Every once in awhile a book will come along which alters the course of history. This is one of those times.
Still untitled, the book is written. Metaphors like harmonius universe, cosmic song, unfinished symphony, paradigm shift, and web of reality speak to its message.
From Plato's Forms though Smith's Invisible Hand, from Bacon's Idols through Rousseau's General Will, all philosophical ideas of history flow into a vessel which empties into recently uncovered truths.
Idealism, Rationalism, Empiricism, Materialism, Mysticism, QCD, QED, QFT, particles, fields, waves, love, truth, beauty, harmony, eightfold way, golden rule, dfa, erm, all are elements of the new vision.
One dimension of the new paradigm is that there is a mathematical edifice which begins at the subatomic level, travels through the classical level, and emerges at the complex level. A mathematical structure may be conceived which will tie all of reality into a grand unified theory.
Another dimension is that all philosophical structures from the Platonic to the Hegelian, from the Kantian through the Sartrean, are a foundation for a metaphorical vision of the reality being uncovered at the subatomic level.
The fuzziness within the atom which is at the core of all being reflects the gaps in understanding which historical thinkers were trying to fill.
A third dimension of the new paradigm is that public policy decisions, including those involving the current stimulus/bailout proposals, can be informed by the deep thinking which is going on in the universities and labs around the world.
The interconnected, convoluted, demographic, heterogeneous, uncertain and temporal nature of the global economy calls for models which not only incorporate traditional econometric structures, but those of compexity science, computer science, and actuarial science as well.
The path to justice is paved with knowledge, and the knowledge needed to transform the economy in a successful and sustainable way can be brought to bear if there is the will.
Yes we can.
Lee
Showing posts with label Symmetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Symmetry. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Harmonious Bibliography
Any book owes a large debt to all books which preceded it.
In my case, Harmonious Universe emerged from my immersion in:
Affluent Society by Galbraith
Silent Spring by Carson
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig
Lila by Pirsig
The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
The Dancing Wu-Li Masters by Zukav
The Tao of Physics by Capra
The Art of Mathematics by King
Chaos by Gleick
Complexity by Waldrop
Fire in the Mind by Johnson
Quantum Self by Zohar
Superforce by Davis
The Elegant Universe by Greene
How to Know God by Chopra
Shakespeare and the Common Understanding by Rabkin
Quantum Theory by Bohm
A Mathematical Bridge by Hewson
Tao of Chaos by Walter
Consilience by Wilson
Art & Physics by Shlain
Hyperspace by Kaku
The Self-Aware Universe by Goswami
The Philosophy of Physics by Torretti
The Quark and the Jaguar by Gell-Mann
At Home in the Universe by Kaufmann
Would be Worlds by Casti
Universals by Armstrong
The Theatre of the Absurd by Esslin
Free to Choose by Friedman
The Prophet by Gibran
Synchronicity by Peat
Complementarity by Plotnitsky
Metapatterns by Volk
Microfoundations by Weintraub
A First Course in String Theory by Zwiebach
Among others
Lee
In my case, Harmonious Universe emerged from my immersion in:
Affluent Society by Galbraith
Silent Spring by Carson
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig
Lila by Pirsig
The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
The Dancing Wu-Li Masters by Zukav
The Tao of Physics by Capra
The Art of Mathematics by King
Chaos by Gleick
Complexity by Waldrop
Fire in the Mind by Johnson
Quantum Self by Zohar
Superforce by Davis
The Elegant Universe by Greene
How to Know God by Chopra
Shakespeare and the Common Understanding by Rabkin
Quantum Theory by Bohm
A Mathematical Bridge by Hewson
Tao of Chaos by Walter
Consilience by Wilson
Art & Physics by Shlain
Hyperspace by Kaku
The Self-Aware Universe by Goswami
The Philosophy of Physics by Torretti
The Quark and the Jaguar by Gell-Mann
At Home in the Universe by Kaufmann
Would be Worlds by Casti
Universals by Armstrong
The Theatre of the Absurd by Esslin
Free to Choose by Friedman
The Prophet by Gibran
Synchronicity by Peat
Complementarity by Plotnitsky
Metapatterns by Volk
Microfoundations by Weintraub
A First Course in String Theory by Zwiebach
Among others
Lee
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Glass Bead Game
Hesses's novel posits an imaginary world in which spiritual values emerge dynamically as a game with musical and mathematical elements is played. The rules of the game draw from the sciences and arts, and express interrelationships among all areas of knowledge. As a result, it encompasses all aspects of culture and can lead to a full understanding of reality.
