Lawless Universe: Science and the Hunt for Reality

Terms in bold type within entries are to be found as their own glossary entries.

anthropic principle The existence of Homo sapiens may, within the framework of science, serve as an explanation for phenomena and aspects of nature, and, moreover, such explanations are the most fundamental.

beauty As referred to a theory, a beautiful theory is one that arouses the aesthetic feeling of beauty in the scientist considering it. The feeling of beauty is found to be engendered by the properties of simplicity, unification, and generality, when possessed by the theory. Scientists, in their belief that nature should be understandable in terms of beautiful theories, tend to prefer more beautiful theories to less beautiful ones, even at the expense of objective advantages. Amazingly, successful theories do tend to be beautiful.

big bang The cosmic explosion, or primeval fireball, by which, according to certain cosmological schemes [scheme], the universe came into existence and has been expanding ever since.

big crunch The cosmic implosion, or utter collapse, by which, according to certain cosmological schemes [scheme], the universe will go out of existence after passing through a contraction era following the present expansion era.

biological evolution As explained by Darwin’s theory and its subsequent modifications, the evolved fitness of organisms, especially of humans, forms a major argument in the discussions presented in this book.

cosmological scheme. See scheme.

cosmology The study of the working of the cosmos, the universe as a whole, at present, in the past, and in the future. In its dealings with the connections and interrelations among the aspects and phenomena of the universe, cosmology can be considered a branch of science. But in its holistic [holism] mode, when it attempts to comprehend the universe as a whole, it is a branch of metaphysics.

dimension For our discussion, the possibility of assigning a measure to something, as length, width, and height are dimensions of a box. (See space and time.)

elementary particle Any of many kinds of subatomic and subnuclear particles, including the electron, positron, proton, neutron, neutrino, pion, etc. The name is historic, as the actual elementarity of many of the so-called elementary particles is obviated by present-day understanding, which views them as being composed of more-elementary constituents.

evolution, biological. See biological evolution.

evolution, law of. See law of evolution.

evolution (of nature) The process of nature’s [nature] change in time.

extended Mach principle The origin of the laws of nature [law] for quasi-isolated systems [quasi-isolated system] lies with the universe as a whole. (See also March principle.)

falsifiability Testability. The property of a theory that it can be tested against as yet unknown natural [nature] phenomena to determine whether it is true or false. In order to be falsifiable, a theory must predict [predictability] something in addition to what it originally explained.

idealism The metaphysical [metaphysics] position that the laws of nature [law] are not inherent to the external world, i.e., to objective reality, but are mental constructs, artifacts of the way our minds interpret and organize our sensory impressions, thus of the way we perceive the world. (Compare with realism.)

inertia The property of bodies according to which a body’s behavior is governed by Newton’s first universal law of motion [Newton’s laws]: In the absence of forces acting on them or when such forces cancel each other, bodies remain at rest or continue to move uniformly in a straight line. (See Mach principle.)

inflation According to certain cosmological schemes [scheme], an era of unimaginably rapid expansion of the universe (called the inflationary era) starting soon after the big bang.

initial state Any state of a material system, when considered as a precursor state from which the subsequent evolution of the system follows. (See law of evolution.)

isolated system The idealization of a material system that has absolutely no interaction with the rest of the universe. An isolated system would not be part of nature, since we could not interact with it and hence could not observe it. (Compare with quasi-isolated system.)

Kepler’s laws Johannes Kepler’s three laws [law] of planetary motion:

1. The path each planet traverses in space, its orbit, lies wholly in a fixed plane and has the form of an ellipse, of which the Sun is located at a focus.

2. As each planet moves along its elliptical orbit, the (imaginary) line connecting it with the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal time intervals.

3. The ratio of the squares of the orbital periods of any two planets equals the ratio of the cubes of their respective orbital major axes.

law (of nature) An expression of order, thus of simplicity, in nature. A compact condensation of all relevant existing data, as well as of any amount of potential data, a law is a unifying, descriptive device for its relevant class of natural phenomena. Laws enable us to predict the results of new experiments (see predictability).

law of evolution Any law of nature that, given any initial state of a quasi-isolated system, yields the state that evolves [evolution] from it at any subsequent time.

law of nature. See law (of nature).

laws, Kepler’s. See Kepler’s laws.

laws, Newton’s. See Newton’s laws.

Mach principle The origin of inertia lies with all the matter of the universe. (See also extended March principle.)

Mach principle, extended. See extended Mach principle.

many worlds The many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory holds that at every instant the universe “branches” into realizations of all the quantum possibilities of that instant, which continue to “coexist side-by-side,” each branch universe branching further at the next instant, and so on.

metaphysics A branch of philosophy dealing with being and reality. Metaphysics, as used in this book, is the philosophic framework in which science operates. In this sense, metaphysics is concerned with what lies around, below, above, before, and beyond science. A metaphysical position is part of one’s worldview.

metatime A metaphysical [metaphysics] time “higher” than ordinary time, in which universes can be born and die.

Newton’s laws Isaac Newton’s three universal laws [law] of motion:

(1) In the absence of forces acting on it or when such forces cancel each other, a body will remain at rest or continue to move uniformly in a straight line.

(2) A force acting on a body will cause the body to undergo acceleration whose direction is that of the force, and whose magnitude is proportional to that of the force divided by the body’s mass.

(3) For every force acting on it, a body will react upon the force’s source with a force of opposite direction and equal magnitude along the same line of action.

Newton’s law of universal gravitation: Every pair of bodies undergoes mutual attraction, such that the force acting on each body is proportional to the product of the bodies’ masses and inversely proportional to the square of their separation.

