From time to time religious people claim that atheism is a religion too [1]. This is strange for - at least - two reasons. First of all; how can the absence of something be this very thing? How can the absence of religion be a religion? And, secondly, how come religious people take the right to define atheism from their world-view, i.e., that everybody has to have a belief?
The latter actually reflects the problem we are facing here rather well. Since a large majority of the worlds population is religious of some sort, religious people simply take the right to define the reference frame from which to judge everyone's views on their own religious believes.
This reference frame, sort of, sits in the word "atheism" itself. Atheism is defined relative to theism. Actually it should be the other way round. Let's illustrate this by trying to replace the word "atheism" with a different word, e.g., "freethinker" [2]. If we call all people that are free from religion freethinkers, than Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hinduists, Jews, Shintoists, etc etc etc, are afreethinkers or non-freethinkers.
Get the point? Hope so. But let's take a one more example. Ghosts. I know that many people believe in ghosts but the large majority does not [3]. Hence you would assume that someone you just met somewhere in the street does not believe in ghosts. You might, however, eventually find that this person actually does believe in ghost [4]. Now, the question is: how many people would have to believe in ghosts to swing the balance so that is you that has to come out as an "aghostic"?
Since repetition seems to be a fruitful concept in pedagogics, lets add yet another example. Science. If I am supposed to "believe" in the Higgs particle (yes, pun intended), I reasonably ask for the evidence (see, e.g., here for the current status). Similar with so fantastic a thing as gravitational waves [5]. Now, if I tell you there is a teapot in some orbit around the sun and you do not believe me, how would you feel if I tried to define your non-believing in the existence of this teapot by calling you an ateapotist and claim that your non-belief in the teapot is as good as mine, i.e., it too is "a belief"?
Well, this is the classical burden of proof problem. In the the case of the teapot or the ghost most people will see the point. But when it comes to religion the claim that atheism is a religion too remains widespread.
But it is nevertheless false.
Notes:
[1] Religious people do, of course, their best to spread this claim which I see as nothing but cheap propaganda. Guess it helps them to reduce their cognitive dissonances and makes them feel better. A recent example from Sweden is found here. A good comment and some background on this article by Jonna Bornemark is given by Patrik Lindenfors.
[2] I don't think this is a good word in this context and in a way the word
"freethinker" contains the same problem as "atheist", but, for the sake
of the argument, let's use it here.
[3] Though I might be wrong with my "large majority" believe here.
[4] And you might be fine with it as long as the person does not try to
convince you and does not do you any harm based on this ghost-believing
thing.
[5] Wow, look at the list of authors at the end of this paper and compare it with the author list of some "holy" scripture ...
onsdag 2 mars 2016
onsdag 24 februari 2016
Cold fusion circus comes to town
This summer new spectacular promises are promised to be promised; Mats Lewan organizes a symposium under the title New Energy World Symposium, to be held in Stockolm on June 21, 2016. Just read the title of this symposium. Doesn't it sound fantastic?
Yes indeed, that is exactly what it is. Maybe something for trekkies? No, I guess this is unfair. To Star Trek fans. I take that back.
Anyway, here are some goodies from the announcements:
General statements and promises of hugh gains are made. Earlier critique is simply washed away as if it didn't exist. Such critique has been given in several posts on this blog, see, e.g., "How often does one have to kill the cat". It has actually been shown that fraud cannot be excluded or is even likely.
The critique is very severe (slight understatement). But believers rush elsewhere (maybe a case of displacement activity?) and make new bold promises in an attempt to blind the public, and, of course, potential investors: “One of the most promising is an ongoing one-year test of a heat plant producing one megawatt of thermal power—the average consumption of about 300 Western households, including electricity, space heating, water heating and air conditioning—from mere grams of harmless fuel."
Of course: this is just a statement, yet another claim not a proof. The proof will come from another test. Maybe. Eventually. Sometime in the future. With yet another E-Cat version. The typical moving target. As in most pseudoscientific adventures.
But Lewan, as an insider, claims that these new tests should give “good reasons to believe that the technology is valid”. I heard that before: we are just one tiny step away. Be patient ...
Regarding that new test I wonder: Is it public how the test is being made? What protocol? How to ensure that the serious problems from earlier tests are avoided (see, e.g., http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.6364)? Where is it made? Who is involved? Why is it secret? Where will the results be published? Who will scrutinize the validity of the results and claims?
