tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post4041481287997931880..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: Thoughts and ExperimentsSabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-86812602760301160682009-12-29T19:43:01.093-05:002009-12-29T19:43:01.093-05:00What about "Eureka!" moments? Thought ex...What about "Eureka!" moments? Thought experiments are nice, but what about those advances in Physics and Mathematics and other Sciences (the ones without central thematas ... but they're trying)?<br /><br />I'm thinking of the fellow who came up with the idea of how benzene was organized. Was it the German chemist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_August_Kekul%C3%Steven Colyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435759210177642257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-56044290290755074392009-12-03T22:46:13.222-05:002009-12-03T22:46:13.222-05:00Speaking of "Thought Experiments", consi...Speaking of "Thought Experiments", consider the following.<br /><br />A new submission to hep-th at arxiv.org presents an interesting challenge: Sort of a 'Where's Waldo?' except that instead of 'Waldo' we are hunting for <br />a Definitive Scientific Prediction. <br /><br />The paper deals with cosmology, dark matter, the putative Higgs boson and the Fermi satelliteRobert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-65176108568386436632009-12-02T08:22:46.969-05:002009-12-02T08:22:46.969-05:00Is is a coincidence that the picture next to Kohl&...Is is a coincidence that the picture next to Kohl's quotation about 'was hinten rauskommt' looks like a cloud of gas?Thomas Denthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16355010444546331416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-71589143204818846182009-12-01T21:41:04.069-05:002009-12-01T21:41:04.069-05:00Yes, I am familiar with the mantra you mentioned a...Yes, I am familiar with the mantra you mentioned and once tried to use it for assistance on a physics test. Results only too predictable.<br /><br />I much prefer the Tibetan mantra I give below.<br /><br />The Wikipedia page for "Om mani padme hum" gives a link to monks chanting the mantra for 25 minutes. I love it, and have learned the "melody" so I can do it too.<br /><br /Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-4124946303440205052009-12-01T20:27:01.541-05:002009-12-01T20:27:01.541-05:00Hi Robert,
I’m happy to hear you liked my little ...Hi Robert,<br /><br />I’m happy to hear you liked my little thought experiment and strange you should mention it might be Buddha inspired. If it were the mantra you’ve chosen wouldn’t be the correct one as rather it should be “Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō “, being the one of Nichiren Daishōnin as central to the Japanese school of thought. Although never a serious devotee, yet in my late teens I did Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-87107048286710068392009-12-01T11:44:58.227-05:002009-12-01T11:44:58.227-05:00Phil,
Not bad at all.
That's why Buddha-typ...Phil,<br /><br />Not bad at all. <br /><br />That's why Buddha-types urge us to "Live in the present". Well, where else can we live!<br /><br />Om Mani Padme Hum,<br />RLO<br />www.amherst.edu/~rloldershawAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-57192765763962485762009-12-01T07:01:16.997-05:002009-12-01T07:01:16.997-05:00As a thought experiment it’s interesting to think ...As a thought experiment it’s interesting to think of time as symmetrical where now forms the boundary between past and future, such that the past while knowable can never be reached again, while with the future unknowable is where one is headed, yet it to is never reached as to remain constantly in front of you. In this respect we exist our whole lives at this boundary, never actually able to goPhil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-74671572270953024852009-12-01T06:57:17.738-05:002009-12-01T06:57:17.738-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-47545253498558551362009-11-29T20:29:37.881-05:002009-11-29T20:29:37.881-05:00Could you please let Andrew answer the 3 questions...Could you please let Andrew answer the 3 questions before you pull the plug on this little comedy?<br /><br />If this is not possble, would Andrew please answer direct by email.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />RLORobert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-57304351712689003632009-11-29T10:19:58.852-05:002009-11-29T10:19:58.852-05:00Guys: Could you please stick to the topic? We were...Guys: Could you please stick to the topic? We were talking about thought experiments, remember?Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-75578932699519087862009-11-29T10:14:13.203-05:002009-11-29T10:14:13.203-05:00Ahh ... Steven,
It is very upsetting when one'...Ahh ... Steven,<br /><br />It is very upsetting when one's fundamental paradigms are criticized. Our worldview comes under threat and we don't like that at all. It makes us feel insecure.<br /><br />Your responses are completely predictable, especially the increasingly ad hominem nature of the remarks.<br /><br />There are semantics-based arguments and evidence-based arguments.<br /><br /Robert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-6015890248430592962009-11-29T10:02:44.721-05:002009-11-29T10:02:44.721-05:00Andrew,
I asked 3 questions that beg straight for...Andrew,<br /><br />I asked 3 questions that beg straight forward answers. Instead of answering them, you went with the comments on "weirdness". How about making a stab at candid answers?<br /><br />Robert said: "For example, either we will survive the population bomb or we won't. Has this already been decided, but we must wait to find out the answer? Could anyone know before usRobert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-80617041861297755962009-11-28T21:27:41.502-05:002009-11-28T21:27:41.502-05:00Robert Oldershaw, would you back off a little bit ...Robert Oldershaw, would you back off a little bit please, because your comments are beginning to get a bit embarrassing, and me saying "a bit" is me being nice.<br /><br />"SUBstandard Model"?! Are you kidding me?! Is THAT what you call "pseudoscience"? The Standard Model of Particle Physics? Really?