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Is Reality Digital or Analog? Essay Contest (2010-2011)
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The Best of Both Worlds: Why Reality Must Be Both Analog and Digital by Jonathan J. Dickau
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Feb. 17, 2011 @ 08:42 GMT
Essay AbstractWhen considering whether reality is fundamentally analog or digital, I can think of convincing arguments for each case, but feel that both answers are limiting, and that the fundamental nature of reality is far more interesting. I am firmly convinced reality is neither exclusively discrete nor solely continuous – as it must display both faces for either aspect to be manifested. The nature of reality is both analog and digital, rather than exclusively one or the other. Observable phenomena satisfy the constraints of both continuous and discrete natures at once. The attributes we observe appear discrete or continuous largely as a matter of choice. What information we choose to observe or preserve, and how we take in or process information, will affect what we see. Often the choice is automatic, as a single sub-atomic particle or atom acting as a localized observer can induce the appearance of classical variables and discrete entities, even though the global wavefunction remains coherent during local interactions. Nature is fundamentally unified however, regardless of all appearances, though any attempt to probe it finds discrete quanta of energy, information, and form. This paper proposes that reality is both analog and digital because nature finds the most effective or efficient means available to encode energy and information as observable form.
Author BioJonathan is an aspiring Science writer, who has presented at international Physics conferences, and has lectured on a broad variety of Science related topics to mixed audiences. In addition, he has a number of papers published in peer-reviewed academic journals. He had dreams to become a scientist as a child, and did quite well in school, but with insufficient resources to pursue advanced degrees he found work in technical and engineering jobs instead. At the present time; Jonathan is again pursuing his childhood dream to be a scientist.
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Feb. 17, 2011 @ 16:33 GMT
Hello again to all my FQXi friends,
It is an honor to again be an entrant in the essay contest. I've had too much to do, in my everyday life, so my submission was hastily finished up at the last minute, even though I started writing back in November. I had begun writing a section entitled "It computes, therefore it is," which is my adaptation of the famous quote from Descartes. But when 11 o'clock on the night of the 15th rolled around, I stopped writing so I could finish putting the References section to bed, and submit my paper.
As is often the case; some of the most interesting stuff was in the section I had to leave out, and my concluding paragraph became a single brief sentence. But there is lots of interesting content to discuss. I apologize to my readers who come to the end and say 'huh?.' My last-minute difficulties left me with insufficient time to do better. According to the NIST time web-site, I finally hit the submit button fewer than 3 minutes before midnight.
I include as attachments, a photo of zeilinger lecturing at FFP11, and two illustrations of quantum experiments.
Figure 1 shows feeble light striking a single half-silvered mirror. Photons coming from the light source will either strike the detector or hit the wall at A, but the time-reversed version would have photons at B - which are not observed. This shows that when we force the wavefunction to decohere, by causing the photons to behave as particles, we observe discrete nature.
Figure 2 shows the Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which preserves the wave-like aspect that drives quantum indeterminacy. When the wavefunction is allowed to remain in a coherent superposition of states, the wave-like aspect becomes the sole determiner of photon behavior - which results in only one detector (A, as I recall) receiving any photons at all. This demonstrates that the wave-like aspect creates or engenders 'quantumness.'
Hopefully; these inclusions will make my ideas easier to accept or understand.
All the Best,
Jonathan J. Dickau
attachments:
Figure1.gif,
Figure2.gif
Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Feb. 17, 2011 @ 16:38 GMT
Hello yet again,
This post has the photo of Anton Zeilinger I mentioned above. I did not remember I'd get only two attachments per post. If I am not mistaken, the slide being projected behind him contains the mention of Professor Einstein's letter to the book's author.
Regards,
Jonathan
attachments:
AntonQuote.jpg
Philip Gibbs wrote on Feb. 17, 2011 @ 18:40 GMT
Jonathan, I'm glad you got your essay in on time so that you can be a part of this contest. Your essay is very well written, reading it was a pleasure. I like you comparison with the left/right nature of the brain which mimics the discrete/continuous nature of physics. This gives a very clear picture of what you are trying to say.
I have often thought about whether physics can be purely discrete at some level. It is an attractive idea but ultimately I agree with you (and many other authors here) that both are fundamental. A system of qubits embodies the duality because it describes discrete bits but with a continuous wave-function and continuous symmetries.
I think a wide range of people will appreciate your essay.
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 05:03 GMT
Thanks Phil,
I look forward to reading your essay. It is a pleasure being in the contest once again myself, and getting to interact with 'old' friends. Glad that you and I are likewise part of the 'both are fundamental' mind-set. It looks like a very well rounded field of entries, however.
The best of luck to you!
Regards,
Jonathan
Edwin Eugene Klingman wrote on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 01:53 GMT
Jonathan,
I'm glad you made it! And I agree with much of your essay. We both start off looking for an explanation of a unified reality, that is, Nature is a unified whole.
Having been closely associated with Zeilinger, it is not surprising that you are focused on the non-locality currently implied by 'entanglement'. Since you remarked that you've been very busy, I would like to make you aware of Joy Christian's
approach to Bell's inequality.
My selfish purpose is to note that locality may not be dead yet, and I have a local model that I believe is otherwise compatible with your approach.
I also have mentioned Jill Bolte Taylor's exceptional book in other forums, as I view it as a major contribution to the literature of consciousness. In particular, I see her report as supporting the position that consciousness does not emerge from matter. If you take her seriously, and I do, it is hard to find a Darwinian 'survival'-based reason for the development of such universal awareness. In fact, this awareness, whether that of a new-born, a stroke victim, or an LSD trip, is probably 'anti-survival' as the awareness of the absolute unity of it all suppresses the separation into parts that is necessary to pay attention to the tiger creeping up on you. I express this as 'topological' awareness as opposed to the 'metric' awareness whereby we separate and map distances, so that we can pick the apple from the tree, but not waste the afternoon trying to pick the moon from the sky.
There seems little appreciation in fqxi discussions of consciousness just how radically different these two modes of awareness are. The 'metric' mode has survival value and as we develop this mode of awareness in the first year or so of life, the 'experience of being one with the universe' is suppressed, until, finally, the best metric thinkers don't even believe in it's reality, although Abraham Maslow, in 'The Peak Experience' found that this awareness was not at all that uncommon among 'ordinary' people (non-physicists and non-mathematicians?)
Anyway, I'm happy to see you treating these issues as relevant to physics.
As you point out, "The act of observation is itself founded on the possibility of separation" although without the unified awareness this tends to lead to naive reductionism.
