Chaos, Consciousness, and the Cosmos

I agree with Linde's perspective.

I suspect that the speed-of-light scale limit and the Holographic Principle separate the Observable Universe from the rest of the Multiverse, such that both partial wave functions suddenly depend on time.

I hope this article isn't too buried. Lately, the articles haven't been drawing as much attention as the blogs. In addition, we have the essay contest siphoning off some attention.

Have Fun!

I am a bit concerned at the seemingly very wide *total acceptance* by the physics/cosmology community of the "multiverse" inflationary model. Whilst there is no doubt inflationary models have excellent explanatory power not found in the traditional BB model, they are still only speculative in the sense that to date, no one has any idea *what inflated* or what the whole mechanism is! One of the attractions of course is to explain our constants of nature, particle masses etc as a statistical subset of a possibly infinite multiverse ensemble going hand in glove with that other highly speculative model called "string theory" which predicts >10^500 possible universes.

Why is everyone so quick to abandon searching for a unified theory of at least the 3 non gravitational forces based on the current SM gauge groups/symmetry? It may well require a supersymmetric solution. Then we may have a truly unified Standard Model under an enlarged symmetry, not the current "pseudo" unification which is really a product space of

U(1)xSU(2)xSU(3). I am inclined to think that gravity will turn out to be entropic/information based, a la Verlinde/Jacobsen, enabling the above to be achieved. This unified theory may (should?) then contain within it, a self consistency which would derive & explain the constants & other SM parameters of a unique reality where they cannot be anything other than the values they are!

Cheers

I am a bit perplexed over axion particles being dark matter. Axions are very light particles which account for the lack of CP violations in QCD. These particles are so light in mass that I doubt they can gravitationally combine into a halo.

I think there are some things to be said about the multiverse idea. The big question I do have is whether all of these universes are classical, or whether most of them correspond to quantum amplitudes. The Linde multiverse are the bubble nucleations or "pocket universes" which exist in the R^3 space of the D-brane of cosmology. There is a vast stack of those as well, which is another layer up in the multiverse. I think that except for maybe a few of these bubble universes, and of course the observable one we are in, most of these may be quantum amplitudes which act as correction terms in a cosmological perturbation series.

Cheers LC

Lawrence,

"These particles are so light in mass that I doubt they can gravitationally combine into a halo."

More evidence for entropic gravity?

and

"The Linde multiverse are the bubble nucleations or "pocket universes" which exist in the R^3 space of the D-brane of cosmology. There is a vast stack of those as well, which is another layer up in the multiverse. I think that except for maybe a few of these bubble universes, and of course the observable one we are in, most of these may be quantum amplitudes which act as correction terms in a cosmological perturbation series."

Quantum non-locality would support that possibility but only if the wave functions remain quantum, ie they don't become "classical" through the interactions giving the correction terms? Can quantum interference be maintained across cosmological causal patches? Isn't there still the problem of, what is/are the fields/fluxes existing on the D-brane which cause inflation?

Braneworld cosmology also still seems to me to be highly speculative?

Cheers

Dear Lawrence & Roy,

Yes - I've always preferred the idea of one of the Neutralinos being most of the Dark Matter. Having light-weight axions providing the DM is about as far-fetched as having neutrinos accounting for the DM. What if an axionino is part of the DM?

I think of the Multiverse as a larger scale that was formed during Inflation, and includes all of the Universe-sized bubble scales. The speed-of-light scale limit separates us from the other bubble Universes.

Have Fun!

These pocket universes, or regions of bubble nucleation, all exist within the same R^3 which dynamically evolves by general relativity or the FLRW equations. The large vacuum energy which results in the de Sitter expansion during inflation is a false vacuum and falls into lower physical vacua, one vacuum per bubble or pocket. In the case of our observable universe the inflationary period went through 52-64 efolds before the breaking. This stretching of the universe pushed the QFT fields and inflaton beyond the cosmological horizon length and then at 54 efolds the horizon adjusted so as to "re-include" them in the causal set. The calculations are a bit involved, but this many efolds permits the density and temperatures we observe on the CMB.

The R^3 spacetime exists on some D-brane, which contains open strings with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The wrapping of this D-brane is such that on 6 dimensions there is an array of possible configurations. The Calabi-Yau (CY) spaces have a huge range of possible topologies, from CP^3 to K3x*K3 and so forth. With T-duality of strings on these branes the modes of these strings are dual to their winding numbers. The number of modes is finite and thus so is the possible winding numbers. The flux through the windings is then the value of a vacuum configuration. It is from this the large number 10^{500} emerges. So the physical vacuum in each of these pockets can be radically different.

