics is math!

Marc