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Stephen Wolfram: The Universe Runs on Automata Theory

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

bradley13 writes:

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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Original Submission

• We'll see We'll see (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday April 17 2020, @11:02AM (2 children)

  by khallow (3766) on Friday April 17 2020, @11:02AM (#984067) Journal

  It still doesn't look usable. But the presence of emergent geometry is very interesting. In the section "Recognizable geometry", a single generation rule on an appropriate starting graph results in the construction of larger graphs with a two-dimensional grid embedded. Another rule results in a cone surface (or capped cylinder). In the next few sections, rules generating hyperbolic and fractional dimension structures are found. Geometric properties like dimension and curvature are derived.
  
  An attempt is made to tie it to physics, but I think it's still far off. Check the "Quantum Measurement" section under "Potential Relation to Physics" for an interesting take on quantum observation.
  
  So anyway, here's what I'd look for in such a model:

  • At macroscopic level, Minkowski geometry emerges. Presently, we're seeing geometry of space slices with the automata steps being the time step with no real way to connect these slices at present. It might be something as simple as a labeling of vertices being draggable through the automata steps to provide the necessary time connection/linkage. Having said that, said geometry may be a much larger scale than presented here.
  • Important geometric properties of physics, particularly, invariance under difference frames of motion (which may mean that the automata itself can be shifted somehow in frame to yield equivalent systems), the extremely slight hyperbolic shape of space-time (de Siter space with a really small cosmological constant), and a symmetry group corresponding to the invariance of the three non-gravitational forces.
  • From the right points of view, the ability to generate physical distributions and dynamics of those distributions similar to what we see (in the long term possibly explaining everything from Standard Model subatomic particle interactions to galaxy and supercluster dynamics).
  • low level quantum - completely reversible and presence of noncommutative space-time operators for which the noncommutative parts dwindle to zero as the scale becomes macroscopic (or I suppose a positive correlation between spatial scale and classicalness of the system approximation).
  • high level quantum (existence of entanglement destroying observation and information/entropy) - a means by which to define observation, event horizons, information content, and test for things like holographic principle (conjecture that the information content of the interior of a space-time region is equal to the information content of the boundary of the region).

  Notice that there are numerous scales and views that need to be supported. The document seems to have made some credible moves to supporting aspects of this list.

• Re:We'll see Re:We'll see (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday April 17 2020, @11:07AM (1 child)

  by khallow (3766) on Friday April 17 2020, @11:07AM (#984069) Journal

  I forgot conservation laws and CPT-invariance. Probably a lot more important things missing where that came from.

  Parent

  • Re:We'll see (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday April 18 2020, @12:40PM

    by khallow (3766) on Saturday April 18 2020, @12:40PM (#984547) Journal

    Phase space.

    Parent