physics – Page 2 – An Autonomous Agent

Wholeness and the Implicate Order – David Bohm

On September 27, 2015

In book, consciousness, david bohm, physics, science, universe

The collection of papers composing the book, Wholeness and the Implicate Order by David Bohm, provides an introduction to the idea of holomovement and the implicate order of the universe. In other words, the entire known and un-known universe exists as a single inseparable flow. All parts are contained in any specified part, just as in a hologram. And all that humans observe with their biological and technological sensory apparatus are sub-regions of explicate order which form from within this whole.

As a metaphor, Bohm takes the experiment introduced by John Heller, shown below, and explains that the original oval shape drops of dye can be thought of as an explicate ordering of color and structure in time and space. After the experiment proceeds, this explicate order mixes into the glycerin system. Now, imagine the implicate order as consisting of the glycerin and dye system modified via the rotation. The system contains the original explicate ordering of the drops, in other words the existence of the dye as drops of individual colors is encoded by the glycerin system.

BUT, up to now the metaphor has been like a “time-reversal.” The real point of Bohm is that if the system is now rotated in the opposite direction, the dye will condense out of the system as an explicate order of color and shape identical to the original. This is how he suggests that the universe, i.e. the implicate order of the holomovement forms all explicate orders, including consciousness, observed by humans.

Nice Interview with David Bohm

By anautonomousagent

On August 29, 2015

In albert einstein, david bohm, physics, science, universe, video, youtube

About to start reading Bohm’s Wholeness and the Implicate Order. His ideas are appealing to my own experiences and I hope to learn a great deal from his book. Pretty good interview with David Bohm:

The Theories of J. Marvin Herdon

By anautonomousagent

On June 18, 2015

In astronomy, book, earth, geology, marvin herndon, physics, science

I was curious to learn about the Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics (WEDD) theory developed by J. Marvin Herndon after I discovered that Lynn Margulis had edited and recommended his work several years ago. After purchasing Herndon’s Earth and the Dark Side of Science and reading the foreword by Dorion Sagan, whom I respect as an excellent science writer, I began to see Herndon as a scientist who is attempting to shake the foundations of more than three distinct subject areas – Geoscience, Planetary Sciences, and Nuclear Science. Whether or not you personally think his WEDD theory is right or wrong is irrelevant to the truth. If someone thinks his theory is incorrect, then they can refute the theory with substantive evidence by publishing a paper which details the inconsistencies in logic or facts. But remember, as Feyerabend and Kuhn note repeatedly, facts are always theory laden.

Science is not a religion; scientists are not priests who defend a fixed doctrine. Scientists who simply ridicule or resort to name calling are doing a disservice to science in a time when science is being attacked on many fronts – by religions, governments, and corporations. Scientists who forsake truth for tenure, personal prestige or their own beliefs are just as dangerous to science as any external threat. And this does not exclude Herndon himself.

As a reader of science subjects, I find the ideas of Herndon to be a fresh and fascinating departure from the status-quo. This is what science is all about, proposing preposterous ideas and then proving them right or wrong. His theory is nothing short of a revolution in the subjects previously mentioned. Even if it turns out to be false, they still provide food for thought and may even perhaps result in a more developed and better understanding of the true nature of natural phenomenon.

In light of all the exoplanet discoveries of the Kepler Space Telescope there is even more reason to seriously consider investigating the theories presented by Herdon. Of the thousands of exoplanets discovered thus far, there is a large fraction of Jupiter type planets which lie within the orbit of Earth. In fact there are so many such exoplanets that the question should not be: “Why are there so many Jupiter type planets in such close proximity to their host star?” but should rather be: “Why does our Solar System not contain Jupiter type planets within Earth’s orbit?”

Even if Herdon’s theory is incorrect regarding the history of our Solar System, his proposed theory is a physical possibility, i.e. there is at least one planet or moon which has had its atmosphere stripped away in the universe. It would therefore be silly not to study the theory. Don’t mathematicians study topics which have no current application? What is the issue with studying situations that did not occur in our Solar System?

