Naked Science Forum

General Science => General Science => Topic started by: neilep on 26/12/2007 20:27:17

Title: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: neilep on 26/12/2007 20:27:17
What is this Great Theory Of Everything supposed to prove ?...once discovered will every possible question be able to be answered ?....will it answer this question ?

...When it says ' everything'...does it really mean every 'thing' or just everything within a  particular field of science ?

If it is the answer to every single thing.....where will that then leave us as a species forever curious ?

Title: Re: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: Carol-A on 27/12/2007 13:38:59
42?
Title: Re: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: lyner on 27/12/2007 19:35:26
Nothing like as ambitious as that - at least at the present.
The TOE is trying to cover the areas of gravitation and of quantum mechanics all in one big model. At the moment, there is nothing which includes both; each system disagrees with the other in some aspects; a TOE would reconcile all these differences.
String Theory is an attempt but it has a long way to go. It seems that, at present, it is ok qualitatively, up to a point but it doesn't go far in the quantitative direction i.e. the sums aren't sorted out yet.
A lot of people talk a lot of BS about string theory but a lot of what is written is just name dropping and 'what if' ing . If you don't 'get' quantum theory really well, you have probably no chance at all of 'getting' string theory.
The problem is with doing experiments to show or prove anything; the energies needed to get inside 'fundamental' particles is huge and it will only be when experiments can be run at all (and repeated) that any theories can be verified.

A real TOE would accurately  predict how the forces and energies  in nuclei and atoms would produce  chemical and biological changes. Then it would predict  how we would be thinking and behaving as individuals and then how society will work and then. . . . .
Title: Re: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: lyner on 27/12/2007 19:37:40
Dear Moderators.
Doesn't this thread belong along with Physics and Cosmo?
Title: Re: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: neilep on 27/12/2007 20:11:19
Dear Moderators.
Doesn't this thread belong along with Physics and Cosmo?

The reason why I placed the question here was because I did not know if the TOE was aligned to one specific area of science.....if it truly is the TOE then I thought it must then encompass ALL the sciences. I  thus decided that General Science was the best place for it.

If it is specific to Physics and Cosmo I will gladly move it there.

THANK EWE Sophiecentaur.
Title: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: Andrew K Fletcher on 28/12/2007 09:58:59
I agree with Neil, the TOE crosses all boundaries and has to be a general science question rather than a physics question, because it must answer the driving force behind everything, including all living and non living forces, therefore applies to Chemistry and biology as much as it should apply to physics. And let’s not forget philosophy also while we are at it.
Title: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: JP on 28/12/2007 15:16:06
A real TOE would accurately  predict how the forces and energies  in nuclei and atoms would produce  chemical and biological changes. Then it would predict  how we would be thinking and behaving as individuals and then how society will work and then. . . . .

The most commonly used idea of the "theory of everything" is that it will describe the most basic rules from which everything else in the universe is built.  In theory, if you knew these rules, you could describe anything in the universe, from the interactions of atoms, to the development of life, to consciousness.  In practice, to calculate these things from a TOE, you would have to have computers that could keep track of every subatomic particle in the universe, and how they're interacting.  That's just not going to happen.  So even if someone came up with a TOE tomorrow, we'd still be studying biology and chemistry and all the other sciences simply because it's impractical to do most day-to-day science from a TOE.
Title: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: lightarrow on 28/12/2007 20:52:36
What is this Great Theory Of Everything supposed to prove ?...once discovered will every possible question be able to be answered ?....will it answer this question ?

...When it says ' everything'...does it really mean every 'thing' or just everything within a  particular field of science ?

If it is the answer to every single thing.....where will that then leave us as a species forever curious ?


Even if it were a real theory of everything, let's remember that it would only be a theory of everything "we know now". Let's say we find this theory tomorrow, and that explains QM, gravity, all particles, even dark matter and dark energy; ok.

Tomorrow we would discover a new particle (just an only, tiny, shy, new particle) and all our theory fall down miserly! Or, at least, have to be corrected, and so other centuries of scientific studies to find "THE" real theory of everything. Until, one day, again...   [;)]
Title: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: another_someone on 28/12/2007 21:02:16
A real TOE would accurately  predict how the forces and energies  in nuclei and atoms would produce  chemical and biological changes. Then it would predict  how we would be thinking and behaving as individuals and then how society will work and then. . . . .

Would this not create something of a paradox.  If we had a theory that could predict how we thought, then how could we implement such a theory without first thinking about that which we will think about before thinking about it, and so changing what it is we will be thinking about, and so invalidate our prediction.

The broader paradox is that we cannot analyse ourselves without stepping outside of ourselves.  Even if we built a computer separate from ourselves that would make all the predictions, you are still left with the problem that the computer cannot predict the outcome of its own calculations, otherwise it would not need to make the calculations.
Title: Theory Of EVERYTHING ?
Post by: Soul Surfer on 30/12/2007 18:10:36
Another Someone, In a funny sort of way what you ave said is the real problem of the Theory of everything (TOE)because gravity involves space and time you have to have a theory that creates something out of nothing (or whatever the quantum mechanical vacuum is)

We Physicists already fully understand almost all the physical intereactions that enable stars planets and life to form so a TOE is very unlikely to turn up anything that will affect our daily lives in any way. The precise knowledge of the physics of life does not tell us how individual humans will interact in all circumstances.  There will always be plenty of opportunities for misunderstandings and love :-)