I hope you can effect a 'willing suspension of disbelief' in non-locality long enough to read my essay with an open mind. I think we are very close in our goals.
Best of luck in this contest,
Edwin Eugene Klingman
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 05:17 GMT
Hello again Edwin Eugene,
I am happy to see that you are also in the contest. I most certainly will suspend both belief and disbelief, while reading your paper. Sometimes the most fun can be had by taking your own work to task, but why bother when there are so many genuine experts who will vigorously defend their views here.
I will also check out Joy Christian's alternative formulation.
And I am thankful that you have also found Jill Taylor's book remarkable. It is definitely a little gem, full of practical wisdom as well as some excellent intellectual insights. My belief is that there must be some survival value to the right-brain's outlook, for laterality to develop, and that it bears further discussion.
I have a paper pending publication, addressing this topic. But in the meanwhile; thanks for your kind observations and good wishes.
Best of Luck to you!
Jonathan
Alan Lowey wrote on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 13:53 GMT
Hello Jonathon, I liked the readability of your essay and the lack of complicated formulae. You write very well and it's nice to see someone from another discipline taking part. I have a simple idea which I've been spreading in order to bring attention to a very effective new idea. It's the visualisation of a GRAVITON being modelled by an
Archimedes screw. Give this mechanical idea a chance. If it travelled around a wraparound universe then it re-emerge on the other side as a force of repulsion i.e. DARK ENERGY! It's too good to ignore for any longer imo. What do you think?
Best of luck.
Alan
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 16:57 GMT
Hello Alan,
Thanks for your kind remarks. The Archimedes screw graviton is a new one on me. I once had the idea that an electron might be like the seam of a baseball, but one of my profs informed me that was probably erroneous, as it would give the electron a quadrupole moment which is not observed.
Ergo; I would have to consider what the induced effects of your proposed model might be, before I pronounce it sound or unsound. On the other hand; it has been said that if one cannot explain something to a bartender - or at least to the average librarian - then one has not truly understood it.
So I wish you the best of luck.
Regards,
Jonathan
Alan Lowey replied on Feb. 19, 2011 @ 11:09 GMT
Thanks for the consideration of the idea, you won't regret it I'm sure. As to the bartender analogy, I have a friend who works as a greenkeeper (Runty), and he's my sounding board for the man-in-the-street. Best of luck.
Alan
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Albert wrote on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 14:02 GMT
Hello,
Do you think then that the law of excluded middle does not apply in the case of analog vs. digital reality? I would think such a denial would require a formal answer of some kind. Can we say that space is both analog and digital or both? Wouldn't any such claim throw most of our mathematics down the drain?
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 17:48 GMT
Thank you Albert,
It is my observation that the first experimental disproofs of Aristotelian logic and the excluded middle principle appeared more than 100 years ago now. The excluded middle principle is only a law for some limited subset of real events, in any case.
My everyday experience would suggest that the middle can hardly ever be completely excluded, and that people are...
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Thank you Albert,
It is my observation that the first experimental disproofs of Aristotelian logic and the excluded middle principle appeared more than 100 years ago now. The excluded middle principle is only a law for some limited subset of real events, in any case.
My everyday experience would suggest that the middle can hardly ever be completely excluded, and that people are over-eager to classify things as either/or decisions, when really it's a weighted average multiple choice question. And of course the idea of dialectical analysis is based on the idea that for each thesis and antithesis, there is a synthesis which includes common causes or elements of both opposing views.
So I am not enamored of the view that excluded middle arguments apply in all cases, and I tend to become amused by this sort of extreme reductionism - when it is used inappropriately. Figure 1 in the above comment shows the either/or case of a beam splitter, while Figure 2 shows how in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer having both paths available allows a photon to maintain a coherent superposition of two choices.
However; the outcome is not the same as adding the discrete contributions to the results for either one path. If that were the case, one would expect both detectors to light up half of the time. But instead, only one detector receives photons - when both paths are available. So; while the result is unambiguous - it is not what Aristotle would predict.
I also attended a lecture by Marni Sheppeard at FFP10, where she was making compelling arguments for the utility of Ternary logic in Quantum Mechanics, using category theory as a basis. Another lecture at that same conference by Marc Lachieze-Rey showed how a lot of the Maths used in Physics could be derived from category-theoretic primitives.
So I would also hesitate to agree that we would have to throw all of the great Math out. Only the derivation would change.
All the Best,
Jonathan
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Ray Munroe wrote on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 20:16 GMT
Hi Jonathan,
Welcome to the essay contest! I agree that reality must be comprised of both natures: discrete and continuous, in order for us to observe reality these ways. I agree with your description of the (possible?) Multiverse. I agree that any possible extra Universes must be discrete rather than a continuum smear, and I think that Scales (and possibly Lucas numbers) explain and demand this feature.
I also liked your mention of the buckyball - it is one of my prefered geometries for the Black Hole "singularity", and the buckyball has some similar symmetries with Lisi's E8 Gosset lattice approach to a TOE. Also, two nested buckyballs have a smooth homotopy with a lattice-like near-torus that may model the "singularity" of a rotating Black Hole. I stare at my soccer ball on a regular basis. One of these days, I should get two identical soccer balls, cut them up, and reattach them into a torus...
I enjoyed your comparison with the human brain. I guess that means that my left-side prefers a Bottom-Up approach to understanding reality, and my right-side prefers a Top-Down approach to understanding reality. My wife is an artist, and I always thought that she was more right-brained than left. It is funny how some of my abstract articulations of nature and mathematics look a little bit like art...
I have fun working on both the Top-Down and Bottom-Up approaches, its the union in the middle that confuses me...
Good Luck in the contest and Have Fun!
Dr. Cosmic Ray
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 19, 2011 @ 17:32 GMT
Thanks so much Ray!
I still have to get to your essay. There are a bunch of good ones this time. Knowing your past work, your contest paper is likely to be a lot of fun to read, and promote deep thought at the same time.
Yes; it's pretty much clear that in any multiverse scenario the congealing of a universe out of the quantum soup sets up wavefunction periodicities which span the islands of form.
Thanks for Buckyball commendation, but I think it was Zeilinger's choice. A natural one though, as it has wavefunction periodicities too, and therefore a lot of 'quantumness' available to detect.
I like the Buckyball/E8 connections. Way cool stuff!
Bottom-up vs top-down is how the authors (MacNeilage, et al.) of the Scientific American article on the evolution of lateral brains describe the split. There is a lot to say on that one, however.
Good luck to you!
