In the past i have worked informally on cellular automata at mit. In 1997 ed fredkin, a former mit physics professor and a leading thinker on the fundamental aspects of computing, gave a talk about moores law in which he argued that it would continue for 100 years because chip manufacturers will be able to extend their devices into three dimensions. He knows that, and he regrets that his ideas continue to lack the support of his colleagues. Physics that says that the universe is a huge computer. While konrad zuses book, calculating space 1969, mentioned the importance of reversible computation, the fredkin gate represented the essential breakthrough. He is a pioneer in a group of thinkers who call themselves digital physicists or digital. Ed fredkin has been busy honing his idea of digital physics and is completing a book called digital mechanics. Manuels mistrust of books, experts, and all other sources of received wisdom was. It occurs to me that these issues are closely related to digital physics.
Ed fredkin 1934 has had a distinguished career both in the commercial sector as well as academia. Basically, ed fredkin thinks the universe is a computer. He begins with ed fredkin, a selfmade millionaire and former mit professor whose intriguing synthesis of information theory and physics leads him to conclude that the universe is a giant cellular. Quest for the quantum computer book by julian brown, david.
Some scientists, such as john wheeler, who worked with einstein at princeton, and ed fredkin, are theorizing about the universe in such a way that reality is ultimately reduced to information. Wilson, of sociobiology fame, and kenneth boulding, the economist. His quest is documented in three scientists and their gods by robert wright. Profile of mit computer scientist ed fredkin who postulates that the universe is a computer. However, in the end, the universe is merely an evolving program on a digital computer, if digital physics is true. Digital philosophy dp is a new way of thinking about the fundamental workings of processes in nature. A quantum computer scientist takes on the cosmos 1st edition by seth lloyd isbn. He has evidence, and no one, so far, has been able to prove him wrong. Exclusive articles about physics 5 12 reasons you shouldnt miss the solar eclipse, straight from an overthemoon astrophysicist heres why should stop what youre doing and look up at the sky on august 21, according to astrophysics researcher jedidah isler.
Jan 27, 2004 hello all, i have been thinking about the general problems of social networks on the internet. Ed fredkin moskito island, bvi digital mechanics edward fredkin carnegie mellon university. Oct 04, 20 from babylon to america, the prophecy movie by school for prophets attila kakarott duration. New haven sda temple brooklyn, ny recommended for you. Digital physics claims that the entire universe is, at the very bottom, made out of bits. Edward fredkin, konrad zuse, stephen wolfram, rudy rucker, gregory chaitin, seth lloyd.
Edward fredkin born 1934 is an american computer scientist and philosopher of information theory. Others, including oxford theoretical physicist david deutsch, are working on the same. Digital physics argument for gods existence youtube. Im writing an online glossary which focuses on the intersection of physics and philosophy. Aug, 2009 ed fredkin and the universe as a computer. Digital philosophy a new way of thinking about physics. Jan 30, 2018 textbook arent really the way to go, especially since this is such an esoteric topic as of now virtually no funding. A pioneer of digital physics, fredkin worked with richard feynman, made a ton of money in various tech businesses, and is currently a professor at carnegie mellon university and mit. Fredkin started his career in the early 1950s as one of the original.
The books are stored in various formats for downloading or online reading. Wilson, but there are other books which offer interesting profiles, including his own. I first read it about 2530 years ago and have since given it as a gift multiple times. Mit computer scientist ed fredkin, one of the fathers of digital physics, cautions us against assuming that the restrictions imposed by the laws of physics that reign in this universe have any bearing on events, processes, or emergent living intelligences in places outside of it, which he simply calls other fredkin, 2003. There are books covering the areas of classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, optics, quantum physics, atomic and nuclear physics, astrophysics, and more. The reason this should be so is that our universe itself is the manifesta tion of a computer program, being run on some ultimate computernot so very different, in principle, from our own computer games and virtual reality simulations.
The section i came back to is the one on fredkin the one who thinks the universe is digital. From the age of, i was attracted to physics and mathematics. Wright, a senior editor of the sciences, is a marvelous interlocator, very much a full participant in these interviews with three notableswho, at first glance, seem to have very little in common. Oct 03, 2017 such a scenario was speculated in the 1960s by innovative thinker ed fredkin, and later dubbed it from bit, by the accomplished physicist john wheeler. Konrad zuse, an early pioneer in computing, published the first book on digital physics in 1969, rechnender raum calculating space.
Good books for physics of photography exist, but they are quite old, the last good i have found were written by kingslake in the 70s and definitely miss the nonoptical part, and the optical stuff is a bit oldfashioned now but very nice books btw. Professor ed fredkin pioneering researcher into digital physics at mit says that the universe follows just one law, a single informationprocessing rule that is all you need to build a cosmos. Theory of everything algorithmic theory of everything. When it comes to digital physics, ed fredkin is flying solo. I might have chosen three different scientists to write about and have read about them and their gods as well, but robert wright did an excellent job describing the work and thoughts of edward fredkin, edward o. An introduction to digital philosophy request pdf researchgate. Stavrinides, mehmet ozer classical and quantum dynamics, 6th ed. Like alan turing, zuse was educated in a system that focused on a childs emotional and philosophical life as well as his intellectual life, and at the end of school, like turing, zuse found himself to be something of an outsiderto the disappointment of his very conventional parents, he no longer believed in god or religion. Project muse ed fredkin and the physics of information. Fredkin works in a twilight zone of modern sciencethe interface of computer science and physics. Apr 05, 2002 the traditional and ubiquitous digital computer has changed the world by processing series of binary ones and zeroes.
