Preface: Occam’s Razor

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William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347) wrote that when comparing two theories, cut away the unnecessary assumptions. He expounded the belief that when two possible explanations can be given, always choose the simplest. This philosophy has also been described as the law of parsimony.

The Universe’s laws of physics did not predate the Universe’s expansion; they were a product of that expansion. Simply, it was the ratios of the Universe’s component parts and the change in these ratios that generated the universal physical laws. By adding one simple principal on another, all of the complexity of the Universe is unveiled.

Ockham’s Principle

William of Ockham is credited with establishing the principle bearing his name (although spelled differently). William was born in the village of Ockham in Surrey southwest of London. He later moved to Avignon and ultimately Munich. He was one of several important philosophers of the Middle Ages. He studied Aristotle’s physics and other areas of “natural philosophy”. He was asked to come to Avignon to answer questions about his potentially heretical writings. In 1328 he escaped from the grasp of Pope John XXII after his contentious writings about Apostolic poverty. He ended up in Munich where he focused on political writings.

The essence of his famous principle is apparent in his statement “Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.” [Plurality must never be posited without necessity.]1 The term Occam’s Razor first appeared in 1852 within the works of Sir William Hamilton, the Ninth Baronet.

Figure Preface-1 William of Ockham – Sketch labelled “frater Occham iste”, from a manuscript of Ockham’s Summa Logicae, 1341 Source: Wikipedia.2

The Occam principle has also been termed the law of parsimony, economy or succinctness. Most ideas have a thread of logic that explains the concept. The better that the concept is understood; the simpler the explanation should be. Essence is simple. If something is explained completely with the minimum number of words or components, then in all likelihood it is close to the essence of the matter. Our greatest teachers are those who have been able to simplify the concepts they teach to the most basic ingredients.

Simplicity applies not only to conceptual explanations but to the physical universe. Just a few laws of physics can explain a vast array of phenomena. If there are many complex physical laws applicable to a particular situation, the interfacing of these various principles would interfere with each other rendering the resulting universe unrecognizable. However, if the complexity of the observed phenomenon can be boiled down to a few simple principles, then the likelihood that the explanation is adequate is greatly increased.

Occam’s Philosophy Applied to the Existing Paradigm

If the present group of cosmological theories is viewed through the Occam logic filter, they universally fall short. The largest shortfall in the theories is that major components are unobservable and/or immeasurable.

Inflation theory puts forward conditions that have no evidence: the theoretical vacuum energy whatever that is; the percolation of universes from the hyperinflationary “whatever” the existence of the unseeable parts of our universe hypothesized in the theory. The theory casually throws away Special Relativity both during the inflationary epoch and now, since distant parts of the Universe are theorized to be expanding faster than c.

String theory conveniently sequesters forever the unseeable seven dimensions. Each of these becomes an adjustable parameter, which when compounded for all the possible permutations, makes the millions of resulting theories the antithesis of Occam’s simplicity. What does a rolled up dimension even mean? It is either a dimension that positions and locates the stuff of the Universe or it doesn’t exist.

M-theory leaves unexplained the source of the oscillating planes and what happens when the planes approach each other, i.e., does the existing universe collapse on itself, blow up or what?

Multiverse theory becomes one of the most elusive. Nothing can ever really be known about this theory since by definition, what is described are multiple universes that are at the other side of impenetrable barriers. This is the nature a closed-system universe.

Is there a better explanation for dark matter than undetectable particles that don’t interact directly with matter and have no basis in theory? Even though these particles do not interact with matter or traditional energy, they must interact with each other. Otherwise how would they have formed in the first place?

Exotic energy exploits the unseeable to the extreme. Its source is unobservable, its mechanism is unknown, and its logic is questionable. For a force to push everything away from everything else there must be a preferential push away from objects versus towards them. Is this energy conserved as for traditional energy or is there a continued influx of new energy?

Looking at these theories it becomes blatantly apparent that simplicity is lacking. There is no elegance in a group of hodgepodge unrelated theories. All of these should be part of the same set of physical laws. Instead each is an independent, complex, unobservable, and when taken together, unbelievable solution to the cosmological puzzle. There must be a better, simpler explanation.

