Can a Perfect Theory and Computer Simulate the Universe?

[Tyger]

Supppose that you woke up in the morning with the perfect and complete theory of the World in you mind. The theory from which Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity and other workaday theories we don't even know about yet could be derived. What could you do with it?

And suppose you had access to the perfect computer, one with infinite memory and speed, and which was largely able to program itself.

Would you be able to program the perfect computer to use the perfect theory to simulate the Universe from the very beginning of Time to the present?

 

[PhysicsRocks88]

Originally posted by Tyger
Supppose that you woke up in the morning with the perfect and complete theory of the World in you mind. The theory from which Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity and other workaday theories we don't even know about yet could be derived. What could you do with it?

And suppose you had access to the perfect computer, one with infinite memory and speed, and which was largely able to program itself.

Would you be able to program the perfect computer to use the perfect theory to simulate the Universe from the very beginning of Time to the present?

No.

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by PhysicsRocks88
No.

Good call.

Yea probably not.
If you had this theory would you need a computer?

 

[maximus]

i'd say yes.
but that's providing your perfect theory could violate QM and accuratly predict every event in the history of the universe. wait a minute-i mean no! even if the we knew all the laws and properties of the universe and knew the initail conditions of the big bang, we still couldn't get the same result as we have now.

 

[Les Sleeth]

Originally posted by PhysicsRocks88
No.

LOL! The perfect answer.

 

[Brad_Ad23]

Well sure you could. It wouldn't be OUR universe, but it'd be its own proper Universe in its own right I would suppose...and it could very well turn out to be physically identical to this Universe, but differ in subtle ways in any lifeforms that develop.

 

[PhysicsRocks88]

Originally posted by Tyger
Supppose that you woke up in the morning with the perfect and complete theory of the World in you mind. The theory from which Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity and other workaday theories we don't even know about yet could be derived. What could you do with it?

And suppose you had access to the perfect computer, one with infinite memory and speed, and which was largely able to program itself.

Would you be able to program the perfect computer to use the perfect theory to simulate the Universe from the very beginning of Time to the present?

Still no.

 

[FZ+]

If you had the perfect theory, I think by definition you can do this, and derive the entire universe, provided you knew the initial conditions.

But, as far as all the evidence shows, this sort of "perfect" theory almost certainly does not exist.


The Buddhists have a nice parable for this...

Q: What should you do if you met the Buddha along the street?

A: Kill him. For this is a proclaimation of absolute wisdom, and must be rejected and destroyed.

 

[wimms]

So, Tyger, you see, if you'd find the perfect theory, you'd get killed before you could do anything with it

 

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

I'd go back to sleep and dream of electric mice

 

[physicskid]

Absolute does not exist in our universe. Nothing is absolute in the cosmo. Something that is absolute is impossible to exist.

But if i had the perfect equation on our cosmo, i'd become God!