What we need to explain about space
- Space is place that can be occupied. Two objects cannot be in the same place in space at the same time.
- We experience space as being 3-dimensional. For any two points in the neighbourhood of each other, the distance between them and the direction from one to another conform to the rules we associate with 3-dimensional vectors.
- The motion of objects through space is consistent with the assertion of general relativity that space is distorted by gravitational forces.
- Space combines with time to produce invariant behaviour: the combined speed of an object through time and space is always equal to the speed of light.
- The collapse of a wave function is instantaneous across all space.
Candidate explanations:
- The mainstream nonexplanation: Space does not consist of anything. We see behaviour, that’s all. This explanation has an Occam score of 0300, relative to the Big Bang (and therefore an absolute Occam score of 5000). It requires the following explanatory elements:
- Gap (complex) that there is some explanation for the observed properties of sppace.
- Gap (simple): there is some way that something that does not consist of quanta can arise out of quanta.
- The QO explanation: Space consists of space quantum systems, which are joined to other by edges which have the effects predicted by General Relativity. This explanation has an Occam score of 0010, relative to QO, and therefore an absolute Occam score of 3000 .
Given that it has a lower Occam score, we prefer the QO explanation.