David Deutsch: Constructor Theory

I’m happy to report some very significant resonances between my own speculations and those of Prof. Deutsch…

From Edge.org

There’s a notorious problem with defining information within physics, namely that on the one hand information is purely abstract, and the original theory of computation as developed by Alan Turing and others regarded computers and the information they manipulate purely abstractly as mathematical objects. Many mathematicians to this day don’t realize that information is physical and that there is no such thing as an abstract computer. Only a physical object can compute things.

Full article here

John Lloyd: An animated tour of the invisible

Higgs particle researchers face layoffs

From EUObserver.com:

An Italian institute heavily involved in the discovery of the Higgs particle is facing layoffs as the state slashes public spending on science to balance the budget.  

Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) was informed of the budget cuts two days after the Higgs particle was spotted. The discovery is considered one of the greatest scientific achievements in the past century.

Oh, well. It’s only learning about the nature of reality…It can wait.

Lawrence Krauss comments on Discovery

Writing for Slate Magazine:

More than this, however, the Higgs field implies that otherwise seemingly empty space is much richer and weirder than we could have imagined even a century ago, and in fact that we cannot understand our own existence without understanding “emptiness” better. Readers of mine will know that as a physicist, I have been particularly interested in “nothing” in all of its forms and its relation to something—namely us. The discovery of the Higgs says that “nothing” is getting ever more interesting.

Full comments here.

We Never Really Touch Anything

Think of how many archaic notions—and even entire philosophies—have been (and hopefully will be) discarded, with this one profound idea…Although, it can easily inspire holism, so it’s important to remember that it does not mean that matter and force particles/waves cannot be transferred between ‘objects’. A human body is not a closed system; rather, its most significant interactions with other ‘objects’ are, and are best understood, at the microphysical level.

*Yes, this is property reduction, but it is not ontological reduction. Ultimately it is all about explanation—hence, microphysical-on-up.

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