That sounds remarkably close to the basic premise of Harmonious Universe where developments in particle physics become the structure of the game. The metaphors of particle physics, waves, particles, fields, dimensions, entanglement...create a vision of a transcendent world where the mysteries of life are resolved.
The deeper we penetrate the atom and its nucleus the more fuzzy the core of reality seems. Electrons which orbit the nucleus are not "things", but are more like clouds of virtual reality. The quarks which make up the protons and neutrons in the nucleus may be stringlike objects whose vibrations in dimensions beyond our own create the elements of our world.
These particles may not exist at all, except as part of a web of connections made manifest by fields of virtuality.
In The Music of the Spheres, Jamie James starts out with a "Great Theme", "Picture to yourself, if you can, a universe in which everything makes sense. A serene order presides over the earth around you, and the heavens above revolve in sublime harmony.
Everything you can hear and see and know is an aspect of the ultimate truth: the noble simplicity of a geometric theorem, the predictability of the movement of the heavenly bodies, the harmonious beauty of a well-proportioned fugue-all are reflections of the essential perfection of the universe."
James goes on to demonstrate, through a journey through Western thought, how a loss of transcendence in the Industrial Revolution and Romantic movement dulled our sense of wonder and awe at the sheer power of the universe.
Harmonious Universe puts the sense of wonder back into our souls. A physical universe of mystery and beauty evolves into a mental and spiritual universe of unlimited possibility.
A convergence is now occurring. In the late 18th century, a group of amazing intellects created a country which has been a beacon of hope for all peoples for centuries. In the 1960's, developments in the sciences, arts, and politics were pointing to a new age of truth beauty and justice.
In 2009 a new Administration entered Washington on a wave of hope that mirrors that in the sciences of finding deep truths.
We are beginning a process of transforming the American economy into one which will provide hope for centuries to come. We will need wisdom, courage, strength and integrity.
We can move our society forward in a way that assures that future generations will have the opportunities we have had.
Yes we can.
Lee
That sounds remarkably close to the basic premise of Harmonious Universe where developments in particle physics become the structure of the game. The metaphors of particle physics, waves, particles, fields, dimensions, entanglement...create a vision of a transcendent world where the mysteries of life are resolved.
The deeper we penetrate the atom and its nucleus the more fuzzy the core of reality seems. Electrons which orbit the nucleus are not "things", but are more like clouds of virtual reality. The quarks which make up the protons and neutrons in the nucleus may be stringlike objects whose vibrations in dimensions beyond our own create the elements of our world.
These particles may not exist at all, except as part of a web of connections made manifest by fields of virtuality.
In The Music of the Spheres, Jamie James starts out with a "Great Theme", "Picture to yourself, if you can, a universe in which everything makes sense. A serene order presides over the earth around you, and the heavens above revolve in sublime harmony.
Everything you can hear and see and know is an aspect of the ultimate truth: the noble simplicity of a geometric theorem, the predictability of the movement of the heavenly bodies, the harmonious beauty of a well-proportioned fugue-all are reflections of the essential perfection of the universe."
James goes on to demonstrate, through a journey through Western thought, how a loss of transcendence in the Industrial Revolution and Romantic movement dulled our sense of wonder and awe at the sheer power of the universe.
Harmonious Universe puts the sense of wonder back into our souls. A physical universe of mystery and beauty evolves into a mental and spiritual universe of unlimited possibility.
A convergence is now occurring. In the late 18th century, a group of amazing intellects created a country which has been a beacon of hope for all peoples for centuries. In the 1960's, developments in the sciences, arts, and politics were pointing to a new age of truth beauty and justice.
In 2009 a new Administration entered Washington on a wave of hope that mirrors that in the sciences of finding deep truths.
We are beginning a process of transforming the American economy into one which will provide hope for centuries to come. We will need wisdom, courage, strength and integrity.
We can move our society forward in a way that assures that future generations will have the opportunities we have had.
