Is Mass Just an Illusion Created by Humans?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature of mass, questioning whether it is a fundamental property of particles or merely a human construct influenced by fields, particularly the Higgs field. Participants explore philosophical implications, the relationship between mass and perception, and the foundational role of mass in scientific theories.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that mass may be an illusion created by humans, dependent on fields and interactions rather than an intrinsic property of particles.
  • Others question the nature of existence and perception, using the example of a table to illustrate that objects can exist in various ways, despite being composed of atoms and empty space.
  • A participant raises the idea that if mass is attributed to a field, then that field defines mass, leading to a discussion about the mechanisms behind mass and its implications.
  • There is a philosophical perspective that challenges the definition and significance of mass, noting that if mass were proven to be an illusion, it could destabilize many scientific theories that rely on it as a fundamental axiom.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the nature of mass, with no consensus reached. Some argue for the conceptualization of mass as a human construct, while others defend its physical reality and foundational role in science.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes various assumptions about the nature of fields and mass, and the implications of redefining mass in scientific contexts remain unresolved.

wolram
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Is mass imaginary? I am only a observer of science so please excuse
blatant miss use of it.
It seems to me that Mass is only "given" to a particle via an unfound
field, "the higgs", I know that if an object hits me it will hurt, but i am
also a composition of fields, could it be that mass is only a human
concept and that action reaction is purely in the fields interactions?
 
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Is a table an illusion just because it "really" exists of gazillions of atoms with lots of empty space between them?
 
Is a table an illusion just because it "really" exists of gazillions of atoms with lots of empty space between them?
Yes to us the table exists, but would the table be "felt" by the field.
 
What do you mean by field feelings?
 
One problem in science is that MASS "has" to be given to particles by
some, as yet to be found mechanism, so all we have to date is "fields",
if this magical giver of mass is not found, then action, reaction must be
a product of the fields, thus mass may only have meaning to "life forms".
 
If mass is caused by a field, then that field is what mass is. If it is caused by something else, then that is what mass is. I don't see your point.
 
what color is the table

and can you hear the table (when you hit it), see the table, smell the table, feel the table, (and if you are brave) taste the table?

For each one you answer yes in, it exist in that way. For the avearage human, the moon does not exist in a way it can be felt, but it does exist in a way it can be seen, and it can exist in a way that it affects Earth with its gravitainional pull.
 
For each one you answer yes in, it exist in that way. For the avearage human, the moon does not exist in a way it can be felt, but it does exist in a way it can be seen, and it can exist in a way that it affects Earth with its gravitainional pull.

Gravitational pull yes, but human sences are nothing but learn reactions to
stimuli, gravitational pull is in the field theory, human sences are not.
 
philosofically speaking, I have not much to say about mass because I don't find a description and definition of it that I need to derive ideas. But scientifically speaking, the hypothesis that mass is an ilsuion created by men has been there for centuries, even milenias. But in modert scientce, especially in physics, if it was discovered that mass was an illusion it owuld have horrible consequences because many of the formulas, theories, laws, concepts and ideas use and have on them the axiom of mass. If it stopos being an axiom, the only other fundamental concept apart from this one is space, and time, so resumed the only one left would be dimensions. My question is, would science be able to be stable with only one brick in the bottom? it seems hard, and it also seems that science is growing and building like an upside-down pyramid.
 

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