Philosophy
Have you noticed that wherever Brian Greene goes, computer animations go with him? Well, this TEDTalk presentation is no exception :) I'm starting to wonder whether this might be the physicist equivalent of a comfort blanket...
In any case, and as you may expect if you're familiar with him, he lays down the case for string theory, and explains some of the fascinating implications if string theory and the cosmological theory of inflation were true. Even as mere hypothetical possibilities, these ideas merit our attention.
What I do have a major problem with, however, is his "explanation" for why our universe is fine-tuned for life. It's a version of the anthropic principle that is either completely backwards or completely question-begging (circular)... or both... I'll let you be the judge:
The analogy with our distance to the sun doesn't quite work because, despite his explicit claim to the contrary, it's asking one question but answering another. Our distance to the sun doesn't explain why Earth is x-number of miles away from the sun (see what I mean by circular?). It doesn't tell us anything about astronomy or physics.
What it explains is why we live on Earth and get to ask that question, but it tells us nothing about the conditions that led to our planet being where it is... Similarly, the fact that we happen to inhabit the particular kind of universe that contains the conditions that allow for life-forms such as ours tells us nothing about why this particular universe happens to have those particular features.
In other words, you can't answer the question of why is our universe fine-tuned for life by answering that it's because our universe is fine-tuned for life... or am I missing something here?
- 8. Evolutionary Theory Connects With Quantum Mechanics
8. How does evolutionary theory connect with quantum mechanics? Feel free to do a google search to buttress your answers here. Clue: Think of Brian Greene meeting Charles Darwin. If Briane Greene and...
- Brian Greene - The Search For Hidden Dimensions
Virtually since its inception, string theory has found itself in a very intellectually precarious position: the mathematical models are both beautiful and coherent, but we don't yet know whether they are true. This is not simply due to the philosophical...
- What We Still Don't Know - Are We Real?
The scientific and philosophical progress of the past four centuries seems to have consistently undermined the notion that we have been created by God, a benevolent, omniscient and omnipotent intelligent designer (just remember, your biological sewage...
- Non-universal Laws Of Physics
I have advocated this for years. We do not know with certainty that the physics we observe and use are truly universal...and may never know. "Laws of physics 'are different' depending on where you are in the universe" Laws we know may be 'like...
- "science--philosophy Rules" Poll
"String Theory"--Knot Should a set of rules be established to discern the difference between "science" and "philosophy"--to make clear, recognizable, and a sound epistemology...i.e., "string theory" as being simply wild speculation--science fiction?...
Philosophy
Brian Greene - Why Is Our Universe Fined-Tuned for Life?
In any case, and as you may expect if you're familiar with him, he lays down the case for string theory, and explains some of the fascinating implications if string theory and the cosmological theory of inflation were true. Even as mere hypothetical possibilities, these ideas merit our attention.
What I do have a major problem with, however, is his "explanation" for why our universe is fine-tuned for life. It's a version of the anthropic principle that is either completely backwards or completely question-begging (circular)... or both... I'll let you be the judge:
The analogy with our distance to the sun doesn't quite work because, despite his explicit claim to the contrary, it's asking one question but answering another. Our distance to the sun doesn't explain why Earth is x-number of miles away from the sun (see what I mean by circular?). It doesn't tell us anything about astronomy or physics.
What it explains is why we live on Earth and get to ask that question, but it tells us nothing about the conditions that led to our planet being where it is... Similarly, the fact that we happen to inhabit the particular kind of universe that contains the conditions that allow for life-forms such as ours tells us nothing about why this particular universe happens to have those particular features.
In other words, you can't answer the question of why is our universe fine-tuned for life by answering that it's because our universe is fine-tuned for life... or am I missing something here?
- 8. Evolutionary Theory Connects With Quantum Mechanics
8. How does evolutionary theory connect with quantum mechanics? Feel free to do a google search to buttress your answers here. Clue: Think of Brian Greene meeting Charles Darwin. If Briane Greene and...
- Brian Greene - The Search For Hidden Dimensions
Virtually since its inception, string theory has found itself in a very intellectually precarious position: the mathematical models are both beautiful and coherent, but we don't yet know whether they are true. This is not simply due to the philosophical...
- What We Still Don't Know - Are We Real?
The scientific and philosophical progress of the past four centuries seems to have consistently undermined the notion that we have been created by God, a benevolent, omniscient and omnipotent intelligent designer (just remember, your biological sewage...
- Non-universal Laws Of Physics
I have advocated this for years. We do not know with certainty that the physics we observe and use are truly universal...and may never know. "Laws of physics 'are different' depending on where you are in the universe" Laws we know may be 'like...
- "science--philosophy Rules" Poll
"String Theory"--Knot Should a set of rules be established to discern the difference between "science" and "philosophy"--to make clear, recognizable, and a sound epistemology...i.e., "string theory" as being simply wild speculation--science fiction?...