natural theology

This site is part of the The natural religion project
dedicated to developing and promoting the art of peace.

Contact us: Click to email

Notes

[Notebook: Transfinite Field Theory DB 56]

[Sunday 23 November 2003 - Saturday 22 November 2003]

Sunday 23 November 2003
Monday 24 November 2003
Tuesday 25 November 2003

[page 22]

Wednesday 26 November 2003

Aristotle's work provided a foundation for physics as well as metaphysics. The principal features of classical physics are an amalgam of the ideas of Aristotle and Euclid. Newton accepted the notions of continuous space occupied by material particles but introduced new ideas about what actually animated these particles - the four laws of motion.

Negative numbers are necessary to design an analytic periodic function (ie bounded range) on an infinite domain, since we need positive and negative infinities to cancel out to give a finite result,

We have been talking about the number line which can be seen as the naturals, integers, rationals, reals, complex, matrix . . . series. But the introduction of complex numbers takes us out of the line into the plane, the Argand diagram. This gives is a geometric intuition of something that seems arithmetically impossible. Since physics, particularly quantum

[page 23]

mechanics would be literally inconceivable without complex numbers, we must conclude that as these numbers are isomorphic to the Argand diagram, they are isomorphic to some deep feature of the world.

Here all the words, god, world, Universe, all that is, the whole etc all point to the same meaning, which is the superposition of all of them. Wittgenstein talks of showing and telling. Wittgenstein The whole cannot be shown (Cantor's paradox and other inconsistencies get in the way) it can only be told. This has led to a lot of crazy stories about god and our relationship to him/her/it (another superposition).

It is very easy to say that everything is fucked and lets smash the lot of it and start again with something decent, but that is not possible, so we spend our latter years either being a suicide bomber at one extreme, or carefully filtering through history as a guide to finding the best way forward in a Universe which we see as a continually evolving massively parallel mathematical proof, working itself out in time. The formal constraint is that each step forward must be consistent with its environment, ie its past light cone.

So for a long time have rejected Lonergan's distinction between proportionate and transcendent being. Lonergan pp 657 sqq Now we can say that the proportionate and transcendent being are not really distinct, but (here is a good form of words) proportionate being is the part of the transcendent being that we can see. When we turn on the light we can see more of the divinity but what we see changes as we look about, and so the boundary between proportionate and transcendent being is fluid, different for everybody (every entity) at every moment. Nor should we demand that proportionate being be consciously known. So more generally, proportionate being (for any entity) is the

[page 24]

part of transcendent being that it is communicating with at any moment. This gives us also a picture of revelation.

This leads to another way to look at the empirical residue. Lonergan pp 50 sqq It is not so much the unintelligible dross of a material world as all that part of the world that is not in communication with the entity whose empirical residue we speak of, ie the rest of god. This easily fulfill the definition of prime matter nec quale nec quantum nec aliquid eorum quibus ens determinatur. Russell's paradox equates God and nothingness, as a mystic might be pleased to see.

The whole understands itself. Each act of communication, (we theorize) is isomorphic to an act of insight, and also isomorphic to the 'collapse of the wave function' but this isomorphism (in print at least) is inherently dual because motion can only be described by two fixed points known as before and after. 'Tempus est numerus motus secundum prius et posterius' [time is 'number of movement in respect of the before and after'] . Aristotle, 220a24

Natural line is a number dictionary. We give the natural numbers different meanings (real, matrix etc) in different contexts. They are the universal index set, because they have distinct names and a natural order. Communication can have no meaning without distinct symbols )marks - a space is a mark, the mark which is no mark, ie the closure of the set of marks). The inherent binaryness of communication is captured by our understanding of the empty set, which, (since sets are defined by their elements) is a unique but undefined entity. It is unique because it is undefined, since it has no features which might distinguish empty set one from empty set two. It can as well model the divinity as the initial singularity, both unique.

Predictive deconvolution uses a window of the past to predict the future, which prediction may be subtracted to

[page 25]

reveal events not predicted by the past. So seismic processing gives us a model for history if we expand the linear time series of a microphone channel into the multidimensional time series which is reality. As a first step, we see the world not as a time line, but as a time tube, a stack of Argand planes stretching from the present plane into the past and future. From this we expand our vision to a tree of Hilbert Spaces whose most jejune representation is the transfinite number line stretching from the initial singularity to god. Although this line is extended in time, 'spatially' each subsequent point on it contains all its predecessors and is causally related to them in the same way that we cannot write out a set of cardinality aleph(n) until we have written our aleph(n-1)

Squinting at this tree to get the general picture, we see each subsequent moment as a superposition of all the moments that went before. The weighing of different structures in this superposition enables us to calculate the amplitudes for different events and so predict what will happen next (up to a probability = |amplitude| squared,.

