There are some rarified (typically mathematical) arguments that random processes – given an infinite scope & time – will “almost surely” produce any specific artifact spontaneously – a complex thing in its entirety, rather than its components. Such claims strike me as mythic (at best). Yet, naturally, the meaning and emergence (evolution) of consciousness (conscious… Continue reading Boltzmann brain RIP?
[Draft] [RIP series] So, this recent SciTechDaily article (below) about the “Singularity Problem” caught my attention today. Because it’s a reminder of what the much fictionalized / mythologized notion is really about. The need for a deeper understanding of nature. The representational limits (approximate character) of mathematical models. A theory’s domain of applicability. [1] As… Continue reading Singularities RIP?
As noted previously, quantum physics has struggled with infinities. A recent Space.com article on black holes reminded me of another part of that saga. Black holes serve as touchstones in several ways. Wiki: … there are some theoretical circumstances where the end result is infinity. One example is the singularity in the description of black… Continue reading Beyond the infinity of black holes – quasars
Buzz Lightyear‘s tag line “To infinity … and beyond” reminds me of the mantra in modern physics that the appearance of infinities in equations tells us that we don’t understand something, that our computational model has hit a wall, so to speak. Wiki: Sometimes an infinite result for a physical quantity may mean that the… Continue reading Infinity and beyond … under the rug