Yes we can.
Lee
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Organic Universe
The idea of deep ecology is intriguing.
It is especially intriguing if there is evidence that the cosmos is an organism in the sense that all its parts are working together.
Like the human body, if all the parts are in synch, the cosmos is operating at peak efficiency. If some parts are out of synche, optimality is compromised.
Like a perfectly symmetric universe, a perfectly organic universe might not be as interesting as the one we inhabit. There may be a middle ground, however, where there can be optimal happiness while diversity and mystery continue to abound.
When we talk about our part of the cosmos, the earth, the discussion becomes more immediate. On the planet there are a number of ecosystems which support the quality and nature of our existence. The atoms which make us up are the same as those which make up every other element of he universe. They also may be entangled with every other atom.
The rocks, trees, animals and lakes resonate in some sense to the same rhythms as our bodies.
To the extent we destroy any part of this web, we diminish some aspect of our being.
Balance, The Golden Mean, The Golden Rule, all notions to help us navigate in these tricky waters.
The time honored goals of beauty, justice and truth emerge from a truly integrated physical, mental, and spiritual being.
Lee
It is especially intriguing if there is evidence that the cosmos is an organism in the sense that all its parts are working together.
Like the human body, if all the parts are in synch, the cosmos is operating at peak efficiency. If some parts are out of synche, optimality is compromised.
Like a perfectly symmetric universe, a perfectly organic universe might not be as interesting as the one we inhabit. There may be a middle ground, however, where there can be optimal happiness while diversity and mystery continue to abound.
When we talk about our part of the cosmos, the earth, the discussion becomes more immediate. On the planet there are a number of ecosystems which support the quality and nature of our existence. The atoms which make us up are the same as those which make up every other element of he universe. They also may be entangled with every other atom.
The rocks, trees, animals and lakes resonate in some sense to the same rhythms as our bodies.
To the extent we destroy any part of this web, we diminish some aspect of our being.
Balance, The Golden Mean, The Golden Rule, all notions to help us navigate in these tricky waters.
The time honored goals of beauty, justice and truth emerge from a truly integrated physical, mental, and spiritual being.
Lee
The Metaphysics of Harmony
As our official philosophy blog, Actuarial Universe will explore issues of ultimate reality.
There are many ways to approach ultimate reality. Many of them may be right. Some converge upon unity as the ultimate "value."
What is striking about the unity perspectives is that science and mathematics now lend support to that idea.
From Plato to Kant, Shakespeare to Locke, the idea that ultimately all is one prevails.
Now, the deepest calculations and consternations of scientists and mathematicians go there.
The Standard Model of Particle Physics gives the entities and interactions which define reality at the subatomic level. The particles and waves are virtual and probabilistic. They exist in a web of connections, called fields, and appear to be entangled.
They may emerge from dimensions beyond those our intellects and senses can perceive. When the clouds of energy within the nucleus "interact" with the electron clouds surrounding it, atoms emerge.
When the electrons of these atoms "interact "with those of other atoms, molecules emerge.
From molecules emerge the objects of chemistry and biology.
As we move up the ladder of complexity, the original elements become part of a framework which doesn't seem to reflect their origins. Only recently have scientists begun to uncover connections among complex objects which have patterns similar to those at the subatomic level.
Words like chaos, fractal, and self-organization begin to emerge from this haze of super-atomic reality.
The fact is that there is now a metaphysical scenario, supported by a partial mathematical structure, which portrays a universe in which everything is connected.
From the Big Bang to eternity, there is an underlying symmetry which connects everything at creation. The symmetry at Creation was perfect. It broke as the world cooled and structures which eventually emerged into us emerged. At the core of everything however is the primordial connection.
There are many ways to slice ultimate reality. One is the way that education has been divided. Philosophy, science, art, politics, history, economics, all part of a tapestry of human understanding.
From a scientific point of view, reality is the things we see and feel and their constituents. Nature, humanity, society, the cosmos, all part of a tapestry which scientists explore.
Reality can also be looked at as the sum of human intellectual activity. Plato's Forms, Kant's Categories, Shakespeare's Complementarities, Smith's Invisible Hand, Rousseau's General Will, Pirsig's Quality, Heisenberg's Uncertainty, Dirac's Sea, Schrodinger's Wave, Mandelbrot's Fractals, Mozart's Harmonies, a mosaic of truth and beauty.
