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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday April 16 2020, @05:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the 42 dept.

Stephen Wolfram thinks he may have found the theory that unifies physics: it's basically automata theory. According to his theory, the universe is basically an automaton running a simple set of computational rules. The link leads to his layman's summary of the work.

Even if this isn't how things work, it lends a completely new perspective: based on a relatively simple analysis of his idea, he derives the basics of relativity and quantum mechanics. His article makes for a mind-bending and fascinating read, but it's already a summary, and trying to do a summary of a summary here makes little sense. If you're into physics, mathematics or cosmology, have a look!


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  • (Score: 2) by coolgopher on Friday April 17 2020, @06:03AM (2 children)

    by coolgopher (1157) on Friday April 17 2020, @06:03AM (#984009)

    I found it an interesting read. Whether it's in fact a unifying framework for physics and our understanding of the universe I'll leave to people with better understanding of the field.

    One thing I will say is that fact seems to follow fiction - hard sci-fi author Greg Egan used a similar construct in his "Permutation City" a couple of decades ago. Also an interesting read.

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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17 2020, @07:25AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17 2020, @07:25AM (#984027)

    > I found it an interesting read.

    Really? I found it one giant advertisement interspersed with giant floating turds of self-praise.

    When you're a kid, adults are so fake. You can't believe it. Most people "grow up", i.e. they take on a fake voice and call it real.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by meustrus on Friday April 17 2020, @04:27PM

      by meustrus (4961) on Friday April 17 2020, @04:27PM (#984165)

      When you're a baby, adults are so unknowable. When you're a toddler, adults are so monolithic and pure. Then as you grow, adults are compared against that toddler understanding that everything an adult does is just how it is.

      Of course it seems fake. You never started with a good idea of how humans work.

      But the idea that "adults are so fake" implies that the kid who "can't believe it" knows they are so much more authentic and pure.

      That's bullshit. You, me, and everyone else is just as fake as all the adults you learned over the years were just "tak[ing] on a fake voice and call[ing] it real".

      I think you may be stuck at the teenager level of understanding adults. Everyone is so fake, therefore there is no authenticity, and anyone who authentically thinks they are right is just full of shit.

      That works for most people, but it doesn't work for everyone. And if you go through life thinking it does, you will miss the few people that were worth listening to.

      I'm not saying that Stephen Wolfram is absolutely one of those people. I'm just saying we need to be open to the idea that he, or anyone else, might be.

      Then we come after what he says with some standard checks. Is he open about his findings? Are they disprovable? Has he set up the whole enterprise so that he can take all the credit?

      So far, the answer to all of these questions checks out. He's not acting like one of those cold fusion guys that refuses to let anyone look inside their sealed magic box. Give his ideas a chance.

      --
      If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?