Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Theory of everything

As the people who know me more intimately know, I have my own foolish theory of everything.
It goes something like this:All biology is chemistry.All chemistry is physics.All physics is mathematics.*

This is very crude attempt at generalization on my part.Here is one great physicist putting it correctly. And of course driving the final nails in the coffin of my theism in that process:

http://www.ted.com/talks/murray_gell_mann_on_beauty_and_truth_in_physics.html

Near the end of the talk he says:
"... They follow from the fundamental theory. They are what we call emergent properties. You do not need something more to get something more.That's what emergence means. Life can emerge from Physics and Chemistry plus a lot of accidents. The human mind can arise from neurobiology and a lot of accidents, the way a chemical bond arises out of physics and certain accidents. Doesn't diminish the importance of the subjects to know that they follow from more fundamental things plus accidents. That's the general rule, and it's critically important to realize that.You don't need something more to get something more. People keep asking me "Isn't there something more beyond what you have there?" Presumably they mean something supernatural.

Anyway there isn't.(laughter).You don't need something more to explain something more."

* This theory exist despite any particular expertise or excellence in any of these subjects on my part. We all have our theories, don't we?

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