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Is it really that strange that random matrix theory models so many things though? Matrices without stochasticity can already model so many things in nature. And
by tw1010 9y ago
Is it really that strange that random matrix theory models so many things though? Matrices without stochasticity can already model so many things in nature. And the reason for that is much more because they are a really well studied area of math, rather than because of some deep mysterious thing about nature. (It's much more about that being the conventional tool that physicists learn in school.) Take some really well used technique (matrix theory) and add another property (randomness) and is it really that strange that the result (random matrix theory) explains a larger set of phenomenon than what was explained by each piece individually?
- adrianratnapala 9y agoMatrices don't have to be "some deep mysterious thing about nature" to be important in themselves and not just beause they are well-studied. They merely need to be deep. "Matrices" is just a word for "Linear operators over finite-dimensioned spaces". Linear stuff is important. Finite dimensional systems are imporant. And even infinite dimensional linear systems tend to have the same properties as finite dimensional ones. All of this makes matricies important in their own right.