Notes DB 91: Divine_Gravitation_2024
Sunday 28 July 2024 - Saturday 3 August 2024
Sunday 28 July 2024
[page 51]
Monday 29 July 2024
Writing or performing any other construction process is rather like falling in love in that each interaction creates the necessary conditions for the next step.
Maybe it is time to begin writing a series like the theory of peace to publish on YouTube, perhaps short and sweet, about 300 words provided with spoken word and english and translated text, 30segments a bit like cognitive cosmogenesis.A fourth version of cognitive cosmology, cognitive cosmogenesis book, cognitive cosmogenesis website and now this idea.
A proof of evolution is the beauty of babies. If it can make them, a few fundamental particles should be a pushover. What we want to see is how quantum mechanics continues up the chain of complexity to the Universe. This depends to some extent on the localization in Minkowski space, but all we really need to know is the quantum mechanics of "measurement" [feeding information from Minkowski space to Hilbert space and getting the answers back, just like hitting keys on this computer and watching the letters form on the screen].
How many generations does it take to make a new species?
In a divine Universe, modern science is the foundation of true theology. Robert Gravers, Claudius, Caligula. Robert Graves (1934, 2006): Claudius the God and his wife Messalina
[page 51]
Tuesday 30 July 2024
What is the most interesting point in the book, needing the deepest analysis and an explanation of why some think quantum computati0n is more powerful than Turing? The intelligence of linear operators comparing them to Aristotle's intellectus agens Christopher Shields νους ποιετικος Christopher Shields (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy b): The Active Mind of De Anima III 5
aqt04_new_begin: conclusion.
1. The initial singularity in the Catholic story and my story is the same: omnipotent, eternal and structureless. Structurelessness means that the Thomistic singularity could not have been omnipotent.
2. The only constraint on the random actions of the singularity is the requirement of consistency: we have the randomness and selection necessary for evolution and we can assume (since they exist in the present) that this system gave rise to stable structures.
3.This structure is validated right back to the beginning because when we collide high energy blobs together we get the same spectrum of particles every time with varying probabilities. Some, like the Higgs, have required a large number of trials to manifest themselves.
[page 53]
4. The creativity of quantum mechanics semds to be able to explain this.
5. The trick I wish to employ is to introduce the Platonic psychological approach which gives us kinematic forms which are puppets and cannot move themselves as Aristotle pointed out and the dynamic movers descended from the bifurcation of naked gravitation which endow these forms with energy to make them real substances by analogy with Aristotle's hylomorphism which uses matter (scilicet energy) to make the forms real and alive (self moving).
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6. Spacetime is a consequence of the quantum mechanical bifurcation of particles into bosons and fermions by something like a superselection rule.
7. We can use the Dirac equation to describe the way in which bosons and fermions create Minkowski space. Dirac noted that the 4D Schrödinger equation does not obey special relativity so he took the square root of the momentum operator which was linearized by the gamma matrices and arrived at 4 linear 2D Schrödinger equations which can be added together (because of their linearity [and dynamism]) to give the metric of Minkowski space, aka quaternions and Clifford Algebra. Attiyah The Dirac equation in geometry in Goddard. Minkowski space - Wikipedia, Quaternion - Wikipedia, Clifford algebra - Wikipedia, Peter Goddard (1998); Paul Dirac, The Man and His Work
[page 54]
The guess is that we can express the basic basis of physics in terms of entropy, that is a count of degrees of freedom. One degree of freedom with entropy zero tell us nothing, since motion and freedom are relative and a universe with just one entity has no place for motion. Life begins when we have two free elements, an entropy of 1 [ S = log2 2 = 1].
The Schrödinger equation, like all equations, has two elements, a range [of numbers that serve as input] which are commonly called space and time and its natural habitat [output] is a world of waves, repetitive spaces occupied in the process of continuous time represented by a radius vector rotating on the complex plane where the physical object we are describing is a wave, something moving in space and recurring in time. As quantum mechanics suggests, waves and music, our perception of waves, is the foundation of [physics].
As physicists, however, we live in the 4D world of spacetime, rather than in the 2D world of waves, and the connection between space and waves is the Dirac Equation, a transformation and linearization of the 4D Schrödinger equation. Dirac equation - Wikipedia, Schrödinger equation - Wikipedia
So we have the gist of our article: Quantum field theory is all wrong, as Feynman was aware. Richard P. Feynman (1965): Nobel Lecture: The Development of the Space-Time View of Quantum Electrodynamics
cqt04_new_begin done(ish).
[page 55]
cqt05_eternity.hml Eternity, time and Hilbert space. Cognitive Cosmogenesis: Chapter 5: Eternity, time and Hilbert space
Basis vectors in Hilbert space are distinguished by time/frequency/period between events and the measure of different frequencies is superposition which can serve to define a series of rational values / probabilities.
