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theadvancedapes:

Illustration by Claire Scully / via Aeon Magazine

The discussion of whether maths exists independently of humans has been a tension within the sciences for centuries. However, over the past two weeks it seems like the internet has become really interested in it. PBS Idea Channel’s last episode tackles the question head on, and a recent Aeon Magazine article by Margaret Wertheim explores how the reality of maths could impact future research in physics. I highly recommend checking out both.

The following is an excerpt from the The Limits of Physics by Margaret Wertheim:

Most physicists are Platonists. They believe that the mathematical relationships they discover in the world about us represent some kind of transcendent truth existing independently from, and perhaps a priori to, the physical world. In this way of seeing, the universe came into being according to a mathematical plan, what the British physicist Paul Davies has called ‘a cosmic blueprint’. Discovering this ‘plan’ is a goal for many theoretical physicists and the schism in the foundation of their framework is thus intensely frustrating. It’s as if the cosmic architect has designed a fiendish puzzle in which two apparently incompatible parts must be fitted together. Both are necessary, for both theories make predictions that have been verified to a dozen or so decimal places, and it is on the basis of these theories that we have built such marvels as microchips, lasers, and GPS satellites.

Quite apart from the physical tensions that exist between them, relativity and quantum theory each pose philosophical problems. Are space and time fundamental qualities of the universe, as general relativity suggests, or are they byproducts of something even more basic, something that might arise from a quantum process? Looking at quantum mechanics, huge debates swirl around the simplest situations. Does the universe split into multiple copies of itself every time an electron changes orbit in an atom, or every time a photon of light passes through a slit? Some say yes, others say absolutely not.

veritasnoir:

This might be the coolest mobile library I’ve ever seen.

kateoplis:

jtotheizzoe:

The radar is malfunctioning. Repeat, the radar is malfunctioning.

Stop. Don’t reblog that helical solar system on the Tumblr Radar or if you find it on a friend’s blog. Don’t like it. Don’t put it on Twitter or tell your friends on Facebook. Don’t go on and on about how you never knew that the solar system traveled this way through space. Don’t make sounds with your mouth like an explosion and say “Mind Blown!” because you never considered that the planets are rotating as they fly through space like a vortex. How did no one ever notice this revolutionary theory before?!?

Because it’s B.S., that’s why. I eviscerated the science (along with Phil Plait) back in March, when it made the rounds the first time. It’s a nifty animation, but it’s just not at all realistic.

As of now it has 130K+ notes on Tumblr, which makes Carl Sagan’s stardust cry. Chances are we can’t get everyone to delete it, but maybe we can spread the word that it isn’t true? And maybe we can at least get it off the radar? Truth soldiers of science, roll out!

Using your imagination to imagine new possibilities is a cornerstone of scientific discovery, but using fancy graphics to fool people into believing bad science is just mean. Here’s why the helical model of the solar system is a toilet-like vortex of bad science.

Well, I certainly don’t want to be part of the herd that makes “Carl Sagan’s stardust cry”; do you?

(via mattfractionblog)