tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post6146545968307163315..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: You will probably not understand thisSabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-84298845235498946012019-08-28T08:39:32.327-04:002019-08-28T08:39:32.327-04:00In the last few weeks I have been thinking how dif...In the last few weeks I have been thinking how difficult it is to discuss political concepts and politics in general. The words used are not up to the job.<br /><br />For example you can't have a political conversation without the Left and Right being mentioned, but what do these concepts mean? How can can you define the many different political ideas on a single axis, or two? You can't.<Mighty Drunkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07111065683737068582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-38738765139162805472019-08-26T17:21:35.419-04:002019-08-26T17:21:35.419-04:00But so basically you do read through "it all&...But so basically you do read through "it all" and your mind sifts the gold from the river by forgetting. When an idea was good or "has legs" as you put it, it is retained? <br /><br />When I'd do that, I'd forget the reference, I wouldn't be able to quote.<br /><br />I wish I could go straight to the heart of all the information out there and have some kind of a &Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295626540007922631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-23706068426104042042019-08-26T17:01:03.531-04:002019-08-26T17:01:03.531-04:00Hehe, stellar. Nice one.Hehe, stellar. Nice one.Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295626540007922631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-27715222905118718682019-08-26T10:45:57.941-04:002019-08-26T10:45:57.941-04:00I think a lot of us have had similar feelings; I k...I think a lot of us have had similar feelings; I know I have.<br /><br />But here's what I found when I spent some time looking into one or two: there's a HUGE selection effect! I found I was - subconsciously - remembering/retaining only those ideas which seemed to have some legs; those ideas which were truly ridiculous I had forgotten that I'd had.<br /><br />Curiously, I spent quiteJeanTatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08737430572613792118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-61191170888898710292019-08-26T10:34:21.791-04:002019-08-26T10:34:21.791-04:00Thanks Sabine.
I feel quite a few of the comments...Thanks Sabine.<br /><br />I feel quite a few of the comments (at least, the ones that pass your moderation) aren't really about what you wrote in the accompanying blogpost; rather, they are marketing, or advertising. Of what? At worst, "pet theories" (sometimes crackpot), otherwise a plug for some fave idea or other. There's usually - but not always! - a hook to something in JeanTatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08737430572613792118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-80458316523263476912019-08-26T08:24:34.978-04:002019-08-26T08:24:34.978-04:00I have a question about this. As a grad student I ...I have a question about this. As a grad student I always struggled with knowing: "When is my literature review done?". This is, in a way, also a communication (or a communication efficiency) problem. The problem was never resolved. <br /><br />A story. When I was about twenty years old I read "the selfish gene" by Richard Dawkins (now that's a good read!). Thinking about Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295626540007922631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-19870763334978522902019-08-25T01:11:35.024-04:002019-08-25T01:11:35.024-04:00@mh
"…it's not what we think we know that...@mh<br />"…it's not what we think we know that's important, it's what we missed that has been starting us in the face and waiting for our perspective to change in order to see it.": this is well stated, and it is also clear to understand. When you and I see the same thing at the same time and at the same level then there is neither "you" nor "me"; there Gokul Gopisettihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00044660491634948291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-39972939639086439262019-08-24T21:55:36.406-04:002019-08-24T21:55:36.406-04:00I think this concept of not communicating with eac...I think this concept of not communicating with each other in science is even more applicable when we think about how we expect to communicate with an extraterrestrial species. We assume that they would use radio waves and would use mathematics in their message because it's "the most fundamental language". Considering how disconnected we are with each other on this planet,it's mhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03582678489140510042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-1064379142171680952019-08-24T07:07:59.233-04:002019-08-24T07:07:59.233-04:00I think Thurston made some similar points about ma...I think Thurston made some similar points about math. Namely that some sub-communities (of the larger math community) can develop an idiosyncratic language that becomes very obscure once the particular area they studied is no longer so active. If I remember correctly, he said this about some specific area of geometry in which he had worked in the past.Pascalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201150679841329835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-82583541821267632019-08-24T05:54:44.356-04:002019-08-24T05:54:44.356-04:00Someone will use imaginary numbers to contradict y...Someone will use imaginary numbers to contradict your methodology and still get positive results...MC Squaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14487243809180488798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-48565972570995945102019-08-23T22:53:42.547-04:002019-08-23T22:53:42.547-04:00Sabine,
So a talk that you gave two years ago at ...Sabine, <br />So a talk that you gave two years ago at an institute for the history and philosophy of science, changed your life? It’s wonderful to hear that you’ve already had such an experience! This pairs with a hope that I have regarding your future career. <br /><br />I consider it inevitable that a respected group of professionals will eventually develop various generally accepted Philosopher Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11126076811765843302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-77275439218377060042019-08-23T21:55:06.712-04:002019-08-23T21:55:06.712-04:00That is quite an amazing observation/quote.
