(no subject)

[saint_monkey]

In October, Surfer-scientist Garrett Lisi posed in a paper called "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything," that the universe is shaped like E8, a complex 8 dimensional mathematical description of a physical shape. When he applied this shape to what he knows of physics, he found that it fits to describe "everything." (Meaning the interactions between forces and particles, and the functions of both Newtonian and Quantum Physics.) What's more, this theory uses the three dimensions of physical space and only a single dimension of time, with only 20 or so unknown particles, so it very nearly satisfies Occam's Razor. If you know anything about quantum physics, you know that this is all remarkable in itself. The next best successor, string theory, requires new dimensions to be created to explain interactions between some forces and their particles. Also remarkable is that now that the theory tells scientists what to look for, it's testable with a particle accelerator.

The downside, Lisi's theory is more like a lightning bolt of inspiration, a visionary road map, than a working theory. There are gaps to be filled in by science, and while scientific peers are praising the theory's simplicity and elegance, they are also saying that it's a "long shot."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/14/scisurf114.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Exceptionally_Simple_Theory_of_Everything

My favorite part of all this? E8 looks a lot like a mandala. Maybe buddha saw it long ago?

E8