Wednesday 31 July 2024
The radical divisions in US politics is making me think carefully about the political implications of my theological Ansatz and the imperialistic traits of the big theologies which all seem to derives their doctrines from an all seeing all commanding divinity, whereas I wish to follow the bottom up evolutionary line. I surprise myself a bit by my apparent unwillingness to promote my ideas until I have them perfected—an extension of my 'Einstein' strategy. I am slowly coming round to the idea of writing a detailed defence of my prioritization of quantum theory over Minkowski space which requires as detailed explanation of the bifurcation into bosons and fermions and how this bifurcation creates Minkowski space. I am slowly approaching the revision of the chapters of my book cognitive cosmogenesis where this issue becomes critical. My comments about the Dirac equation on Tuesday [page 53] gave me some confidence and I need to read Attiyah's article again and again.
Stuck in the mud as usual trying to build Hilbert space
[page 56]
into naked gravitation going from eternity to time (cqto5_eternity) introducing time and complex numbers. We are looking for the glory in complex numbers and they are the explanation of eternity in the sense that time never stops, the complex numbers keep rolling on and a bit later on the waves will bifurcate into space (3D) and time (1D) [starting from space (1D) and time (1D)]. Stay young is my advice to me, forever young. In a way the point of this book is to get us enthusiastic about our existence which it why I like biological porn, women making love like Aristotle's intellect masturbating itself, which requires creative reflection which is not as good as the concrete reflection of two people making reflective masturbation with one another. Alphaville: Forever Young (2019 Remaster)
Eternity: time never; time forever.
There is no energy [or momentum] in Hilbert space and quantum mechanics, it is all kinematic [formal], the energy comes from the bifurcation of [naked] gravitation which is a psychological (kinematic) incarnation of actus purus, turned into energy by bifurcation. Eventually the story will come straight, from zero energy kinematic actus purus, an ensemble of rays - notes
Thursday 1 August 2024
Two meanings of eternal: no time; eternal time
[page 57]
ie infinite time; wave, a complex number, an analogue clock. Two clocks: 1 @ 12 hour, 1 @ 24 hour, boson clock, fermion clock [fermion clock, 12 hour, takes two complete turns to represent a day, like plate trick]. Plate trick - Wikipedia
Friday 2 August 2024
cqt05_eternity: 1. eternity; 2. Aquinas; 3. Aristotle - time; 4. Unity and duplicity; 5. complex numbers; 6. clocks, bosons and fermions; 7. old Quantum theory; 8 Theology.
So, Minkowski space has a special place for photons and a special space for fermions, but how does quantum mechanics differentiate? - see 2 and 24 hour clocks above, but how does this work?
[page 58]
Binary overtones and standing waves like the Bohr atom before spacetime came to be. My mind is blank before insight while I wait for cognitive psychogenesis to kick in. Walk time.
Reading I Claudius reminds me of the many times I have been timid or shy or discomforted by appearing in public and yet my fondest wish it to finally get my new theology to a degree of perfection where I feel confident to start preaching it. I have given myself fifteen years until I am 95 and my mind begins to fade to achieve this and feel quite confident. Will it happen? Who knows but I am happy that much of my story is already published on the net and a few people are reading it so the story might eventually get out. I relax myself with the feeling that a century is a short time in theology while at the same time being stressed by all the theocratic genocide being committed around the world. So back to Graves and Claudius for a while until the muse strikes me again. The big problem is to understand how quantum mechanics bifurcates into bosons and fermions and how the particles conspire to cause the Minkowski space in which we live and observe them and the Universe they have created.
Bosons made of fermions can be massive [in other words they add together linearly]!
I feel that one of the most favourable features of my hypothesis is that it puts quantum mechanics in the box seat and explains the quantum origin of spacetime [which does not seem to appear at all in the big bang theory].
Saturday 3 August 2024
My problem, Einstein's problem, the problem with physics and theology, the problem with the theory of everything, boils down to quantum vs classical which in mathematical terms is linear vs quadratic, von Neumann's Hilbert space versus Einstein's quadratic space, E = hf vs E = mc2, and the key move in all this dialogue seems to have been Dirac's linearization of the 4D Schrödinger equation by taking the square root of the momentum operator to arrive at Dirac's equation, eliminating the quadratic cross terms with the gamma matrices. This is the mathematical story, what doe it mean physically? That is the question facing Hamlet, was he trying to solve quadratic problem by linearizing it with murder, is this the general problem of war and peace, creation and annihilation, the story of Claudius the God, triumph through systematic murder? Keep beating my crazy head against the sky. The month of August, the month of the divine Emperor, the month of the assumption of Mary, the month of of evolutionary birth and death will see the answer - I wish. Lovin' Spoonful: Darling Be Home Soon
[page 60]
Serendipity Graves/Claudius: ' I prevailed upon our standing committe on foreign religions at Rome, the Board of Fifteen, to allow me to populrize mysteries of a more suitable nature.'
