Credibility and proof

Submitted by jhwierenga on Mon, 07/30/2018 - 07:36
Knowledge, as defined by the Stanford Dictionary of Philosophy, is justified true belief. This definition, unfortunately, is of no operational use, given that we can never know with absolute certainty if a proposition is true. We therefore abandon the notion of knowledge, and concentrate on credibility instead. A proposition is credible to the extent that it is reasonable to act on the assumption that it is true. There is a scale of credibility. A proposition is maximally credible if we can use it to produce new information on which we can rely without further thought, and minimally credible if we can use it only to identify possible courses of action, the credibility of which must be verified independently of the source before being acted on. QO has a heuristic by means of which credibility can be assessed - the Occam Method. ...

Key findings: Philosophy

Submitted by jhwierenga on Fri, 08/31/2018 - 19:21

There is some truth in Platonism:  All that we observe are instantiations of concepts that exist of themselves, in other words they do not owe their existence to their instantiations. However, the interaction between concepts and their instantiations is a two-way street. And concepts which we invent have no existence except in our heads.

Key findings: space, particles and motion

Submitted by jhwierenga on Mon, 07/30/2018 - 07:48

Space consists of space quanta: Space, like everything in the universe,  consists of quanta. Space quanta connect to neighboring space quanta, dynamically, so that space behaves as a fluid.  These connections produce a vector geometry.

Space is the 3-surface of a 4-ball: Space is the result of uniform processes and hence has a more or less uniform topology. It has 3 dimensions, no boundaries, and is finite. The simplest topology which fits this bill is the 3-surface of a 4-ball.

Key findings: mathematics

Submitted by jhwierenga on Mon, 07/30/2018 - 07:40

Mathematical truths are the result of quantum mechanical processes: When the initial quantum popped into existence out of absolute nothingness, there was no mathematics. It has developed stepwise ever since, by means of the standard quantum mechanical processes of quantum splitting and resonance of quantum systems.

Key findings: Biology

Submitted by jhwierenga on Sat, 08/18/2018 - 19:10

A priori natural selection:  the universe selects solutions before making them real, in the sense of existing absolutely rather than existing as one solution in a superposition of solutions. This applies to the laws of the universe, life itself, the building blocks of life, genera, species and mutations of species. Solutions are subsequently subject to a posteriori natural selection - survival of the fittest - but that determines which solutions are eliminated, rather than which solutions exist in the first place.