Undecidability, Uncomputability, and Unpredictability

Undecidability, Uncomputability, and Unpredictability

Author: Anthony Aguirre

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-08-20

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 3030703541

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For a brief time in history, it was possible to imagine that a sufficiently advanced intellect could, given sufficient time and resources, in principle understand how to mathematically prove everything that was true. They could discern what math corresponds to physical laws, and use those laws to predict anything that happens before it happens. That time has passed. Gödel’s undecidability results (the incompleteness theorems), Turing’s proof of non-computable values, the formulation of quantum theory, chaos, and other developments over the past century have shown that there are rigorous arguments limiting what we can prove, compute, and predict. While some connections between these results have come to light, many remain obscure, and the implications are unclear. Are there, for example, real consequences for physics — including quantum mechanics — of undecidability and non-computability? Are there implications for our understanding of the relations between agency, intelligence, mind, and the physical world? This book, based on the winning essays from the annual FQXi competition, contains ten explorations of Undecidability, Uncomputability, and Unpredictability. The contributions abound with connections, implications, and speculations while undertaking rigorous but bold and open-minded investigation of the meaning of these constraints for the physical world, and for us as humans.​


Book Synopsis Undecidability, Uncomputability, and Unpredictability by : Anthony Aguirre

Download or read book Undecidability, Uncomputability, and Unpredictability written by Anthony Aguirre and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-08-20 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a brief time in history, it was possible to imagine that a sufficiently advanced intellect could, given sufficient time and resources, in principle understand how to mathematically prove everything that was true. They could discern what math corresponds to physical laws, and use those laws to predict anything that happens before it happens. That time has passed. Gödel’s undecidability results (the incompleteness theorems), Turing’s proof of non-computable values, the formulation of quantum theory, chaos, and other developments over the past century have shown that there are rigorous arguments limiting what we can prove, compute, and predict. While some connections between these results have come to light, many remain obscure, and the implications are unclear. Are there, for example, real consequences for physics — including quantum mechanics — of undecidability and non-computability? Are there implications for our understanding of the relations between agency, intelligence, mind, and the physical world? This book, based on the winning essays from the annual FQXi competition, contains ten explorations of Undecidability, Uncomputability, and Unpredictability. The contributions abound with connections, implications, and speculations while undertaking rigorous but bold and open-minded investigation of the meaning of these constraints for the physical world, and for us as humans.​

Foundations of General Relativity

Foundations of General Relativity

Author: Klaas Landsman

Publisher: Radboud University Press

Published: 2021-10-08

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 9083178927

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This book, dedicated to Roger Penrose, is a second, mathematically oriented course in general relativity. It contains extensive references and occasional excursions in the history and philosophy of gravity, including a relatively lengthy historical introduction. The book is intended for all students of general relativity of any age and orientation who have a background including at least first courses in special and general relativity, differential geometry, and topology. The material is developed in such a way that through the last two chapters the reader may acquire a taste of the modern mathematical study of black holes initiated by Penrose, Hawking, and others, as further influenced by the initial-value or PDE approach to general relativity. Successful readers might be able to begin reading research papers on black holes, especially in mathematical physics and in the philosophy of physics. The chapters are: Historical introduction, General differential geometry, Metric differential geometry, Curvature, Geodesics and causal structure, The singularity theorems of Hawking and Penrose, The Einstein equations, The 3+1 split of space-time, Black holes I: Exact solutions, and Black holes II: General theory. These are followed by two appendices containing background on Lie groups, Lie algebras, & constant curvature, and on Formal PDE theory.


Book Synopsis Foundations of General Relativity by : Klaas Landsman

Download or read book Foundations of General Relativity written by Klaas Landsman and published by Radboud University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-08 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, dedicated to Roger Penrose, is a second, mathematically oriented course in general relativity. It contains extensive references and occasional excursions in the history and philosophy of gravity, including a relatively lengthy historical introduction. The book is intended for all students of general relativity of any age and orientation who have a background including at least first courses in special and general relativity, differential geometry, and topology. The material is developed in such a way that through the last two chapters the reader may acquire a taste of the modern mathematical study of black holes initiated by Penrose, Hawking, and others, as further influenced by the initial-value or PDE approach to general relativity. Successful readers might be able to begin reading research papers on black holes, especially in mathematical physics and in the philosophy of physics. The chapters are: Historical introduction, General differential geometry, Metric differential geometry, Curvature, Geodesics and causal structure, The singularity theorems of Hawking and Penrose, The Einstein equations, The 3+1 split of space-time, Black holes I: Exact solutions, and Black holes II: General theory. These are followed by two appendices containing background on Lie groups, Lie algebras, & constant curvature, and on Formal PDE theory.

