The physicist's quest for a summary of a Theory of Everything that can fit on a tee-shirt is not, IMO, a quixotic quest.
I was thinking of using Ockham's razor as one of the supreme ethical statements in a philosophy based on aesthetics. While futile, the tee-shirt goal is a good target. The goal of course is impossible (especially given recent developments in modern physics), but it does at least force the physicist to try to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, as opposed to using complex mathematics as a vaccine against participation of 99% of the population.
I see the "vaccine" method used in other disciplines, such as words with "accepted" rigorous definitions that are rarely stated in philosophy to frustrate those who haven't subjected themselves to 4-8 years of disciplined study in the philosophy of mind and language. Another example is the "young-earth-creationist" who uses the vaccine to exclude anyone who wishes to use their brain from religious discussions.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2004-01-03 09:42 am (UTC)I was thinking of using Ockham's razor as one of the supreme ethical statements in a philosophy based on aesthetics. While futile, the tee-shirt goal is a good target. The goal of course is impossible (especially given recent developments in modern physics), but it does at least force the physicist to try to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, as opposed to using complex mathematics as a vaccine against participation of 99% of the population.
I see the "vaccine" method used in other disciplines, such as words with "accepted" rigorous definitions that are rarely stated in philosophy to frustrate those who haven't subjected themselves to 4-8 years of disciplined study in the philosophy of mind and language. Another example is the "young-earth-creationist" who uses the vaccine to exclude anyone who wishes to use their brain from religious discussions.