I think that with each brane it is possible the topology of the CY is the same, but only the winding number varies. This can reduce the number of possible physical vacua for these pocket universes. Then of course there can be a stack of D3-branes for entirely different cosmologies, each with their unique bubble nucleations or pocket universes and so forth. The bubble nucleation regions probably can only "go classical ," or have classical behavior on a coarse graining, if the value of the vacuum in it is pretty small. On the brane of our cosmology there may be a 10^mole of pocket cosmologies, but where the huge majority of these are quantum amplitudes without much classical content.

I also doubt there is eternal inflation on each brane. The inflaton field on the R^3 attentuates, as I have indicated before in a sort of friction, so the bubble nucleation probably comes to an end. In an eternal inflation there would be an infinite number of pocket universes, but I doubt that can be the case. The number is huge, but I doubt infinite.

Cheers LC

Hi Dr. Ray,

I just now read it. I think that mathematics only gives back to us that which we put into the initial equations. If there are the possilities for bizarre results, then, that is because bizarreness was introduced by the theorist into the initial equations. I think the initial equations are incorrectly defined, so, I consider these mathematically based speculations to actually be evidence of early theoretical error.

With regard to consciousness:

"To me, understanding life and consciousness would be even more important than understanding the universe," says Linde. "But we start with the universe because it is simpler."

The universe appears simpler because it has been reduced by theoretical physics to speculation about possible mechanical causes for mechanical type effects. Mechanics is inadequate because it is artificial. I think the study of the nature of the universe should be reversed. I think it would be a more promising path to begin with life and consciousness and work our way downward and backward. For me the starting point is human free will.

All effects that have occurred in the universe must have been provided for right from its beginning. I do not subscribe to added on latter day miracles, nor do I find the suggestion that the answers lie somewhere in the fog of the complexity of mechanical theory. I think there are no answers about life and intelligence hidden anywhere in mechanical theory. I say this because mechanical theory is formed from initial equations that have only lifeless, dumb, mechanical properties. Besides, I am certain those lifeless, dumb, mechanical properties aren't even real.

The goal of my own theoretical work has been to rid theoretical physics of these invented properties except for one. There is always that first 'given' from which all else must follow. I treat that one single property as a mechanical property, but, only because mechanics is the language of theoretical physics.

James

James,

What test do you employ, to differentiate lifeless, dumb, mechanical properties from live, intelligent, non-mechanical properties?

Do you recognize the difference between science and personal belief?

Tom

Hi Tom,

Robots will never become people. The mechanical properties are artificial, not because I believe it to be so, but, because they can be shown to be unecessary theoretical inventions and impediments to achieving unity. There are just two naturally indefinable properties. They are distance and time. We don't need to guess between mass and force as to which one should become a third indefinable property. Neither one is indefinable. Get that problem straightened out and you are on your way to a grand unified theory.

Since empirical evidence is gathered in terms of changes of velocity, it cannot be shown that even a grand unified mechanical theory has any connection to the development of intelligent life, it can be recognized that nothing occurs without meaning. The mechanical perspective of theoretical physics has no meaning. It has only little robots for its fundamental causes. For intelligent life to occur, the particles of matter from which it is formed must have non-robot properties that carry intelligent meaning along with them.

James

Thanks for making my point, James.

One can no more demonstrate that there's a difference between artificial and natural intelligence, than one can demonstrate that distance and time are discontinuous with one another.

Tom

Tom,

You give nothing in return. Your perspective is one of a mechanic who imagines his robots can live. You criticize me for lack of proof. You have no proof. What property that is used in theoretical physics gives rise to intelligence? Can you give even a beginning explanation as to how that property advances itself to the point where it contributes to the rise of intelligent thought?

Distance and time are discontinuous. The speed of light is a variable everywhere. Its maximum value occurs where matter is the least dense. Nowhere at any time has anyone produced empirical evidence showing changes of anything beyond the motion of particles. You are believing and not proving that time dilation is real. Whereas, we know that the speed of light varies as conditions vary. There is no spot in the universe where there are not 'conditions'.

Your repeated attempts to refer to my arguments as personal beliefs and not science go nowhere. You need to show reason in your own arguments. Time, as a fundamental property, and space, as a fundamental property have never been parts of anyone's empirical evidence consisting of changes of velocity. Space does not change its velocity. It can't even be shown that it has a velocity. The same is true for time. You move objects, so make your case using object motion only instead of selling an unempirical belief system about time and space.

James

Dear James,

Please call me "Ray" - not "Dr. Ray". I feel that we are all equals on this blogsite anyway.

My ideas bear similarities with Linde's ideas.