Science, Music, And Mathematics: The Deepest Connections (Second Edition)

Science, Music, And Mathematics: The Deepest Connections (Second Edition)

Author: Michael Edgeworth Mcintyre

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2023-08-02

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 9811276994

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Professor Michael Edgeworth McIntyre is an eminent scientist who has also had a part-time career as a musician. In this book he offers an extraordinary synthesis, revealing the many deep connections between science, music, and mathematics. He avoids equations and technical jargon. The connections are deep in the sense of being embedded in our very nature, rooted in biological evolution over hundreds of millions of years.Michael guides us through biological evolution, perception psychology, and even unconscious science and mathematics, all the way to the scientific uncertainties about the climate crisis.He also has a message of hope for the future. Contrary to popular belief, he holds that biological evolution has given us not only the nastiest, but also the most compassionate and cooperative parts of human nature. This insight comes from recognizing that biological evolution is far more than a simple competition between selfish genes. Instead, he argues, in some ways it is more like the turbulent, eddying flow in a river or in an atmospheric jet stream, a complex process spanning a vast range of timescales.Professor McIntyre is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) and has long been interested in how different branches of science can better communicate with each other, and with the public. His work harnesses aspects of neuroscience and psychology that point toward the deep 'lucidity principles' that underlie skilful communication, principles related to the way music works — music of any genre.This Second Edition sharpens the previous discussion of communication skills and their importance for today's great problems, ranging from the widely discussed climate crisis to the need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of artificial intelligence.


Book Synopsis Science, Music, And Mathematics: The Deepest Connections (Second Edition) by : Michael Edgeworth Mcintyre

Download or read book Science, Music, And Mathematics: The Deepest Connections (Second Edition) written by Michael Edgeworth Mcintyre and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2023-08-02 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professor Michael Edgeworth McIntyre is an eminent scientist who has also had a part-time career as a musician. In this book he offers an extraordinary synthesis, revealing the many deep connections between science, music, and mathematics. He avoids equations and technical jargon. The connections are deep in the sense of being embedded in our very nature, rooted in biological evolution over hundreds of millions of years.Michael guides us through biological evolution, perception psychology, and even unconscious science and mathematics, all the way to the scientific uncertainties about the climate crisis.He also has a message of hope for the future. Contrary to popular belief, he holds that biological evolution has given us not only the nastiest, but also the most compassionate and cooperative parts of human nature. This insight comes from recognizing that biological evolution is far more than a simple competition between selfish genes. Instead, he argues, in some ways it is more like the turbulent, eddying flow in a river or in an atmospheric jet stream, a complex process spanning a vast range of timescales.Professor McIntyre is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) and has long been interested in how different branches of science can better communicate with each other, and with the public. His work harnesses aspects of neuroscience and psychology that point toward the deep 'lucidity principles' that underlie skilful communication, principles related to the way music works — music of any genre.This Second Edition sharpens the previous discussion of communication skills and their importance for today's great problems, ranging from the widely discussed climate crisis to the need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of artificial intelligence.

Sixteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg16 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Volumes)

Sixteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg16 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Volumes)

Author: Remo Ruffini

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2022-12-15

Total Pages: 4880

ISBN-13: 9811269785

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The proceedings of MG16 give a broad view of all aspects of gravitational physics and astrophysics, from mathematical issues to recent observations and experiments. The scientific program of the meeting included 46 plenary presentations, 3 public lectures, 5 round tables and 81 parallel sessions arranged during the intense six-day online meeting. All talks were recorded and are available on the ICRANet YouTube channel at the following link: www.icranet.org/video_mg16.These proceedings are a representative sample of the very many contributions made at the meeting. They contain 383 papers, among which 14 come from the plenary sessions.The material represented in these proceedings cover the following topics: accretion, active galactic nuclei, alternative theories of gravity, black holes (theory, observations and experiments), binaries, boson stars, cosmic microwave background, cosmic strings, dark energy and large scale structure, dark matter, education, exact solutions, early universe, fundamental interactions and stellar evolution, fast transients, gravitational waves, high energy physics, history of relativity, neutron stars, precision tests, quantum gravity, strong fields, and white dwarf; all of them represented by a large number of contributions.The online e-proceedings are published in an open access format.


