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Cosmological Natural Selection
Cosmological natural selection, also called the fecund universes, is a hypothesis proposed by Lee Smolin intended as a scientific alternative to the anthropic principle. It addresses the problem of complexity in our universe, which is largely unexplained. The hypothesis suggests that a process analogous to biological natural selection applies at the grandest of scales. Smolin published the idea in 1992 and summarized it in a book aimed at a lay audience called ''The Life of the Cosmos''. Hypothesis Black holes have a role in natural selection. In fecund theory a collapsing black hole causes the emergence of a new universe on the "other side", whose fundamental constant parameters (masses of elementary particles, Planck constant, elementary charge, and so forth) may differ slightly from those of the universe where the black hole collapsed. Each universe thus gives rise to as many new universes as it has black holes. The theory contains the evolutionary ideas of "reproduction" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fecundity
Fecundity is defined in two ways; in human demography, it is the potential for reproduction of a recorded population as opposed to a sole organism, while in population biology, it is considered similar to fertility, the natural capability to produce offspring, measured by the number of gametes (eggs), seed set, or asexual propagules. Superfecundity refers to an organism's ability to store another organism's sperm (after copulation) and fertilize its own eggs from that store after a period of time, essentially making it appear as though fertilization occurred without sperm (i.e. parthenogenesis). Human demography Human demography considers only human fecundity, at its culturally differing rates, while population biology studies all organisms. The term ''fecundity'' in population biology is often used to describe the rate of offspring production after one time step (often annual). In this sense, fecundity may include both birth rates and survival of young to that time step. Whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edge (magazine)
''Edge'' is a multi-format video game magazine published by Future plc. It is a UK-based magazine and publishes 13 issues annually. The magazine was launched by Steve Jarratt. It has also released foreign editions in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. History The magazine was launched in October 1993 by Steve Jarratt, a long-time video games journalist who has launched several other magazines for Future. The artwork for the cover of the magazine's 100th issue was specially provided by Shigeru Miyamoto. The 200th issue was released in March 2009 with 200 different covers, each commemorating a single game; 199 variants were in general circulation, and one was exclusive to subscribers. Only 200 magazines were printed with each cover, sufficient to more than satisfy ''Edge''s circulation of 28,898. In October 2003, the then-editor of ''Edge'', João Diniz-Sanches, left the magazine along with deputy editor David McCarthy and other staff writers. After the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Gravity
Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics; it deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the vicinity of black holes or similar compact astrophysical objects, such as neutron stars. Three of the four fundamental forces of physics are described within the framework of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. The current understanding of the fourth force, gravity, is based on Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which is formulated within the entirely different framework of classical physics. However, that description is incomplete: describing the gravitational field of a black hole in the general theory of relativity leads physical quantities, such as the spacetime curvature, to diverge at the center of the black hole. This signals the breakdown of the general theory of relativity and the need for a theory that goes b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biocosm
James Nelson Gardner (May 5, 1946 – April 10, 2021) was an American lawyer, author and lobbyist. He was also a complexity theorist and proposed a "Selfish Biocosm" hypothesis, which argues that intelligent life eventually emerges as the architect of baby universes. Gardner was a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School. He studied philosophy and theoretical biology. He was also an amateur cosmologist, and has published peer-reviewed articles which have been published in ''Complexity'' and the ''Journal of the British Interplanetary Society''. He was also a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk and a former Oregon state senator. Gardner died on April 10, 2021. Biocosm hypothesis In the book ''Biocosm: The New Scientific Theory of Evolution: Intelligent Life Is the Architect of the Universe'' (2003) Gardner presented the "Selfish Biocosm Hypothesis" in which he says that there is a cycle of cosmic creation, in which highly evolved intelligences with a superior command of physics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Hole Cosmology
A black hole cosmology (also called Schwarzschild cosmology or black hole cosmological model) is a cosmological model in which the observable universe is the interior of a black hole. Such models were originally proposed by theoretical physicist Raj Pathria, and concurrently by mathematician I. J. Good. Any such model requires that the Hubble radius of the observable universe be equal to its Schwarzschild radius, that is, the product of its mass and the Schwarzschild proportionality constant. This is indeed known to be nearly the case; at least one cosmologist, however, considers this close match to be a coincidence. In the version as originally proposed by Pathria and Good, and studied more recently by, among others, Nikodem Popławski, the observable universe is the interior of a black hole existing as one of possibly many inside a larger ''parent universe'', or multiverse. According to general relativity, the gravitational collapse of a sufficiently compact mass forms a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PSR J0740+6620