Does the conservation of energy hold in the quantum regime? Does energy have any meaning there: is it purely kinematic, the linear superposition of frequencies? Military victory is ultimately a matter of numbers [like democracy] killing and superposition, modulated, like synapses in the brain, by the advantages and disadvantages of technologies ranging from swords, spear, horses and elephants to thermonuclear weapons. The theory of peace lies in the interface between classical and quantum worlds. Does this idea help? Here we are applying the principle of symmetry with respect to complexity to carry us from the simplest field theory, electrodynamics, to the politics of nations [and even further, from the structureless initial singularity to the total structure of the Universe (see Cognitive cosmogenesis: Chapter 28: Principles embedded in this site: Principle 7: Symmetry with respect to complexity )].
Claudius - the collapse of Herod, p 302. An Insight? An event? A quantum of action? An action potential integrated out of a neuron? A theological / mystical delusion, like what is happening to Putin, the quantum politics of war.
A major deficit of modern physics is its failure to explain the origin of spacetime from the eternal initial singulrity.
[page 61]
I am talking about the creation of the world and at the same time trying to reflect on this creation in my own mind by understanding how it happens looking for insights that I understand as quanta of action which I understand as stationary points in the universal process just as this writing is a record of a stationary situation in my own mind which came to me as I was reading Graves on Claudius in the sun. The idea that a neuron firing is the result of a linear superposition of the synaptic inputs looks quite good and fits into my current notion of symmetry with respect to complexity which gives us a way of seeing the whole universe in a picture which simplifies the distinction between classical and quantum events. [This is] a question that takes us into the old problem of quantum measurement which has something to do with natural selection and the interface between kinematic and dynamic states, ie the interface between forms and reality which we might call energeiaomorphism by analogy with Aristotle's hylomorphism. I have bits and pieces of good ideas, but they still do not fit together into a complete picture.
Is politics quantum or classical? What is the relationship between politics and theology?
A good argument for the priority of quantum mechanics to Minkowski space is that linearity is simpler than non linearity. [Einstein lays a foundation for this priority is the conclusion to his paper on the field equations of gravitation when he says:
The postulate of relativity in its most general formulation (which makes space-time coordinates into physically meaningless parameters) leads with compelling necessity to a very specific theory of gravitation that also explains the movement of the perihelion of Mercury. However, the postulate of general relativity cannot reveal to us anything new and different about the essence of the various processes in nature than what the special theory of relativity taught us already. The opinions I recently voiced here in this regard have been in error. Every physical theory that complies with the special theory of relativity can, by means of the absolute differential calculus, be integrated into the system of general relativity theory-without the latter providing any criteria about the admissibility of such physical theory.
Albert Einstein (1915): The Field Equations of Gravitation ]
[page 62]
But how does linear become quadratic? By reflection or recursion. The key idea must be somewhere in the equation ds2 = dx2 - dt2, a byproduct of zero sum complexification. Special relativity ( the equivalence of space and time) requires 'quadratic zero-sum complexification'. The split of gravitation into potential and kinetic energy, on the other hand, is an example of 'linear zero-sum complexification, when we are dealing with naked gravitation. Einstein gravitation is recursive, quadratic, and can therefore cause ultraviolet catastrophes, whereas naked gravitation creates the world. This is the difference, not noted by Penrose, Hawking and Ellis, beteen the naked initial singularity and the quadratic Einstein graitation that creates black holes, another instance of the difference between linear kinematics (momentum - mv) and dynamics (E = &frc12mv2. Politics is quadratic and leads to ultraviolet behaviour by dealing, ie imperialism, Trump, Caesar, etc. I have no potential influence because I am alone and linear (?). [No] loyalty and back scratching. Election, on the other hand, is linear. Election vs Judgement (Graves, Claudius, Asiaticus, pp 326 sqq. Hawking & Ellis (1975): The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time
Lonergan's definition of metaphysics as the integral heuristic structure of proportionate being is made too narrow by the constraint of 'proportionate' because the possibilities open to the initial singularity cover the whole space of possibility ≡ consistency. Bernard Lonergan (1992); Insight: A Study of Human Understanding
[page 63]
In politics the linearity of the voting leads to the non-linearity of jockeying for power unless there is a clear majority.
So, is the special theory of relativity responsible for the spin-statistics theorem and bosons vs fermions, or are the bosons and fermions responsible for the special theory of relativity??
