Hello Sean! Hope all is well! I was wondering what your take might be on Lee Smolin's most recent comments-- reflecting his epic change of heart & mind--that time is indeed now real.
What do you make of this?
It is great that Lee is coming around and seeing time as a *physically* real entity. MDT goes a step further in seeing time as a *physically* real entity that emerges because of a more fundamental, universal, hitherto unsung *physical* invariant--the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions at c:
In January 2009 Smolin wrote at The Edge, "THE LIBERATION OF TIME: I would like to describe a change in viewpoint, which I believe will alter how we think about everything from the most abstract questions on the nature of truth to the most concrete questions in our daily lives. This change comes from the deepest and most difficult problems facing contemporary science: those having to do with the nature of time." --http://www.edge.org/q2009/q09_9.html
On Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:07 am, I used the word "liberate" in writing, "MDT unfreezes time, liberating us all with free will-the free will to move beyond ST & LQG, which are not inextricably locked into the fixed future of the block universe as Brain Green and Paul Davies would have you suppose. Neither the future nor the past exists. Motion is inherent in the underlying four-dimensional space-time geometry, as the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. Einstein noted that all objects are moving through space-time at the velocity c. This never changes. An object stationary in the three spatial dimensions is translating through the fourth dimension at the rate of c. An object stationary in the fourth dimension-a photon-is translating through the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c. Hence it is obvious that the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. String Theory's greatest contribution to physics has been the utter rejection of the obvious, the denial of common sense, and the institutionalization of thousands of mediocrities to ignore or shout-down any physics that might get in the way of their vast commercial industries which must trump truth-their salaries, benefits, and science-fiction books. Indeed, ST gives full license to make one's ignorance one's arrogance, and thus it is the breeding ground for those with ambitions overshadowing their talents." --http://www.groupsrv.com/science/about204630.html
In January 2009, Smolin writes "There is also no past. The past only lives as part of the present, to the extent that it gives us evidence of past events. And the future is not yet real, which means that it is open and full of possibilities, only a small set of which will be realized. Nor, on this view, is there any possibility of other universes. All that exists must be part of this universe, which we find ourselves in, at this moment."
--http://www.edge.org/q2009/q09_9.html
In January, 2007, I wrote, "Neither the future nor the past exists. Motion is inherent in the underlying four-dimensional space-time geometry, as the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. Einstein noted that all objects are moving through space-time at the velocity c. This never changes. An object stationary in the three spatial dimensions is translating through the fourth dimension at the rate of c. An object stationary in the fourth dimension-a photon-is translating through the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c. Hence it is obvious that the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. "
All of this was posted in an amazon.com forum on 11/13/2006 for Lee's Book: The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of Science, and What comes Next:
http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Smolins-Great-Book-Dimensions/forum/Fx1FYSVRZO4ARYG/Tx3BGVHQPRMS4OD/1
/ref=cm_cd_dp_tft_tp?%
5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books&asin=061891868X&store=books
"Lee Smolin's Great Book : A Dialogue with Lee Smolin / Moving Dimensions Theory"
Over the years I have shared several emails with Lee, Including this one from 9/26/07--I have yet to hear back, but now that he thinks time is real, perhaps he might find some :):
to lsmolin@perimeterinstitute.ca
date Wed, Sep 26, 2007 at 11:56 AM
subject Hello Lee: The Curious Nature of the Photon, Einstein's Annus Mirabilis, and Moving Dimensions Theory
Hello Lee,
Hope all is well with you--just bought a second copy of TTWP to read while in the server room, recovering some lost data. :) Loved it even more the second time around.
If you ever get a moment, would be grateful for any comments on MDT.
Keep up the great work!
Elliot
INTRODUCTION TO MDT
As the hallmark of Moving Dimensions Theory is a simple postulate reflecting an underlying physical reality, let us begin with the simple postulate:
The fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions.
That is it. This postulate underlies relativity--length contraction, time dilation, and the equivalence of mass and energy. It underlies quantum mechanics--wave interference, tunneling, entanglement. It underlies statistical mechanics--entropy and time's arrow.
The great power of Moving Dimensions Theory is that the simple postulate, representing an underlying physical reality, explains curious physical phenomena in every realm-from relativity, to quantum mechanics, to statistical mechanics. MDT accounts for quantum entanglement and relativistic length contraction. It accounts for entropy and action-at-a-distance. MDT unifies all of time's arrows, and it shows that all the curious dualities-wave/particle, space/time, and mass/energy, derive from the same source. MDT resolves both the paradox of Godel's block universe/block time and the Einstein, Rosen, and Podolsky paradox.