I think that there is a Multiverse Scale beyond our Observable Universe and our speed-of-light scale limit. This Multiverse is a (an infinite?) Cantor set that is hollow but not empty. This Multiverse has maximal complexergy (complexity-energy) - whether that measure of complexergy is something huge like 10^123 (and our information limits and the cosmological constant are based on "leakage" of that complexergy and its inverse from the Multiverse into our Observable Universe), or whether that measure of complexergy is infinity, and the Multiverse is correspondingly infinite.

IF a Multiverse exists, then our Observable Universe is a scaled self-similar copy of the Multiverse - only our largest number is Dirac's Large Number of 10^41, its inverse, and geometrical powers thereof.

Many other (perhaps infinite?) Universes occur within the Multiverse. Because all of the scale structures are self-similar, it is reasonable to expect these other Universes to have the same physics as ours - same fine-structure constant, same gravitational constant, same color force behaviors, same elements, same Chemistry, same Biology, etc. However, if Free Will is a true phenomenon, then these other Universes should have different histories.

Does my consciousness and intelligence ultimately derive from the Multiverse and a large collection of self-similar me's in other (unseen and unseeable because of the speed-of-light scale limit) Universes? Are my dreams a form of communication with these self-similar alternate Universes?

If so, then "something" is breaking the speed-of-light scale barrier. My suggestion is that tachyons may exist, and these could transmit information (such as intelligence, consciousness and/or dreams) faster than the speed of light.

I know that it may sound a little wacky, but I think this idea could explain these phenomena.

Have Fun!

Ray Munroe

Well, I must say the Mandelbrot set in the photo looks rather like the birthmark on the right cheek of my wife's buttock.

Maybe she is a goddess sent to unwind for a while even as the universe that spawned her upwinds?

I can tell without a doubt the subject of this article is not a man who smiles easily. There is no twinkle in his eye, only hubris?

Well, let's see if the facts work, though you seem to have an extraordinary immunity:

Evolutionary biology records voluminous evidence for intelligence as adaptability. It is in fact a major research program in AI that if robots were to become intelligent, they would necessarily be equipped with the ability to learn and evolve. IBM's Deep Blue chess program, in fact, did show that the machine has rudimentary ability to learn, i.e., to hide strategies and modify algorithms at a deep level, to meet competitive challenges. You can look all this up for yourself if you dare; my efforts at citing sources for you in the past appear to have been a waste of time.

The speed of light _in vacuo_ is not variable. That the speed varies according to medium results from the well known classical phenomena of refraction (wave effect), emission and absorption (particle effects). That " ... we know that the speed of light varies as conditions vary ..." is exactly the reason that we know light is not causal (consider Einstein's words describing what is "physically real": " ... having a physical effect but not itself affected by physical conditions.")

Space is not fundamental. Time is not fundamental. Spacetime is fundamental, also supported in relativity by _empirical_ evidence.

One cannot say your beliefs are wrong, James. One can say in all confidence, however, that they are not science.

Tom

Tom,

"Evolutionary biology records voluminous evidence for intelligence as adaptability."

Adaptability comes after meaning. There can be no adaptability unless the necessary information is understood. You take understanding for free. Understanding is the most important point. You may repeat step after step after step, but without establishing how meaning is discerned from information you have nothing but a catalog of after effects.

Computers do what the programmers tell them to do. It does not matter how complex the program may be, it means nothing to the computer. Make a chess move and record a win and the computer has done nothing that it understands.

"That " ... we know that the speed of light varies as conditions vary ..." is exactly the reason that we know light is not causal (consider Einstein's words describing what is "physically real": " ... having a physical effect but not itself affected by physical conditions.")"

And Einstein was wrong. Whatever is causal is also effected. The cause gives something up in order for the effect to exist. Reverse the effect and the cause regains that which it donated.

James

As I implied, facts fail to make a difference in your opinions. But the world goes on, all the same, with or without you.

Tom

Tom,

How about if you go on the record concerning this: h=kec, all fundamental constants. The units don't match. The equation does not make sense in conventional theories. Yet the equation brings quantum, thermodynamic, electromagnetic, and relativity constants together into an equantion for which the magnitudes fit very closely. Does your knowledge of theoretical physics tell you that this equation has to be a meaningless coincidence?

James

I'm not going to do your work for you. Explain what you think the equation means, and why you think its units don't match.

Tom,

I didn't ask for you to do my work for me. Is that equation a coincidence? Or, is it possible that it has fundamental meaning? It is formed from fundamental constants. You have enough information to answer the first question. My work was done long ago. I know the answers. I am asking for your professional opinion. The units do not match. The equation does not make sense in any of today's theories. So, is that equation a coincidence?

James