Jonathan
Anonymous replied on Feb. 20, 2011 @ 16:18 GMT
HIHIHI Jonathan in fact you like all, it is that, a real gentlemen..it is well, lol ...and of course dear thinkers(Ray and you)forget these supidities of multiverses and otehrs computing pseudos ideas.
Similarities yes of course and of course a string is a sphere, the extradim are spheres and the multispheres also ....it is that the strategy.....pseudos similarities.Please are you real rationalists or what ???? what are your books, really I ask me if you make sciences sometimes.I am frank, all that becomes ironic.
You bad superimpose dear friends, really. it is incredibly incredible to see these extrapolations, it is not a lack of knowledges, no a lack of generality simply.Skillings but lost in an ocean of confusions.
Regards
Steve
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Steve Dufourny replied on Feb. 20, 2011 @ 16:27 GMT
I become crazzy dear friends,be sure .I see small green people in my small garden.You know I become tired by the net thus REVOLUTION BEFORE HIHII
Steve
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Steve Dufourny replied on Feb. 28, 2011 @ 09:40 GMT
Zeilinger and Christian,......have made a beautiful rational work, why you don't respect these deterministic roads?
Steve
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 01:56 GMT
I like the idea of Quantum determinism more than the Classical kind. Quantum mechanics does not prematurely reduce all the possibilities to either/or.
All the Best, JJD
Steve Dufourny replied on Mar. 21, 2011 @ 10:53 GMT
:) indeed but with a very very rational Occham Razor at my humble opinion :)
All te best
Steve
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Willard Mittelman wrote on Feb. 18, 2011 @ 21:59 GMT
Hi Jonathan,
I very much enjoyed reading your paper. It's refreshingly different and highly readable. Thanks for your kind words over at my paper.
Best Wishes,
Willard Mittelman
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 19, 2011 @ 17:41 GMT
Thank you Sir!
It is a pleasure to be able to share my thoughts here. I look forward to reading your paper, and I'll be sure to share some thought on it too.
Good luck!
Jonathan
Ulla Mattfolk wrote on Feb. 19, 2011 @ 10:12 GMT
Hi, Jonathan
I liked your essay, and there are infact many things that are common for both of us. You point to only a few basic things, but I try to link in more facts in my essay, /topic/938.
In biology there exist many wievs of the lateralization,and that is the reason I am a bit cautious about talking too much of it. This example given by Jill Bolte Taylor shows however in a beautiful way onthe specialization of the hemispheres, shown also in their structure. This point, that function is seen in the structure is an important one. Histologically we have the Broadmans areas, that all are different structurally, thus also functionally,AND PHYSICALLY. This should be obvious to everyone.
I like your analogy - 'surfing the wave'.I have used the same:) Thanks also for the links to quantum descreatness (Zeh),I have looked for those facts.
I see the Nature as having different solutions for different kinds of matter or energy (Einsteins formula), but the material paths are split. Thus we get quantum 'matter' as waves and non-locality, classic matter as fixed waves mostly, that is particles, and living, reactive matter as intermediate, consisting of both classic, decoherent matter, and coherent quantum 'matter'.
In theorethical physics of today the unique charachters of living matter should be recognized, so this highly interesting bransh of physics can be properly evolved. It can contribute much to the vision of what is our proper reality, and also in the hunt for the Higgs boson. Living matter is not just complexity and decoherence.
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 19, 2011 @ 17:52 GMT
Thanks so much Ulla,
I greatly look forward to reading your paper. And I think you are right, that there will be many common ideas to highlight and discuss. I've read some of H. Dieter Zeh's papers several times now. I'm slowly developing some proficiency with the applicable Maths, and the wild idea of the pure form of decoherence theory is finally soaking in.
When first I read the 2 Zeh papers I cited early on, I thought they were tongue in cheek exercises to show that the extreme case is workable. But correspondence with Zeh and Joos has strongly disabused me of this notion, and I am convinced instead that "discreteness is an illusion" is a core idea of their thesis.
I must get on with things now, but I will leave some comments after reading your essay.
The best of luck!
Jonathan
Ulla Mattfolk replied on Feb. 20, 2011 @ 09:06 GMT
I think the discreateness is a result of entanglement. Classic matter would then be quantized waves or energies. This means the matter is regulated from entanglement, and the matter itself is an illusion:)
There should be much more discussion on the quantization and the descreateness. After all 'all the physics is seen in the double slit experiment'?
Ulla.
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Feb. 21, 2011 @ 05:17 GMT
Hello Again All,
Thanks for your further comments, Ulla.
Thank you for stopping by Steve. Be assured that I do not just sit on fences. I take up one view, or one side of an argument, then vigorously argue the opposite sometimes. I tend to argue the opposite of anyone's strongly polarized view, just to see what they will say, but in this contest they asked a question where only an encompassing answer would do.
However, your comments are always welcome.
Regards,
Jonathan
Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Feb. 21, 2011 @ 05:40 GMT
A special added note..
Some of you may be aware of my interest in aiding the Environment, saving the Earth from Climate disasters, and the like.
I have recently joined something called
the Azimuth Project which was founded by FQXi's John Baez. If you have ideas or skills which might benefit a group of scientists and engineers who are trying to find ways to save the planet, please consider joining that conversation too.
I share the notion of others there, that if enough bright people toss some of the difficult environmental problems around, we might come up with some good solutions that haven't been tried yet. However; so many problems today, like the recent oil spill in the Gulf, demand a multi-disciplinary approach to fully solve. But corporations and governments are way too insular to invite collaboration.
Please check out how the Azimuth Project is trying to help.
Regards,
Jonathan
Owen Cunningham replied on Feb. 21, 2011 @ 21:54 GMT
Hello Jonathan! I haven't read your paper yet but definitely will soon. I had hoped to participate in this year's contest but other things got in the way. In any case, I'm replying because I am very interested in the Azimuth Code Project after reading about it, but the forum link where would-be contributors are told to sign up doesn't seem to work. So if you could let me know some other way to signal interest I'll do so. Good to be in contact with you again, Owen
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 22, 2011 @ 04:38 GMT
Hi Owen,
Great to hear from you! I just sent an e-mail to John Baez recommending he approve you for Azimuth forum membership. Follow the link
here to get a MathForge account. Then follow the rest of instructions on
this page, from step 3 on. Good Luck!
I'll come back here with more detailed instructions on the morrow, if you need them.
All the Best,
Jonathan
John Merryman wrote on Feb. 21, 2011 @ 19:28 GMT
Jonathan,
I have to say we have some very similar ideas, but yours are more professionally presented, so how did I get an 8 rating in the public voting and you get a 2? Life ain't fair.