PSR may refer to: Organizations * Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, US * Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research * Physicians for Social Responsibility, US ;Political parties: * Revolutionary Socialist Party (Portugal) (''Partido Socialista Revolucionário'') * Romanian Socialist Party (present-day) Places * Abruzzo Airport (IATA airport code), near Pescara, Italy * Pasir Ris MRT station (MRT station abbreviation), Singapore * Pioneer Scout Reservation, a Boy Scout camp in Ohio, US Science and technology * Pulsar, a kind of star * Primary radar * Perimeter surveillance radar * Posthumous sperm retrieval from dead men Computing * PHP Standard Recommendation * Predictive state representation of a system * Problem Steps Recorder, psr.exe, a Microsoft utility * Panel Self-Refresh in Embedded DisplayPort Law enforcement and military * US Precision Sniper Rifle *PSR-90, a Pakistani Precision Sniper Rifle Other uses * Portuguese Sign Language (ISO 639-3 lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Beale
''Questions of Truth'' is a book by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale which offers their responses to 51 questions about science and religion. The foreword is contributed by Antony Hewish. The book was launched at a workshop at the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in Chicago, and then in the UK at a discussion at the Royal Society chaired by Onora O'Neill, in a week when it was also featured on the Today Programme. Key themes and ideas The book grew out of questions generated at a website organized to communicate Polkinghorne's ideas. It groups selected questions under seven topics: A. C. Grayling wrote a highly critical review in the '' New Humanist''. He states that the responses to questions concerning science and religion boil down to three strategies, God of the gaps, inference to the best explanation, and religion and science explain truths in different domains. He considers the first two refutable by undergraduates, and for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multiverse
The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The different universes within the multiverse are called "parallel universes", "other universes", "alternate universes", or "many worlds". History of the concept According to some, the idea of infinite worlds was first suggested by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Anaximander in the sixth century BCE. However, there is debate as to whether he believed in multiple worlds, and if he did, whether those worlds were co-existent or successive. The first to whom we can definitively attribute the concept of innumerable worlds are the Ancient Greek Atomists, beginning with Leucippus and Democritus in the 5th century BCE, followed by Epicurus (341-270 BCE) and Lucretius (1st century BCE). In the third century BCE, the philosopher Chrysippus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Polkinghorne
John Charlton Polkinghorne (16 October 1930 – 9 March 2021) was an English theoretical physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest. A prominent and leading voice explaining the relationship between science and religion, he was professor of mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest in 1982. He served as the president of Queens' College, Cambridge, from 1988 until 1996. Polkinghorne was the author of five books on physics and twenty-six on the relationship between science and religion; his publications include ''The Quantum World'' (1989), ''Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship'' (2005), '' Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion'' (2007), and '' Questions of Truth'' (2009). ''The Polkinghorne Reader'' (edited by Thomas Jay Oord) provides key excerpts from Polkinghorne's most influential books. He was knighted in 1997 and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Questions Of Truth
''Questions of Truth'' is a book by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale which offers their responses to 51 questions about science and religion. The foreword is contributed by Antony Hewish. The book was launched at a workshop at the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in Chicago, and then in the UK at a discussion at the Royal Society chaired by Onora O'Neill, in a week when it was also featured on the Today Programme. Key themes and ideas The book grew out of questions generated at a website organized to communicate Polkinghorne's ideas. It groups selected questions under seven topics: A. C. Grayling wrote a highly critical review in the ''New Humanist''. He states that the responses to questions concerning science and religion boil down to three strategies, God of the gaps, inference to the best explanation, and religion and science explain truths in different domains. He considers the first two refutable by undergraduates, and for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Holes
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole. The boundary of no escape is called the event horizon. Although it has a great effect on the fate and circumstances of an object crossing it, it has no locally detectable features according to general relativity. In many ways, a black hole acts like an ideal black body, as it reflects no light. Moreover, quantum field theory in curved spacetime predicts that event horizons emit Hawking radiation, with the same spectrum as a black body of a temperature inversely proportional to its mass. This temperature is of the order of billionths of a kelvin for stellar black holes, making it essentially impossible to observe directly. Objects whose gravitational fields are too strong for light to escape were first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