Here I am sitting in my spacetime world conserving energy and momentum and feeling rock solid. Conservation of energy is a consequence of the [relationship between] the zero-sum bifurcation of gravitation, which is managed by the creation and annihilation of dynamic particles devised by [the interaction of naked] gravitation [and quantum mechanics]. Conservation of angular momentum is a direct descentdant of the nature of the quantum of action? Or is it the reality due to the measurement problem, the fact that the quantum of action which I conceive in Hilbert space as a logical oprator, an event, transforms into spacetime as angular momentum: Energy = mv2 = MLT-2. Angular momentum is energy.time = MLT-1. What is charge? Frequency of interaction [energy of interaction?] T-1. I have been shuffling these dimensions around in my head since I was about 12 or 14, 65+ years ago and am no further forward, but will it come? I wish again (page 59).
[page 64]
The job here is to convert something of a dream into a physical reality [kinematic form → dynamic particle]. The ingredients: Dirac equation; spin-statistics theorem; Clifford algebra; Attiyah index theorem.
Somewhere in all this we need to talk about the clock's role in a computer, another mode of the logical / physical interface. Cognitive Cosmology: page 15: Quantum amplitudes and logical processes are invisible: 15.4: Mathematical formalism and physical dynamics
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Further readingBooks
Goddard (1998), Peter , and Stephen Hawking, Abraham Pais, Maurice Jacob, David Olive, and Michael Atiyah, Paul Dirac, The Man and His Work, Cambridge University Press 1998 Jacket: Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was one of the founders of quantum theory and the aithor of many of its most important subsequent developments. He is numbered alongside Newton, Maxwell, Einstein and Rutherford as one of the greatest physicists of all time.
This volume contains four lectures celebrating Dirac's life and work and the text of an address given by Stephen Hawking, which were given on 13 November 1995 on the occasion of the dedication of a plaque to him in Westminster Abbey. In the first lecture, Abraham Pais describes from personal knowledge Dirac's character and his approach to his work. In the second lecture, Maurice Jacob explains not only how and why Dirac was led to introduce the concept of antimatter, but also its central role in modern particle physics and cosmology. In the third lecture, David Olive gives an account of Dirac's work on magnetic monopoles and shows how it has had a profound influence in the development of fundamental physics down to the present day. In the fourth lecture, Sir Michael Atiyah explains the widespread significance of the Dirac equation in mathematics, its roots in algebra and its implications for geometry and topology.'
Amazon
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Graves (1934, 2006), Robert, Claudius the God and his Wife Messalina, Penguin, Modern Classics
1934, 2006 ' Claudius has survived the murderous intrigues of his predecessors to become, reluctantly, Emperor of Rome. Here he recounts his surprisingly successful reign; how he cultivated the loyalty of the army and the common people to repair the damage caused by Caligula; his relations with the Jewish King Herod Agrippa; and his invasion of Britain. But the growing paranoia of absolute power and the infidelity of his promiscuous young wife, Messalina, mean that his good fortune will not last forever. In this second part of his fictionalized autobiography Claudius—wry, rueful, always inquisitive— brings to life some of the most scandalous and violent times in hisory.'back |
Hawking (1975), Steven W, and G F R Ellis, The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time, Cambridge UP 1975 Preface: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity . . . leads to two remarkable predictions about the universe: first that the final fate of massive stars is to collapse behind an event horizon to form a 'black hole' which will contain a singularity; and secondly that there is a singularity in our past which constitutes, in some sense, a beginning to our universe. Our discussion is principally aimed at developing these two results.'
Amazon
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Lonergan (1992), 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
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Links
Adam Morton, Australia’s north-west reefs teem with life – but they are also at the centre of a massive fossil fuel expansion, ' Data published by the Guardian this week showed the Australian proposals are part of a surge of new oil and gas exploration by wealthy democracies – including the US, UK and Canada – that threatens to unleash nearly 12bn tonnes of planet-heating emissions and undermine national and global climate commitments. The analysis by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) forecast the Australian government could issue 20 new licences this year, ultimately leading to 217m tonnes of additional carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere.
The secretary general of the UN, António Guterres, said on Thursday that rich countries were “signing away our future” by leading a “flood” of expansion in fossil fuel activity that would trigger worsening heatwaves and other climate impacts that would affect billions of people. . . .
The Australian government disputes the IISD figures, but analysts say this is just a fraction of what might lie ahead. Greenpeace, using data compiled by researchers at the Climate Analytics and Sunrise Project, has estimated that if all proposals before the Australian government are approved and fully exploited, it could produce up to 22bn tonnes of CO2 – equivalent to about 40% of annual global emissions, or 50 years’ worth of current Australian pollution.
