Freeman Dyson’s Disturbing Scientific Theology

Metadata

• Author: John Horgan
• Category: article

  Highlights

Dyson is rejecting the notion that physics can find a “final theory” that solves the riddle of the universe and brings physics to an end. Dyson is also hinting at a solution to the deepest of all theological puzzles, the problem of evil: Why would God create such a painful, unjust world?

It is a subversive laugh, the laugh of a man who insists that science at its best is “a rebellion against authority.”

Dyson was provoked into taking up this final topic by Steven Weinberg’s notorious remark that “the more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.”

In Infinite in All Directions, Dyson predicts that the entire universe might eventually be transformed into one great mind.

Dyson insists that even a cosmic superintelligence cannot solve the riddle of existence.

Tl;dr: Someone please explain to me why some physicists think something could ever cross the event horizon of a black hole.

There is a conflict between my understanding of what the event horizon of a black hole is vs the way that many theoretical physicists talk about them.

I understand that a result in general relativity is that time progresses more slowly in the presence of energy, and this is why light bends around massive objects.

The way I understand the dynamics around a black hole is that the surface of an event horizon is the region of space where the energy is so great that time literally grinds totowards a halt (edit/clarification: from the perspective of an observer farther out). Light moves at the speed of causality, and when causality slows down, so does light. Light is bent and redshifted due to time dilation, and only when time stops does the wavelength of light go

Philosophers like Murray Bookchin argued that the natural world tends towards greater and greater diversity. Now scientists in collaboration with philosophers argue that this tendency to complexify could constitute a natural law of the universe.

Significance The universe is replete with complex evolving systems, but the existing macroscopic physical laws do not seem to adequately describe these systems. Recognizing that the identification of conceptual equivalencies among disparate phenomena were foundational to developing previous laws of nature, we approach a potential “missing law” by looking for equivalencies among evolving systems. We suggest that all evolving systems—including but not limited to life—are composed of diverse components that can combine into configurational states that are then selected for or against based on function. We then identify the fundamental sources of selection—static persistence, dynamic persistence, and novelty generation—and propose a time-as

I think all of us here can agree that seeking to describe our universe in terms of laws and principles that allow us to make predictions about its dynamics is a worthy and fascinating pursuit. It is also undeniably valuable to any species that wishes to live and thrive in it.

However, us humans have developed this need to explain everything in terms of reasons for why things happen. What that means, exactly, varies between different contexts, but some interpretations are

• reasoned (practical or theoretic) justifications for actions taken by an agent;
• (primary) causes of events ("which of recent events was most necessary for this event to occur?");
• teleological purposes attributed to objects or events which explains their behaviours

"Do you know how fast you were going?" asks the cop. "No," Heisenberg replies, "but I know precisely where I am!"

My partner ordered it for me a couple of weeks ago as a surprise, but she had to tell me shortly after because I was talking about it and she didn't want to risk me ordering it too. The anticipation has been torturous.

You don't have to justify your fascination, but you are most welcome to!

'Proposed' includes old and new ideas alike. Consensus isn't a requirement either - it could be speculative, contentious or entirely uncontroversial, as long as it doesn't contradict what is currently known.

This is one of my favourite episodes of Sean Carroll's Mindscape podcast. He talks about his recent work in attempting to derive the kind of spacetime geometry we observe from little more than the mere existence of a universal quantum wavefunction.

Shownotes:

I suspect most loyal Mindscape listeners have been exposed to the fact that I've written a new book, Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime. As I release this episode on Monday 9 September 2019, the book will officially be released tomorrow, in print, e-book, and audio versions. To get in the mood, we've had several podcast episodes on quantum mechanics, but the "emergence of spacetime" aspect has been neglected. So today we have a solo podcast in which I explain a bit about the challenges of quantum gravity, how Many-Worlds provides the best framework for thinking about quantum gravity, and how entanglement could be the key to showing how a curved spacetime could emerge from a quantum wave f