🧵 What field of physics is concerned with the nature of reality?
Anonymous at Sun, 12 May 2024 05:01:24 UTC No. 16171849
Is it all just QFT and maybe something to do with strings? Shed some light on the following points
>Cosmology
Hasn't spat out much productive shit and had a crisis resolved by just measuring using better tools.
>Complex systems
Doesn't even have a cohesive theory, most people involved in it are code monkeys that love fitting graphs.
>Quantum mechanics foundations
Arguably the best of the bunch, but I can't understand it as well as the others so help me out
>High energy
Witten claims he's playing the long game and is betting big bucks on strings like it was a coked up stallion, but is it reasonable to assume it might just not be it?
>Wolfram Schizofest
Had high hopes for it but haven't heard about it for maybe 4 years so it's probably dead
Anonymous at Sun, 12 May 2024 12:19:56 UTC No. 16172169
>>16171849
Transformation optics
Go to the ancients at Sun, 12 May 2024 13:00:08 UTC No. 16172222
>>16171849
See topic of pic related - physics has somehow become concerned with only modeling nature, not understanding it. Also, from source not pic related...
>Heisenberg offered an interpretation of the quantum
state which made use of a quantitative version of
an earlier notion, δυναμις, of Aristotle by both referring to it using its Latin name, potentia, and
identifying its qualitative aspect with δ υναμις.The relationship between this use and Aristotle’s notion
was not made by Heisenberg in full detail, beyond
noting their common character: that of signifying
the system’s objective capacity to be found later to
possess a property in actuality. For such actualization,
Heisenberg required measurement to have taken place,
an interaction with external systems that disrupts
the otherwise independent, natural evolution of the quantum system.
Anonymous at Sun, 12 May 2024 19:51:14 UTC No. 16172722
>>16171849
Physics is concerned with the mathematical laws that govern reality, if you're wanna learn the nature of reality go study philosophy.
Anonymous at Mon, 13 May 2024 00:50:40 UTC No. 16173094
>>16172169
So I ask for the nature of reality and you send me to go look at materials science?
>>16172222
I do know some metaphysics and know stuff about parapsychology, but it's not a suitable direction for to go to before I can even get tenure so I can still be somewhat respected.
>Qmech
So foundations of quantum mechanics then?
>>16172722
Except laws most of the time aren't experimentally discovered, they are predicted by a theory which paints a picture of how reality behaves.
In relativity you don't just say we have rules about how things and time move, we say we think space and time are interconnected in a particular way and then THAT spits out the rules.
Go to the ancients at Mon, 13 May 2024 12:55:42 UTC No. 16173821
>>16173094
>Metaphysics is parapsychology
Unfortunately "metaphysics" is confused for pic related, especially because a lot of charlatans exploit quantum effects to sell pic related. Traditionally, metaphysics is the study of being (reality). I agree stay far away from the "psychic" interpretations, like assuming that two posts hitting quads and doubs telling to you go to philosophy is what you should do because 4chan spirits are talking to you. But you should go to philosophy (start with metaphysics, I recommend).
Go to the ancients at Mon, 13 May 2024 13:12:33 UTC No. 16173850
>>16173094
>So foundations of quantum mechanics then?
I am toying with QM pointing towards the Aristotlean concept of "Prime Matter" (the underlying potential from which all arises in various forms), but that is a guess. Aristotle gets a bad rap post-Enlightenment because a lot of his physics do not confirm to data, but there is something inside of his approach to ontology that I find interesting and could point the way. I recommend not starting directly with him, but instead a general/introduction philosophical text about metaphysics (not "psychic" misuse of the term, but the formal philosophical study of being). Once you have the overview, pick the school that makes sense to you and go from there. I've chosen pic related as my jumping off point, but I could be going in the wrong direction. In any event, good luck and happy hunting.