The bulk of these emissions would be released far from Australian soil. Three-quarters of the gas extracted is sold overseas, mostly to customers in Japan, China and South Korea.
‘Inexcusable’: should climate hypocrites get the petrostates label?
Read more
Does this make Australia a petrostate? Tim Buckley, a former investment banker, now director of the analysis firm Climate Energy Finance, is among those who believe it does.'
ed to meet demand to “to 2050 and beyond”. back |
Albert Einstein (1915), The Field Equations of Gravitation, ' In two recently published papers I have shown how to obtain field equations of gravitation that comply with the postulate of general relativity, i.e., which in their general formulation are covariant under arbitrary substitutions of space-time variables. . . . With this, we have finally completed the general theory of relativity as a logical structure. The postulate of relativity in its most general formulation (which makes space-time coordinates into physically meaningless parameters) leads with compelling necessity to a very specific theory of gravitation that also explains the movement of the perihelion of Mercury. However, the postulate of general relativity cannot reveal to us anything new and different about the essence of the various processes in nature than what the special theory of relativity taught us already. The opinions I recently voiced here in this regard have been in error. Every physical theory that complies with the special theory of relativity can, by means of the absolute differential calculus, be integrated into the system of general relativity theory-without the latter providing any criteria about the admissibility of such physical theory.'
back |
Alex Lo (2024_07_29), ‘Missteps’ admitted, but no apology by US military for anti-vax propaganda, 'Speaking at a hearing late last month as head of the foreign relations committee in the Philippines, Senator Imee Marcos was running out of adjectives to describe a clandestine disinformation campaign by the US Department of Defence (DoD) to sow doubts about China’s Covid-19 vaccines in her country and elsewhere at the height of the global pandemic.
The US government-sanctioned propaganda campaign, conducted mostly on social media, was “evil, wicked, dangerous, unethical”, said the sister of the Philippine president, as she asked whether Manila had any legal recourse. . . .
Her criticism came shortly after the Pentagon not only did not deny the Reuters expose, but stood by the decision made under former US defence chief Mark Esper. . . .
This is not the first time the US has exploited vaccines to conduct intelligence or military operations.
A fake door-to-door hepatitis B vaccination programme was used by the CIA to collect intelligence leading to the successful assassination of Osama bin Laden by US special forces in 2011 in Pakistan.
The operation caused a violent backlash against vaccines and other health professionals working in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Global health experts have long pointed out that such US operations seriously undermine the public health of affected populations, as well as the safety of health professionals already operating under challenging circumstances with often sceptical and uncooperative patients.
America loves to claim malign influence operations, often with flimsy evidence, carried out by foreign states against itself and its allies. It should look in the mirror. back |
Alexc Lo (2024_08_01), A biblical guide to Trump and the US election, ' Interestingly, many Americans think – because they have been told as such by their leading media and political classes – that fundamentalist Islam tends to produce martyrs for the cause.
What they often forget is that they don’t need to look far to find death cults among fanatical fundamentalists – of an uniquely American Christian variety.
The Rapture is tied to a deep-seated belief in a prophecy from the last book of the Bible. In the Book of Revelation, which is usually interpreted as the rise of Israel to domination, leading to the destruction of its enemies. . . .
In Revelation 2:26-28, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.”
There was also an earlier bombing against the Houthis in Yemen. All three groups, along with Iran, form the so-called axis of resistance.
It sure looks like Israel now wants to break them all like “earthen pots are broken in pieces”. If Israel wants a region-wide war, that’s exactly how you would go about it.
Now, given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rapturous reception in the US Congress, there is no question that the US, whether under Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Trump, will go along with Israel, however catastrophic. On this, while their vocabulary may be different, US liberal and evangelical unwavering support may amount to the same result.
But Trump will be even better for Israel and American evangelicals because he has gone further than any US president before him in recognising the whole of Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital.
So Christian evangelicals have every reason to vote for Trump, even if he were the anti-Christ – especially if he is the evil one. After all, before Christ can come a second time, the anti-Christ needs to appear first to bring on the apocalypse.
But whether Trump is the anti-Christ or merely a dictator-for-life in waiting- it’s a doomsday scenario.' back |
Alphaville, Forever Young, Timeless✔️Beauty❤️ Forever Young - Alphaville - (Jennifer Connelly 1990s) (1980s Music) (Special Dance Version) 1984 back |
Alphaville , Forever Young (2019 Remaster), Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while
Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?
Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music's for the sad men
Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune
The music's played by the, the mad man
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever young
Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later, they all will be gone
Why don't they stay young?
