Physicists unify the structure of scientific theories

[FarCenter]

Cornell physicists have figured out why science works. Or rather, they’ve posited a theory for why scientific theories work – a meta theory.


Read more at http://scienceblog.com/67583/physicists-unify-the-structure-of-scientific-theories

[Rex]

1. We are all an illusion?

nt.

[MoonRiver]

7. I knew that!

[Thor_MN]

2. So primarily focus on the stiff and leave the sloppy for second?

[Vashta Nerada]

3. Stiff and sloppy, just how I like, well, never mind.

[longship]

4. I thought Einstein resolved this in 1905 with his paper on Brownian motion.

Emergence of macro physical properties from micro interactions. It also gave support for the then emerging atomic theory of matter. Einstein won the Nobel Prize for another 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect, which demonstrated that photons were particles and the quantum was the real deal.

He's known for his three papers on relativity -- two in 1905, one (on gravitation) in 1915 -- but his Nobel citation cited the photoelectric effect and other advances to physics. The fact is that the Nobel committee probably did not know how to single out a single paper out of Einstein's annus horribilus, 1905. Any one of them would have been justified.

[Jim__]

5. I don't think "annus horribilis" is the correct term.

1905 is usually referred to as Einstein's annus mirabilis.

[Orrex]

8. There is nothing worse than an annus horribilis.

[MoonRiver]

10. OMG!

[longship]

12. I stand corrected.

You are correct.

[bemildred]

6. Or to put it another way: systems that cannot be characterized by a small number of parameters

don't lead to satisfying scientific theories that explain them.

[Motown_Johnny]

9. Relabel "relevant and irrelevant" and get published

BRILLIANT!

[jsr]

11. I thought Wolfram had already figured out everything

[Bosonic]

13. arxiv paper

http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.6738