These four laws form Newton’s theory to explain Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, as well as a vast realm of other mechanical phenomena.

nontranscendent worldview. See worldview, nontranscendent.

objective Existing as part of reality, independent of thought or of an observer.

objective reality The observer-independent reality underlying the phenomena of nature. Science shows that objective reality must be partially, very likely mostly, hidden from us. (Compare with perceived reality.)

observed The rest of nature, as distinct from us (Homo sapiens), as observer, in the observer-observed separation [separability] of nature, according to the reductionist [reductionism] approach.

observer We (Homo sapiens), as distinct from the rest of nature, as observed, in the observer-observed separation [separability] of nature, according to the reductionist [reductionism] approach.

particle, elementary. See elementary particle.

perceived reality That which we become aware of via our physical senses. Perceived reality is the actual subject of science. (Compare with objective reality.)

phenomenon, unique. See unique phenomenon.

positivism The metaphysical [metaphysics] position that only our sense data, derived from measurements and observations, are fundamental. (Compare with realism.)

predictability The characteristic that among the natural [nature] phenomena investigated, order can be found, from which laws [law] can be formulated that predict the results of new experiments. Predictability makes science a means both to understand and to exploit nature. We don’t claim that nature is predictable in all its aspects, but any unpredictable aspects it might possess lie outside the domain of science.

quantum theory A very formal and mathematical theory concerned with the fundamental behavior of all material systems in principle, but usually and most usefully applied to molecular, atomic, and subatomic systems. Quantum theory is formulated in terms of possible happenings and their probabilities of actually occurring (rather than in strictly deterministic terms of what will occur). Individual submicroscopic events, according to this theory, are inherently unpredictable [predictability]; it is only their probability that can be predicted. Quantum theory implies, among other things, that nature is fundamentally nonseparable [separability], so that uncontrollable correlations can exist among ostensibly separated systems. Quantum theory also implies that perceived reality is observer-dependent, thus that perceived reality cannot be a literal description of objective reality.

realism In general, the metaphysical [metaphysics] position that there exists an underlying observer-independent, objective reality; that nature would manage just as well if we weren’t around. Also specifically, the metaphysical position that the laws of nature [law] reside in this reality. (Compare with positivism and with idealism.)

reality, objective. See objective reality.

reality, perceived. See perceived reality.

reductionism The metaphysical [metaphysics] position that nature can be understood as the sum of its parts and thus should be studied by analysis and synthesis. (Compare with holism; see separability.)

reproducibility The possibility of repeating experiments by the same and other investigators, thus yielding data of objective, lasting value about the phenomena of nature. Reproducibility makes science a common human endeavor, and, as nearly as possible, an objective endeavor of lasting validity. Nature is not claimed to be reproducible in all its aspects, but any irreproducible aspects it might possess lie outside the domain of science.

scheme Especially as cosmological [cosmology] scheme, an attempt to describe the working of the cosmos, the universe as a whole. Cosmological schemes are not theories [theory], do not explain the working of the cosmos, since the universe as a whole, being a unique phenomenon and thus irreproducible [reproducibility], lies outside the domain of science.

science Our attempt to objectively understand, i.e., to be able to objectively explain, the reproducible [reproducibility] and predictable [predictability] aspects of nature. Science is a human endeavor, since Homo sapiens plays an essential role in it, in that: (1) science is a by-product of our existence; (2) it is our conception of nature that we’re attempting to explain; and (3) a valid explanation in science is one that satisfies us.

space The dimension of being, of existence; the possibility of assigning a measure (consisting of three numbers) to being.

space-time Space and time together, considered as a single concept. Einstein’s theories [theory] of relativity are formulated in terms of space-time.

subjective Existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought.

surroundings (of quasi-isolated system) The rest of the universe, as distinct from any quasi-isolated system.

system, isolated. See isolated system.

system, quasi-isolated. See quasi-isolated system.

theory A scientific [science] explanation of a law of nature [law]. A theory gives reasons for the law it explains. The acceptability of a theory depends on its giving the feeling that something is indeed being explained. This feeling is found to be fostered by the existence of a number of properties of a theory, the essential one being that Whatever is doing the explaining must logically imply that which is being explained. Additional properties enhancing a theory’s acceptability are: what is doing the explaining must be as much an aspect of nature as what is being explained, and the former must be more general, more fundamental, more unifying, and simpler than the latter, and be perceived as causing the latter. Beautiful [beauty] theories are preferred. A theory should be falsifiable [falsifiability].

theory, quantum. See quantum theory.

Theory of Everything (TOE) The general name for any putative theory explaining the universe as a whole. A TOE, however, were one to be devised, could not be a theory, could not be an explanation, since the universe as a whole lies outside the domain of science. It would be a scheme, a description of the universe as a whole.

time The dimension of becoming, of change; the possibility of assigning a measure (consisting of a single number) to becoming.

unique phenomenon A natural [nature] phenomenon that is essentially different from all other natural phenomena. Thus a unique phenomenon is intrinsically irreproducible [reproducibility]. The universe as a whole is an example par excellence of a unique phenomenon.

worldview One’s attitude toward and interpretation of reality; the conceptual framework by which one organizes one’s perceptions.

worldview, nontranscendent Any worldview that excludes a reality beyond, or transcending, nature and makes do with nature as all there is. Nontranscendent worldviews do not necessarily deny the existence of mind, consciousness, thought, emotion, feeling, etc. (Compare with worldview, transcendent.)

worldview, transcendent Any worldview involving the existence of a reality beyond, or transcending, nature. Nature, with which science is concerned, is viewed as being embedded in, being part of, transcendent reality. A religion is an example of a transcendent worldview. (Compare with worldview, nontranscendent.)