<br /><br />If so, allow me to introduce you to Terry Witt author ofSteven Colyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435759210177642257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-80833537464567128102009-11-28T21:26:03.623-05:002009-11-28T21:26:03.623-05:00How about a quantum mechanical perspective born ou...How about a quantum mechanical perspective born out of the realization that entangled particles, although they may never again share a common space, will none less be mandated to share a common destiny. The question to ask, is how could the future not exist if this be the truth , especially in light of the fact that the future is at the same time completely unknowable for certain?Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-81544524368420476332009-11-28T21:11:49.589-05:002009-11-28T21:11:49.589-05:00Can we all not agree that the future is at the ver...Can we all not agree that the future is at the very least what has us able to differentiate between nows that we can’t recall :-) It could also be said to be the end product of potential which if considered also as not having existence would totally eliminate all action born of either a kinetic or dynamic origin.Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-16247760257473629512009-11-28T20:28:18.092-05:002009-11-28T20:28:18.092-05:00If we predict that 2010 calenders will appear in s...If we predict that 2010 calenders will appear in stores, then their appearance will prove that the future exists. Hard evidence!<br /><br />Hey, its better than what string theory or multiverse theory has had to offer.<br /><br />How many adjustable parameters does the Substandard Model have - 32 and counting?<br /><br />The mediocrity can't last forever,<br />RLORobert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-40798004573281651372009-11-28T19:43:30.239-05:002009-11-28T19:43:30.239-05:00All I can say is I wished someone had told me befo...All I can say is I wished someone had told me before that the future doesn’t exist, for I could have saved a little money in not having to buy all those calendars :-)Phil Warnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15671311338712852659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-35537115004856353662009-11-28T15:48:48.432-05:002009-11-28T15:48:48.432-05:00Hi Robert, I think we might have had a bit of a mi...Hi Robert, I think we might have had a bit of a misunderstanding here as I've just seen your signature appears to be "Just say no to pseudoscience"! I never realised. It might be an idea to get a different signature! That was what got me worked-up.Andrew Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03852211910001840777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-65000877547656609202009-11-28T11:47:25.702-05:002009-11-28T11:47:25.702-05:00There are subjects about which it is very difficul...There are subjects about which it is very difficult to have a meaningful rational discussion that moves to a mutually agreeable endpoint(s).<br /><br />Some examples are "time", which is nothing more than a relational ordering device, "information" which has no physical existence outside of a sentient brain, and "love" which has more definitions than a porcupine has Robert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-27762195555225461642009-11-28T04:57:04.834-05:002009-11-28T04:57:04.834-05:00Hi Robert. You said: "When EM signals reach A...Hi Robert. You said: <i>"When EM signals reach Alpha Centauri they say: "What a shame; Kennedy was assasinated in 1963." They do not say: "It happened in our future". They say: "It happened long ago, but we did not know it until now".</i><br /><br />Special relativity tells us that the only concept of events happening "now" are events along our own Andrew Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03852211910001840777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-29176891700162214512009-11-28T01:59:26.999-05:002009-11-28T01:59:26.999-05:00Hi Andrew,
Given the distance to Alpha Centauri, ...Hi Andrew,<br /><br />Given the distance to Alpha Centauri, they already know that Kennedy was assasinated (if they are watching C-SPAN).<br /><br />When EM signals reach Alpha Centauri they say: "What a shame; Kennedy was assasinated in 1963." They do not say: "It happened in our future". They say: "It happened long ago, but we did not know it until now".<br /><br /Robert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-58250948877307280372009-11-27T17:04:57.006-05:002009-11-27T17:04:57.006-05:00Hi Steve,
No offense taken.
And if being a "...Hi Steve,<br /><br />No offense taken.<br /><br />And if being a "crackpot" means someone willing to seriously consider radically new ideas about physics and nature, as well as differentiating one from John Baez, then I say I'm a "crackpot" all the way. And proud of it!<br /><br />But, no testable predictions - no science,<br />RLORobert L. Oldershawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396555790655312393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-66486110671683437082009-11-27T13:08:05.340-05:002009-11-27T13:08:05.340-05:00Yes, nice pic, Plato. I like Lisi very much. Not s...Yes, nice pic, Plato. I like Lisi very much. Not sure he's right (and to his credit, neither is he). Rooting for him to be right, though. I'm studying E8 Lie algebras to figure his stuff out and have actual "shop talk" comments about it. Too bad about the many particles (low energy ones, yes?) that it predicts that are not seen. Can't renormalization help, with all due Steven Colyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435759210177642257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-11817594248475739582009-11-27T13:04:41.473-05:002009-11-27T13:04:41.473-05:00Hi Steven,
yes it does not ignite right away some...Hi Steven,<br /><br />yes it does not ignite right away sometimes until the connection is made. So until then it seems..crACKPOTTY too or as if I have been drinking to much.:)<br /><br />G -> H -> ... -> SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) -> SU(3) x U(1).<br /><br />I mean sure we are looking for the underlying mechanism? <br /><br />So people like Feynman or Dirac like to see these things in PlatoHagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00849253658526056393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-84294843248232462082009-11-27T12:58:14.307-05:002009-11-27T12:58:14.307-05:00Hi Robert,
I just re-read by post to you two post...Hi Robert,<br /><br />I just re-read by post to you two posts above and realized I forgot to add comma after "UK" which gives the sentence a whole new (negative) meaning! I didn't mean to imply you were a crackpot, just that crackpot magnet Icke lives in the UK. my Apologies.<br /><br />SteveSteven Colyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435759210177642257noreply@blogger.com