It's so hard to get old without a cause
I don't want to perish like a fading horse
Youth's like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever
So many adventures couldn't happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
We'll let 'em come true
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever
Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever
Forever young
I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever? (Forever)
Songwriters: Bernhard Lloyd / Frank Mertens / Marian Gold ' back |
Christopher Shields (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy b), The Active Mind of De Anima III 5 , ' After characterizingnous the mind (nous) and its activities in De Animaiii 4, Aristotle takes a surprising turn. In De Anima iii 5, he introduces an obscure and hotly disputed subject: the active mind or active intellect (nous poiêtikos). Controversy surrounds almost every aspect of De Anima iii 5, not least because in it Aristotle characterizes the active mind—a topic mentioned nowhere else in his entire corpus—as ‘separate and unaffected and unmixed, being in its essence actuality’ (chôristos kai apathês kai amigês, tê ousia energeia; DA iii 5, 430a17–18) and then also as ‘deathless and everlasting’ (athanaton kai aidion; DA iii 5, 430a23). This comes as no small surprise to readers of De Anima, because Aristotle had earlier in the same work treated the mind (nous) as but one faculty (dunamis) of the soul (psuchê), and he had contended that the soul as a whole is not separable from the body (DA ii 1, 413a3–5). back |
Clifford algebra - Wikipedia, Clifford algebra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In mathematics, Clifford algebras are a type of associative algebra. As K-algebras, they generalize the real numbers, complex numbers, quaternions and several other hypercomplex number systems. The theory of Clifford algebras is intimately connected with the theory of quadratic forms and orthogonal transformations. Clifford algebras have important applications in a variety of fields including geometry, theoretical physics and digital image processing. They are named after the English geometer William Kingdon Clifford. back |
David Streitfeld, Is It Silicon Valley’s Job to Make Guaranteed Income a Reality?, 'For the last couple of years, the tech community has tested no-strings-attached payments of $500 or $1,000 a month to those in dire need. Some of these experiments have happened in the heart of Silicon Valley, where a one-bedroom apartment rents for $3,000 a month and a modest house is often an unaffordable luxury.
Silicon Valley’s backing of these efforts has propelled the idea of a guaranteed income — also known as cash transfers, unconditional cash and, in its most utopian form, universal basic income — into the mainstream. But a bipartisan political consensus around the movement is fracturing even though the data seems to show that the programs are effective.
In recent months, the Texas attorney general went to court to prevent public funds from being used in a basic income program in Houston. Republicans in Iowa, Idaho and South Dakota banned similar programs. A ban in Arizona was vetoed by the governor.
The movement has scored a few victories, too. A proposal for a statewide basic income program is likely to be on the ballot in Oregon this fall. The measure would give $750 to each state resident annually, funded by a 3 percent tax on corporations with revenue over $25 million.' back |
Dirac equation - Wikipedia, Dirac equation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In particle physics, the Dirac equation is a relativistic wave equation derived by British physicist Paul Dirac in 1928. In its free form, or including electromagnetic interactions, it describes all spin-1⁄2 massive particles such as electrons and quarks, for which parity is a symmetry, and is consistent with both the principles of quantum mechanics and the theory of special relativity, and was the first theory to account fully for special relativity in the context of quantum mechanics. It accounted for the fine details of the hydrogen spectrum in a completely rigorous way.' back |
Georgina Rannard, Complex life on Earth may be much older than thought, ' But they say the organisms were restricted to an inland sea, did not spread globally and eventually died out.
The ideas are a big departure from conventional thinking and not all scientists agree.
Most experts believe animal life began around 635m years ago.
The research adds to an ongoing debate over whether so-far unexplained formations found in Franceville, Gabon are actually fossils or not.
The scientists looked at the rock around the formations to see if they showed evidence of containing nutrients like oxygen and phosphorus that could have supported life.
Professor Ernest Chi Fru at Cardiff University worked with an international team of scientists.
He told BBC News that, if his theory is correct, these life forms would have been similar to slime mold - a brainless single-cell organism that reproduces with spores. back |
Ian Musgrave, Federal Court finds insufficient evidence Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. What does the science say?
, ' A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
Plaintiff Kelvin McNickle, now aged 41, developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) in his family’s vegetation management business for more than 20 years.
More than 800 others joined the class action against German chemical and pharmaceutical company, Bayer, which produces Roundup. Bayer has long maintained glyphosate doesn’t cause cancer, despite a number of court cases around the world. It said this week’s ruling was a “win for Australian farmers”.
The court acknowledged the scientific community had mixed views on whether glyphosate causes cancer. Justice Lee looked at three types of scientific evidence – epidemiological, animal studies and evidence showing the mechanisms involved in the development of cancer – in his ruling.