Meanwhile, Lewan just knows that it will be a game changer, will be have "disruptive consequences" that "may literally change the world, promising Planet Earth clean water, zero-emission vehicles with unlimited mileage, a solution to the climate crisis and much more."
For pseudoscientific claims it is rather popular to cite well known scientists as general excuses. In this case Lewan uses a quote from Max Planck as support for the bold LENR claims: “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
Looking at the list of speakers, it seems more likely that LENR-believers eventually will die out.
Yes indeed, that is exactly what it is. Maybe something for trekkies? No, I guess this is unfair. To Star Trek fans. I take that back.
Anyway, here are some goodies from the announcements:
“it has been scientifically proven that elite scientists really can hold back scientific progress”.and
“One of the most promising is an ongoing one-year test of a heat plant producing one megawatt of thermal power—the average consumption of about 300 Western households, including electricity, space heating, water heating and air conditioning—from mere grams of harmless fuel.” (my emphasise)You see?
General statements and promises of hugh gains are made. Earlier critique is simply washed away as if it didn't exist. Such critique has been given in several posts on this blog, see, e.g., "How often does one have to kill the cat". It has actually been shown that fraud cannot be excluded or is even likely.
The critique is very severe (slight understatement). But believers rush elsewhere (maybe a case of displacement activity?) and make new bold promises in an attempt to blind the public, and, of course, potential investors: “One of the most promising is an ongoing one-year test of a heat plant producing one megawatt of thermal power—the average consumption of about 300 Western households, including electricity, space heating, water heating and air conditioning—from mere grams of harmless fuel."
Of course: this is just a statement, yet another claim not a proof. The proof will come from another test. Maybe. Eventually. Sometime in the future. With yet another E-Cat version. The typical moving target. As in most pseudoscientific adventures.
But Lewan, as an insider, claims that these new tests should give “good reasons to believe that the technology is valid”. I heard that before: we are just one tiny step away. Be patient ...
Regarding that new test I wonder: Is it public how the test is being made? What protocol? How to ensure that the serious problems from earlier tests are avoided (see, e.g., http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.6364)? Where is it made? Who is involved? Why is it secret? Where will the results be published? Who will scrutinize the validity of the results and claims?
Meanwhile, Lewan just knows that it will be a game changer, will be have "disruptive consequences" that "may literally change the world, promising Planet Earth clean water, zero-emission vehicles with unlimited mileage, a solution to the climate crisis and much more."
For pseudoscientific claims it is rather popular to cite well known scientists as general excuses. In this case Lewan uses a quote from Max Planck as support for the bold LENR claims: “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
Looking at the list of speakers, it seems more likely that LENR-believers eventually will die out.
söndag 13 december 2015
Maths or strings?
On December 12, the publishing house fri tanke with its CEO Christer Sturmark organized, together with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the so called “Pi symposium”. This 2015 edition of a series of events got the title “Nyfikenhet & Förundran” (“Curiosity & Wonder”).
The event was held in Stockholm and was completely sold out. About 1600 people of all ages gathered at Cirkus arena to listen to a debate between Max Tegmark and Ulf Danielsson, and to Björn Ulvaeus, former member of the pop group ABBA and now active in the Swedish Humanist Association, interviewing Richard Dawkins. Dawkins was of course the star of the afternoon and, later, a long queue of fans formed to get their books signed by him.
The interview was interesting but Ulvaeus rarely had follow-up questions and thus did not press Dawkins on any issue. There was thus little news for those that have followed the writings and sayings of Dawkins for a while. For me the real thing to remember - besides, yes, getting Dawkins signature in some books and shaking the “prophets” hands - was the first part of the afternoon, the discussion between Tegmark and Danielsson.
Sturmark introduced the debate - which lasted for about three quarters of an hour - by heralding that we would see and experience “Star Wars battle - episode 42”.
Well, yes, the debaters had opposing views about some profound question but they are both scientists. Therefore there was no basic difference between their world views that might have led to a heated debate. No, the debate was learned, very friendly, and with a lot of joking about each others statements. And most of the jokes concerned the topics of this advanced discussion and were thus on a rather high level. Hence the audience was at times amused but got a thought provoking debate that was well in line with the title of the event.
So what were these two theoretical physicists discussing about? Was it the mass of the Higgs boson? Or the 100 year anniversary of general relativity? No, not really, but closely related to that. The discussion went deeper and concerned what is “behind” particles and space. And within the discussion the question of “what is science” was automatically touched upon.
