The History of Science is strewn with revolutions, revelations and violent brain storms. Today it seems so intuitive that the earth rotates on it's own axis and revolves around the sun. But for hundreds of years the view that the sun revolves around the earth was upheld.
Why is it that people thought so?
Well, you might say because it looks as if the sun is revolving around the earth!
Oh? Well what would it have looked like had the earth rotated about it's own axis instead!?!
So, then why was this thought was introduced so late?
We humans tread in our 'middle sized' world. Our intuitions and faculties are developed so that we can navigate this 'middle earth' :P. Our brains are designed to process what we perceive in a certain way. Does that mean that however superior a brain is, there are certain ideas that it will never be able to grasp?
I have read that rocks, especially crystals, have a lot of tiny open spaces inside them. But to us, when we hold a crystal in our hand, it seems massive and 'solid'. But neutrinos would perceive these rocks differently. They see these same rocks as full of massive spaces filled with air molecules.
Thus, the scope of our perceptions and ideas seem to have a limit. Will this affect our understanding of topics like quantum physics? (As this is on a totally different scale)
Will concepts like wave and particle duality be forever beyond our understanding? Will we ever get the 'feel' of such topics? Are we limited by our perceptions?
I really wonder. . .
The points that I have mentioned above are crucial to understanding the point I am now about to make.
Many theories most notably 'string theory' are accepted and are being furthered because even if we do not have conclusive experimental evidence to support these theories. They seem 'aesthetically beautiful' and have a harmonious structure. 'Symmetry', 'Gauge invariance' etc. are at the heart of these theories.
We perceive symmetry to be beautiful. We perceive the symmetries in our surroundings and note their significance. But then again, this is 'our perception'. What if this root is wrong?
What if we live in a world where another quantity lies at the heart of all our physical laws. Will we ever find it out? Will it ever be intuitively obvious to anyone?
And if we find this quantity. How will we know if it really is the right one?
Awesome !I have thought about this too ( the universe..etc etc) and i find that it's very very very hard to stop thinking...so i decided to stop..so i think it's best to stop unless you...
ReplyDeleteBy the way is it good manners to go on and on about yourself on someone else's blog...I'll err on the side of caustion and stop...
PS: Awesome !
The answer to the ultimate question of life the universe and everything (I think that's the quantity ur looking for) = 42
ReplyDelete@ Sumedh: As I said great minds.. ;)
ReplyDelete(but fools seldom differ!! :P)
@Aavishkar: \m/ Naice!! :D
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ReplyDeleteWe ARE limited by our perceptions... but not always. Every now and then, a question about the world forces us to rethink our perceptions... which then leads to an advance in theory, then technology, further observation, and further questions... and we keep getting closer.
ReplyDeleteWitness Einstein debunking the ether, Heisenberg, et. al. throwing out classical position and velocity, Lee & Yang questioning parity invariance...
And yes, aesthetic beauty is a must, I believe, in any physical theory. If it doesn't leave you enthralled with it's elegance, throw it out! :D
To my middle sized mind, most of human understanding stems from being able to put urself in positions of various perceptions e.g when we try to visualize the solar system, we very quickly visualize various planets circling around a center. Despite the fact that none of us have seen this in sooth, and are far too limited in scale to be able to really be in this position of preception. we're still able to do this, because we have a model that supports such a vision. For things at a very small size we also build models in out head, then things become easier and we make all sorts of calculations etc.
ReplyDeleteSo I think any level is possible, despite living in middle earth :P if a suitable model can be developed :)
-Suzie
It is not arbit that symmetry seems beautiful ... it is so because we are a part of the whole ... governed by the same laws ...
ReplyDelete