Most of these essays tie my brain up in knots, so it is nice to read one which does present a coherent overview and not tightly wound around a particular observation.
You do make a few...
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Jonathan,
I have to say we have some very similar ideas, but yours are more professionally presented, so how did I get an 8 rating in the public voting and you get a 2? Life ain't fair.
Most of these essays tie my brain up in knots, so it is nice to read one which does present a coherent overview and not tightly wound around a particular observation.
You do make a few observations to which I might offer some additional thoughts.
For one thing, the problem with the dialectic view of fundamental dichotomies is the idea there exists a coherent synthesis, somewhere in the middle and this overlooks the extent to which opposing views are themselves wholistic opposites. Consider taking pictures of a car. The view from the right and left side are subjectively whole, while a picture of the interior wouldn't be a synthesis of those opposing views. Same with top down, vs bottom up considerations. There is no happy medium. The perspective from the bottom can be all the way to the top, as the view from the top can be all the way to the bottom and yet they are entirely different views of the same reality.
Now consider your point about everything being energy. This is true, but energy expands! What is the balance? Mass contracts. Energy is analog, while mass is digital. Consider light. It expands out as a field effect, waves, if you prefer, but when we measure it in relation to a physical detector, it has collapsed to a definable unit, a photon.
You might say energy is bottom up, radiating out as energy. While mass is top down, collapsing as digital units. So all of reality can be viewed from both directions: All expanding out versus gravity collapsing everything to point. This gets to cosmology and the fact we view the entire universe as expanding, yet this expansion is balanced by gravity as observably flat space, but we still have this model of expansion. To use an analogy, it would be like looking across a Merry-go-round and seeing that while the near and far sides go in opposite directions and seem balanced in their actions, since the near side appears larger to us, there must be greater motion in the direction it is going. I think we will eventually discard the entire Big Bang cosmology and view the universe as a correlation between expanding energy and collapsing mass. There are a number of essays which touch on this in various ways, Constantinos Ragazas, , Israel Perez, as well as some comments and footnotes from Dan Benedict come to mind. Mine attacks it directly, but this is a bit of a Hail Mary, as there is a small probability cosmologists will discover galaxies older then the presumed age of the universe, by the time this contest is finished. The current record holder is 13.2 billion lightyears away and it takes quite a bit of imagination to think a galaxy large enough to be seen at that distance could have coalesced out of the Inflationary field in 500 million years. Given that Inflation presumably expanded space to the degree it appears flat, than any gravitational sources would have to be equally stretched out, since gravity is half the equation of balance between expansion and contraction. Since it takes 225 million years for our galaxy to make one rotation, this would be like saying the time between the invention of the wheel and the production of the Model T is equivalent to driving around NYC 2 and a half times.
As for time, I've been making an argument somewhat similar to the idea that while the right brain exists in the now, the left brain registers the digital function of past, present future.
While there is only the physical present, the activity within it is constantly changing form, as it flows around and thus the process of time is the future becoming the past, as opposed to the present moving from past to future. This is actually the more fundamental process, even if the serial events are the basis of our rational thought processes. Much like we perceive the sun moving across the sky from east to west, the fundamental process is of the earth rotating west to east.
The point here is that time is an effect of motion, not the basis for it and as such it is similar to temperature. One is the scalar level of activity, while the other is the serial change caused by that activity. As such they reflect the two sides of the brain. The rational side is a clock, as it measures cause and effect, while the emotional, intuitive side is a thermostat that registers and reacts to scalar levels of energy and quantities of information carried by that energy.
In the top down, vs bottom up view, there are various juxtapositions going on here. Energy does go from past to future, as it leaves old forms and radiates into new forms. Thus it is bottom up, much as life and politics, etc. are constantly shedding old orders and organisms and moving on to new life and subsequent forms. Meanwhile the forms move from future to past, as they coalesce out of energy and continue to accumulate more, until reaching a peak and radiating it away again. Whether it is an individual life being born, growing up and then old and dying, or a day dawning, warming up as the sun passes over head, then cooling down and fading away, as the sun moves on to the next day.
The point here is that everything is ultimately composed of energy and so it is the constant. That which is present. Any perceptible change is the configurations and they go future to past. Even though we view past events as cause for future ones, this is based on examination of prior events. The physical reality is that total input into any event cannot be known prior to its occurrence, since input does travel from opposite directions at the speed of light. Thus total cause for any event is in the future, until it occurs, then the effect, the event, recedes into the past.
Since time is an effect of motion, there cannot be a dimensionless point in time, as that would freeze the motion creating the effect of time. Basically like taking a picture with the shutter speed set at zero. Without that concept of a dimensionless point in time, any object, whether subatomic particle or automobile, cannot be logically separated from its context, as it has no absolute position.
This goes a long way towards solving many quantum issues. If time is an effect of collapsing future probabilities into past circumstances, not a fundamental dimension or flow from past to future, there is no need for multiworlds to explain the relationship between deterministic principles and fundamental probabilities.
I don't know how resistant those judging this contest will be to ideas which question current models, but if enough of us "start protesting," maybe they might take notice.
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 22, 2011 @ 04:42 GMT
Wow! Thanks John..
I'll have to read your detailed comments on the morrow. A bit too bleary-eyed right now. But I appreciate the time taken to read and to share your thoughts. I shall give them some consideration when I am again awake.
All the best,
Jonathan
Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Feb. 23, 2011 @ 00:59 GMT
Thank you very much John Merryman!
I found your comments engaging, and many of them were right on. Yes energy (as radiation) expands, while mass contracts. That is a wonderful dichotomy, to which I alluded but did not make explicit. One must be careful, however, to say - as radiation - because some folks are quite adamant that mass-energy and radiant energy are the same.
I like what you have to say on left-right and top-down vs bottom-up processes. It's interesting to note, though, that the bottom-up story is normally associated with sub-atomic particles linking up into nuclei, then atoms, molecules, and so on. Your comments about linear time vs timeless perception is dead on. That is precisely what creates the 'digital' perspective.
I have a friend Evan Pritchard who wrote a book called "No Word for Time," speaking about the traditional Algonquins. Evan's Mic Mac Elder friend Albert talks about clock time as White Man's craziness. Is he wrong? They argue that things take as long as they take. And we call it Turing's theorem. In any case; I'll be sure to take in your essay.