But ed fredkin, the controversial scientist whose brainchild it is, insists that digital physics is simpler than the ordinary kind. Fredkins primary contributions include work on reversible computing and cellular automata. Seth lloyds 1999 paper on the universe as a quantum computer. Such a scenario was speculated in the 1960s by innovative thinker ed fredkin, and later dubbed it from bit, by the accomplished physicist john wheeler. No keywords specified fix it categories digital physics in philosophy of physical science. Robert wrights 1988 book three scientists and their gods includes.
While konrad zuses book, calculating space, mentioned the importance of. Cosmology in digital physics can be likened to an evolutionary programming system, in which programs evolve due to mutations. Dm is a unified discrete field theory of physics wherein all particles, all their. I think hes right in thinking that spacetime is discrete as opposed to analog. I came across the following snippet while doing some research on ed fredkins digital physics among the scientists who dont dismiss fredkins theory of digital physics out of hand is marvin minsky, a computer scientist and polymath at mit, whose renown approaches cultic proportions in some circles. Ed fredkin instrumented the original conception and hardware design of the. We understand that reading is the simplest way for human to derive and constructing meaning in order to gain a particular knowledge from a source.
Skiadas, yiannis dimotikalis chaos and complex systems by stavros g. Looking for meaning in an age of information wright, robert on. For those of us who never quite mastered the old physics, the idea of tackling a new version may not be terribly tempting. One important view of reality is the digital physics paradigm. Dp is an atomic theory carried to a logical extreme where all quantities in nature are finite and discrete. The mutations can be deterministic or nondeterministic. What is the best website to download free physics books. The result, says edward fredkin, another early promoter of digital physics, might be the beginnings of a new intellectual revolution comparable to what was spawned by the development of. In many respects, the fundamental behaviors observed on the quantum level defy common sense when interpreted as tiny specks of matter. What are good entrylevel texts on the computational universe. A pioneer of digital physics, fredkin worked with richard feynman, made a ton of money in various tech businesses, and is currently a professor at.
In recent work, he uses the term digital philosophy dp. Edward fredkin born 1934 is a distinguished career professor at carnegie mellon university cmu, pennsylvania, and an. This tendency has been digitized when books evolve into digital media equivalent ebooks. Some scientists, such as john wheeler, who worked with einstein at princeton, and ed fredkin, are theorizing about the universe in such a way that reality is ultimately reduced to information fredkin s theory of digital physics says that. Here two concepts that traditionally have ranked among sciences most fundamentalmatter and energykeep bumping into a third. I watched the video of a panel discussion at the world science festival in which you participated. Digital philosophy also digital ontology is a direction in philosophy and cosmology advocated by certain mathematicians and theoretical physicists, including. Physicists have long noted that, at the most elementary level, our universe operates according to mathematical principles. While konrad zuses book, calculating space 1969, mentioned the. For more on digital physics see the work of ed fredkin, stephen wolfram, norman margolus, tomasso toffoli, and other pioneers of the field of cellular automata.
The physicistcomputer scientist who first articulated the connection is edward fredkin. My interest in these subjects derived mostly from popular science books that i read avidly. He is a pioneer in a group of thinkers who call themselves digital physicists or digital philosophers. His work over several decades focuses on cellular automata. Ed fredkin, bio, digital physics, digital philosophy. The term digital physics was citation needed employed by edward fredkin, who later came to prefer the term digital philosophy. This article tells the story of ed fredkin, a pilot, programmer, engineer, hardware designer, and entrepreneur whose work inside and outside academia has influenced major developments in computer science and in the foundations of theoretical physics, and, in particular, in the intersection thereof, for the past fifty years. For that reason, many digital physicists go further and affirm that the universe is indeed a giant computer. Wilson, and kenneth boulding, and in separate sections. At the most fundamental levels of physics, dp implies a totally discrete process called digital mechanics. Pages in category physics books the following 158 pages are in this category, out of 158 total. This paper explores digital philosophy by examining the consequences of these premises.
Ed fredkin has had distinguished careers in academia and in business. Others who have modeled the universe as a giant computer include stephen wolfram, juergen schmidhuber, and nobel laureate gerard t hooft. Digital physics arose at the intersection of physics and computer science. Edward fredkin born october 2, 1934 is a distinguished career professor at carnegie mellon university cmu, and an early pioneer of digital physics. The atlantic april 1988 did the universe just happen. He is also convinced that the universe is a computer.
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