In brief and possibly a bit exaggerated: Danielsson holds that “everything is strings” while Tegmark thinks that in the end “there is only mathematics”. Does that sound strange? Yes, for sure, but the debaters managed to put up an interesting discussion that was - mostly - understandable.
As a nuclear physicist with a background in particle physics, Danielssons view is immediately more appealing to me. But Tegmarks arguments were thought provoking and seem not easy to dismiss.
Let me try to briefly discuss what I perceived as Tegmarks and Danielssons points. It might very well be, though, that I do not understand Tegmark and the "mathematical universe hypothesis" or that I misrepresent his views. Then the blame is of course only on me. Maybe I should really read up and dig into Tegmarks book, watch this video, and read his paper, and this rather critical book review and blog post.
Lets start here with the very way the debate on stage started. Danielsson was pressed by the question whether string theory is science - since there are still no testable predictions and hence no way to falsify string theory - and how long it would be reasonable to wait for string theory to provide some testable prediction before one would out it aside and follow other tracks to solve the problem at hand (see here for a critical point of view on occasion of the 40th anniversary of string theory).
Danielsson admitted that the string theory still is not just there yet. But he claims it is the best candidate we have. The problem at hand is that we have two very nice theories that, sort of, do not want to talk to each other. The problem is to put theory of gravity (general relativity) and quantum theory in a common theoretical framework. As long as there is no other (good) candidate, Danielsson holds, string theory is what we have to follow. It is our best shot at solving this problem.
When I listened to that I could not help my thoughts following Tegmarks provoking questions. Assume string theory will never manage to produce a testable prediction. Assume that it will remain a mathematical construction. When would you give up? Is there a risk that science sort of splits an eventually produces a priesthood that calculates and calculates in order to try to solve a problems that cannot be solved this way? What if gravity and particles can never we united?
I guess the answer to this would be that science/scientists and the scientific method itself should eventually either (1) put string theory on track (provide a falsifiable prediction that might kill the theory), (2) produce a better alternative, or (3) dissolve the problem by finding some evidence that the two theories cannot be joined. Unless none of this happens it is the best we can do to follow the best shot.
Ok, so back from this diversion and over to Tegmark who thinks that strings (or anything else for that matter) is the real thing, but maths and numbers. This speculative thought that "our external physical reality is a mathematical structure" is called mathematical universe hypothesis (MUH).
Tegmark exemplifies this with the electron which is 1, 1/2 and 1. That is all there is. It is just numbers. It does not matter that we happen to call the first “1” the electric charge of the electron, the “1/2” its spin and the last “1” its “electron-ness” (the lepton number). He also held up his fingers to indicate the three dimensions of (Newtonian) space. The number is three and we happen to call it dimensions. But the word is not important. The number is and cannot be done without.
So what is it then that is at the very basis of what is, what is it that this universe - or any other universe - builds upon. Strings or some other kind of matter? Or mathematical structure?
One can wonder if one could conceive of a universe without matter. Or, on the hand, whether a universe without maths is possible.
Personally I have a hard time to handle the idea that an abstraction, an idea, logical relations, something immaterial, is at the very basis of this universe or any other universe. I perceive mathematics as a tool, something that helps us to deal with the strangeness of the physical world. Maybe we, our brains, construct maths (by evolution) as a means to bring order into what we perceive as chaos. While the chaos (nature), of course, does not bother whether any-body understands it, our brains construct logic and maths as means to do so, to survive in the first place, and we then, falsely, believe that maths is so fantastic that is has an existence all by itself. This Pythagorean, non-materialist view of the universe as purely mathematical structure seems to turn the problem upside down. What is first? Matter that eventually produces mathematics, or maths that is the origin of matter?
Maybe one may conceive - not for my mind but maybe for someone else - a universe without material objects and even without any measurable structure. Without much any features at all in fact. You could then try to argue that maths is gone. There is nothing there to be counted. There are no spins and no charges and no one, two, three, many strings. Maybe there is nothing at all. But wait, you say, there is space time and space time has dimensions! So numbers are still there! True. But for a certain number to be there, and that we then call the number of dimensions, there first has to be anything to count. Hence you would argue that the hen (spacetime) needs to be there to produce the egg (some number).