All the Best,
Jonathan
John Merryman replied on Feb. 23, 2011 @ 04:21 GMT
Jonathan,
Thanks. When I look back over what I write, it always seems I could have done a better job of explaining myself, but I only do this for entertainment, so time is limited. I might live in the here and now, but the people around me are more goal oriented. The irony is that I probably spend more time actually considering the nature of goals in general.
You mention that the...
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Jonathan,
Thanks. When I look back over what I write, it always seems I could have done a better job of explaining myself, but I only do this for entertainment, so time is limited. I might live in the here and now, but the people around me are more goal oriented. The irony is that I probably spend more time actually considering the nature of goals in general.
You mention that the bottom up view is "normally associated with sub-atomic particles linking up into nuclei, then atoms, molecules, and so on," but when you consider it, that's actually the top down version of what it thinks the bottom up view is. It is focused on the singular units and then how they interact in ever more complex configurations. A truly bottom up view would be more contextual, than object oriented. We understand how components add up to larger wholes, but keep thinking the essence must be in the component parts, not that there is a wholeness to the larger picture. Consider the idea that 1+1=2; If you actually added two things together, there would only be one larger unit. When two bodies are gravitationally attracted to each other, we think of it is two gravity fields pulling on each other, but the reality is that it's one gravity field pulling the two objects together. Same for magnets. When they snap together, there is just one magnetic polarity.
The problem is that we confuse one with oneness. Unit with unity. A unit actually has very distinct divisions between inside and outside, while unity is about connection. It's what's wrong with monotheism. Originally polytheism was what we would call memes today. Basic concepts which everyone could visualize, from tribes to celebrations, to sex, to war, to celestial objects, etc. While these became narratively anthropomorphized, there also emerged a necessary sense of connection that was essentially pantheism, but the institutionalizing need condensed it into a unit. One God. The problem though, is that the universal state of the absolute is basis, not apex. While the polytheistic deities were idealizations of universal concepts, the absolute isn't an ideal, but an essence. So a spiritual absolute wouldn't be an ideal from which we fell, but the essence from which we rise. The proper metaphor would be the child, not the adult. Age simply tempers this primal awareness. Invariably to the point it is broken down and replaced by the next generation. Thus awareness resets itself.
Considering the Native American, as well as the eastern view, the idea of a God as universal spirit, being something separate from the process of life is utterly ridiculous. Even how we treat it in fact, as an idealized goal, is nonsense. Goals are subjective. As the old saying goes; Perfect is enemy of the good. Consider in everyday life, if you sought ideal goals, nothing would fulfill them, since everything has minor flaws and is transitory to boot. The reality is a constant juggling of objectives.
We are taught that good and bad is a primal conflict, but it is actually primordial binary code. Life is attracted to the beneficial and repelled by the detrimental. Even amoebae make this distinction. We are just very complex manifestations of this process, much like a computer is composed of enormous numbers of binary switches. What is good for the fox, is bad for the chicken, yet there is no clear line where the chicken ends and the fox begins. They are all just one unitary process of creation and consumption. Between black and white are not just shades of grey, but all the colors of the spectrum.
Morality is a complex code, similar to language, which groups evolve in order to function as a larger unit. Thus traditions that might be deeply rooted, could seem silly to an outside observer. To the extent we are all branches of a larger organism, there is a strong tendency to push out/expand in different directions.
Actually my mind is starting to go in several directions and it's getting way past bedtime, so I let it go at that and try to sum up some other time....
Regards, John
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John Merryman replied on Feb. 23, 2011 @ 20:01 GMT
Jonathan,
I guess I don't have much to add, without starting the thought process over again and taking it in a slightly different direction. We run into this dichotomy of motivating energy and defining information in every aspect of life and reality. It's a relationship that would go a long way toward explaining what is going on in the Middle east, with top down structures breaking down under the pressure of the energy they try to suppress, yet whatever happens that social pressure will eventually coalesce into some form, hopefully more flexible, but still subject to the same pressure that invariably builds up between static form and dynamic energy, for better or worse.
Much as we test the limits of current physical models.
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Don Limuti (digitalwavetheory.com) wrote on Feb. 23, 2011 @ 04:20 GMT
Jonathan,
Readable and enjoyable. It covered the universe of science in a way that will make others think they may want to join it.
I think you had a very good time in Paris!
Don Limuti
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Feb. 23, 2011 @ 15:26 GMT
Thanks Don!
I'm glad you enjoyed my essay. I hope it gets people to think, as that is its real purpose.
If by 'a very good time in Paris' you are suggesting I had the pleasure of a lot of fun lectures and conversations at FFP11, that are fascinating to people who love Physics but didn't get to that excellent conference, then I agree; I had a great time. It was both educational and fun for me. Plus; they even let me talk, which is something I do well - at least for prepared lectures.
I hope you have a very good time, wherever you are.
All the Best,
Jonathan
Andrew Beckwith wrote on Feb. 24, 2011 @ 22:30 GMT
Johnathan
Thanks for your essay.
What do you mean by radiation expands and matter contracts ?
It makes me think of the negative pressure hypothesis at the start of inflation.
Can you be a bit more explicit?
Andy
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Feb. 25, 2011 @ 01:25 GMT
OK Andrew,
Thanks for coming by. The comment you refer to is my response to John Merryman's comment. One must click the tab that say 'view entire post' in John's Feb. 14 comment to actually see it, though.
John Merryman said:
Now consider your point about everything being energy. This is true, but energy expands! What is the balance? Mass contracts. Energy is analog, while mass is digital. Consider light. It expands out as a field effect, waves, if you prefer, but when we measure it in relation to a physical detector, it has collapsed to a definable unit, a photon.
And I comment:
All energy tends toward motion, rather than stasis. As I say in my essay, it is motive, and to some extent non-local. Any concentration of energy tends to disperse over time, if it is unconstrained. According to Frank Lambert, this tendency is the basic mechanism of all 2nd law entropy.
John's comment was that while he agrees energy tends to expand, the mass-bearing aspect of matter causes a contraction, which draws in matter in the surrounding space. So there is an assertion there that mass-energy exerts a force in the reverse direction of radiant energy emanating from the same point.
This question is definitely connected to the negative pressure hypothesis in inflation, and with the predicted vacuum energy and observed dark energy discrepancy. I've often wondered if the expanding and contracting force once pointed in the same direction, and if the fabric of space was perhaps turned inside out, at the time of decoupling.
Much food for thought with that.
Regards,
Jonathan
Joseph Markell wrote on Mar. 1, 2011 @ 04:20 GMT
Hello Jonathan,
I enjoyed your essay and particularly liked the sections regarding Dr. Taylor, "Instead, the energy of everything blended together," and the notes about how children think.
