Computational irreducibility means that there are no shortcuts when we apply rules to the hypergraph.

I used to think that our existing theories of physics, such as general relativity and quantum mechanics, were examples of computational reducibility: shortcuts that allow us to make higher-level generalizations about how the application of rules to the hypergraph gives rise to our universe.

Jonathan Gorard used to think this, too.

But it turns out that over the last couple of years, he has changed his mind on this quite radically.

General relativity and quantum mechanics, he now thinks, aren’t examples of computational reducibility, they’re consequences of computational irreducibility.

I truly appreciated this part of our conversation, because it radically changed my mind, too, about this crucial concept in Wolfram Physics.

—

Jonathan Gorard

• Jonathan Gorard at The Wolfram Physics Project https://www.wolframphysics.org/people...
• Jonathan Gorard at Cardiff University https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view...
• Jonathan Gorard on Twitter   / getjonwithit  

• The Centre for Applied Compositionality http://www.appliedcompositionality.com/
• The Wolfram Physics Project https://www.wolframphysics.org/

Concepts mentioned by Jonathan

• Computational reducibility https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Computa...
• Computational irreducibility https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Computa...

• General relativity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General...
• Quantum mechanics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum...
• Fluid mechanics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_m...
• Continuum mechanics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continu...
• Solid mechanics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_m...

• Partition function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partiti...)
• Boltzmann equation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boltzma...
• Molecular chaos assumption https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecul...
• Ergodicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergodicity
• Distribution function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distrib...)
• Chapman-Enskog expansion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman...
• Stress tensor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauchy_...
• Navier-Stokes equations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navier%...
• Euler equations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_e...)

—

Prefer to listen to the audio? Search for The Last Theory in your podcast player, or listen at https://lasttheory.com/podcast/032-wh...

Kootenay Village Ventures Inc.