Is there more to physics than "shut up and calculate?" Consider John Locke Versus Saul Alinsky and the surprising extent to which quantum mechanical misinterpretations underlie contemporary politics.
This reminds me of a sentiment I've had towards the sciences, especially physics, in that it is almost all mathematicians but they have done away with the philosophizing.
My take-away of two great arguments in your article:
Argument 1: Isaac Newton demonstrated that the same physical laws controlled motion on Earth and in the skies, implying that similar causes resulted in similar consequences.
- If we can comprehend how reality works physically, we should be able to understand the principles that should rule society.
Argument 2: Quantum mechanics brings the certainty and causality demonstrated by Newton's work into question.
- If reality manifests in contradiction and everything is linked to its polar opposite, we can only examine the world probabilistically rather than causally.
- Therefore this viewpoint calls into question the notion that we can understand reality and draw objective rules of governance, as intellectuals such as Newton and Locke attempted to do.
- Newton's work influenced intellectuals such as John Locke to develop objective principles that govern the right connections between individuals and society.
What is disturbing is that Causality as observed in the Classical realm exists. Quantum Mechanics must match the Classical per the Correspondence Principle. This presents a conundrum for scientists to resolve. The folks who want to sweep away Causality due to QM have a lot of 'spainin' to do, if so.
The popular view of QM entering into the mainstream was almost immediately wrapped up in convenient political and social cruft that appeared to paint the world as ordered by observations of individuals, lacking in discoverable cause, and became wrapped up in elements of religion (The 8-fold Way for example), usually through no fault of religious leaders. The "Me Generation" grabbed onto these interpretations tightly though.
The really critical period was in Weimar Germany where quantum mechanics absorbed the pre-existing prevailing a-causal and probabilistic philosophical attitudes. It was the philosophy imposed upon quantum mechanics, not quantum mechanical discoveries demanding the philosophical interpretations. That's in chapter 5.
If we can understand how reality works, why can we not understand the principles by which society should be governed? Newton inspired thinkers like John Locke (1632–1704), who similarly devised objective laws governing the proper relationships between an individual and society. Those ideas led to the American experiment: a nation built upon the principle of individual rights, the need for a government to be limited to specific duties, to have the consent of the governed, free speech, and religious and political tolerance.
This is why so many of us have become avid fans, of you.
Your books are about more than just physics , it is about how we handle reality, and interact with each other.
This reminds me of a sentiment I've had towards the sciences, especially physics, in that it is almost all mathematicians but they have done away with the philosophizing.
My take-away of two great arguments in your article:
Argument 1: Isaac Newton demonstrated that the same physical laws controlled motion on Earth and in the skies, implying that similar causes resulted in similar consequences.
- If we can comprehend how reality works physically, we should be able to understand the principles that should rule society.
Argument 2: Quantum mechanics brings the certainty and causality demonstrated by Newton's work into question.
- If reality manifests in contradiction and everything is linked to its polar opposite, we can only examine the world probabilistically rather than causally.
- Therefore this viewpoint calls into question the notion that we can understand reality and draw objective rules of governance, as intellectuals such as Newton and Locke attempted to do.
- Newton's work influenced intellectuals such as John Locke to develop objective principles that govern the right connections between individuals and society.
What is disturbing is that Causality as observed in the Classical realm exists. Quantum Mechanics must match the Classical per the Correspondence Principle. This presents a conundrum for scientists to resolve. The folks who want to sweep away Causality due to QM have a lot of 'spainin' to do, if so.
The popular view of QM entering into the mainstream was almost immediately wrapped up in convenient political and social cruft that appeared to paint the world as ordered by observations of individuals, lacking in discoverable cause, and became wrapped up in elements of religion (The 8-fold Way for example), usually through no fault of religious leaders. The "Me Generation" grabbed onto these interpretations tightly though.
The really critical period was in Weimar Germany where quantum mechanics absorbed the pre-existing prevailing a-causal and probabilistic philosophical attitudes. It was the philosophy imposed upon quantum mechanics, not quantum mechanical discoveries demanding the philosophical interpretations. That's in chapter 5.
Weimar Germany via Copenhagen. No surprises that it was infected there. Looking forward to the Ch 5 discussion.
If we can understand how reality works, why can we not understand the principles by which society should be governed? Newton inspired thinkers like John Locke (1632–1704), who similarly devised objective laws governing the proper relationships between an individual and society. Those ideas led to the American experiment: a nation built upon the principle of individual rights, the need for a government to be limited to specific duties, to have the consent of the governed, free speech, and religious and political tolerance.
This is why so many of us have become avid fans, of you.
Your books are about more than just physics , it is about how we handle reality, and interact with each other.