quantum theory and relativity finally wed

“Is causality an inherent and necessary characteristic of the Universe, or just an illusion produced by the way our brains interpret the world?”

That’s the opening line of an article in Nature news titled How to Build the Universe

After a long estrangment, quantum views of small-scale interactions and relativistic views of large-scale interaction have been married to reveal how quantum mechanics brings about the fuzzy, four-dimentional universe in which we live.

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Peg has a PhD in neuroscience and has a mind like a cocker spaniel. New scientific questions are like squeaky toys. She makes her living consulting with university faculty members on the fine art of grantsmanship, writes fiction for fun, and considers herself a wetware hacker.

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2 Comments

John
October 17, 2004 at 9:15 am

The article is very clear and the analogies are illuminating. Which is good, because I’m sure that if the article went any deeper (say, by including any math at all) I would be instantly confused.

I have always had a vague sense, a superstition left over from catechismal indoctrination by nuns, no doubt, that once quantum and relativistic theories were reconciled God would appear and say: “you win! Ding ding ding!!” and then he would press the reset button, destroy the universe so that “He” could start all over again with a big bang.

Since I’m here writing this (so far as I know) that implies that either my eschatology, or their physics, is bogus.
peg
October 18, 2004 at 8:53 am

<i>…either my eschatology, or their physics, is bogus</i>

That may not be an either/or question, John.

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quantum theory and relativity finally wed

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