Such great questions today! I hope you aren't too confused. Hang in there -- I promise it will get more intelligible.
Re: multiple universes
I might have overstated the case today -- here's more information in a Ted Talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_greene_why_is_our_universe_fine_tuned_for_life?language=en
Re: laws & theories -- quick definitions
Laws: descriptions of observed phenomena
Theories: explanations of phenomena (whys)
Falsification
This is a good start of an answer, but it is incomplete: "Falsification is when you test a theory and it
proves to be false." Falsification describes a kind of theory, one that could be tested and disproven, even if it never actually has been tested that way. Astrology could never be disproven -- it is not falsifiable. Belief in God is not falsifiable. The theory of evolution is. The law of gravity is falsifiable.
post your questions and comments here!
I think that the question of multiple universes and worlds with intelligent life intrigues me the most because of the astronomy class I took last semester. We studied that the Milky Way was part of a huge web of galaxies, that is still being created! There are thousands of galaxies just within a small segment of dark space that can't be seen by the human eye. With technology today we are able to see how many galaxies there really are! When the question of other intelligent life within our universe came up in this past class, I think it's not wrong for people to believe that we are the only ones out there, considering that is all we know, but it surly is illogical of us to think that way. Granted it takes a lot for a planet to form in a habitual zone of a star and for intelligent life to develop would take hundreds of thousands of years. But there was an equation that Dr. Ryle gave us that can roughly calculate how many planets there should be, with the size of our universe, with intelligent life on them. The normal number people get is a few thousand!!! So when we make the statement that there is only one universe or our world is the only intelligent one out there, I think our technology has not allowed us to discover that yet, but it certainly is not out of the question.
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ReplyDeleteSo, after watching the TED video, I still feel lost in the universe topic. I don't understand how astronomers and physicists can measure dark energy or dark matte, to me these terms give me a headache, space is so un-tangible to me and so unknown. I don't understand how the scientists can prove the universe is expanding at increasing rates. I think the string theory is so abstract, how can scientists say it exists with no evidence or proof. I love science but when it comes to space and atoms and vibrating strings I suddenly become very lost and extremely confused. On a clear night I love going outside and looking at the stars and finding the big dipper but when we discuss these topics of multiverse I feel like an ant in New York City.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything that you have said! I have been taking all of these general and organic chemistry classes that are so intangible to me. I get the basic proton, neutron, and electron parts of the course, but when it comes to understanding the different equations used to understand what happens when two different kinds of compounds are combined or when they interact with each other, how do we know that these are the correct ways of defining these interactions? How do we know that there aren't other factors influencing chemical reactions and how did the chemists of the past conclude that certain chemicals have certain bonds and will only react with certain materials? Chemistry is just a subject that I have trouble perceiving.
DeleteI agree with Lauren and Denise i get lost when we talk about certain aspects that go in depth of why scientists or philosophers believe what they believe. I dont mind scientists promoting theory's that are not falsifiable because that just means that there is no means of an answer or proof to the question at hand just yet. as of this date some of these theory's are not falsifiable because we technologically do not have the means to make them falsifiable. it is confusing when we go into depth and like Lauren said i enjoy looking at the stars and finding the big dipper or simple things like that, but i honestly do enjoy hearing these crazy sounding theorys because there is a chance that they could be right.
DeleteMy question would definitely have to deal wight he difference between laws and theories. From my understanding from in class discussions I think that they are pretty much the same thing. I know that I am incorrect with this statement because i have been told that I am incorrect. But what is the real difference?
ReplyDeleteFor Blake et al.,
ReplyDeleteLaws are descriptions of what happens. They encapsulate lots of observation. So, the Law of Gravity describes what happens for example, when we drop or throw an object.
A theory would encompass laws as well as background conditions in order to explain why some phenomena happens. For example, in biology, the Theory of Evolution encompasses "the principle of uniformity, which states that all of the offspring from a cross where the parents differ by only one trait will appear identical" (http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/inheritance-of-traits-by-offspring-follows-predictable-6524925). For now, let's treat "principle" as synonymous with "law".
I think that the concepts of space continually stretching and multiple universes are hard to comprehend. (Much the same way as when you are trying to understand a situation in which extremely large figures are given to express the scale of the effects.) I also think that both concepts are kind of frightening if you add in the additional speculation about intelligent life. I say this because in terms of Big Science the closest we have come to interstellar travel is Voyager 1 which is an unmanned spacecraft. We have not even come close to explaining all of the mysteries of our own planet. Only a few days ago was it discovered that there is water on Mars. The great scale, cost, and difficulty of making these discoveries in our own solar system makes the study of other solar systems and multiple universes seem almost incomprehensible. (Although there is speculation that black holes could be implemented to conduct time travel, as well as transportation to other universes which would make these grand obstacles seem much more attainable.) Add in the fact that there could be life in these other regions and you will begin to realize how small our planet really is in the grand scheme of things.
ReplyDeleteI’ve always been intrigues by cosmos science. I decided to watch this video because this type of science interests me. I assumed the video would provide shotty speculative information with little evidence backing it up. I’ve heard of the string theory before and dark matter but forgot what they really meant but I did have a small background in this. My understanding before the video was that there was one universe and the universe was constantly expanding from one point. Atoms were made of sub-atomic particles and these particles were made of quarks. The quarks consisted of vibrating strings according to the string theory. After the video I feel like a gained a new understanding. I read about a theory of parallel universes based on the string theory. It was that each different possible dimension (for the 4th dimension) meant another dimension exactly like ours parallel to us. That would mean there could be infinite Brandon’s typing this blog that our dimension couldn’t see. I didn’t buy it. It was theoretical and confusing. After the video he gave me the idea that for each candidate shape for the 4th dimension is a different shape for each separate universe and that each separate universe would have a different amount of dark energy. When I first heard about the string theory I remember hearing there was something like 11 possibilities for different dimensions meaning there were 11 parallel dimensions. But it was soon found out that there are BILLIONS of possibilities according to this video. My understanding was, according to the video, is that different amount of dark energy forms different dimension. With this information I concluded that our universe (dimension) has a set amount of dark energy in the subatomic level. When other universes were created they were created with a different amount of dark energy meaning a different 4th dimension. Scientists have concluded that dark energy is contributing to our universes accelerating expansion. (How else would acceleration take place if there was no other stimulus aside from the original stimuli (big bang)?) It made sense. The mystery of dark matter did not. It makes sense but it doesn’t make sense at the same time. This video really interested me.
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