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IN
THE MATRIX: MARTIN REES [5.19.03] All these multiverse ideas lead to a remarkable synthesis between cosmology and physics...But they also lead to the extraordinary consequence that we may not be the deepest reality, we may be a simulation. The possibility that we are creations of some supreme, or super-being, blurs the boundary between physics and idealist philosophy, between the natural and the supernatural, and between the relation of mind and multiverse and the possibility that we're in the matrix rather than the physics itself.
Introductory Remarks Cosmology
and astrophysics are branches of physics in which one needs an
unusual combination of breadth and depth to excel. Martin Rees
is arguably the finest all-round theoretical physicist working
today. I do not always agree with him—especially in areas
outside physics itself—but I always want to know his opinion.
As does every wise person. I
have known and admired Martin Rees since the early 1970's when we
were postdocs together at Cambridge University. Even at that stage
Martin's extraordinary breadth of knowledge and expertise were apparent.
Pick almost any topic in astronomy or physics, and he would have
a carefully evaluated position worked out. He is one of only a few
great scientists who is both open-minded and healthily-skeptical.
At a time in his career when he could justifiably rest on his laurels,
Martin Rees is as energetic and active as ever, offering stunning
insights into many emerging scientific fields. Martin
Rees one of the most influential people working in astrophysical
and cosmological theory. He is simultaneously open to new ideas
and suggestions and careful and rigorous in his response and
criticisms. Also, it's difficult to suggest an idea about the
evolution of structure in the universe or the formation of the
galaxies that he hasn't thought of or played with or perhaps
even written about at some time. Much of the credit for what
I like to think of as the discovery that the laws of nature
are special in ways that allow the universe to be very structured
is due to him. There
are two types of cosmologists active today: those who seek the
physical principles driving the global properties of the Universe,
and those who concentrate on the details of astrophysical objects,
like galaxies, quasars, and black holes, that give complementary
information about structure at smaller distances. Martin Rees
is one of the few cosmologists exploring both venues, giving
him a unique perspective from which to develop scientific ideas,
and to synthesize known ideas for a broader audience. He always
has something  SIR
MARTIN REES is Royal Society Professor at Cambridge University,
Fellow of King's College, the UK's Astronomer Royal, and a Fellow
of the Royal Society. He was previously Plumian Professor of Astronomy
and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge, having been elected
to this chair at the age of thirty, succeeding Fred Hoyle. He
has originated many key cosmological ideas: for example, he was
the first to suggest that the fantastically energetic cores of
quasars may be powered by giant black holes. For the last twenty
years, he has directed a wide-ranging research program at Cambridge's
Institute of Astronomy.
LINKS: "The Ultra Early Universe" [12.16.02] "An Ensemble of Universes," Ch.15 in The Third Culture BEYOND Edge: |
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John Brockman, Editor and Publisher
Russell Weinberger, Associate Publisher contact: [email protected] Copyright © 2003 by Edge Foundation, Inc All Rights Reserved. |
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He
is the author of several books, including Gravity's Fatal Attraction (with
Mitchell Begelman); New Perspectives in Astrophysical Astronomy;
Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others; Just Six Numbers:
The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe; Our Cosmic Habitat; and Our
Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning: How Terror, Error, and Environmental
Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future in this Century—on Earth
and Beyond (published in the UK as Our Final Century: The
50/50 Threat to Humanity's Survival).