Book Synopsis Sixteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg16 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Volumes) by : Remo Ruffini

Download or read book Sixteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics, And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg16 Meeting On General Relativity (In 4 Volumes) written by Remo Ruffini and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2022-12-15 with total page 4880 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proceedings of MG16 give a broad view of all aspects of gravitational physics and astrophysics, from mathematical issues to recent observations and experiments. The scientific program of the meeting included 46 plenary presentations, 3 public lectures, 5 round tables and 81 parallel sessions arranged during the intense six-day online meeting. All talks were recorded and are available on the ICRANet YouTube channel at the following link: www.icranet.org/video_mg16.These proceedings are a representative sample of the very many contributions made at the meeting. They contain 383 papers, among which 14 come from the plenary sessions.The material represented in these proceedings cover the following topics: accretion, active galactic nuclei, alternative theories of gravity, black holes (theory, observations and experiments), binaries, boson stars, cosmic microwave background, cosmic strings, dark energy and large scale structure, dark matter, education, exact solutions, early universe, fundamental interactions and stellar evolution, fast transients, gravitational waves, high energy physics, history of relativity, neutron stars, precision tests, quantum gravity, strong fields, and white dwarf; all of them represented by a large number of contributions.The online e-proceedings are published in an open access format.

Information Dynamics

Information Dynamics

Author: Thomas Dittrich

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-11-23

Total Pages: 567

ISBN-13: 303096745X

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This wide-ranging book introduces information as a key concept not only in physics, from quantum mechanics to thermodynamics, but also in the neighboring sciences and in the humanities. The central part analyzes dynamical processes as manifestations of information flows between microscopic and macroscopic scales and between systems and their environment. Quantum mechanics is interpreted as a reconstruction of mechanics based on fundamental limitations of information processing on the smallest scales. These become particularly manifest in quantum chaos and in quantum computing. Covering subjects such as causality, prediction, undecidability, chaos, and quantum randomness, the book also provides an information-theoretical view of predictability. More than 180 illustrations visualize the concepts and arguments. The book takes inspiration from the author's graduate-level topical lecture but is also well suited for undergraduate studies and is a valuable resource for researchers and professionals.


Book Synopsis Information Dynamics by : Thomas Dittrich

Download or read book Information Dynamics written by Thomas Dittrich and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-11-23 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This wide-ranging book introduces information as a key concept not only in physics, from quantum mechanics to thermodynamics, but also in the neighboring sciences and in the humanities. The central part analyzes dynamical processes as manifestations of information flows between microscopic and macroscopic scales and between systems and their environment. Quantum mechanics is interpreted as a reconstruction of mechanics based on fundamental limitations of information processing on the smallest scales. These become particularly manifest in quantum chaos and in quantum computing. Covering subjects such as causality, prediction, undecidability, chaos, and quantum randomness, the book also provides an information-theoretical view of predictability. More than 180 illustrations visualize the concepts and arguments. The book takes inspiration from the author's graduate-level topical lecture but is also well suited for undergraduate studies and is a valuable resource for researchers and professionals.

Quantum Computing For The Brain

Quantum Computing For The Brain

Author: Melanie Swan

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2022-05-30

Total Pages: 551

ISBN-13: 1800610637

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Quantum Computing for the Brain argues that the brain is the killer application for quantum computing. No other system is as complex, as multidimensional in time and space, as dynamic, as less well-understood, as of peak interest, and as in need of three-dimensional modeling as it functions in real-life, as the brain.Quantum computing has emerged as a platform suited to contemporary data processing needs, surpassing classical computing and supercomputing. This book shows how quantum computing's increased capacity to model classical data with quantum states and the ability to run more complex permutations of problems can be employed in neuroscience applications such as neural signaling and synaptic integration. State-of-the-art methods are discussed such as quantum machine learning, tensor networks, Born machines, quantum kernel learning, wavelet transforms, Rydberg atom arrays, ion traps, boson sampling, graph-theoretic models, quantum optical machine learning, neuromorphic architectures, spiking neural networks, quantum teleportation, and quantum walks.Quantum Computing for the Brain is a comprehensive one-stop resource for an improved understanding of the converging research frontiers of foundational physics, information theory, and neuroscience in the context of quantum computing.


