Cosmos – Harmonia Philosophica

Coincidences. Noise. Systems. Predictions.

When we predict future climate, it is important to understand the climate of the past. We do. Mostly. Some details are still debatable.

An example of that are the periodicities of ice ages – that is, how ice ages come and go. This is described in a theory developed by amongst others the astronomer Milankovitch in the 1920ies. The theory is good, but it doesn’t explain everything. The periodicity of ice ages has not been as precise as the theory would indicate. Why is that? Is it because of noise in the system.

Now climate scientist document that the climate system is more chaotic than the model indicates. A myriad of coincidences seem to displace the ice ages from the predictions of the theory. (1)

Coincidences.

In a cosmos full of patterns.

Patterns.

In a cosmos full of coincidences.

Order.

In a cosmos full of chaos.

Chaos.

In a cosmos built on order.

How can you see anything?

The opposites define their opposites.

In the same way you define yourself.

Forget about coincidences.

Let go of the patterns.

There is no chaos.

No order.

Just… you!

Afraid.

Afraid? Presence of a stranger can have a calming effect. (1)

We are never alone.

But we are afraid when we believe we are alone.

Look around you.

Talk to the forest.

Shhhhhh…

You do not need any reassurance.

It is the forest that is terrified!

Tell the cosmos not to be afraid.

You are with Him…

Being afraid of Nothing…

Scientists have created the fastest spinning object ever made, taking them a big step closer to being able to measure the mysterious quantum forces at play inside ‘nothingness’. The record-breaking object will pave the way for scientists to detect unfathomably small amounts of drag caused by the ‘friction’ within a vacuum.

The science of nothingness is quickly becoming a big deal in physics.

Researchers are now comfortable with the fact that empty space isn’t empty at all, but full of quantum fluctuations that we’re only just now beginning to understand. (1)

We used to know nothingness.

We were born in it.

But now we are afraid of Nothing.

For its existence implies the existence of something.

If Nothing exists, then Everything must exist too.

Take a good look.

If the cosmos started from nothing, then there should a God to make it Be.

If everything existed from ever, then there is Nothing needed for them to Be.

Funny.

Eternal existence implies Nothingness.

Nothingness implies eternal existence.

At the end, it seems that eternal existence is there anyway.

(Within Nothingness…)

Being entails Being.

Nothing cannot Be.

Rest assured. There is nothing to be afraid of. Except everything…

We used to know everything.

We were born in it.

But now we are afraid of God.

For His existence implies only one thing.

That Nothingness exists everywhere.

(To set us free…)

Classical physics. QM. Intuitionism.

In classical physics, it is accepted that everything has already been determined since the Big Bang. To explore the future of our cosmos, physicists employ the language of classical mathematics and represent the universe’s initial conditions conditions by real numbers. “These numbers are characterized by an infinite number of decimals that follow the dot,” says professor Nicolas Gisin. There is a problem, however: given that our world is finite, how can it include numbers that are infinite and that feature an infinite amount of information?

To circumvent this paradox, professor Gisin suggests the use of a different language. “There is another mathematical language, called intuitionistic, which doesn’t believe in the existence of the infinite,” continues the Geneva physicist. Instead of real numbers containing an infinite number of decimals at a given moment, intuitionistic mathematics represents these numbers as a random process that takes place over time, one decimal after the other, so that at each given moment, there is only a finite number of decimals.

(Note: There is another difference between the two mathematical languages: the truth of propositions. In intuitionistic mathematics, a proposition is either true, false or indeterminate) (1)

A cosmos full of information.

A world governed by laws.

An infinite universe.

Filled with humans.

An empty cosmos.

A cosmos with no laws.

A finite cosmos.

Filled with death.

A cosmos void of any information…

A cosmos full of infinite wisdom…

Don’t be perplexed.

There is no answer to your questions.

And that is the answer.

Now move on.

Step by step.

Can you listen to Him walking?

Tractionless movement.

Understanding how cells move autonomously is a fundamental question for both biologists and physicists. Experiments on cell motility are commonly done by looking at the motion of a cell on a glass slide under a microscope.

In those conditions, cells are observed to “crawl” on the surface. Crawling is well understood: cells attach themselves to the surface and use these anchor points to push themselves forward. However, crawling is very inefficient in vivo, where cells move through complex 3D environments.

Scientists from the School of Mathematics at Bristol identified a different propulsion mechanism particularly suited for cell motion in tissues – one that doesn’t rely on force transmission through anchor points. They found that self-propulsion without traction (local force on the surrounding environment) is possible if you are made of “active” matter, as cells are.

Active matter is a special kind of matter, ubiquitous in biology, in which metabolic energy is constantly converted into mechanical energy. This ability to generate mechanical forces internally, in the bulk, is what allows the drop to move without exerting forces at its boundaries (the walls). (1)

Moving without a force.

Only if you define the force in a way it fits your story.

At the end this is what matters.

The story.

And the people who believe it.

They will fly.

And they will reach new stars.

And they will tell their stories.

That once there was a world with no humans.

That once there was a world without cells.

That once there was a world without motion.

A magical world.

Which gave birth to everything…

While dancing still…

And you will listen in awe.

And you will smile…