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Our equations break down because they are incomplete. But that does not mean that reality does not also break down.
by Cacti 3y ago
Our equations break down because they are incomplete.
But that does not mean that reality does not also break down.
- GoblinSlayer 3y agoBlack hole is pure math though, it's about behavior of equations, not about reality. You presume there's distribution of mass smaller than its Schwarzschild radius and study how equations behave in this mathematical situation.
- bmitc 3y ago> But that does not mean that reality does not also break down. What does that mean, though? Reality just is. Our equations are just models of reality. They aren't reality.
- Cacti 3y agothat’s an assumption though.
- bmitc 3y agoAn assumption in what sense? And even if so, then what is the alternative? As far as I know, in terms of our knowledge of physics and philosophy, there is not a current alternative. We have no choice but to build models. We have no way of knowing what reality is.
- Nevermark 3y agoIMO, reality doesn't break down, something different just happens. The information encoded in what we call "forces", "space", etc., and the rules from which those concepts emerged, continues as before, but with a different emergent form we can't predict yet. We might learn what that is, or it might be too chaotic, complex or unobservable for us to ever know. But reality as we normally experience it breaks down! Advances in cosmology and physics have broken generations of our perceived realities.
- andrewflnr 3y agoBut the equations are the only thing even close to evidence that reality does break down. So why would you believe it does if you think the equations are incomplete in that case? There's absolutely no reason left to believe it.