Essay Abstract

In this essay we review the historical buildup to the idea of predictability in physics, and the idea of a clockwork universe. The implications of the work of Gödel, Turing, and the impact of quantum mechanics and chaos are discussed. Some conclusions for the future development of the subject are drawn.

Author Bio

Michael P. Bradley is a Professor in the Department of Physics & Engineering Physics at the University of Saskatchewan. He holds a Ph.D. from MIT in experimental physics, where his thesis work involved trapping single ions in a Penning ion trap and using them to make precision measurements of the fine-structure constant. He has worked in numerous areas of precision measurement and experimental physics, and recently served as the Chair of the Division of Plasma Physics of the Canadian Association of Physicists.

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"Fundamental physics, and in particular the philosophy of extreme reductionism which motivated it, and the ideas derived therefrom, may have somewhat run its course. Far from this being the end of science, it is simply a time in which the scientific mantle will be passed, and reductionism and extreme reductionists will no longer reign supreme." I say that Milgrom is the Kepler of contemporary cosmology -- on the basis of overwhelming empirical evidence. My guess is that MOND has an explanation either in terms of string theory with the infinite nature hypothesis or in terms of string theory with the finite nature hypothesis. What empirical evidence rules out any (or all) of the following 7 ideas:

The Seven Sagacities of String Theory with the Finite Nature Hypothesis: (1) There is a profound synergy between string theory with the infinite nature hypothesis and string theory with the finite nature hypothesis. (2) Milgrom is the Kepler of contemporary cosmology -- on the basis of overwhelming empirical evidence (implying dark-matter-compensation-constant = (3.9±.5) * 10^-5). (3) The Koide formula is essential for understanding the foundations of physics. (4) Lestone's theory of virtual cross sections is essential for understanding the foundations of physics. (5) The idea of Fernández-Rañada and Tiemblo-Ramos that atomic time is different from astronomical time is correct. (6) There is genius in the ideas of Riofrio, Sanejouand, and Pipino concerning the hypothesis that the speed of light in a perfect vacuum steadily decreases as our universe ages. (7) Quantum information reduces to Fredkin-Wolfram information, which is controlled by Wolfram's cosmological automaton in a mathematical structure isomorphic to a 72-dimensional, holographic, digital computer.

    9 days later

    Dear Michael,

    I enjoyed reading your essay. On the connection to the analytic prediction, the negative result is in the three-body problem solved by Poincare. This is related to the chaos theory as mentioned in the previous section. The relationships among the sections seem to be more stronger by the scientific evidences.

    Best wishes,

    Yutaka

      8 days later

      Dear Prof. Bradley,

      I read your essay with great interest.

      I noted in particular your fundamental distinction between analog physics and digital computing.

      One topic that you did not address is quantum computing, which is the new hot topic in computing R&D.

      In my own essay, "The Uncertain Future of Physics and Computing", I point out that the developing technology of quantum computing provides the first significant application of quantum entanglement, and therefore provides a major test of quantum foundations. But the experimental measurements thus far in quantum computing have been designed to confirm the orthodox theory, not to test it.

      I predict that the entire technology of quantum computing will fail catastrophically within a few years. This may provide an opportunity for a reexamination of the foundations of quantum mechanics.

      Alan Kadin

        9 days later

        Thanks very much Yutaka for your note and for pointing out the possible connections to the 3 body problem.

        -Very best regards, Mike Bradley

        Thanks Alan for your comments. Re: Quantum Computing you raise some very good points. It will be interesting to see what progress is made vs. what barriers are encountered in the next few years, and whether this will lead to a re-think of the foundations of QM.

        -Cheers, Mike Bradley

        Thanks Shawn, glad to you enjoyed the essay and glad to have a local audience.

        -Cheers, Mike Bradley

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