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From: kort@hounx.UUCP (B.KORT)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: The death of bogus physics
Message-ID: <751@hounx.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Mar-86 11:57:22 EST
Article-I.D.: hounx.751
Posted: Mon Mar 24 11:57:22 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Mar-86 02:34:16 EST
References: <12603@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 42

Matthew Wiener treats us to some nuggets from Einstein:

>Of all imaginable spaces ... in any kind of motion relatively to one
>another, there is none which we may look upon as privileged a priori....
>THE LAWS OF PHYSICS MUST BE OF SUCH A NATURE THAT THEY APPLY TO SYSTEMS
>OF REFERENCE IN ANY KIND OF MOTION.        [p 113]
>
>THE GENERAL LAWS OF NATURE ARE TO BE EXPRESSED BY EQUATIONS WHICH HOLD
>GOOD FOR ALL SYSTEMS OF CO-ORDINATES, THAT IS, ARE CO-VARIANT WITH RESPECT
>TO ANY SUBSTITUTIONS WHATEVER (GENERALLY CO-VARIANT).    [pp 115-117]
>
>[In choosing among co-ordinate systems], there is no immediate reason for
>preferring certain systems of co-ordinates to others.   [p 117]

OK.  Let's see what we can do with these gems.

Let's substitute "discussions" for "spaces",
		 "emotion" for "motion"
		 "SENTIENT BEINGS" for "PHYSICS"
		 "BELIEF" for "REFERENCE" or "CO-ORDINATES"

We get...

Of all imaginable discussions ... in any kind of emotion relatively to one
another, there is none which we may look upon as privileged a priori....
THE LAWS OF SENTIENT BEINGS MUST BE OF SUCH A NATURE THAT THEY APPLY TO
SYSTEMS OF BELIEF IN ANY KIND OF EMOTION.        [meta-p 113]

THE GENERAL LAWS OF NATURE ARE TO BE EXPRESSED BY EQUATIONS WHICH HOLD
GOOD FOR ALL SYSTEMS OF BELIEF, THAT IS, ARE CO-VARIANT WITH RESPECT
TO ANY SUBSTITUTIONS WHATEVER (GENERALLY CO-VARIANT).    [meta-pp 115-117]

[In choosing among belief systems], there is no immediate reason for
preferring certain systems of belief to others.   [meta-p 117]


I don't know if this exercise leads anywhere, but the above example
of the "copy-with-substitute" procedure does seem to preserve a certain
sensibility to it.  I wonder if anyone else has noticed the deep
isomorphism between the laws of physics and the laws of human nature.

--Barry Kort  ...ihnp4!hounx!kort