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This is a blog on why we believe and do what we do, why we pretend otherwise, how we might do better, and what our descendants might do, if they don't all die.
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Robin Hanson
Nov 1, 2014
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This is our monthly place to discuss relevant topics that have not appeared in recent posts.

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Overcoming Bias Commenter
May 15

There's a rising new paradigm for physics that's now got 'Many World Interpretation' (MWI) of quantum mechanics in trouble! If this new paradigm is correct, then the Bohm (pilot-wave) theory is correct, and MWI is out!

The big idea is that space-time is a super-fluid. Although this idea is not new, over the last decade, a number of physics theories (in cosmology and quantum gravity) based on the idea, have reached the point where they are fitting together coherently enough to say that a tipping point has been reached, and space-time as a super-fluid is an idea whose time has come.

What are the advantages of the space-time as super-fluid idea?

*Potentially offers explanations for dark-energy, dark matter and big bang

*Offers a way to unify gravity with other forces (quantum gravity)

*Black holes - theory of gravastars - avoids Singularities, properties of black holes explained as 'phase-changes' in the space-time fluid.

*Fluid dynamics - strong analogies to quantum effects , offers concrete model for the Bohm pilot-wave model.

I want to provide a link to more details about this last item , because its really quite striking - all the quantum effects such as wave inference etc. seem to naturally fall out of fluid dynamics, look here:

http://www.wired.com/2014/0...

"A droplet bouncing on the surface of a liquid has been found to exhibit many quantum-like properties, including double-slit interference, tunneling and energy quantization."

Now I'm not saying that this stuff is about revolutionize physics just yet, but its all reached the point where other physics theories are starting to come under a little pressure!

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Overcoming Bias Commenter
May 15

You might update your blogroll. gnxp is over on unz now. The late Seth Roberts' blog no longer exists.

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