Octonions

Science & Technology Physics and Mathematics
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The Peculiar Math That Could Underlie the Laws of Nature

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-octonion-math-that-could-underpin-physics-20180720/

 

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Thanks for the link.

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“forces and particles that comprise reality spring logically from the properties of eight-dimensional numbers”

Remind anyone of the Pythagoreans?

I do think discovering the abstractions which are math that we can use to help describe and predict reality, the referent of the abstraction math, are great and wonderful.  But we should always keep in mind what the relationship of math, thought, and abstractions to reality actually is.

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7 hours ago, StrictlyLogical said:

“forces and particles that comprise reality spring logically from the properties of eight-dimensional numbers”

Remind anyone of the Pythagoreans?

I do think discovering the abstractions which are math that we can use to help describe and predict reality, the referent of the abstraction math, are great and wonderful.  But we should always keep in mind what the relationship of math, thought, and abstractions to reality actually is.

I agree. I think the sentence you partly quoted would be better if it were: The suspicion, harbored by many physicists and mathematicians over the decades but rarely actively pursued, is that the properties of the peculiar panoply of forces and particles that comprise reality spring logically from the properties of eight-dimensional numbers called “octonions.” ( my bold ).

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I’d go a little farther and modify it as 

The suspicion, harbored by many physicists and mathematicians over the decades but rarely actively pursued, is that an accurate description of  the properties exhibited by the peculiar panoply of forces and particles of reality may be so easily derived  springs logically    from the properties of eight-dimensional numbers called “octonions”, that ** one could characterize the description as springing logically from them.**

… just to clarify properties of reality do not spring from numbers, although numbers can be used to refer to reality.

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My second try: The suspicion, harbored by many physicists and mathematicians over the decades but rarely actively pursued, is that a description of the properties exhibited by the peculiar panoply of forces and particles of reality may be so accurately depicted by eight-dimensional numbers called “octonions.”

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