All possibilities are envisaged and the consistent ones realized. CONSISTENT = FUTURE LIGHT CONE

We set out, in the quantum non-cloning and empirical residue essay to show that Lonergan's empirical residue does not exist. In the absolute sense proposed by Lonergan, this proof is still good. How now do we make the map between quantum mechanics and the new definition of empirical residue that it is the part of god that is not being revealed to us at any moment, ie this moment while the ideas are being revealed to me by the current operation of my mind on all the little treasures I have collected since birth.

Quantum mechanics - revelation - collapse of wavefunction - communication. There is no communication without meaning, ie a

[page 26]

a complete communication requires that a message be both sent and received, and we see as 'consistency' the conditions needed in the sending and receiving entities for complete communication to happen. The establishment of such consistency is the solution of a problem, ie an act in insight which we model quantum mechanically by the evolution of a set of eigenvectors and the communication of an eigenvalue corresponding to one of the eigenvectors of the eigenfunction (code?) shared by sender and receiver ie past and future, or here and there (t1, t2. p1. p2)

All this palaver may help with the problem of mapping quantum mechanics into/onto 4-space and the resulting generation of particles / states / structure etc.

Feynman QED [Quantum Electrodynamics] page 49: '. . . in order to calculate properly the probability of an event in different circumstances, we have to add all the arrows for every way that the event could happen - not just the ways we think are the important ones!' Feynman

How to make money: 1)work for $x per hour. Slow but sure. 2) gamble. One a losing game this is bound to make a loss in the long run.On a constant game, one will break even and on a winning game (like a rising stock market) one will, if playing at random, win. The outcomes of random play can be improved by knowledge eg where is the real oil; what is the fast horse, etc. In purely probabilistic games, no knowledge is available. Here we have the quantum thing - getting the knowledge may change the game.

Adding amplitudes in a complex space is a way of measuring consistency.

The theory that God rewards the good is often used by the well to do to prove their virtuousness, but this is not necessarily a valid inference. The alternative is a theory of fluctuations, noise and overcoming noise.

[page 27]

Thursday 27 November 2003

Some people (all people!) surround themselves with other people, they are 'dressed' in the physical sense (Nature ?), acquiring mass as they do do.

Agatha: 'There is nothing so inhuman as the mask of the good servant' Vicarage, p 97. Christie

CLASS is defined by NON-COMMUNICATION. We do not 'talk to one another outside our class'. 'Talk' has many meanings which might be ordered by the 'intimacy' (complexity) of the talk, from conversation with a machine, a servant, through to a lover or a child.

Quantum mechanics and probability: ''Ah!' said Miss Marple. 'Bit I always find it prudent to suspect everybody just a little. What I say is that you never really know, do you.

There is a conserved flow at each peer level and we might in fact use the symmetry of conservation [conversation?] as a defining feature of a peer level, a level or depth of meaning. So, we say, there may be a way to describe a conserved flow of meaning, that is a meaningful conversation about something. Such a conversation we may understand do be an analysis of some situation, be it the workings of an atom, a game, or the network of intrigue woven in the Vicarage.

The drug laws (eg) are well established and have a momentum which is very difficult for a single individual to overcome unless that person can acquire similar momentum, that is 'dress' itself. Here we find a clue to the might of the pen, since a single decision by the high court might set all the drug laws at zero. - by declaring drugs (psychotropic) as matters in the internal (spiritual) forum and so not a fit subject for parliamentary (or any other) law.

[page 28]

We can understand political violence in terms of the 'political pressure' in a state, which determines the energy of collision of the particles in that state.

We may describe a human as a 'state' using a natural transfinite extension of the quantum mechanical formalism. This transfinite quantum mechanics is what we equate to metaphysics.

Feynman claims that the little arrows representing amplitude remove the need for the 'collapse of the wave function.'

Feynman QED page 76: '. . . these arrows are probability amplitudes [analogous to the amplitude and phase of a wave] that give, when squared, the probability of a complete event. *

* 'keeping this principle in mind should help the student avoid being confused by things such as the 'reduction of the wave packet' and similar magic.'

But the fact remains that we only observe by measuring, and every measurement selects one out of a formal array of possibilities with a probability which depends on the squared length of a certain arrow, which we may think of as constructed by summing or multiplying other arrows.

The 'normalization' of transfinite quantum mechanics gives us an inverse series to the transfinite numbers, 1/ℵ0, 1/aleph(n) etc.

The Hilbert oscillator operates by binding and separating states - entanglement and disentanglement. Everything is a little bit (1/aleph(n)) entangled with everything else, but we can identify systems that are not entangled and so evolve (as the whole Universe evolves) unitarily.