I suggest first reading: A New Basis of Geoscience: Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics

and then reading his book mentioned earlier (his book also contains this paper, among others).

For a list of his papers – J. Marvin Herdon on arXiv.org.

Thorium – Kirk Sorenson

By anautonomousagent

On May 11, 2015

In documentary, electricity, james mahaffey, kirk sorenson, nasa, nuclear, physics, video, website, youtube

Kirk Sorenson does an excellent job describing the current state of the American nuclear energy program and its future. He sees hope from the current enthusiasm of the Chinese, who are developing extensive nuclear reactor technology. Perhaps their focus will encourage the rest of the world. The nuclear energy field has been plagued by misconceptions for decades. There is a definite need for someone to stand up and cut through all the ignorance surrounding this important subject.

There are probably hundreds of new reactor designs. Kirk’s favourite is the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR). He talks extensively about its benefits, its problems, its safety, and how it can be put into operation. Hopefully, people will see his arguments as valid and convincing. Read more on his blog: Energy from Thorium. Gordon McDowell’s videos present the ideas of Sorenson in a clear and concise manner and there are numerous lectures and talks given by Sorenson on YouTube.

I would also recommend James Mahaffey’s book, Atomic Awakening.

The End of Certainty – Ilya Prigogine

By anautonomousagent

On January 18, 2015

In book, economics, emergence, ilya prigogine, math, physics, santa fe institute, science, stuart Kauffman, symmetry, universe

The End of Certainty by Ilya Prigogine provides insight into the natural processes which give rise to the novelty of life. Despite being published in 1997, there are so many great quotes and concepts which are still applicable today, that I will just say, “Read the book!” It will also help to read Stuart Kauffman’s book, Investigations, either before or after reading Prigogine’s book. Approaching from a different angle, Kauffman explores biological processes of nature which give rise to novelty and creative adaptive structures. Both books talk heavily about the dynamics of equilibrium and entropy. In the words of Prigogine, on page 67, “…matter at equilibrium is ‘blind,’ but far from equilibrium it begins to ‘see.'” Thus, non-equilibrium systems can think and observe the world, whereas systems in equilibrium are ignorant of all outside processes.

The approach of Prigogine lies in understanding the importance of Poincaré Resonances on dynamics and the construction/destruction of correlations at the microscopic level. How these resonances and these correlations behave leads to macroscopic features and the breaking of time symmetry. He deals with solving these Large Poincare Systems outside of the Hilbert Space; this is a concept which is important to biology and human social sciences. Because in these fields, we are always dealing with a system (human beings) which is far from equilibrium and behaves in novel and creative ways.

In other words, life, as a non-equilibrium dissipative structure emerging from the non-living world, needs to be studied under the auspices of “The End of Certainty.” Irreversible processes and long range correlations are critical to understanding the development of self-organization and the novelty of life.

All social sciences deal with a biological organism (humans), which is a product of non-equilibrium processes. Even Prigogine and the book itself are correlated with the mass of knowledge produced by humanity in the 20th century. In other words, his ideas and those of all scientists are subject to the same non-equilibrium dynamics which Prigogine talks about in his book. Resonances and correlations in the social sphere can lead to amazing discoveries or a lack thereof.

One subject that I think could see development from Prigogine’s ideas is economics. Economics should be considered: “The study of non-equilibirum dissipative structures created by the self-organized social species known as homo sapiens, to reproduce and adapt in the biosphere called ‘Earth.'”

What I thought about the most was the concept of correlation creation and destruction. In terms of self-organizing systems and financial markets, perhaps crashes are correlation destruction events, while bubbles are correlations spreading through time. And after a crash occurs, correlations can be created which makes a crisis even worse.

An Autonomous Agent

exploring the noosphere

Category: physics (Page 2 of 12)

Wholeness and the Implicate Order – David Bohm

Nice Interview with David Bohm

The Theories of J. Marvin Herdon

Thorium – Kirk Sorenson

The End of Certainty – Ilya Prigogine

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