MDT--a simple sentence brought forth by a single individual--is what physics ought to be all about--descriptions of physical reality that unify and explain physical phenomena with simple, concise underlying physical models. And, as MDT predicts relativistic length contraction, entanglement, the constant velocity of light, and wave interference, it is one of the best-tested theories of all time, in addition to being a most fundamental theory regarding the emergent nature of time.
The Curious Nature of the Photon, Einstein's Annus Mirabilis,
and Moving Dimensions Theory
As the contemplation of the photon lead to both quantum mechanics and relativity, let us also begin the presentation of Moving Dimensions Theory by contemplating the photon. Einstein's revolutionary 1905 papers included one devoted to the photoelectric effect--which considered the quantized nature of the photon--and a paper devoted to the electrodynamics of moving bodies--which considered electromagnetic radiation, relativity, and the wave properties of the photon as embodied by Maxwell's Equations. Another 1905 paper discussed statistical mechanics in the form of Brownian Motion, and Einstein's final three-page paper that year commented on the equivalence of mass and energy, as denoted with his famous equation, E=mc 2. Moving Dimensions Theory underlies and unifies all of Einstein's 1905 papers with its simple postulate--the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions.
Consider the emission of a photon in free space. One second later, the photon has equal probability of being found anywhere upon a sphere with a radius of 186,000 miles, as the velocity of light, c, is 186,000 miles per second. If we covered the surface of said sphere with detectors, one, and only one, would click. And the photon, although having traveled 186,000 miles through space, will not have aged one iota, for time stops at the speed of light. The photon will have traveled 186,000 miles through the three spatial dimensions, and yet it will not have moved one iota in the fourth dimension. And there lies our first clue to moving dimensions theory. For how can a photon propagate 186,000 in the three spatial dimensions, and yet not budge an inch in the fourth dimension, unless that fourth dimension is expanding, right along with it? Ergo, the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. A photon, as we shall see time and again, is matter surfing the fourth expanding dimension.
Consider two interacting photons that are directed to propagate in opposite directions, as in experiments conceived by Bell and conducted by Aspect et al. One second later, each photon's polarization is measured at detectors separated by 372,000 miles. According to the laws of quantum mechanics and numerous supporting experiments, the measurement at one detector instantaneously affects the measurement at the second detector. It is as if the photons are yet side-by-side for all intents and purposes. This "spooky action-at-a-distance," as Einstein called it, is not so spooky in the context of Moving Dimensions Theory, for MDT states that although separated by 372,000 miles, the photons are yet in the exact same place in the fourth dimension, as the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. So it is that quantum phenomena on the photonic level, as well as relativistic phenomena on the photonic level, are both accounted for with simple elegance via MDT: the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions.
Another paper Einstein penned in 1905 was devoted to Brownian motion and statistical mechanics. Drop a thimbleful of food coloring in a pool. The laws of statistical mechanics dictate that there is a high probability that the coloring will spread throughout the entire pool, and never again reassemble in a localized region. That all systems tend towards random disorder is a fundamental law of physics and condition of physical reality, and this too can be accounted for by Moving Dimensions Theory. As the fundamental motion of the universe is the expansion of the fourth dimension relative to the three spatial dimensions, two photons originating from a common origin will harbor a vast probability of being found at great distances from one another one second later--distances far greater than the distance that separates them at their emission. This is because each one has an equal probability of being found anywhere upon the surface of a spherically-symmetric wave front of probability, corresponding to the wave front of the fourth expanding dimension. Recall our system of detectors placed everywhere upon the surface of a sphere with a radius of 186,000 miles--each photon has an equal chance of being found at any detector after one second after they were emitted at a common origin, and chances are that the detectors will be farther apart than the distance of zero that defines the separation between photon's common origin. Hence entropy. Entropy arises because the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. All particles undergoing thermal vibrations interact with photons, and all photons reside in the fourth expanding dimension, dragging all of entirety into random disorder.
Yet another paper published by Einstein in his "Miraculous Year" (annus mirabilis), was devoted to the equivalence of mass and energy. Think about the fascinating physical reality implied by Einstein's most famous equation--E=mc2. A kilogram of gold or lead or feathers sitting on a desktop is the same thing as 9x10 16 joules of energy--an exorbitant amount of energy--enough to power, or to destroy, a major city. How is it that a stationary mass possesses such a great energy? It is because the mass, which is stationary in the three spatial dimensions, is yet propagating through the fourth dimension at the rate of c. This is because the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. Matter surfing the fourth expanding dimension appears at photons. Furthermore, as noted earlier, the photons will propagate at the rate of c through the three spatial dimensions, and yet they will never age--they will stay in a fixed place in the fourth expanding dimension. The primary invariant is c--all matter and/or photons--be it propagating through space or time, or some combination thereof, always, always moves at the rate of c. To be stationary in the three spatial dimensions means to propagate at the rate of c through the fourth dimension. To be stationary in the fourth dimension means to propagate at the rate of c through the three spatial dimensions. Ergo the fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions. Most objects share motion between space and time, but the overall velocity of propagation through space-time is fixed at c-- this primary invariance can never change, and this reality arises because of the deeper physical reality of Moving Dimensions Theory.
