Laplace's Place

on the border between physics and philosophy,
right now, is the effect of the past
and the cause of the future
right now, is the effect of the past
and the cause of the future

on the border between physics and philosophy.

lives a demon 

Author's Note

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

I listened to the video and wished that my physicist Dad could have been beside me to explain this in simplistic terms. If it is about physics and philosophy being used to predict the future from the outcomes of the past, then that surely is a demon. Predicting the future is mind boggling and unnecessary in my opinion. That's where your lines and this video led me.
I am sure you will be able to tell me more.

Chris

[Davidgeo]

There is indeed a lot more to this but it is very difficult to convey and something I struggle with greatly. The term you want to dive into on your own is "a clockwork universe". I feel that it's important to introduce yourself to these concepts because I'm simply not intelligent enough to properly do that for you when it comes to a lot of these concepts. A lot of people are afraid to look closer into this stuff because they are afraid of the math. And while it helps to have a grasp on advanced mathematics it is not a requirement that you know differential equations and such to intelligently think about these concepts if they are introduced to you by someone with an extremely deep grasp of the material. My grasp on this stuff is tenuous at best.

[Davidgeo]

... and of course look closer into "Laplace's Demon". It helped me understand probability in a more fundamental way.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you. Complex but very interesting.

[Davidgeo]

Keep looking into it. It takes time but it's worth every second of it. None of this stuff is really intuitive until all of a sudden it becomes somewhat intuitive (but still not really), it's one of those genuine "aha" moments. But it takes effort and I think it's more rewarding and leaves a deeper impression when you discover these concepts with minimal guidance. You probably have a slight advantage over your average individual given that your father was a physicist; most people wouldn't even be interested, it really is kind of a small community.

[Chris Shaw]

You are right. I would like to know more about a subject that interested him.

[Davidgeo]

I think you will also find that your brain is predisposed to thinking about this in a way most people are not predisposed to. The interest you have is also a sign of your natural inclination/ability to learn. It's not simply intelligence that is required, that's not even the primary factor in my opinion. It takes a certain kind of brain that you either do or do not have. I think you have that and that you should pursue the topic of philosophical-type physics. It sucks not having a lot people to talk about this with in detail.

[Andrew Nelson Stewart]

Very in depth of explaining in detail of philosophy and physics, thought provoking subject to chose and enjoyable read. Marcus Aurelius said once " Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone-those that are now, and those to come. Existence flows past us like a river: the "what" is in constant flux, the "why" has a thousand variations.Nothing is stable, not even what's right here." Keep writing sincerely your friend in poetry and life.

[Gaurav]

its a very interesting poem and the video as well...i have been reading 'the fabric of the cosmos' by Briane Greene..and really liked the ideas of quantum science..and the double slit experience really blows my head off..

[Pragati Chaudhary]

Thankyou so much. This is beautiful!

[TPK Stories]

Can we really predict the future? One only knows. Excellent write.

[Fairy Khan]

I like the way it's written. The repetition does the work for me

[Davidgeo]

Do a quick google search on "laplace's demon" and/or "a clockwork universe". They are incredibly interesting ways to spend your time thinking.

[Fairy Khan]

Sure, will do.

[sL]

I really like the image of being on the border of two things. And I love the repetition in this poem.

[Davidgeo]

I have found that writing complicated math solutions out in words makes it easier to understand complicated math stuffs in general. I'm still not very good at hard math, and we all hit a wall where things are become unfairly difficult, but it's kinda interesting to learn how to learn about it. It's like learning a new language that has more application's than any other language.

[Lyanth]

I heard a debate once, where the question was presented, "Who made the laws of the universe, science and how things work?" The answer given was "We did." (Meaning mankind).
I wonder though, do we really make them?
We discover them yes, we record them but they are already in place and have been for a long time.

[Davidgeo]

There is a difference between invention and discovery. "how/why the universe works" types of breakthrough's are always of the discovery variety... and usually always incomplete because the laws of the universe evolve as the universe evolves over incredibly vast amounts of time. A long, long time ago it is very probable that all the different laws of nature were combined into one state of existence. Time did not exist, matter did not really exist, the laws of nature as we know it hadn't yet begun to define themselves... there was just this infinitely dense point of "everything that will ever exist" probably in the form of some kind of intensely pure state of energy. Right now, as we are seeing things... it's like missing the first 2/3rd's of a very long, and a very complex movie but having no one who was there for the first half left over to explain how the plot got to this point or even what the movie is really about in the first place.

[Erudite]

Sort of a love note to the perplexity of the thing. And, if you read it in a loop, it gets a little deeper. Thanks for posting the vid!

[Davidgeo]

It's a tough subject because it can be so counter-intuitive to us. You can spend hours thinking about it and still make no progress or even lose ground in the battle to fully grasp the philosophy of physics; it's very frustrating. I suppose I shouldn't use the phrase "fully grasp" because I really don't think it's possible for a single person over a single lifetime to "fully grasp" this stuff. But that fella in the video, Sean Carroll, does a superb job of explaining things without ruining your life with differential equations and s**t. But it does become pretty apparent that the more you dive into the "philosophy of physics" the more you need to dive into some pretty difficult mathematics as well... because math is the universal language, there comes a point in describing the physical when using "words" is inherently insufficient. It's both very frustrating (i'm not that smart unfortunately) and occasionally very beautiful (i'm not that dumb though).

[wordman]

well this is a brain tester ,but it all comes back to reality,or myth
the demon sounds like it is with in

[Davidgeo]

Did you forget who I am or did you forget who you are?

[wordman]

no,i didn't forget mr demers

[Davidgeo]

Are you still pretending to be an Army Ranger?

[wordman]

no,i got a promotion,are you still looking for sympathy

[Davidgeo]

Pathetic. It's a very serious thing to be the things you are claiming. You've been openly exposed already, multiple times... it's the sign of a low IQ that you keep trying to keep up the charade. To be honest, you're more of a "side show" to me at this point. So pathetic it's hilarious.

[wordman]

no,your the pathetic one,it`s not any of your business when and where i served,it`s funny i go to the v a hospital twice a year for my dr`s appts..you are now and always been a troll,a trouble maker,a liar and a general piece of s**t,,you change your name every month or so but the same pathetic reviews,your pissed off because i don`t run from you and you havent gotten me of the site like the others you ran off with your bullshit remarks,,have a good night trolling

[wordman]

exposed my a*s,,you don`t have a clue who i am
i wouldn`t show you s**t,,i was a damn grunt in the u s army just like your sorry a*s

[wordman]

and my i q is 123

[wordman]

and i don`t sneak around with fake pages,steal someones page like mc faden,and virgin poet,and mine,,,and the letter you sent virgin poet saying you was sorry for telling her to feed her baby bleach and admitted to the false pages is posted on my profile page for anybody to read

[Davidgeo]

What Ranger class did you graduate from and what unit did you serve with?

[wordman]

now a*s hole i deleted you from my friends list and blocked your pathetic a*s

[Davidgeo]

... and I didn't do any of those things you're talking about.