Yet in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified the herbicide as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
So what does the science say? ' back |
Keith Bradsher, China Rules Solar Energy, but Its Industry at Home Is in Trouble, ' Over the past 15 years, China has come to dominate the global market for solar energy. Nearly every solar panel on the planet is made by a Chinese company. Even the equipment to manufacture solar panels is made almost entirely in China. The country’s solar panel exports, measured by how much power they can produce, jumped another 10 percent in May over last year.
But China’s solar panel domestic industry is in upheaval.
Wholesale prices plummeted by almost half last year and have fallen another 25 percent this year. Chinese manufacturers are competing for customers by cutting prices far below their costs, and still keep building more factories.
The price slashing has taken a severe toll on China’s solar companies. Stock prices of its five biggest makers of panels and other equipment have halved in the past 12 months. Since late June, at least seven large Chinese manufacturers have warned that they will announce heavy losses for the first half of this year.' back |
Kevin McSpadden, Ancient human sacrifice in China likely served to reinforce social hierarchies, ' Human sacrifice has played a gruesome but important role in ancient history, and thousands of years ago, in ancient China, it probably was used as a tool to solidify social hierarchies.
A team of scientists recently analysed a bronze-age tomb from the Qijia culture (2200BC-1600BC) located in Gansu province in northwest China, and theorised that human sacrifice had become a “culturally sanctioned mechanism” to establish group identity.
In their study published in late June in the book The Poetics of Violence in Afroeurasian Bioarchaeology, the team theorised that the person may have been sacrificed to honour the tomb’s inhabitants, suggesting the occupants were considered of higher social value than the victim.
[The team theorised that the individual may have been sacrificed to honour the tomb’s inhabitants, above, suggesting that the occupants were considered to hold greater social value than the victim. Photo: The Poetics of Violence in Afroeurasian Bioarchaeology]
The team theorised that the individual may have been sacrificed to honour the tomb’s inhabitants, above, suggesting that the occupants were considered to hold greater social value than the victim. Photo: The Poetics of Violence in Afroeurasian Bioarchaeology
Jenna Dittmar, a study author and assistant professor of Anatomical Sciences at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in the US, told the Post that this research helps scientists learn more about the social conditions under which sacrifice was performed and how it evolved over time. back |
Lesley Hughes (2024_07_31), Methane is turbocharging unnatural disasters – Australia must get serious about reducing emissions, 'Research just released shows if we don’t act, the problem will only worsen. It suggests increases in atmospheric methane are outpacing projected growth rates – threatening the global goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
The gas is likely responsible for at least 25 to 30% of warming Earth has experienced since the Industrial Revolution.
Methane is a “live fast, die young” gas, persisting in the atmosphere for a relatively short amount of time. But while it’s there, it punches above its weight in warming. Over 20 years, methane is about 85 times more effective at trapping heat than the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. . . .
Roughly half of global methane pollution comes from human activities. The rest comes from natural sources such as wetlands and soils.
Australia produces more than its fair share of methane because we have such large fossil fuel and agriculture industries. We are the world’s 12th largest methane polluter, producing four to five times as much methane as would be expected based on population alone.
In the year to December 2023, Australia produced nearly four million tonnes of methane. The main sources from human activity were agriculture (52%), fossil fuel mining (25%) and waste (11%). The good news is there are plenty of ways to reduce emissions in each sector that we can and should implement right now.' back |
Lovin' Spoonful, Darling Be Home Soon, ' Come
And talk of all the things we did today
Here
And laugh about our funny little ways
While we have a few minutes to breathe
Then I know that it's time you must leave
But, darling, be home soon
I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled
My darling, be home soon
It's not just these few hours, but I've been waiting since I toddled
For the great relief of having you to talk to
And now
A quarter of my life is almost past
I think I've come to see myself at last
And I see that the time spent confused
Was the time that I spent without you
And I feel myself in bloom
So, darling, be home soon
I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled
My darling, be home soon
It's not just these few hours, but I've been waiting since I toddled
For the great relief of having you to talk to
So, darling
My darling, be home soon
I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled
My darling, be home soon
It's not just these few hours, but I've been waiting since I toddled
For the great relief of having you to talk to
Go
And beat your crazy head against the sky
Try
And see beyond the houses and your eyes
It's okay to shoot the moon
Darling be home soon
I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled
My darling, be home soon
It's not just these few hours, but I've been waiting since I toddled
For the great relief of having you to talk to . back |