Friday 28 November 2003
Saturday 29 November 2003

Related sites

Concordat Watch

Revealing Vatican attempts to propagate its religion by international treaty


Copyright:

You may copy this material freely provided only that you quote fairly and provide a link (or reference) to your source.


Further reading

Books

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

Aristotle, and P H Wickstead and F M Cornford, translators, Physics books V-VIII, Harvard University Press,William Heinemann 1980 Introduction: 'Simplicius tells us that Books I - IV of the Physics were referred to as the books Concerning the Principles, while Books V - VIII were called On Movement. The earlier books have, in fact, defined the things which are subject to movement (the contents of the physical world) and analyzed certain concepts - Time, Place and so forth - which are involved in the occurrence of movement.' Book V is a further introduction to the detailed analysis in Books VI - VIII. Book VI deals with continuity, Book VII is an introductory study for Book VIII, which brings us to the conclusion that all change and motion in the unvierse are ultimately caused by a Prime Mover which is itself unchanging and unmoved and which has neither magnitude nor parts, but is spiritual and not in space.' 
Amazon
  back
Axelrod, Robert, The Evolution of Cooperation, Basic Books 1985 Amazon.com: 'This book is a must-read not only for students (broadly defined) of the social sciences, but also for politicians and bureaucrats, especially those in charge of military and foreign affairs. Axelrod's book is a tour-de-force in multi-method approaches. Although the author is a trifle repetitive and occasionally laborious, I think the profound content of the book far outweighs the minor inadequacies of its form. At the risk of sounding like a logical positivist, I would venture to say that Axelrod's approach offers hope for a bottom-up construction of cooperation in an uncertain world without a central authority.' Reeshad Dalal 
Amazon
  back
Axelrod, Robert, The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition and Collaboration, Princeton University Press 1997  
Amazon
  back
Axelrod, Robert, and Michael D Cohen, Harnessing Complexity: Organisational Implications of a Scientific Frontier, Free Press 2000 Jacket: 'There has always been a fairly wide gap between theoretical work on complex adaptive systems and its application to real world problems confronting business and public policy. Harnessing Complexity builds a highly practical bridge bvetween these worlds, drawing on the deep insights of two thinkers who were there at the beginning of the complexity revolution. Francis Fukuyama' 
Amazon
  back
Christie, Agatha, Murder at the Vicarage, Dodd Mead 1986 Amnazon customer review: 'Murder at the Vicarage, first published in 1930, is the book that first introduced the world to Miss Jane Marple and the cozy English village of St. Mary Mead. Every mystery fan in the world is or should be familiar with Christie's classic character of Miss Marple. This book presents her at her best and is required reading for any mystery fan. The writing is sharp, the plotting crisp and clever, there are many red herrings and the solution is very satisfying. This is Christie at her very best. Highly recommended.' Lisa Bahrami 
Amazon
  back
Feynman, Richard, QED: The Strange Story of Light and Matter, Princeton UP 1988 Jacket: 'Quantum electrodynamics - or QED for short - is the 'strange theory' that explains how light and electrons interact. Thanks to Richard Feynmann and his colleagues, it is also one of the rare parts of physics that is known for sure, a theory that has stood the test of time. ... In this beautifully lucid set of lectures he provides a definitive introduction to QED.' 
Amazon
  back
Lonergan, Bernard J F, Insight : A Study of Human Understanding (Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan : Volume 3), University of Toronto Press 1992 '... Bernard Lonergan's masterwork. Its aim is nothing less than insight into insight itself, an understanding of understanding' 
Amazon
  back
Sigmund, Karl, Games of Life: Explorations in Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Oxford UP 1993 Jacket: 'This book takes us on a tour through the games and computer simulations that are helping us to understand the ecology, evolution and behaviour of real life - from cat and mouse to cellular automata, from the battle of the sexes to artificial life, from poker to prisoner's dilemma.' 
Amazon
  back
Tomonaga, Sin-itiro, The Story of Spin, University of Chicago Press 1997 Jacket: 'The Story of Spin, as told by Sin-itiro Tomonaga and lovingly translated by Takeshi Oka, is a brilliant and witty account of the development of modern quantum theory, which takes electron spin as a pivotal concept. Reading these twelve lectures on the fundamental aspects of physics is a joyful experience that is rare indeed.' Laurie Brown, Northwestern University. 
Amazon
  back
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, and Elizabeth Anscombe (translator and editor), Philosophical Investigations: The German Text with a Revised English Translation, Blackwell Publishers 2002 Amazon editorial review: 'Ludwig Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations" presents his own distillation of two decades of intense work on the philosophies of mind, language and meaning. When first published in 1953, it immediately entered the centre of philosophical debate. This revised German and English edition is published on the fiftieth anniversary of Wittgenstein's death. It incorporates final revisions by G.E.M. Anscombe (1919-2001) to her original English translation.' 
Amazon
  back
