Are black holes philosophically interesting? And, if so, why?
I submit that they are. They seem to be central to the development of cosmology, the branch of physics that asks the Big Questions: where did the universe come from? why does it have the laws that it has? (for example, why does gravity have the force that it has)? Do the laws of nature themselves have a history?
However much impressive and, for many of us, impenetrable the mathematics that may be thrown at such problems, they retain their philosophy-adjacent pull.
Why are black holes central to cosmology? In part because the natural way to understand black holes involves the notion of a singularity -- a place (perhaps a mathematical point) where laws cease to apply.
Take a simple point from some of the math I just mentioned. Whenever there is a value defied as 1/x= V, then the value goes to infinity as X goes to zero. You can think x as the distance between an object and a massive gravitational pull. As that distance gets smaller the value of 1/x gets larger. If X is 1/2, then V is 1/1/2, or just 2. The center of the black hole is, then, the zero point, and our V reaches infinity. Such infinities mess with all our conceptions of how things work.
But you're never supposed to divide by zero! The denominator can't be zero!
That is, so to speak, the point. With regard to gravitational singularities, it isn't clear that one can avoid dividing by zero. The question "what is happening at the center" cannot be distinguished from the question "what is happening at a distance of zero from the center."
This launches us into philosophy. Or it could launch us toward a new book, SUPERMASSIVE, by physicists James Trefil and Shobita Satyapal.
The subtitle of the Trefil/Satyapal book is pregnant with significance, "black holes at the beginning and end of the universe." Indeed. In Greek, the alpha and the omega.
You know, I don't know. It seems there is a philosophy of everything, including mathematics and science. I never, as far as I can remember, had philosophical thoughts, when struggling with quadratic equations. Even when entering and advancing in a career where sophisticated math was irrelevant, I did not ponder how my life might have been different, had math played an important role. It was simply irrelevant and that was all there was to it. I sorta get why there is; should be, a philosophy of language, because language affects everyone, one way or several. So, if black holes and/or singularities affect us, there could be some philosophy around that.But, what would it mean if there is nothing to DO about it?
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of a story about Michael Faraday. Supposedly a member of Parliament visited Faraday's lab and saw his experiments suggesting that electricity and magnetism were in fact the same force -- a cutting-edge idea at the time. The distinguished member said it all looked interesting but "of what use is it?" There are two versions of the story. Some say Faraday replied, "Of what use is a new born child?" -- others claim that he really replied, "someday, sir, you will be eager to tax it." Either answer is good. The point is, we naturally want to know how the world around us works and although the practical results for us may not be obvious, they do arise in time. There is no need why they SHOULD be obvious, since our minds evolved basically to help us evade saber-toothed tigers long enough to have babies.
ReplyDelete...and then, devise strategies for keeping those babies, and themselves alive.
ReplyDeleteI, am reminded of conversations had with an architect friend years ago. We discussed ideas/notions about philosophy. His views were more earthy, and, he referred to my philosophy as "deep shit". I respected that. He is funny, respectful and pragmatic---all qualities/attributes I admire. I miss our morning coffee rendezvous, because, although we did not always know what each other was saying, we always knew what we meant. Ironic, or metaphysical, or, what? Sure.
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