[HN Gopher] On the Methodology of Actual Physics [video]
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       On the Methodology of Actual Physics [video]
        
       Author : sbuttgereit
       Score  : 5 points
       Date   : 2026-01-25 18:15 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
        
       | gambutin wrote:
       | Here's the YouTube video description:
       | 
       |  _Tim Maudlin - On the Methodology of Actual Physics
       | 
       | Physicists and philosophers often allow themselves the luxury of
       | contemplating the methodology of a sort of idealized physicist.
       | One such tempting model of how physicists make predictions is
       | provided by Laplace's (or more accurately Boskovic's) demon: the
       | complete physical state of the universe at a moment is fed into
       | some fundamental dynamical equation and then one calculates what
       | will-or might-happen. Of course, everyone knows that this is an
       | idealization. The requisite initial condition cannot, in fact, be
       | known. And even if it were, the calculation could not be done. So
       | arriving at actual predictions must involve idealizations and
       | simplifications. But the extent and nature of those idealizations
       | and simplifications has not, I think, been properly acknowledged,
       | especially in the context of quantum-mechanical predictions.
       | 
       | I will consider the problem at a somewhat abstract level, and
       | then make specific remarks about predictions of arrival-place and
       | arrival-time predictions that are based in quantum theory. There,
       | the conceptual foundations of the predictive methods are more
       | shaky and contestable than is generally recognized._
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2026-01-25 23:00 UTC)