The Last Theory
The Last Theory
The Last Theory
    Episode #022    
17 November 2022
From clockwork to computation
with
Jonathan Gorard
Notes

This is the second of a series of excerpts from my recent conversation with Jonathan Gorard, who was instrumental in the founding of The Wolfram Physics Project.

I asked Jonathan why he found the computational approach to physics so compelling.

In his answer, he broached a wide range of fascinating topics in the philosophy of science:

  • how we moved from a clockwork paradigm in the age of clockwork to a computational paradigm in the age of computation;
  • how saying that the universe is computational is different from saying that the universe is a computer;
  • how our adoption of mathematics as the basis for physics has biased us to think of space-time as continuous;
  • how the history of science might have been different had Turing been born before Newton;
  • how the Wolfram Model can be thought of as a way of building a constructivist foundation for physics.

This led us to discuss a couple of the deeper questions of Wolfram Physics:

  • is it possible to know whether the universe is continuous or discrete?
  • does the hypergraph really exist?

Jonathan Gorard

People and Concepts mentioned by Jonathan

The Last Theory is hosted by Mark Jeffery, founder of Open Web Mind

Subscribe to the podcast
Search for The Last Theory in your podcast player or subscribe on
RSS feed — https://feeds.transistor.fm/the-last-theory

Thanks for subscribing to The Last Theory newsletter

Check your inbox for an email to confirm your subscription

Oh no, something went wrong, and I was unable to subscribe you!

Please refresh your browser and try again