FEST Log

Entry #013
July 29, 2024

A new program

I started this FEST log on leap day, five months ago, with entry #000, a maniFESTo for the FEST program.

The name FEST can be read in two different ways, as Fully Engaged Science and Technology, as well as Fully Empirical Science and Technology.  Here the words "science" and "technology" apply to science of matter, using technologies based on matter, as well as science of mind, using technologies based on mind.  Both forms of science can use the very effective methodology developed for natural science, each in their own domain.

Entry #012
July 10, 2024

Physics, act 3: material reality as quantum fields

Toward the end of entry #009, I introduced 1925 as the year that ended "classical physics", act 1 in the play of physics as the science of matter.  That act started with the publication of Newton's Principia in 1687. During the subsequent 238 years, the accepted scientific worldview was that the material cosmos could be viewed as a mechanism.  Not only that; any future state of the cosmos could in principle be derived from knowledge of the current state.

Entry #011
July 02, 2024

From properties to observables

In our previous entry, we have seen how in 1925 the worldview incorporated in physics was forever altered. Gone were any remaining notions of the world as a kind of mechanism, largely independent of human beings trying to make sense of it.  Instead of determinism, probability appeared at the core of the new formalism of quantum mechanics.

Entry #010
June 13, 2024

The opening of physics, act 2: a quantum world

At the end of the previous entry, #009, I described how the curtain dropped on physics, act 1: a classical world.  The second act of physics started in 1925 with the discovery of "quantum mechanics", a radical break from "classical mechanics", which was the name of the game of physics from Newton, via Maxwell, and through Einstein's special relativity and general relativity.

Entry #009
June 03, 2024

The State of Physics in 1865

This entry is a sequel to entry #008, "A Picture Book of Physics Theories."  There we followed the history of science starting from its prescientific roots till 1865, when Maxwell published his equations of electrodynamics. This unification of the theories of electricity and magnetism led to an explanation of the nature of light, which in turn enabled wireless communication, from early radio and tv to the daily use of our cell phones.

Entry #008
May 19, 2024

Clarifying diagrams

Many profound discoveries in physics and mathematics were initially presented in hard to understand jargon without clear illustrations of the key points.  Only years or sometimes decades later would deeper insight lead to simpler pictures, and vice versa: diagrams that were easy to interpret made it easier to get a sense of the deeper meaning of a theory.

Entry #007
May 10, 2024

The mystery of gravity

In the previous entry I presented a short narrative of the first three centuries of natural science, the science of matter.  The two highlights of radically new theory formation were Newton's laws of motion and of universal gravity, and Einstein's special and general relativity theories.  I described how Newton unified the dynamics of Aristotle's separate views of Earthly and celestial phenomena, and how Einstein unified space and time, as well as matter and energy, according to special relativity.

Entry #006
April 30, 2024

Experimental introductions to experience and appearance

In the last three entries I have introduced two different experiments as initial examples of what experimentation might look like in a science of mind.  In entry #003 I introduced the first one, a way of using experience to study experience.  I called it "Experiment 1): the nature of matter as experience".  The main idea was to turn the tables with respect to how we function in daily life.

Entry #005
April 14, 2024

Primitive elements underlying experience

In entry #003 I introduced two working hypotheses. The first one was "WH 1: there are primitive elements underlying experience."  We talked about the presence of an experiencer who is experiencing something that is experienced, suggesting at least three elements: the -er, -ing and -ed element.  That said, we have no clear idea what those elements can be, apart from the linguistic names subject and object and something that connects them.

Entry #004
April 02, 2024

Developing a lab culture and lab guidelines

In entry #001, I listed four categories of experiments in the science of matter: field observations, laboratory experiments, thought experiments, and computer experiments. Of those four, lab experiments are the most reliable. Because of the use of controlled conditions, they are less likely to introduce errors.