Book Synopsis Quantum Computing For The Brain by : Melanie Swan

Download or read book Quantum Computing For The Brain written by Melanie Swan and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2022-05-30 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quantum Computing for the Brain argues that the brain is the killer application for quantum computing. No other system is as complex, as multidimensional in time and space, as dynamic, as less well-understood, as of peak interest, and as in need of three-dimensional modeling as it functions in real-life, as the brain.Quantum computing has emerged as a platform suited to contemporary data processing needs, surpassing classical computing and supercomputing. This book shows how quantum computing's increased capacity to model classical data with quantum states and the ability to run more complex permutations of problems can be employed in neuroscience applications such as neural signaling and synaptic integration. State-of-the-art methods are discussed such as quantum machine learning, tensor networks, Born machines, quantum kernel learning, wavelet transforms, Rydberg atom arrays, ion traps, boson sampling, graph-theoretic models, quantum optical machine learning, neuromorphic architectures, spiking neural networks, quantum teleportation, and quantum walks.Quantum Computing for the Brain is a comprehensive one-stop resource for an improved understanding of the converging research frontiers of foundational physics, information theory, and neuroscience in the context of quantum computing.

Emergent Quantum Mechanics

Emergent Quantum Mechanics

Author: Jan Walleczek

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2019-04-02

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 3038976164

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Emergent quantum mechanics explores the possibility of an ontology for quantum mechanics. The resurgence of interest in "deeper-level" theories for quantum phenomena challenges the standard, textbook interpretation. The book presents expert views that critically evaluate the significance—for 21st century physics—of ontological quantum mechanics, an approach that David Bohm helped pioneer. The possibility of a deterministic quantum theory was first introduced with the original de Broglie-Bohm theory, which has also been developed as Bohmian mechanics. The wide range of perspectives that were contributed to this book on the occasion of David Bohm’s centennial celebration provide ample evidence for the physical consistency of ontological quantum mechanics. The book addresses deeper-level questions such as the following: Is reality intrinsically random or fundamentally interconnected? Is the universe local or nonlocal? Might a radically new conception of reality include a form of quantum causality or quantum ontology? What is the role of the experimenter agent? As the book demonstrates, the advancement of ‘quantum ontology’—as a scientific concept—marks a clear break with classical reality. The search for quantum reality entails unconventional causal structures and non-classical ontology, which can be fully consistent with the known record of quantum observations in the laboratory.


Book Synopsis Emergent Quantum Mechanics by : Jan Walleczek

Download or read book Emergent Quantum Mechanics written by Jan Walleczek and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emergent quantum mechanics explores the possibility of an ontology for quantum mechanics. The resurgence of interest in "deeper-level" theories for quantum phenomena challenges the standard, textbook interpretation. The book presents expert views that critically evaluate the significance—for 21st century physics—of ontological quantum mechanics, an approach that David Bohm helped pioneer. The possibility of a deterministic quantum theory was first introduced with the original de Broglie-Bohm theory, which has also been developed as Bohmian mechanics. The wide range of perspectives that were contributed to this book on the occasion of David Bohm’s centennial celebration provide ample evidence for the physical consistency of ontological quantum mechanics. The book addresses deeper-level questions such as the following: Is reality intrinsically random or fundamentally interconnected? Is the universe local or nonlocal? Might a radically new conception of reality include a form of quantum causality or quantum ontology? What is the role of the experimenter agent? As the book demonstrates, the advancement of ‘quantum ontology’—as a scientific concept—marks a clear break with classical reality. The search for quantum reality entails unconventional causal structures and non-classical ontology, which can be fully consistent with the known record of quantum observations in the laboratory.