Another perspective on ultimate reality is as the envelope of realms. There is a cosmic realm, a philosophical realm, a complex realm, an economic realm, a chaotic realm, a classical realm, a subatomic realm, a human realm, all creating a vision for our minds and bodies to experience.
Stay tuned.
Lee
There are many ways to approach ultimate reality. Many of them may be right. Some converge upon unity as the ultimate "value."
What is striking about the unity perspectives is that science and mathematics now lend support to that idea.
From Plato to Kant, Shakespeare to Locke, the idea that ultimately all is one prevails.
Now, the deepest calculations and consternations of scientists and mathematicians go there.
The Standard Model of Particle Physics gives the entities and interactions which define reality at the subatomic level. The particles and waves are virtual and probabilistic. They exist in a web of connections, called fields, and appear to be entangled.
They may emerge from dimensions beyond those our intellects and senses can perceive. When the clouds of energy within the nucleus "interact" with the electron clouds surrounding it, atoms emerge.
When the electrons of these atoms "interact "with those of other atoms, molecules emerge.
From molecules emerge the objects of chemistry and biology.
As we move up the ladder of complexity, the original elements become part of a framework which doesn't seem to reflect their origins. Only recently have scientists begun to uncover connections among complex objects which have patterns similar to those at the subatomic level.
Words like chaos, fractal, and self-organization begin to emerge from this haze of super-atomic reality.
The fact is that there is now a metaphysical scenario, supported by a partial mathematical structure, which portrays a universe in which everything is connected.
From the Big Bang to eternity, there is an underlying symmetry which connects everything at creation. The symmetry at Creation was perfect. It broke as the world cooled and structures which eventually emerged into us emerged. At the core of everything however is the primordial connection.
There are many ways to slice ultimate reality. One is the way that education has been divided. Philosophy, science, art, politics, history, economics, all part of a tapestry of human understanding.
From a scientific point of view, reality is the things we see and feel and their constituents. Nature, humanity, society, the cosmos, all part of a tapestry which scientists explore.
Reality can also be looked at as the sum of human intellectual activity. Plato's Forms, Kant's Categories, Shakespeare's Complementarities, Smith's Invisible Hand, Rousseau's General Will, Pirsig's Quality, Heisenberg's Uncertainty, Dirac's Sea, Schrodinger's Wave, Mandelbrot's Fractals, Mozart's Harmonies, a mosaic of truth and beauty.
Another perspective on ultimate reality is as the envelope of realms. There is a cosmic realm, a philosophical realm, a complex realm, an economic realm, a chaotic realm, a classical realm, a subatomic realm, a human realm, all creating a vision for our minds and bodies to experience.
Stay tuned.
Lee
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Zen and the Art of Particle Physics.
In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig says, "...ghosts and spirits are quite as real as atoms, particles, photons and quants...the laws of physics and science ..these are ghosts..."
What he wants to do is develop an all-encompassing notion which allows for the transcendence of the dualities which have split humanity and being. Art and Science, Romantic and Classic, Induction and Deduction, Subjective and Objective, all ways of dividing the world analytically and breaking syntheses.
What he wants to do is develop an all-encompassing notion which allows for the transcendence of the dualities which have split humanity and being. Art and Science, Romantic and Classic, Induction and Deduction, Subjective and Objective, all ways of dividing the world analytically and breaking syntheses.
The Big Bang may have been an event from which perfect symmetry exploded leading to our reality through a series of symmetry breaks. The original connections of the primordial elements may still exist in the elements which make up ourselves and our world.
There may be a unity underlying the apparant diversity we face. Notions from mathematics and science like Non Locality, Entanglement, Fields, Probability Waves, Uncertainty, Complementarity, Exclusion, Fractals, Emergence, Quarks, Topologies, Groups and Spaces all point to the reality of an interconnected, holistic universe.
Philosophical structures like Platonic Forms, Baconian Idols, Kantian Categories, Sartrean Existence, Rousseauean General Will, Hegelean Spirit, and Smith's Invisible Hand, like Pirsig's Quality/Value speak of a transcendence pointing to a similar unity of being.
Lee
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