When an architect imagines a new building he uses his experiences with the structural properties of existing ones to give his imagination as reference point for its design.  He knows that without it, it would be very difficult for his imagination to create one with a solid foundation.

However, many scientists define the physical structure of their theoretical models on abstract mathematical equations that are not defined by their observational experiences.  For example, the “General Theory of Relativity” extrapolates three-dimensional observations of gravity to a four-dimensional space-time universe.

However, one of the most persistent and repeatable observations regarding time is that we do not directly perceived or experienced it as matter or space with physical properties; but only as an irreversible physical, chemical, or biological change in physical space.

Therefore, to define a space-time universe we must use our imagination to not only to understand how the properties of three spatial dimensions can interact and fuse with a time dimension but also to understand its physical properties because no one has observed or experience them.

In an earlier article “Experiences” 24 Aug 2007 it was shown why our theoretical models should be based, in part on our experiences because it would minimize the probability of our imagination creating one based on an incorrect assumption

Imagination is a very powerful tool that can help us understand our universe but, in science its use should be limited to extrapolating our observable experiences to the unobservable because it would give the theoretical models based on it a solid foundation in reality.

In future articles, we will show how one can extrapolate his or her experiences in our three-dimensional world to one of four *spatial* dimensions to provide a logically consistent explanation the observations that today’s paradigms cannot like the causality of Dark Energy.

So please visit this blog occasionally if you are interested in continuing an imaginative trip through the reality of our experiences into the realm of the unknown and unobservable

Jeff

Copyright 2007 Jeffrey O’Callaghan

The post The role of imagination in science appeared first on Unifying Quantum and Relativistic Theories.

Mathematics is an important tool for science to quantify our experience however, it should not replace them.

The following example explains why.

If someone was asked to devise a mathematical model defining why there were two apples left a grocery bag after some had been removed he or she could say that originally, there were four apples and two were taken away.  However, it would also be possible to say that there were six apples and four were taken away.

Both of the mathematical models give the same the accurate results but are ambiguous as to the reasons.  (In one mathematical model, there were originally six apples, while in the other there were four.)

The only way to confirm which one of them is correct would be to know how many apples were originally in the bag. 

However, the experience of someone who had shopped at the store where the apples bought would know they can only be purchased in packages of four.

This would give a model based on the premise that there were originally four apples a firm foundation in his experiences.

This same concept could and should be applied to validate mathematical mechanisms scientists feel may be responsible for the physical laws of nature.  In other words, scientists should use their experiences along with results of of their abstract equations to validate their mathematical models.

For example, string theorists have devised very accurate quantitative mathematical models of the physical laws based on the existence of higher “curled” dimensions.  However, the existence of higher curled dimension has no basis in our experiences because no one has ever observed or experienced a higher “curled” dimension.  Therefore, string theorists cannot be sure that these curled dimensions exist.

Abstract mathematical equations paint a picture of universe, which can be interpreted by our imaginations.  But we must be careful not to assume that just because they give the correct end result that they define reality because, as the earlier example showed it is possible to mathematical define a correct solution of that problem based on the non-reality of six apples.

We will spend the upcoming weeks, months and years showing how one can extrapolate his or her experiences in our three-dimensional world to one of four *spatial* dimensions not only explain and predict the existence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy but to use those experience to validity the equations used to quantify them.

Later Jeff

Copyright Jeffrey O’Callaghan 2007

The post Experiences appeared first on Unifying Quantum and Relativistic Theories.