My essay also gives a different view of how energies could interact.
Good luck to you!
Joseph Markell
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 01:41 GMT
Thanks Joseph,
I can report that Jill Taylor actually wrote a thoughtful note back when I e-mailed her speaking of this essay, among other things. But some of the insights in her book are priceless. Thanks for reading my essay. I'll read yours if I don't run out of time.
Kind Regards, JJD
Peter Jackson wrote on Mar. 7, 2011 @ 15:59 GMT
Jonathan
I greatly enjoyed your essay, thank you. I both agreed with almost all you said, and applaud your writing style. Your 'throwaway' line on universe recycling was interesting, as I recently archived a pre-print paper on Phil's viXra site which actually derives that very thing as a logical conclusion of the discrete field model (DFM) I discuss in my essay, which I hope you'll find a chance to read. http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/803
The concept outlined in the essay is both unbelievably simple yet initially a great test of cognitive powers in handling multiple variables, only about one in 5 seem able to achieve it, but I suspect you will, (if you don't try to just 'scan' it). It's also partly because it deviates from mainstream assumptions that most trained physicists find it hard to follow. If you can't find the link to the short recycling (etc.) paper on the string and would like it just ask. I'd also greatly value any comments.
But back to yours, thank you for the very refreshing read, worth a good score, and I wish you luck, both in the results and your aspirations.
Peter
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 01:43 GMT
Thanks Peter,
I appreciate the kind remarks and lead-in. I look forward to some good reading if time allows.
Jonathan
James Lee Hoover wrote on Mar. 8, 2011 @ 07:58 GMT
Jonathan,
"While it is nice to realize that nature is unified, it is important to acknowledge that Physics is the study of observable reality and its causes, rather than an open-ended exploration of realities which cannot be observed"
Definitely one can argue reality is both and you do it well.
Are you describing a reality that is observed when you say it could be either discrete or analogue?
My reality is independent of observers, though I must say I use model views to support it as analogue.
I would be interested in how convincing others think my argument is.
Jim Hoover
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 01:54 GMT
We can view the waves from the air, far at sea, and we'll see coherent patterns of moving waves. But when they strike the shore or a vessel, they are broken into individual waves. It's not as though there is a halting of continuous natures which provides discreteness, but instead an interaction of wave-like or cyclical phenomena with localized objects or environments.
Thus a fixed frame of reference causes continuous phenomena to appear to be unique and complete units - discrete form.
I shall read your paper, which I have downloaded, if time does not run out.
Thanks, JJD
Author Yuri Danoyan+ wrote on Mar. 9, 2011 @ 20:25 GMT
Your view close to Penrouse http://www.fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/946
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 01:58 GMT
Thanks for the compliment, Yuri.
I like Penrose's work a lot. We agree on a good many things, but not all.
Regards, JJD
Alan Lowey wrote on Mar. 12, 2011 @ 11:52 GMT
Jonathan,
I'm interested in the Azimuth discussion on the Muller paper w.r.t inclination orbit instead of eccentricity. I don't seem to be able to access it very easily, could you supply a direct link for me please?
In addition, I have some new thoughts and insights which should be illuminating. See my essay comments for more info.
Cheers,
Alan
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 02:02 GMT
Hello Alan,
If you go to the Azimuth Forum page, you should find it - but it may be down on the stack. Berkeley group was in the topic title as I recall.
I'll read yours if I can.
Regards, JJD
Donatello Dolce wrote on Mar. 13, 2011 @ 06:11 GMT
Dear Jonathan J. Dickau
I believe that the connection between quantum mechanics and the brain mechanics are very interesting. I'll suggest you to read works of Fortunato Tito Arecchi (see for instance link:http://www.solvayinstitutes.be/Activities/Workshop_Bits
-Quanta/Talks/30-04/P21_Arecchi.pdf]link[\link] and citations thereby).
Best regards,
Donatello
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 02:06 GMT
Thanks for the kind words, Donatello, and the link.
There is much to say about QM and the brain, but I'll take that up elsewhere. I attended a wonderful forum with 3 brain experts, less than 2 weeks ago.
Your paper is close to the top of my list to read, so I'll get on with that.
All the Best,
Jonathan
Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 01:36 GMT
Thanks for the well wishes, Joseph, Peter, James, Yuri, Alan, and Donatello!
I apologize to all of my readers for being away from these forums so long. I have been dealing with some difficult matters on the home front, so I have not had very much time to read and comment. I still hope to read about a dozen more papers, and to comment where there is something important to say.
I may make a few remarks about comments above, but this bit of writing happens before that. I wish everyone the best of luck, and I intend to check back here more frequently, between now and midnight tomorrow, for last minute comments and questions. Thanks again to all!
Regards,
Jonathan
Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 16, 2011 @ 23:55 GMT
Thanks also to Steve Dufourny - whose post I missed earlier.
May you have spheres within spheres, and may our spheres intersect somewhere down the road.
Regards, JJD
Steve Dufourny replied on Mar. 21, 2011 @ 11:04 GMT
You are welcome,
You know all roads go to the sphere....thus of course the synchro are relevant.
All the best
Steve
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 02:18 GMT
In case anyone is interested to know more,
I have done a little editing to
Quantum decoherence on Wikipedia, adding some plain-language descriptions and extending the metaphor I explored in my contest essay. A friend had looked that subject up on the Wiki, after reading my paper, and found it very tough to comprehend.
I thought it was pretty lucid technical writing, to start with, but I did notice the tag saying the descriptions were too technical for some readers. So I hope I have helped make it an easier topic for some to understand. That was my hope, in writing the essay too, but I was more concise on the wiki.
All the Best,
Jonathan
basudeba wrote on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 04:06 GMT
Dear Sir,
We congratulate you for the brilliant analysis.
You say: “This generalized statement of the principle of least action is also an explanation for conservation laws, as such.” While we agree with the principle of least action and conservation laws, we do not admit that they are related as cause and effect. The principle of least action is related to linearity of behavior...
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Dear Sir,
We congratulate you for the brilliant analysis.
You say: “This generalized statement of the principle of least action is also an explanation for conservation laws, as such.” While we agree with the principle of least action and conservation laws, we do not admit that they are related as cause and effect. The principle of least action is related to linearity of behavior of forces. Unless a force is confined, it will not lead to non-linear behavior. Thus, linearity is the natural way. Conservation, on the other hand, is the general principle, whether the forces are linear or non-linear. Because nothing ever is truly created or destroyed – everything is only transformed.