Misuse of Quantum Flexibility

Quantum mechanics points out that uncertainty is built into the structure of the Universe. This uncertainty shows up in the waveforms of matter and electromagnetic energy. The irony of quantum mechanics is that the uncertainty of the waveform resolves itself in finite and specific results. The electron has infinite wave possibilities in its orbit around the nucleus, yet these possibilities self-cancel to form the specific finite electron shells of the atom. A change in electron shells results in a specific and predictable quantum of energy released or absorbed.

It is interesting that each waveform of light has significant quantum uncertainty with respect to wavelength and location, but that wave grouping preserves its energy while in transit to an absolute degree. So even though a particular wave will experience ongoing changes in wave length, the overall frequency will be maintained. Energy is preserved at all costs.

The uncertainty within the quantum mechanics’ mechanism has been inappropriately exploited by modern theorists. The term quantum can be substituted for finite. It is specific and unitary.

When the Universe first formed and it comprised only a few particles, quantum effects displayed themselves on a macro scale, but once the number of particles became significant, the quantum uncertainty became blended to create statistical certainty. Many theories exploit uncertainty to the extreme on a macro scale.

The uncertainty component of quantum mechanics has been isolated by modern theorists and used to give philosophical license to allow for any possibility. In the real universe the quantum selection process results is real and measurable events. In the end, quantum mechanics’ philosophical exploitation is just bad science.

Conceptual Geometry

There is only one set of rules for the Universe. This set is called the laws of physics. These rules interlock in one grand design. Individual theories try to describe one part of the whole, but they only describe an aspect of the overall structure. All theories must not only be compatible with the complete set of physical laws, they must fit together as one philosophical and mathematical unit.

The laws of physics are interlinking pieces to a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. There can be no gaps between concepts. Everything that goes on in the Universe must be seamlessly linked with everything else. This is conceptual geometry.

The laws of thermodynamics must work with chemistry, biology, the functioning of black holes and every other aspect of the physical universe. Ultimately, a grand unified theory will explain a simple yet complete universal design.

Current cosmology theories are inconsistent within themselves let alone relative to each other. These are not seamless ideas that lead to an explanation of everything. They do not form a geometric whole with ideas interlinked with adjacent concepts with no intervening gaps.

Closed System

The Universe is a closed system. This means it is and has always been self-contained. All that goes on or that has ever occurred has been determined by the Universe itself.

The laws of physics did not precede the Universe. They were not bestowed upon the Universe. They are a product of the Universe, how it formed, and how it evolved during the expansion.

The laws of physics are connected to the expansion. They are related to the proportional changes in the Universe’s four dimensions. The laws originate with the ratios and the change in these ratios for the Universe. The Universe’s volume changes with a different order of magnitude than its surface area, which changes with a different order of magnitude to radius. These proportional changes form the basis of the laws of the Universe. This simple premise generated the physics that we see today.

The Approach to the Problem

In the 1993 film “Searching for Bobby Fischer” the character Bruce Pandolfini played by Ben Kingsley, the teacher of Joshua Waitzkin (Max Pomerank) a child prodigy, tells Josh “Let me make it easier for you” and sweeps the pieces off the board onto the floor. He then tells him to visualize the board and they proceed to play verbal chess.

If we sweep all that we know, or think we know, off the board and rebuild the Universe from the simplest assumptions possible, where will it lead? We can then test each assumption with basic logic. We then take our assumptions and turn them into fundamental formulas, some of which are well known. The final step is to test it against observations for credibility. If the first set of assumptions test positive, then we make the next assumption, and so on.

As part of this process we can test each formulation for times prior to now. The simplest method to accomplish this is to reduce the current radius of the Universe by half. We can continue this reduction for many iterations until we approach quantum barriers. Each physical component of physics either remains unchanged or varies in a specific discernible way with each halving iteration. In this way values can be determined throughout history.

  1. Wikipedia – “Occam’s Razor”; John Duns Sotus’ book Ordinato.
  2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.