Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Quote of the Day: "The laws of physics wrestling with the void"

The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs...         Image via       Wikipedia
The image of the fundamental laws of physics zestfully wrestling with the void to bring the universe into being is one that suggests very little improvement over the accounts given by the ancient Norse in which the world is revealed to be balanced on the back of a gigantic ox.
If this is how explanations come to an end, what of materialism? The laws of physics are sets of symbols, after all—those now vested with the monstrous power to bring things and urges into creation, and symbols belong to the intelligence-infused aspects of the universe. – David Berlinski
David Berlinksi is sooo good.
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2 comments:

Zorpheous said...

Errr wrong on every account. You and person you quote have same basic problem, and that is a basic working knowledge of the "Big Bang" Theory.

Unknown said...

I like to think of it as the void ripping itself a new one. LOL.

Empty space isn't empty. Its a frothing see of particles and anti-particles coming into being and instantly anihilating each other. They have been observed indirectly after being discovered on the blackboard. Hawking (who I assume you despise or want to eat) theorised that at the event horizon of a black hole some of these particles would not anihilate but be separated. Vast antimatter plumes are detected outside every black hole. Its called Hawking radiation.

In a universe like this I have no trouble imagining that an empty not-universe could rip itself a new one. You could also say: Let there be light.

Its all just very alien things wholly outside human imagining or experience, expressed in our simple language. In this way all of science and religion is both right an wrong at the same time. It depends on your interpretation.

"... nothing intellectually compelling or challenging.. bald assertions coupled to superstition... woefully pathetic"