Your exposition of George Cann’s views is correct. But we have a different explanation for the said phenomenon. True analog and digital descriptions are related to infinite and finite dimensions. Where the dimensions are not fully perceptible, it is analog. Where the dimensions are fully perceptible, it is digital. But mostly analog is used in cases where the dimensions are very big. Space and time are analog, but we use specific segments of it (like bucketful of sea water) for our purpose. This is digitization of the analog. So in all cases, digital is a segment of analog.
Some may question the above view pointing out to the wave-particle dispute. For them we point out to the latest findings of LHC: the early universe was a ‘perfect fluid’, not an ‘explosion of gases’ that is the basis of all current theories. We posit that this fluid formed the primary field. Particles are subsequent generations of this field through confinement. We are not discussing the nature or mechanism of this confinement here. However, this proves our theory that digital is a segment of the analog.
If we find some problem with the digital, we can always expand the segment. It will still be digital (though you seem to call it analog). However, bigger it is a larger segment; it will be difficult to precisely control it. It may also appear to interact with other forces changing its behavior, which you describe as “not quite as stable, nor as predictable in their action”.
The Double-slit experiment can be easily described in the context of the above description of field and particle. If particles are locally confined fields, then you cannot eliminate fields from the scene. The picture that emerges is when you direct the photon (particle) through a slit; it goes in the specified direction. Thus, the two slits create two bands. The detection device notes this direction of the photon or electron movement through a particular slit. Thus, the result remains same. However, if there is no such compulsion and the particles are free to move through the wave at their own pace, they will generate interference pattern. There is no mystery here.
What you call “free energy – as radiation” is really the density fluctuation in the local field due to interaction with particles in it.
We agree with your views that “quantum mechanics is not about very small entities.” “Something large enough to be a macroscopic observable object can still be entirely quantum mechanical.” The basic difference between macroscopic observable objects and quantum objects is that, while in the case of quantum objects, two particles join to form a third particle of completely different nature, the constituents of the macroscopic observable objects retain their individual characteristic even while remaining coupled. Thus, different quarks join to form protons and neutrons that exhibit different characteristics. But the individual atoms in most products retain their characteristics. Water, which shows both characteristics, belongs to a different class. While it shows different characteristics from hydrogen and oxygen, unlike quarks, it shows the linearity in addition of mass.
The results of the interferometer experiment are also not weird. Mathematically, we know that the area of a rectangle and a parallelogram on the same base and the same height is equal. Since area implies two dimensional fields, we have to use second order terms. If the length is a units and breadth is b units, then the area will be a + b squared units, which is a^2 + b^2 + 2ab. This can be geometrically proved. But when the rectangle is shifted to make it a parallelogram, the projection of b along y axis is reduced. Thus, we have to bring in an additional factor of cos θ to bring parity. This shows that b in a rectangle and b in a parallelogram over the same base are different, even though distance-wise both have the same value. In the interferometer experiment, this difference becomes dominant, because traveling time for the waves after the deflection in both ways are different. There is no mystery in this case. The difference in relative path lengths causes the different patterns.
We agree that perception is nothing but the result of measurement, which is a comparison between similars. However, we do not agree with the concepts of either Relativity or Quantum gravity. We have a different explanation for the phenomena. However, we agree with you that “the right-brain perceives reality as unified, connected, and fluid, rather than being made of distinct, disconnected, and solid entities.” We will look forward to your theory. We will also be publishing our theory soon.
Regards,
basudeba.
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 15, 2011 @ 05:11 GMT
Thank you so much, basudeba
Your detailed comments deserve some thought, so I will reflect on them. The thoughtful and enlightened commentary of a fellow truth seeker is always appreciated.
All the Best,
Jonathan
Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Mar. 16, 2011 @ 05:08 GMT
I wish to thank all of my readers, and especially those who responded thoughtfully to my paper, and have thus placed me in the finals. You have been gracious to me, and I hope I have likewise helped some deserving souls to move up in the standings, as well.
There were so many fine papers in the contest this year. And many deserved great respect. I am glad you all thought so highly of mine.
I wish you all good will.
Warm Regards,
Jonathan
Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Mar. 18, 2011 @ 03:19 GMT
For what it is worth,
I shall be checking in on this page from time to time, to read and address any comments I find. I do invite continued interaction from the other contest authors and the public, regarding the topics discussed in my essay.
I wish all of the other finalists the best of luck, and I thank FQXi, Scientific American and the Gruber foundation for making the contest possible.
Regards,
Jonathan J. Dickau
Alan Lowey wrote on Mar. 19, 2011 @ 11:16 GMT
Dear Jonathan,
Congratulations on your dedication to the competition and your much deserved top 35 placing. I have a bugging question for you, which I've also posed to all the potential prize winners btw:
Q: Coulomb's Law of electrostatics was modelled by Maxwell by mechanical means after his mathematical deductions as an added verification (thanks for that bit of info Edwin), which I highly admire. To me, this gives his equation some substance. I have a problem with the laws of gravity though, especially the mathematical representation that "every object attracts every other object equally in all directions." The 'fabric' of spacetime model of gravity doesn't lend itself to explain the law of electrostatics. Coulomb's law denotes two types of matter, one 'charged' positive and the opposite type 'charged' negative. An Archimedes screw model for the graviton can explain -both- the gravity law and the electrostatic law, whilst the 'fabric' of spacetime can't. Doesn't this by definition make the helical screw model better than than anything else that has been suggested for the mechanism of the gravity force?? Otherwise the unification of all the forces is an impossiblity imo. Do you have an opinion on my analysis at all?
Best wishes and I hope you win something,
Alan
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Mar. 20, 2011 @ 04:09 GMT
Yes Alan,
A simple shape, a geometric analogy if you will, can help us to understand through symbological or metaphorical means what reductionist thought patterns could never reveal. But perhaps it is more about the essence of what makes an Archimedes screw work, rather than the simple shape itself.
Is gravitational reality inside-out from the sense of EM forces? Well maybe gravity is actually an expansive force, but the fabric of the universe is inside out. I think when Lawrence talks about a Kleinian duality, what he means is that the universe is Mobius shaped.
I like the idea of a spiral universe and graviton. But for the screw action to work, there has to be a down direction, an inside and an outside, and other things that are hard to imagine having an exact analogy for gravitons or the universe itself. But I don't mind turning my mind inside out trying.
All the best,
Jonathan
Alan Lowey replied on Mar. 20, 2011 @ 13:24 GMT
Jonathan,
yes, there's still much to be done to expand upon the initial ideas. I've just seen these amazing pictures which reminds me of increased gravity on the rotational plane!