It al...That is quite an amazing observation/quote.<br /><br />It also matches my experience traveling to foreign places without knowing the language and meeting people who also don’t speak my language, but who joyfully and enthusiastically *try* communicating with me. It feels like a great triumph when we actually do seem to communicate something precisely because we don’t expect to be able to do so.<brmanyosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12384195364005229109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-4969875590999885172019-08-23T20:00:03.605-04:002019-08-23T20:00:03.605-04:00to comprehend how exclusive predictiins work betwe...to comprehend how exclusive predictiins work between additional observstions, model the information content of the simplest deniable system (more points than none):<br /><br />point a: everything will be (including point a)<br />created at some point in the past and destroyed at some point in the future<br /><br />point b: everything will be (including point b)<br />neither (point a) created at danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07273682325433426119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-57426659740855252342019-08-23T09:17:19.052-04:002019-08-23T09:17:19.052-04:00Each Physicist has his own framework of beliefs. T...Each Physicist has his own framework of beliefs. This is more so for theoretical ones. No law has equal value among physicists. Theoretical physics apparent controversies is a symptom of a confidence crisis. Non-determinism is irrational, like singularities and infinities. Invoking anyone of them is a pure belief. The only possibility of that kind is an eternal universe though time should come inMC Squaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14487243809180488798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-28743052179856075852019-08-23T09:03:41.166-04:002019-08-23T09:03:41.166-04:00“Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice at a church where...“Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice at a church where a wedding has been ...” We all know this one. Hope I did not cause an ear worm, but two weeks ago I went to a concert where Ravel's <i>Bolero</i> was played and that has been stuck in my head ever since. Maybe this can displace Ravel, for I have been saying of late “curses on you Maurice.” In the end because of how we communicate or Lawrence Crowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12090839464038445335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-28325249907200471452019-08-23T08:14:27.833-04:002019-08-23T08:14:27.833-04:00Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere an...Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;<br />Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,<br />The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere<br />The ceremony of innocence is drowned;<br />The best lack all conviction, while the worst<br />Are full of passionate intensity.<br /><br />William Butler Yeats, The Second Coming, 1919Bill Benzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08360044945265178991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-40774332843715726062019-08-23T07:29:58.334-04:002019-08-23T07:29:58.334-04:00What is so special about not begin understood? It ...What is so special about not begin understood? It is a matter of fact, that the more complicated a topic gets and the more unreal its scenarios appear the more likely people will not understand it. That is just basic evolution. Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01356292814414717038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-23519651852759868532019-08-23T03:32:46.551-04:002019-08-23T03:32:46.551-04:00Ludwig Wittgenstein: "The older I grow the mo...Ludwig Wittgenstein: "The older I grow the more I realize how terribly difficult it is for people to understand each other, and I think that what misleads one is the fact that they all look so much like each other. If some people looked like elephants and others like cats, or fish, one wouldn’t expect them to understand each other and things would look much more like what they really are.&Philip Thrifthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03021615111948806998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-40196515377149982172019-08-23T02:22:28.841-04:002019-08-23T02:22:28.841-04:00Sabine,
Communication must also make it possible ...Sabine,<br /><br />Communication must also make it possible to take note of divergences in opinion.<br />You have to accept that people do not agree with your opinions if they are in disagreement with scientifically tested, philosophically grounded and technologically fertile theories.<br />They will argue and that's a good think for both side.<br />isometrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13630274939107848604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-71641236958607236082019-08-23T00:28:17.183-04:002019-08-23T00:28:17.183-04:00Terry,
Basically, yes, the problem is there's...Terry,<br /><br />Basically, yes, the problem is there's no way to copy ideas from one brain to another one and add the required software package to compile that. So what we do is that we rely on written and spoken words in what is usually a linear narrative. Works okay for some disciplines. Doesn't work all that well in disciplines heavy with abstract ideas that convert badly to words. <Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-28987524759196360002019-08-23T00:15:17.806-04:002019-08-23T00:15:17.806-04:00It plausibly is amplified by the ease of sharing i...It plausibly is amplified by the ease of sharing information now, as opposed to decades ago. <br /><br />Think about it this way. You have a million people who have something to say/time to write papers and have some time to think about what other people say/have time to read papers. The way that social media (and, increasingly, science) works, it makes it more and more likely they will spend Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-85499376675814276692019-08-23T00:00:30.520-04:002019-08-23T00:00:30.520-04:00Topher,
Thanks for mentioning the book; I'll ...Topher,<br /><br />Thanks for mentioning the book; I'll put that on the reading list.Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-48112601846510621582019-08-22T23:58:28.485-04:002019-08-22T23:58:28.485-04:00Thanks, I have fixed that :)Thanks, I have fixed that :)Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-66607988934624290492019-08-22T23:57:34.092-04:002019-08-22T23:57:34.092-04:00bud rap,
As to the first point. It's not that...bud rap,<br /><br />As to the first point. It's not that they mean it to be "privately encoded". I think it's the best they can do. I don't know if you have ever tried to write a paper about some calculation you have done. Writing up the calculation is the easy part. The difficult part is explaining why it matters. The problem is that if you cannot explain why it matters, noSabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-51950088564871447182019-08-22T23:33:31.536-04:002019-08-22T23:33:31.536-04:00JeanTate,
I know that the comments at Blogger suc...JeanTate,<br /><br />I know that the comments at Blogger suck, but there's nothing I can do about that. I can only ask people to please get a facebook account and instead comment on facebook. I know facebook has somewhat of a bad rep, but from the popular social media pages it is currently the one where the comment feature lends itself best to having a sensible discussion. <br /><br />As to Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com