Although it might just be that I simply do not really grasp what MUH is, I rather prefer the thought that matter produces brains that construct ways to deal with the physical universe and that maths thus is a product of matter, than the other way round.
Therefore, at the end I still agree with Danielsson. Mathematics is a tool and not the thing itself. Or, to use a bit of Kant; “das Ding an sich” is matter and not logics and abstractions. It may even seem that Tegmarks view is a scientific - or rather philosophical - way to re-create an abstract, non-material god as the origin of everything. You just don’t call it god, you call it maths instead. Maybe MUH is like scientism upon science itself.
Ok, with this we are back at religion and, besides science, a key topic of the afternoon. So lets at least very briefly go back to Dawkins who might have said the quote of the day. It went something like this: “I am fine with religion. If only people wouldn’t that religion seriously!”. Of course much has been asked by Ulvaeus and said by Dawkins, but, as I wrote above, it seemed there was little that a bit of googling would not reveal.
The event - which, hopefully, will eventually be available on youtube - was ended with an all too short discussion led by Sturmark and with Dawkins, Tegmark, Danielsson and Ulvaeus on stage. The last question posed by Sturmark was which problem everyone really would like to see solved. There was not discussion about it and everyone agreed. It is what David Chalmers called the hard problem; consciousness.
---
Edit 2015-12-14 (16:22): Ulfs own comments (in Sweedish) are now found here. They are - I dare say - very much in line with the comments and thoughts presented here.
Edit 2015-12-14 (16:32): Same text also available on the Bengali Mukto-Mona blog here.
---
The event was held in Stockholm and was completely sold out. About 1600 people of all ages gathered at Cirkus arena to listen to a debate between Max Tegmark and Ulf Danielsson, and to Björn Ulvaeus, former member of the pop group ABBA and now active in the Swedish Humanist Association, interviewing Richard Dawkins. Dawkins was of course the star of the afternoon and, later, a long queue of fans formed to get their books signed by him.
The interview was interesting but Ulvaeus rarely had follow-up questions and thus did not press Dawkins on any issue. There was thus little news for those that have followed the writings and sayings of Dawkins for a while. For me the real thing to remember - besides, yes, getting Dawkins signature in some books and shaking the “prophets” hands - was the first part of the afternoon, the discussion between Tegmark and Danielsson.
Sturmark introduced the debate - which lasted for about three quarters of an hour - by heralding that we would see and experience “Star Wars battle - episode 42”.
Well, yes, the debaters had opposing views about some profound question but they are both scientists. Therefore there was no basic difference between their world views that might have led to a heated debate. No, the debate was learned, very friendly, and with a lot of joking about each others statements. And most of the jokes concerned the topics of this advanced discussion and were thus on a rather high level. Hence the audience was at times amused but got a thought provoking debate that was well in line with the title of the event.
So what were these two theoretical physicists discussing about? Was it the mass of the Higgs boson? Or the 100 year anniversary of general relativity? No, not really, but closely related to that. The discussion went deeper and concerned what is “behind” particles and space. And within the discussion the question of “what is science” was automatically touched upon.
In brief and possibly a bit exaggerated: Danielsson holds that “everything is strings” while Tegmark thinks that in the end “there is only mathematics”. Does that sound strange? Yes, for sure, but the debaters managed to put up an interesting discussion that was - mostly - understandable.
As a nuclear physicist with a background in particle physics, Danielssons view is immediately more appealing to me. But Tegmarks arguments were thought provoking and seem not easy to dismiss.
Let me try to briefly discuss what I perceived as Tegmarks and Danielssons points. It might very well be, though, that I do not understand Tegmark and the "mathematical universe hypothesis" or that I misrepresent his views. Then the blame is of course only on me. Maybe I should really read up and dig into Tegmarks book, watch this video, and read his paper, and this rather critical book review and blog post.
Lets start here with the very way the debate on stage started. Danielsson was pressed by the question whether string theory is science - since there are still no testable predictions and hence no way to falsify string theory - and how long it would be reasonable to wait for string theory to provide some testable prediction before one would out it aside and follow other tracks to solve the problem at hand (see here for a critical point of view on occasion of the 40th anniversary of string theory).
Danielsson admitted that the string theory still is not just there yet. But he claims it is the best candidate we have. The problem at hand is that we have two very nice theories that, sort of, do not want to talk to each other. The problem is to put theory of gravity (general relativity) and quantum theory in a common theoretical framework. As long as there is no other (good) candidate, Danielsson holds, string theory is what we have to follow. It is our best shot at solving this problem.
