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History Weighs in on the Limitations of the Human Mind

9/25/2017

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The Beyond Comprehension Conjecture -- that there are real things in our world that
humans can't comprehend -- isn't altogether new. It's been raised by various philosophers
over the centuries. One of the earliest references I'm familiar with since the time of the
Enlightenment can be found in John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. The
entirety of the brief Introduction is relevant, but Locke's ideas are especially clear in Section 7.
It's definitely worth taking the time to read.
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The Cosmos, Infinity, and a Very Human Controversy

9/5/2017

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An article in a relatively recent issue of Scientific American caught my attention, Cosmic Inflation Theory Faces Challenges, by a trio of highly regarded physicists (download a pdf version of the print article here under the title Pop Goes the Universe). The article caused quite an uproar, leading thirty-three other well-regarded physicists to respond with a letter calling the authors to task. The response, together with a response from the authors, can be found here. 

The paper and responses are welcomely understandable, at least to gather the gist of the controversy. I don't intend a summary here. But I did want to bring up one issue in particular.

The authors of the paper call into question inflationary theories of the origin of the universe, whereby the universe underwent super-rapid expansion in the fractions of a second after the big bang. This, of course, doesn't sit well with proponents of inflationary theories, which are apparently the dominant collection of theorists in the field.

One major objection the authors put forth is that inflationary theories, as they presently stand, lead to a multiverse -- an infinite collection of universes each with its own properties. As is so commonly the case with multiverse theories, our own universe is then explained as one very random fluctuation. The authors refer to this state of affairs as both a "multimess" and unscientific, being something that isn't scientifically verifiable.

I hope the term multimess catches on. As I make a case for in my book, infinity gives rise to all sorts of truly remarkable paradoxes that remind us we need to be extremely careful when working with it. Multiverse theories have never sat well with me because they dive headlong into the depths of infinity to derive their thus-far scientifically unverifiable conclusions. 
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    E. Andrew Boyd is a scheduled contributor to the Engines of Our Ingenuity, a nationally syndicated program produced by Houston's National Public Radio affiliate, KUHF, part of Houston Public Media. He holds a PhD in applied mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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