Luke G.Bennetts et al, Closing the Loops on Southern Ocean Dynamics: From the Circumpolar Current to Ice Shelves and From Bottom Mixing to Surface Waves, ' A holistic review is given of the Southern Ocean dynamic system, in the context of the crucial role it plays in the global climate and the profound changes it is experiencing. The review focuses on connections between different components of the Southern Ocean dynamic system, drawing together contemporary perspectives from different research communities, with the objective of closing loops in our understanding of the complex network of feedbacks in the overall system. The review is targeted at researchers in Southern Ocean physical science with the ambition of broadening their knowledge beyond their specific field, and aims at facilitating better-informed interdisciplinary collaborations. For the purposes of this review, the Southern Ocean dynamic system is divided into four main components: large-scale circulation; cryosphere; turbulence; and gravity waves. Overviews are given of the key dynamical phenomena for each component, before describing the linkages between the components. The reviews are complemented by an overview of observed Southern Ocean trends and future climate projections. Priority research areas are identified to close remaining loops in our understanding of the Southern Ocean system. back |
Mark Ian Jones, Powerhouse Museum acquires David Jones’ archive, brimming with forgotten stories of Australia’s past, back |
Minkowski space - Wikipedia, Minkowski space - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' By 1908 Minkowski realized that the special theory of relativity, introduced by his former student Albert Einstein in 1905 and based on the previous work of Lorentz and Poincaré, could best be understood in a four-dimensional space, since known as the "Minkowski spacetime", in which time and space are not separated entities but intermingled in a four-dimensional space–time, and in which the Lorentz geometry of special relativity can be effectively represented using the invariant interval x2 + y2 + z2 − c2 t2.' back |
Peter Layton, Chicken wire, AI and mobile phones on sticks: how the drone war in Ukraine is driving a fierce battle of innovation, ' Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, sizes and levels of sophistication. They are used for many roles including short- and long-range attack, reconnaissance, electronic disruption, communications relay and supply.
Many are repurposed consumer drones, such as the low-cost Chinese DJI designs sold in electronics stores. Such drones are modified as combat demands require and are being flown in their hundreds every day in Ukraine.
Before the war, military aircraft were very expensive and military forces could field very few. Drones have completely upended this situation, hugely increasing the numbers of air systems.
Ukraine is now making more than 3,000 first-person view (or FPV) drones each day (that is not a typo). These allow an operator to see from the drone’s camera in real time.' back |
Plate trick - Wikipedia, Plate trick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' In mathematics and physics, the plate trick, also known as Dirac's string trick (after Paul Dirac, who introduced and popularized it), the belt trick, or the Balinese cup trick, is any of several demonstrations of the idea that rotating an object with strings attached to it by 360 degrees does not return the system to its original state, while a second rotation of 360 degrees, a total rotation of 720 degrees, does.Mathematically, it is a demonstration of the theorem that SU(2) (which double-covers SO(3)) is simply connected. To say that SU(2) double-covers SO(3) essentially means that the unit quaternions represent the group of rotations twice over. A detailed, intuitive, yet semi-formal articulation can be found in the article on tangloids. back |
Quaternion - Wikipedia, Quaternion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' In mathematics, the quaternions are a number system that extends the complex numbers. They were first described by Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton in 1843 and applied to mechanics in three-dimensional space. A feature of quaternions is that multiplication of two quaternions is noncommutative. Hamilton defined a quaternion as the quotient of two directed lines in a three-dimensional space or equivalently as the quotient of two vectors.' back |
Richard P. Feynman (1965), Nobel Lecture: The Development of the Space-Time View of Quantum Electrodynamics, Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1965: We have a habit in writing articles published in scientific journals to make the work as finished as possible, to cover all the tracks, to not worry about the blind alleys or to describe how you had the wrong idea first, and so on. So there isn’t any place to publish, in a dignified manner, what you actually did in order to get to do the work, although, there has been in these days, some interest in this kind of thing. Since winning the prize is a personal thing, I thought I could be excused in this particular situation, if I were to talk personally about my relationship to quantum electrodynamics, rather than to discuss the subject itself in a refined and finished fashion. Furthermore, since there are three people who have won the prize in physics, if they are all going to be talking about quantum electrodynamics itself, one might become bored with the subject. So, what I would like to tell you about today are the sequence of events, really the sequence of ideas, which occurred, and by which I finally came out the other end with an unsolved problem for which I ultimately received a prize.' back |
Schrödinger equation - Wikipedia, Schrödinger equation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' In quantum mechanics, the Schrödinger equation is a partial differential equation that describes how the quantum state of a quantum system changes with time. It was formulated in late 1925, and published in 1926, by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger. . . .
In classical mechanics Newton's second law, (F = ma), is used to mathematically predict what a given system will do at any time after a known initial condition. In quantum mechanics, the analogue of Newton's law is Schrödinger's equation for a quantum system (usually atoms, molecules, and subatomic particles whether free, bound, or localized). It is not a simple algebraic equation, but in general a linear partial differential equation, describing the time-evolution of the system's wave function (also called a "state function").' back |
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