And so it is that Moving Dimensions Theory underlies and unifies the papers Einstein Published during his Annus Mirabilis--his "miraculous year." I highly recommend Harvard University Press's Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness by John S. Rigden, about wcich Publisher's Weekly writes, "The year 2005 will be the centenary of Einstein's annus mirabilis, when he published the five papers that marked him as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Washington University professor Rigden (Hydrogen: The Essential Element) sits readers down in front of his white board and explains what Einstein said in each of these papers, what was significant in them and how the scientific community reacted (not very well, in most cases--for a while). Einstein started off with a bang: in March he proposed that light was not a continuous wave, but was made up of particles. In April he finished what became his dissertation, on how to determine the size of molecules in a liquid (that may not sound very exciting, but this is one of Einstein's most cited papers). In May he wrote his paper on Brownian motion, and then in June came the summit of his achievements that year: the paper proposing his principles of relativity and the consistency of the speed of light (commonly known as the Special Theory of Relativity). Finally, almost as an afterthought, in September came the three-page paper that unleashed his now-famous equation, e=mc2, upon an unsuspecting world. Rigden writes with a rare felicity, free of jargon and with everyday metaphors that Einstein himself would no doubt have appreciated."
I encourage everyone to read Einstein's and Bohr's and Heisenberg's and Dirac's original papers, and contrast their majestic elegance, eloquence, reason, and logic to the snarky death threats and crackpot indexes manufactured by today's "best and brightest," and the accompanying silence from their established elders--the founders of string theory's oppressive regime and hand-waving, reason-subjugating, PBS miniseries. The future book on Moving Dimensions Theory will look back to the giants of yesteryear with deep honor and reverence, so that tomorrow's physics might advance in the spirit of simple Truth and Beauty. Every effort will be maintained to demonstrate that true physics is marked by grace and simplicity, as opposed to obfuscation and bullying. Moving Dimensions Theory is an idea whose time has come, and ideas are bulletproof.
The fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. Moving Dimensions Theory accounts for the aetherless aether.
This simple postulate offers a physical model underlying and unifiying:
RELATIVITY:
1) length contraction
2) time dilation
3) the equivalence of mass and energy
4) the constant velocity of light
5) the independence of the speed of light from the velocity of the source
QUANTUMN MECHANICS
1) action at a distance
2) wave-particle duality
3) interference phenomena
4) EPR paradox
THERMODYNAMICS
1) Time's arrow
2) Entropy
STRING THEORY'S MANY DIMENSIONS / KALUZA/KLEIN THEORY
1) a fourth expanding dimension can be interepreted as many dimensions, each time it expands
THE UNITY OF THE DUALITIES
1) wave/particle duality
2) time/space duality
3) energy/mass duality
4) E/B duality
GENERAL RELATIVITY
1) Gravitational redshift
2) Gravity waves
3) Gravitation attraction
THE SPACE-TIME BACKGROUND
1) quantum foam
2) the smearing of space and time at small distances
3) Hawking's imaginary time
PARADOXES
1) MDT explains away Godel's Block Universe
2) MDT unfreezes time
3) Resolves Zeno's Paradox
ONE GETS ALL OF THIS FROM A SIMPLE POSTULATE:
The fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions in a spherically symmetric manner, in units of the Planck length, at the rate of c.
--dr. e's email to lsmolin@perimeterinstitute.ca
date Wed, Sep 26, 2007 at 11:56 AM
subject Hello Lee: The Curious Nature of the Photon, Einstein's Annus Mirabilis, and Moving Dimensions Theory)
I also sent other emails regarding Moving Dimensions Theory, including one sent on 4/19/07 which was cc'd to a dozen other physicists.
Lee writes at The Edge, "The view that time is real and truth is situated within the moment further implies that there is no timeless arbiter of meaning, and no transcendent or absolute source of values or ethics. Meaning, values and ethics are all things that we humans project into the world. Without us, they don't exist."
Yes--while time is real, I will yet agree with Einstein over Lee--Einstein writes, "Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever."
Yes--I will have to stick with dx4/dt=ic from here on out to eternity, just as Ludwig von Boltzman has s=klogw on his tombstone and Max Born has xp-px=ih on his.
Best,
Dr. E (The Real McCoy)Attachment #1: 2_2_wheeler_recommendation_mcgucken_medium2.jpgAttachment #2: 1_retina2.jpg