Thread

1. voxleone · 1789655697 · focus · HN ↗

   There's this little pet project of mine, the Functional Universe [0]. It explores a direction suggested by Dirac: treating mathematical structure and transformation not merely as a language for describing physical reality, but as potentially constitutive of it. FU models physical reality in terms of functional state evolution, with an emphasis on composition, aggregation, and transitions. In that sense, I think there's an interesting point of contact with Dirac's emphasis on transformations: Dirac points toward transformations as fundamental mathematical structures from which physics might be derived; FU asks what happens if physical reality itself is formulated in terms of transitions and their composition.

   [0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;voxleone.github.io&#x2F;FunctionalUniverse&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;voxleone.github.io&#x2F;FunctionalUniverse&#x2F;

   1. lioeters · 1789661396 · focus · HN ↗

      Curious, in this model, is there any discussion on whether the mathematical structures underlying space-time are continuous or discrete? Usually the former is assumed, but it seems your &quot;functional&quot; approach may be able to accommodate the latter possibility.

      1. lerp-io · 1789664343 · focus · HN ↗

         universe is continuous &#x2F; cant be proven otherwise but any measurement or simulation of it is discrete by nature same reason pi is computed infinitely and why calculus exists and why math exists at all to try and explain continuity of nature even if all of it is perceived discretely.

         1. pixl97 · 1789665331 · focus · HN ↗

            The question is what exactly is continuous. The quantum fields themselves? And we have no evidence the the quantum fields are discrete quantum states themselves, but the particles they produce appear otherwise.

            It&#x27;s always possible that continuous maths are a side effect of this field. Of course, the causality could be revered.

            1. lerp-io · 1789721191 · focus · HN ↗

               if you think of universe as minecraft lattice (which is arguably best way to think of it and explain all of physics currently in existence in intuitive level) then yea, it can be like eg a spin lattice discrete at some plank length from which field perturbations as particles emerge..look up spin lattice from <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;arxiv.org&#x2F;abs&#x2F;hep-th&#x2F;0507118" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;arxiv.org&#x2F;abs&#x2F;hep-th&#x2F;0507118 so basically bringing back idea of quantum ether cuz explaining empty space with waves without some underlying structure doesn&#x27;t really make sense anyway since all other waves have mediums in nature.

               1. GoblinSlayer · 1789723660 · focus · HN ↗

                  The underlying structure is the quantum field, it looks empty to particles just like steel looks empty to sound.

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