Saturn's UFO moons: Bizarrely-shaped Pan and Atlas baffle scientists
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Alan Lowey replied on Mar. 23, 2011 @ 13:00 GMT
Jonathan,
I just realised that the orbit of Mercury quandry can also be explained by the 'inclination hypothesis'. No fabric of spacetime needed!
Alan
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 23, 2011 @ 23:46 GMT
To the last comment; well, perhaps inclination of orbits can play a larger role in dynamics than we would expect, but if true this would imply some torsional element to gravity. I know this possibility is being explored, but I don't know how those theories stack up against other models.
About the moons of Saturn; they are pretty cool but perhaps not entirely baffling. One could imagine that a rapidly rotating dense object plowing through the debris-rich rings would tend to accrete in somewhat of a disc shape, until the rotation is slowed by its own mass.
I'm not saying that I know for sure there are no unidentified spacecraft orbiting Saturn. But it's far more likely the 'UFO moons' are balls of rock and dust, perhaps with just enough water to be like wet clay early on. Very cool photos though.
All the best, JJD
Alan Lowey replied on Mar. 24, 2011 @ 13:23 GMT
Hi Jonathan,
The precession of Mercury can be explained via the 'inclination hypothesis' in the same way that the 100,000yr glacial cycle can be explained by the inclination hypothesis that has increased tide raising forces with increased inclination. The combination of these two papers
Spectrum of 100-kyr glacial cycle: Orbital inclination, not eccentricity and
The 1,800-year oceanic tidal cycle: A possible cause of rapid climate change can be used to reconcile the 1,800 year cycle to the 1,470 year cycle seen in physical data
Timing of Abrupt Climate Change: A Precise Clock. That's a task which will validate the claims of climate skeptics. I'd be delighted if you posted this in your Azimuth forum btw.
I've scanned a quick doodle from last night which shows how the planet Mercury, due to it's high eccentricity, has very different distances above and below the orbital plane when nearing the planet and when furthest away. This means that the tide raising forces will be very different from one half of it's inclination orbit compared to the other half, despite it only having an inclination angle of around 6 degrees. This difference in gravitational forces from the calculated Newtonian forces is the reason for the discrepancy of it's orbital precession. I need to do the calcs, I know.
Btw I don't understand what you mean by a 'torsional element to gravity'. Could you explain some more for me?
The article on the moons of Saturn mentions the problem of their formation from ring debris alone, it simply wouldn't happen under the gravity laws. They say that a gravitational 'seed' would be needed which is exactly the same conclusion that the Harvard professors came to when analysing their 360 mile wide innermost core of the Earth
Earth's New Center May Be The Seed Of Our Planet's Formation.
Kind regards,
Alan
attachments:
4_Note1.jpg
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Alan Lowey replied on Mar. 24, 2011 @ 13:28 GMT
Typing error: in the attachment I should have written d
1>>d
2
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 24, 2011 @ 18:34 GMT
No time right now Alan.
Please do a web search for 'torsion gravity' and see what comes up. You should get 4 or 5 good leads, although some of the references will be a bit technical.
However; since you are the fellow who decided to talk about the Archimedes screw, maybe you should study up about torsion gravity. But I warn you. The Math for that subject is very heavy - and not for the weak at heart.
But if someone finds decisive evidence that torsional gravity is a fact, perhaps your Archimedes screw model will be a popular visual model, just as the deformed rubber sheet is for the Einstein version. Who knows? Please look it up though.
JJD
Alan Lowey replied on Mar. 25, 2011 @ 09:48 GMT
Okay, I did just that and read this in the first few seconds from Wikipedia:
A torsion field (also called axion field, spin field, spinor field, and microlepton field) is a pseudoscientific[1] theory of energy in which the quantum spin of particles can be used to cause emanations lacking mass and energy to carry information through a vacuum at one billion times the speed of light.
I don't need Archimedes screw gravitons to travel any faster than light (at the moment), I don't see the need. Photons themselves are configurations of emitted gravitons/anti-gravitons in my current working model.
Thanks for the info though, I'll look into it later if need be.
Cheers,
Alan
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau replied on Mar. 26, 2011 @ 19:29 GMT
Not so fast....
Torsion gravity and torsion fields are not necessarily the same. Or rather, not all of what's being explored (relating to torsion gravity) is pseudo-science. There may be pseudo-scientists who have adopted this notion, but they do not appear to be talking about the same thing as the scientists, from where I sit. However; most of the best references for the real thing are very technical.
I really don't know enough to tell you more, even as to whether the Wiki has guided you true, but I had heard the term and thought it might apply here or would be worth your checking into.
All the Best, JJD
Alan Lowey replied on Mar. 27, 2011 @ 12:54 GMT
Okay, thanks, I'll bear that in mind. I need to read-up on it all in more detail this time.
Alan
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Author Jonathan J. Dickau wrote on Jun. 2, 2011 @ 14:12 GMT
Thanks again to all.
As the contest comes to a close, I am gratified to see my work featured on the FQXi Forum page, as one of the top essays this week. I also see my friends Lawrence Crowell - who is on the editorial board with me at Prespacetime - and Ray Munroe - with whom I am writing what is shaping up to be a most excellent paper on Octonions. I apologize for my absence from the Essay discussions, throughout so much of the process, but I have been rather busy - academically and otherwise.
Of course; a subject like Octonions demands more than a little study for me, but our paper has made Ray do his homework too. I submitted three abstracts for FFP12 in Udine, this November; one on how we need whole-brain thinking to understand Quantum Mechanics, one asking if folks in Physics are responsible to help inform the public, and a third asking what the Mandelbrot Set can teach us about Cosmology. The first covers a lot of material from my FQXi essay, the second introduces people to the Azimuth project, and the third talks about a subject I've been exploring for quite a while.
I got to serve as Administrator for viXra, during a recent period of Phil Gibbs' absence, and that was quite educational. For those who don't know; he and I were guest editors for what turned into a two issue special feature on Cosmology for Prespacetime, last year. But I have also been assisting Floyd Holt, who was once 'America's Teacher of the Year,' to prepare his presentation for Udine. Floyd is planning to build a Science and Technology Center nearby, and I want to introduce him to B.G. Sidharth, who is one of the Frontiers of Fundamental Physics conference organizers, and who also founded a Science Center.
I wish the best of luck to all the finalists, and I thank all who visit this page for coming.
My thanks also to FQXi, Scientific American, and the Gruber Foundation.
Warm Regards,
Jonathan
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