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Notes

[Sunday 9 November 2008 - Saturday 15 November 2008]

[Notebook: DB 64 Gravitation]

[page 154]

Sunday 9 November 2008

Quran: a commentary

[page 155]

There is almost unlimited detail to be studied in any event, no matter how small, and it is necessary to create a reliable technology, to take all this detail into account.

Monday 10 November 2008
Tuesday 11 November 2008

. . .

Bohr's ad hoc model of the hydrogen atom was explained by de Broglie 'waves'. Schrödinger , Heisenberg et al went on to expand the wave motion into a infinite dimensional configuration space, giving us 'full blown' quantum mechanics. We might consider the network model as giving a similar explanation for the formalism of quantum field theory.

Thos Jefferson, Adelaide Advertiser 11 November 2008 page 17 letters: 'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies, If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. (source?)

Wednesday 12 November 2008

Physical theology - natural religion

[page 156]

Thursday 13 November 2008

To philosophize is to learn how to die' Cicero, Critchley page xi. Critchley

Critchley page xxix: 'As we know, the archive of ancient texts was largely lost, for example, when an angry mob of Christians destroyed the greatest library of the classical world at Alexandria at the end of the third century AD.'

Friday 15 November 2008

. . .

Expansion of Universe = serial --> parallel; time division multiplexing of universal process (universal string of processes) to give many parallel processes = parallel lives of all the personalities of the Universe

Creation = birth of a personality
Annihilation = death of a personality

Parallel process --> space

Superpositions are sets of possibilities that exist in a space which can only be observed serially. So viewed as a space these sentences are superpositions of symbols that are to be read serially. So a spacelike slice of memory is a superpositions which can be read in many different orders only a subset of which make sense, Of all the possible orderings of the letters in this paragraph

[page 157]

only a subset carry any sense, and an even smaller subset carry the meaning I wish to convey. Mathematics (and formalism in general) is a set of superpositions whither every local reality is a sequence of events, As relativity shows, the ordering of non-local sequences of events depends on the relative states of motion of events and observers.

Aquinas' definition of eternity 'tota simul' cannot be realized but is simply an abstract formal construct like a superposition which can only be realized as a sequence of time ordered slices like life as we experience it.

From a network point of view the realization of a superposition is the sequential reading of a series of locations in a random access memory as when our eyes move over a scene sequentially taking in features of something which may itself be considered static. If the scene is not static we have an interplay of roving eye and moving scene, so that we see a moving picture.

The Universe creates space (increases entropy) by communication insofar asa communication between two states is the tensor product of those states. Although engineers may think entropy increases gratuitously (perhaps to thwart their efforts to create reversible processes that conserve entropy and so maximize 'efficiency' of energy conversion), in fact the increase of entropy requires the discovery of protocols that mediate successful communication, The mathematics of quantum mechanics models this as the discovery of commutating matrices, ie matrices which share 'principal axes', eigenvectors or alphabets. The information yielded when a common basis for communication is founded is

[page 158]

encoded as eigenvalues

Saturday 15 November 2008

The entropy of a system is a count of its distinct states. To make the states distinct they must be places sufficiently far apart in state space, a la communication theory. ShannonThe increase in entropy that so bedevils power engineers (and pleases communication engineers) therefore requires clear differentiation of states. How does this happen? How are new states created? By new combinations (concatenations) of an alphabet. The creation of entropy is the creation of space and the creation of the Trinity seems to be the most ancient model for this. We ask how does a continuum transform itself into two discrete points (personalities, sources). How does the One God become Father and Son.

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Further reading

Books

Click on the "Amazon" link below each book entry to see details of a book (and possibly buy it!)