Randomness And Undecidability In Physics

Randomness And Undecidability In Physics

Author: Karl Svozil

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 1993-10-05

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9814522929

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Recent findings in the computer sciences, discrete mathematics, formal logics and metamathematics have opened up a royal road for the investigation of undecidability and randomness in physics. A translation of these formal concepts yields a fresh look into diverse features of physical modelling such as quantum complementarity and the measurement problem, but also stipulates questions related to the necessity of the assumption of continua.Conversely, any computer may be perceived as a physical system: not only in the immediate sense of the physical properties of its hardware. Computers are a medium to virtual realities. The foreseeable importance of such virtual realities stimulates the investigation of an “inner description”, a “virtual physics” of these universes of computation. Indeed, one may consider our own universe as just one particular realisation of an enormous number of virtual realities, most of them awaiting discovery.One motive of this book is the recognition that what is often referred to as “randomness” in physics might actually be a signature of undecidability for systems whose evolution is computable on a step-by-step basis. To give a flavour of the type of questions envisaged: Consider an arbitrary algorithmic system which is computable on a step-by-step basis. Then it is in general impossible to specify a second algorithmic procedure, including itself, which, by experimental input-output analysis, is capable of finding the deterministic law of the first system. But even if such a law is specified beforehand, it is in general impossible to predict the system behaviour in the “distant future”. In other words: no “speedup” or “computational shortcut” is available. In this approach, classical paradoxes can be formally translated into no-go theorems concerning intrinsic physical perception.It is suggested that complementarity can be modelled by experiments on finite automata, where measurements of one observable of the automaton destroys the possibility to measure another observable of the same automaton and it vice versa.Besides undecidability, a great part of the book is dedicated to a formal definition of randomness and entropy measures based on algorithmic information theory.


Book Synopsis Randomness And Undecidability In Physics by : Karl Svozil

Download or read book Randomness And Undecidability In Physics written by Karl Svozil and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1993-10-05 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent findings in the computer sciences, discrete mathematics, formal logics and metamathematics have opened up a royal road for the investigation of undecidability and randomness in physics. A translation of these formal concepts yields a fresh look into diverse features of physical modelling such as quantum complementarity and the measurement problem, but also stipulates questions related to the necessity of the assumption of continua.Conversely, any computer may be perceived as a physical system: not only in the immediate sense of the physical properties of its hardware. Computers are a medium to virtual realities. The foreseeable importance of such virtual realities stimulates the investigation of an “inner description”, a “virtual physics” of these universes of computation. Indeed, one may consider our own universe as just one particular realisation of an enormous number of virtual realities, most of them awaiting discovery.One motive of this book is the recognition that what is often referred to as “randomness” in physics might actually be a signature of undecidability for systems whose evolution is computable on a step-by-step basis. To give a flavour of the type of questions envisaged: Consider an arbitrary algorithmic system which is computable on a step-by-step basis. Then it is in general impossible to specify a second algorithmic procedure, including itself, which, by experimental input-output analysis, is capable of finding the deterministic law of the first system. But even if such a law is specified beforehand, it is in general impossible to predict the system behaviour in the “distant future”. In other words: no “speedup” or “computational shortcut” is available. In this approach, classical paradoxes can be formally translated into no-go theorems concerning intrinsic physical perception.It is suggested that complementarity can be modelled by experiments on finite automata, where measurements of one observable of the automaton destroys the possibility to measure another observable of the same automaton and it vice versa.Besides undecidability, a great part of the book is dedicated to a formal definition of randomness and entropy measures based on algorithmic information theory.

Randomness and Complexity

Randomness and Complexity

Author: Cristian Calude

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 9812770828

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The book is a collection of papers written by a selection of eminent authors from around the world in honour of Gregory Chaitin's 60th birthday. This is a unique volume including technical contributions, philosophical papers and essays.


Book Synopsis Randomness and Complexity by : Cristian Calude

Download or read book Randomness and Complexity written by Cristian Calude and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2007 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is a collection of papers written by a selection of eminent authors from around the world in honour of Gregory Chaitin's 60th birthday. This is a unique volume including technical contributions, philosophical papers and essays.

Computability in Analysis and Physics

Computability in Analysis and Physics

Author: Marian B. Pour-El

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-03-02

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1107168449

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The first graduate-level treatment of computable analysis within the tradition of classical mathematical reasoning.


Book Synopsis Computability in Analysis and Physics by : Marian B. Pour-El

Download or read book Computability in Analysis and Physics written by Marian B. Pour-El and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-02 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first graduate-level treatment of computable analysis within the tradition of classical mathematical reasoning.