World Science Scholars

4.4 The Future of Cosmology

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    • It’s been said that the entire universe is simply a collection of mathematical equations. Assuming that one day we know all the laws of physics, do you think those equations would reduce human beings—our thoughts, actions, fates—to mathematical processes? What would this mean about individualism? Determinism?

    • No, I don’t think that mathematics would any way reduce our humanity. Vice versa, we should think that it cherishes our nature.

    • Mathematics is a tool that can in fact help us develop better, more accurate models of the universe. It won’t affect our individualism or determinism.

    • The truth is we will never know what the actual ontology of the universe is, be it mathematics itself or something else. There’s no way to do it, there’s nothing to compare that ontology (whatever it is) to. I think it’s not in principle answerable. However, I do find Max’s idea of math being equivalent to reality pretty enticing. To me, math doesn’t need a creator, it’s self sufficient and eternal. Maybe ontology is the same, whether you call it “ontology”, “God”, “Nature”, it doesn’t matter – maybe it has this property similar to math of not needing a creator and being the source of space and time, therefore not existing in time and not being bound by time and therefore not needing to answer the question “what caused your existence”.

    • Surely there could be other ways we haven’t thought of that the universe could end.
      Sandokan Sahara-Khan

    • super

    • Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

      Existentialism tells us to put no faith in dead theories or dead ideas.

      It arises from Denmark, at the crossroads of the northern worlds.

      And so we see their locals refused to indulge in systems not their own to maintain business in the busy straits where Denmark occurs.

      Individuation requires protection from slavery. The Vatican Church and Napoleon the third attempted to reassert control of individuation. That failed in the Usa Civil War. It failed with Vatican Nazis in WWII.

      Mathematical processes involving end of the world scenarios contain logic. It may have limits. The big chill may get too cold. Dark matter may need to obey dark energy that seems to be deciding the fate and outcome of all choices of fate.

      So yes, the math of dark energy is a factor.

      Big bang cosmology as first a cold swish make logic to me. So adding the cold swish before the inflation is ok, and it is nice to hear this so clearly broken down into coherent topics.

      Whatever the end is, we live our lives as upright as possible. We may be insignificant to the two dark forces, but who knows what whispers in their ears.

    • If the universe is “simply” collection of mathematical equations, then these equations must exist within a mathematical structure. There must be axioms at the foundation of that structure. What then are those axioms and what is thier interpretaion within the universe? Beyond this, we know that no axiomatic system (no “mathematics”) can be complete (there must always exists un provable truths. How would such truths comport with the collection of equations? I feel that there must be more too it, Max. 🙂

    • knowing the math would not make us the math, there is math that can be derived or inferred for nearly everything, but it still doesn’t make anything only math. That being said knowledge is our lifeblood without it we are nothing.

    • math is the only tool which can describe everything beyond any other thing

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