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, and David Francis Pears, Brian McGuinness, Bertrand Russell , Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Routledge 2001 'This as a most imortant book containing original ideas on a large range of topics, forming a coherent system, which, whether or not it be, as the author claims, in its essentials the final solution of the problems dealt with, is of extraordinary interest and deserves the attention of all philosophers.' Frank Ramsey, 'Critical Notice of L Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus', Mind, XXXII, no 128 (October 1923) pp 465-78.  
Amazon
  back
Papers
Surowiecki, James, "The Financial Page: The Open Secret of Success", New Yorker, 84, 13, 12 May 2008, page 48. 'In the current atmosphere of economic tumult, the announcement that Toyota sold a hundred and sixty thousand more cars than General Motors in the first three months of this year might seem like a minor news item. But it may very well signal the end of one of the most remarkable runs in business history. For seventy-seven years, in good times and bad, G.M. has sold more cars annually than any other company in the world.' Surowiecki. back
Zurek, Wojciech Hubert, "Quantum origin of quantum jumps: Breaking of unitary symmetry induced by information transfer in the transition from quantum to classical", Physical Review A, 76, 5, 16 November 2007, page . Abstract: 'Measurements transfer information about a system to the apparatus and then, further on, to observers and (often inadvertently) to the environment. I show that even imperfect copying essential in such situations restricts possible unperturbed outcomes to an orthogonal subset of all possible states of the system, thus breaking the unitary symmetry of its Hilbert space implied by the quantum superposition principle. Preferred outcome states emerge as a result. They provide a framework for 'wave-packet collapse', designating terminal points of quantum jumps and defining the measured observable by specifying its eigenstates. In quantum Darwinism, they are the progenitors of multiple copies spread throughout the environment &mdash the fittest quantum states that not only survive decoherence, but subvert the environment into carrying information about them &mdash into becoming a witness.'. back
Links
Boson - Wikipedia Boson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'In particle physics, bosons are particles with an integer spin, as opposed to fermions which have half-integer spin. From a behaviour point of view, fermions are particles that obey the Fermi-Dirac statistics while bosons are particles that obey the Bose-Einstein statistics. They may be either elementary, like the photon, or composite, as mesons. All force carrier particles are bosons. They are named after Satyendra Nath Bose. In contrast to fermions, several bosons can occupy the same quantum state. Thus, bosons with the same energy can occupy the same place in space.' back
CPT Symmetry - Wikipedia CPT Symmetry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'CPT symmetry is a fundamental symmetry of physical laws under transformations that involve the inversions of charge, parity and time simultaneously.' back
Fermion - Wikipedia Fermion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'In particle physics, fermions are particles with a half-integer spin, such as protons and electrons. They obey the Fermi-Dirac statistics and are named after Enrico Fermi. In the Standard Model there are two types of elementary fermions: quarks and leptons. . . . In contrast to bosons, only one fermion can occupy a quantum state at a given time (they obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle). Thus, if more than one fermion occupies the same place in space, the properties of each fermion (e.g. its spin) must be different from the rest. Therefore fermions are usually related with matter while bosons are related with radiation, though the separation between the two is not clear in quantum physics. back
Malcolm Gladwell Annals of Innovation: Who says big ideas are rare? 'The history of science is full of ideas that several people had at the same time.' Read More back
Minkowski space - Wikipedia Minkowski space - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'In mathematical physics, Minkowski space or Minkowski spacetime (named after the mathematician Hermann Minkowski) is the mathematical setting in which Einstein's theory of special relativity is most conveniently formulated. In this setting the three ordinary dimensions of space are combined with a single dimension of time to form a four-dimensional manifold for representing a spacetime.' back
Oracle machine - Wikipedia Oracle machine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'In complexity theory and computability theory, an oracle machine is an abstract machine used to study decision problems. It can be visualized as a Turing machine with a black box, called an oracle, which is able to decide certain decision problems in a single operation. The problem can be of any complexity class. Even undecidable problems, like the halting problem, can be used.' back
Pauli exclusion principle - Wikipedia Pauli exclusion principle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The Pauli exclusion principle is the quantum mechanical principle that no two identical fermions (particles with half-integer spin) may occupy the same quantum state simultaneously. A more rigorous statement is that the total wave function for two identical fermions is anti-symmetric with respect to exchange of the particles. The principle was formulated by Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli in 1925.' back

www.naturaltheology.net is maintained by The Theology Company Proprietary Limited ACN 097 887 075 ABN 74 097 887 075 Copyright 2000-2020 © Jeffrey Nicholls