When I listened to that I could not help my thoughts following Tegmarks provoking questions. Assume string theory will never manage to produce a testable prediction. Assume that it will remain a mathematical construction. When would you give up? Is there a risk that science sort of splits an eventually produces a priesthood that calculates and calculates in order to try to solve a problems that cannot be solved this way? What if gravity and particles can never we united?
I guess the answer to this would be that science/scientists and the scientific method itself should eventually either (1) put string theory on track (provide a falsifiable prediction that might kill the theory), (2) produce a better alternative, or (3) dissolve the problem by finding some evidence that the two theories cannot be joined. Unless none of this happens it is the best we can do to follow the best shot.
Ok, so back from this diversion and over to Tegmark who thinks that strings (or anything else for that matter) is the real thing, but maths and numbers. This speculative thought that "our external physical reality is a mathematical structure" is called mathematical universe hypothesis (MUH).
Tegmark exemplifies this with the electron which is 1, 1/2 and 1. That is all there is. It is just numbers. It does not matter that we happen to call the first “1” the electric charge of the electron, the “1/2” its spin and the last “1” its “electron-ness” (the lepton number). He also held up his fingers to indicate the three dimensions of (Newtonian) space. The number is three and we happen to call it dimensions. But the word is not important. The number is and cannot be done without.
So what is it then that is at the very basis of what is, what is it that this universe - or any other universe - builds upon. Strings or some other kind of matter? Or mathematical structure?
One can wonder if one could conceive of a universe without matter. Or, on the hand, whether a universe without maths is possible.
Personally I have a hard time to handle the idea that an abstraction, an idea, logical relations, something immaterial, is at the very basis of this universe or any other universe. I perceive mathematics as a tool, something that helps us to deal with the strangeness of the physical world. Maybe we, our brains, construct maths (by evolution) as a means to bring order into what we perceive as chaos. While the chaos (nature), of course, does not bother whether any-body understands it, our brains construct logic and maths as means to do so, to survive in the first place, and we then, falsely, believe that maths is so fantastic that is has an existence all by itself. This Pythagorean, non-materialist view of the universe as purely mathematical structure seems to turn the problem upside down. What is first? Matter that eventually produces mathematics, or maths that is the origin of matter?
Maybe one may conceive - not for my mind but maybe for someone else - a universe without material objects and even without any measurable structure. Without much any features at all in fact. You could then try to argue that maths is gone. There is nothing there to be counted. There are no spins and no charges and no one, two, three, many strings. Maybe there is nothing at all. But wait, you say, there is space time and space time has dimensions! So numbers are still there! True. But for a certain number to be there, and that we then call the number of dimensions, there first has to be anything to count. Hence you would argue that the hen (spacetime) needs to be there to produce the egg (some number).
Although it might just be that I simply do not really grasp what MUH is, I rather prefer the thought that matter produces brains that construct ways to deal with the physical universe and that maths thus is a product of matter, than the other way round.
Therefore, at the end I still agree with Danielsson. Mathematics is a tool and not the thing itself. Or, to use a bit of Kant; “das Ding an sich” is matter and not logics and abstractions. It may even seem that Tegmarks view is a scientific - or rather philosophical - way to re-create an abstract, non-material god as the origin of everything. You just don’t call it god, you call it maths instead. Maybe MUH is like scientism upon science itself.
Ok, with this we are back at religion and, besides science, a key topic of the afternoon. So lets at least very briefly go back to Dawkins who might have said the quote of the day. It went something like this: “I am fine with religion. If only people wouldn’t that religion seriously!”. Of course much has been asked by Ulvaeus and said by Dawkins, but, as I wrote above, it seemed there was little that a bit of googling would not reveal.
The event - which, hopefully, will eventually be available on youtube - was ended with an all too short discussion led by Sturmark and with Dawkins, Tegmark, Danielsson and Ulvaeus on stage. The last question posed by Sturmark was which problem everyone really would like to see solved. There was not discussion about it and everyone agreed. It is what David Chalmers called the hard problem; consciousness.
---
Edit 2015-12-14 (16:22): Ulfs own comments (in Sweedish) are now found here. They are - I dare say - very much in line with the comments and thoughts presented here.
Edit 2015-12-14 (16:32): Same text also available on the Bengali Mukto-Mona blog here.
---
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