Re: A FAQ document proposal for this list

From: Hal Ruhl <hjr.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 15:32:52 -0800

Well here is a first try with some proposed questions for the FAQ list:

I have filled in some responses here and there to illustrate the ideas of
individualized and multiple responses. This allows the dialog to be
sustained but hopefully eventually coalesce

BACKGROUND

What are the goals of the Everything TOE effort?

What is the history of the Everything TOE effort?

DEFINITIONS

What is "information"?

What is the "Nothing"?

a) It is a possible alternate beginning that must ultimately produce the
Everything.

What is a "formal system"?

What is a "Formal Axiomatic System"?

What is a "physical universe"?

What is an "isomorphism"?

What is a "Turing Machine"?

What kinds of "Turing Machines" are there?

What is a "Real Time Clock"?

What is a "Wabbit"?

What is a "universal dovetailer"?

What is a "prior"?

What is a "universal prior"?

What is a "multiverse"?

What is a "Superverse"?

What is a "Rapidly-Accelerating Computer"?

What is "anthropic thinking"?

What are the "anthropic principles"?

What is "open"?

What is a "Moment"?

What is "quantum time travel"?

What is "normalization"?

What is "renormalization"?

What is "AUH"?

What is "MWI"?

What is "UDA"?

What is a "thought"?

What is an "idea"?

What is a "panscient spectator"?

What is an "Observational Selection Effect"?

What is "space"?

What is "time"?

What is "motion"?

What is a "continuous" space-time?

What is a "granular" space-time?

a) It is a space in which there are spatial regions which may differ in
structure and are separated from each other by a surface and subjective
time comes in quanta.

What is a "discrete" space-time?

What is a "measure"?

What is meant by "formally describable"?

What is a Random Oracle?

What is "true noise"?

What is a "SAS"?

What is an "SSA"?

What is "consciousness"?

What is "quantum suicide"?

What is "awareness"?

What is an "observer"?

What is an "observer moment"?

What is a "history-less" observer moment?

What is an "algorithmic TOE"?

What is a "non algorithmic TOE"?

What is a "partially algorithmic TOE"?

What is a "pattern"?

a) A pattern is a geometric structure that could vary in at least one
characteristic from location to location within the pattern. Patterns that
individually contain information must consist of at least a set of more
than two zero dimensional isolated discrete points. Patterns are
representable by N-bit binary strings. Patterns need not be mathematical
systems or computable.

What is a "White Rabbit"?

What is a "flying rabbit"?

What is "comp"?

What is the "first person point of view"?

What is the "third person point of view"?

What is meant by "hunting wild geese"?

QUESTIONS

SECTION 1

How much information should the Everything itself contain?

a) None

b) Some

Should the basic fabric of the Everything allow for universes with
space-times that are continuous, granular, discrete, all three as separate
types, blends?

a) Granular.

b) Granular and discrete.

c) Discrete Granular.

d) All of the above.

Can there be "motion" without "time"?

Can there be "time" without "motion"?

SECTION 2

What are the currently proposed models of the Everything itself or of its
related concepts exclusive of any TOE each might support?

a) The set of all mathematical structures:

b) The set of all Turing machines:

c) The set of all patterns.

What is the relative information content of these models?

a) The set of all mathematical structures is a selection out of all
structures mathematical or not and so contains information.

b) The set of all Turing machines is even more selective and thus contains
even more information.

c) The set of all patterns is absent selection and thus may contain no
information.

What concepts of space, time, and motion do they support?

SECTION 3

What are the basic expected features of an Everything TOE?

What dimensionality should SAS supporting space-times have?

What are the current models of physics in a discrete space time universe?

What is the evidence the a "Random Oracle" and or "true noise" is necessary
in at least some universes?

a) If a universe is a theorem cascade in an N-bit, fc-FAS then Chaitin's
incompleteness dictates that the cascade must stop. There are no more than
2^[N + c] theorems in the FAS. But theorem cascades produce monotonically
more AIT complex theorems. For the cascade to stop it must end on a
theorem that has no consequent under the configuration of the
cascade. This is a low AIT complexity theorem since I just described
it. The initiating axiom of the cascade is already more complex than
this. Thus we have a contradiction. A random oracle can provide new
information to the FAS [say new alphabet elements] as necessary and thus
increases N eliminating the contradiction. Further while the FAS is fixed
the cascade is still producing ever more AIT complex theorems. To satisfy
this the successive theorems must eventually increase the number of
alphabet elements they contain. Some universes of this type may upon
occasion use their random oracle to add this new information to a theorem
making a new axiom [Godelian style incompleteness resolution] and using
this new axiom to initiate a new cascade. Such universes may more easily
model the idea of "self".

Is consciousness necessary in a SAS?

How does "comp" apply to an Everything TOE?


SECTION 4

What are the currently proposed TOE models within the context of the
various Everything models?

a) A universe is a particular mathematical structure:

b) A universe is a particular Turing machine:

c) A universe is a self sequencing set of patterns:

SECTION 5

What can the various Everything TOE models predict?

What can the various Everything TOE models retrodict?


Hal
Received on Sun Feb 18 2001 - 13:02:06 PST