GSLevy.domain.name.hidden wrote:
>
>
> As far as I know, the principle of Plenitude started explicitly with Leibniz.
> Interestingly, applications in physics include Feynman's multiple histories.
> Very much related and preceding Feynman's is Huygens' technique for analyzing
> wave front propagation according to which each point of the wavefront is
> considered to be an emitter of a secondary wave (a multiple history for
> waves).
> Significantly before Leibniz, the author of Genesis describes the creation on
> the world as: "In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth" where both God-
> "Elohim" and Heaven- "Hashamayim" have the Hebrew suffix "im" for the plural
> form, possibly implying a multiplicity of Heavens (or worlds?)
>
> And of course let's not forget Murphy's "If it can happen it will."
Here are a few quotes lifted from Barrow and Tipler's Anthropic
Cosmological Principle:
> Parmenides (c. 480 BC) the founder of the school of Elea in
> Southern Italy was one of the earliest logicians. . . .
> Parminides claimed that a 'many-worlds' interpretation of
> nature is necessary because of the non-uniqueness of the
> subjective element in our perception and understanding of
> the world. As a corollary to this he maintained that what
> is inconceivable must actually be impossible -- empty space
> cannot exist!
Also there is this quote from Democritus:
> There are worlds infinite in number and different in size.
> In some there is neither sun nor moon, in others there are
> more than one sun and moon. The distance between the worlds
> are unequal, in some directions there are more of them . . .
--
Chris Maloney
http://www.chrismaloney.com
"Donuts are so sweet and tasty."
-- Homer Simpson
Received on Tue Nov 30 1999 - 18:54:47 PST