Adams, Marilyn McCord, Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God, Melbourne University Press 1999 Jacket: 'Thinkers in all societies have struggled to make sense of horrendous evil. This provocative book takes a religious perspective. It tackles a fundamental dilemma in Christian thought -- how to recocile faith in God with the evils that afflict human beings. Distinguished Americal philosopher Marilyn McCord Adams argues that analytic philosophy of religion is too narrowly focussed. The ground rules for debate have allowed philosophers to avert their gaze from the very worst evils and from their impact on human lives. She proposes a radical shift away from the preoccupation with morals and towards more fruitful evaluative categories such as purity, defilement, honour, shame and aesthetics. The innovative approach of Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God will challenge thinkers both religious and secular.' 
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Critchley, Simon, The Book of Dead Philosophers, Granta 2008 Amazon customer review: 'A wonderful concept for a book. It spends a page and half or so on the deaths of 170 different philosophers. For some, it nicely juxtaposes their beliefs with their practical applications. For others, it illustrates a hypocrisy. Mostly though, I think it does a good job bringing the lot of them back down to earth. The introductions (there are three) are themselves a decent discussion on death and dying. It's one of those books you wish was a Wikipedia page so you could follow all the strands it begins to tug at.' Ryan C Holiday 
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Deutsch, David, The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes - and its Implications, Allen Lane Penguin Press 1997 Jacket: 'Quantum physics, evolution, computation and knowledge - these four strands of scientific theory and philosophy have, until now, remained incomplete explanations of the way the Universe works. ... Oxford scholar DD shows how they are so closely intertwined that we cannot properly understand any one of them without reference to the other three. ...' 
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Lane, Terry, God: The Interview, ABC Books 2004 Jacket: This is a book for those who feel that conventional religion has not answered their existential dilemmas. It is a deeply personal examination of certainty and doubt, the existnece of evil and inhuman aciton in the name of faith, written with Terry Lane's characteristic good humour and quizzical rationality. In the light of resurgent religious extremism, serious scandals within the established church and in-your-face consumerism, God: the interview is as provocative and searching now as it was when it was first published in 1993.' 
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Nielsen, Michael A, and Isaac L Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press 2000 Review: A rigorous, comprehensive text on quantum information is timely. The study of quantum information and computation represents a particularly direct route to understanding quantum mechanics. Unlike the traditional route to quantum mechanics via Schrödinger 's equation and the hydrogen atom, the study of quantum information requires no calculus, merely a knowledge of complex numbers and matrix multiplication. In addition, quantum information processing gives direct access to the traditionally advanced topics of measurement of quantum systems and decoherence.' Seth Lloyd, Department of Quantum Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Nature 6876: vol 416 page 19, 7 March 2002. 
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Papers
Shannon, Claude E, "The mathematical theory of communication", Bell System Technical Journal, 27, , July and October, 1948, page 379-423, 623-656. 'A Note on the Edition Claude Shannon's ``A mathematical theory of communication'' was first published in two parts in the July and October 1948 editions of the Bell System Technical Journal [1]. The paper has appeared in a number of republications since: • The original 1948 version was reproduced in the collection Key Papers in the Development of Information Theory [2]. The paper also appears in Claude Elwood Shannon: Collected Papers [3]. The text of the latter is a reproduction from the Bell Telephone System Technical Publications, a series of monographs by engineers and scientists of the Bell System published in the BSTJ and elsewhere. This version has correct section numbering (the BSTJ version has two sections numbered 21), and as far as we can tell, this is the only difference from the BSTJ version. • Prefaced by Warren Weaver's introduction, ``Recent contributions to the mathematical theory of communication,'' the paper was included in The Mathematical Theory of Communication, published by the University of Illinois Press in 1949 [4]. The text in this book differs from the original mainly in the following points: • the title is changed to ``The mathematical theory of communication'' and some sections have new headings, • Appendix 4 is rewritten, • the references to unpublished material have been updated to refer to the published material. The text we present here is based on the BSTJ version with a number of corrections.. back
Links
Aquinas 45 Whether this is a good definition of eternity, "The simultaneously-whole and perfect possession of interminable life". I answer that, As we attain to the knowledge of simple things by way of compound things, so must we reach to the knowledge of eternity by means of time, which is nothing but the numbering of movement by "before" and "after". For since succession occurs in every movement, and one part comes after another, the fact that we reckon before and after in movement, makes us apprehend time, which is nothing else but the measure of before and after in movement. Now in a thing bereft of movement, which is always the same, there is no before or after. As therefore the idea of time consists in the numbering of before and after in movement; so likewise in the apprehension of the uniformity of what is outside of movement, consists the idea of eternity. Further, those things are said to be measured by time which have a beginning and an end in time, because in everything which is moved there is a beginning, and there is an end. But as whatever is wholly immutable can have no succession, so it has no beginning, and no end. Thus eternity is known from two sources: first, because what is eternal is interminable--that is, has no beginning nor end (that is, no term either way); secondly, because eternity has no succession, being simultaneously whole. back
Claude E Shannon A Mathematical Theory of Communication 'The fundamental problem of communication is that of reproducing at one point either exactly or approximately a message selected at another point. Frequently the messages have meaning; that is they refer to or are correlated according to some system with certain physical or conceptual entities. These semantic aspects of communication are irrelevant to the engineering problem. The significant aspect is that the actual message is one selected from a set of possible messages.' back
Library of Alexandria - Wikipedia Library of Alexandria - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The Royal Library of Alexandria or Ancient Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was once the largest library in the ancient world. The Library of Alexandria, generally thought to have been founded at the beginning of the third century BC, was conceived and opened during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter, or that of his son Ptolemy II of Egypt. It has been reasonably established that the Library or parts of the collection were destroyed on a number of occasions, but to this day the details of the destruction (or destructions) remain a lively source of controversy based on inconclusive evidence.' back
Qur'an - Sacret Texts The Holy Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr.) Index 'This is the main Qur'an version at sacred-texts.com. Because a completely accurate Unicode version of the Arabic Qur'an text is not yet available, the Arabic is presented as embedded graphics in the GIF format. To allow for viewing on slower systems, each Surah is broken down into traditional sections, which usually include about a dozen verses. Each verse is presented in Arabic along with a pronunciation guide, and The Yusuf Ali English text. , , , The Yusuf Ali English text is based on the 1938 book, The Holy Qur-an, Text, Translation and Commentary, (published in Lahore, Cairo and Riyadh). Some modifications have been made; in particular, where the term 'God' appears in the original book, 'Allah' has been substituted. This version is widely used because it is a clear, modern and eloquent translation by a well-respected Muslim scholar. The Surah titles used here are also those which were used in this book..' back
Qur'an - Wikipedia Qur'an - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The Qur’an was written down by Muhammad's companions while he was alive, although the prime method of transmission was oral. It was compiled in the time of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and was standardized in the time of Uthman, the third caliph. The Qur’an in its actual form is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad because the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance and that historically controversy over the content of the Qur’an has never become a main point. [22][23] Therefore all Muslims, Sunni or Shia, use the same Qur’an.' back
Shor Shor's Algorithm for Quantum Factorisation back
Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia Private Banks (Quotation - Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia 'Status: This quotation is at least partly spurious; see comments below.' back
Wikipedia Public Key Cryptography 'Public-key cryptography is a form of modern cryptography which allows users to communicate securely without previously agreeing on a shared secret key. For most of the history of cryptography, a key had to be kept absolutely secret and would be agreed upon beforehand using a secure, but non-cryptographic, method; for example, a face-to-face meeting or a trusted courier. There are a number of significant practical difficulties in this approach to distributing keys. Public-key cryptography was invented to address these drawbacks — with public-key cryptography, users can communicate securely over an insecure channel without having to agree upon a key beforehand.' back

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