Quantum Gravity = Cracked

[Plug Drugs]

:smug:

1. Space does not exist independent of its contents. There is no underlying invisible Euclidean grid to the universe; General Relativity already shows that spacetime is dynamic - the 'grid' fluctuates. Whatever 'space' or 'spacetime' is, it has to be made of 'something', and could not act as an underlying grid since an object would displace whatever 'it' is since two 'things' can not occupy the same location simultaneously, This paradox is resolved by viewing space as the sum of its contents, without there being any underlying grid to the universe.

2. Since time only has a metric based on changes in distances, and distance only has a metric based on the time it takes something to travel between two points, then space only exists as the position of its contents relative to each other, and the particle contents of space only have distance between each other relative to other particles - thus, when two particles are closer in proximity to each other than any other particles, the distance between them is indefinite, and the time it takes for the particles to travel that distance is infinite (as with nothing between them, there is no metric for time, since time only exists as a change in distances). Although stationary relative to each other, a particle pair may be rotating through space relative to other particles - observed as 'coupling' between particles.

But wait, I typed out even more!

Zitterbewegung, being the hypothetical trembling motion of elementary particles, could explain the uncertainty of an electron's location resulting in its orbital (with the electron orbital viewed as an electron's probable location around an atomic nucleus).

Basically what I think is that residual amounts of external radiation from the rest of the universe affect the electron, causing trembling motion. The electron still stays coupled with the atomic nucleus following a path of least resistance.

The Zitterbewegung resulting from residual radiation throughout the universe causing a trembling motion in the electron makes its coupling to an atomic nucleus uncertain, allowing for non-permanent coupling between protons and electrons; instead of viewing particles as 'binding together', opposite electromagnetic charges could be viewed as coupling together momentarily/temporary out of a path of least resistance.

With this hypothetical model, space/distance as well as time at this scale would have to be reconceptualized. Since time only has metric based on changes in distances, and distance only has metric based on the time it takes something to travel between two points, then space exists as the position of its contents relative to each other, and the particle contents of space only have distance between each other relative to other particles - thus, when two particles are closer in proximity to each other than any other particles, the distance between them is indefinite, and the time it takes for the particles to travel that distance is infinite. Although stationary relative to each other, a particle pair may be rotating through space relative to other particles - observed as 'coupling' between particles.

Electromagnetic charge then, results from the direction of this rotation after point-particle pairs coil into structural formations with other point particle pairs into larger structures with a specific, intrinsic orientation to the rotation of pairs.

Positives and negatives could then be thought of as gears spinning clockwise and counter-clockwise: gears spinning in the opposite direction mesh together and stay coupled - while gears spinning in the same direction kick off each other, exhibiting a 'repulsion'.

The principles which this model relies on could be summed up with central principle: space does not exist independent of its contents. Whatever 'space' is, it has to be made of 'something', thereby being part of space's contents; this paradox is resolved by viewing space as the sum of its contents, without there being an underlying Euclidean grid (as such a grid would have to be made of 'something', returning to the paradox).

With space conceptualized in this manner, it becomes possible for the macroscopic (as well as the microcosmic) universe to take on an oblong, branch-like, or coiling shape.

Another principle central to this hypothesized model (although it wasn't thought-up by me, but it is pertinent) is that there is no such thing as 'collision' between particles. At a subatomic scale, particles do not 'collide', but stay coupled with each other based on relative proximity. If you've ever wondered why an electron and a proton don't meet and cancel out each others' charges, the answer is that their electromagnetic charge must actually be a geometrical phenomena exhibited on the surrounding grid of space-time. When bringing this stuff up to some people over a physics forum, one of them told me it sounds a lot like Kaluza-Klein theory; which I had never heard of before then. Kaluza-Klein theory started out with a colleague of Einstein trying to apply the same tensor calculus for warped space-time in Einstein's Field Equations to electromagnetism at the subatomic scale, with a 5th dimension being added to the equations; a cylindrical dimension assumed to exist at every point in the universe, with the direction of rotation in that 5th dimension determining the electromagnetic charge of a particle. However, due to inconsistencies between predicted measurements and observed measurements, the theory was abandoned. It was picked up by various physicists repeatedly throughout the 20th century, but would always end up being abandoned due inconsistencies. It was, however, credited with inspiring string theory.

[juji]

Copy and paste from source

[Plug Drugs]

Copy and paste from source

you mean me?

[m0nde]

Lessons from Dunning-Kruger
Published by Steven Novella under Logic/Philosophy,Skepticism
Comments: 145

In 1999 psychologist David Dunning and his graduate student Justin Kruger published a paper in which they describe what has come to be known (appropriately) as the Dunning-Kruger effect. In a recent article discussing his now famous paper, Dunning summarizes the effect as:

“…incompetent people do not recognize—scratch that, cannot recognize—just how incompetent they are,”

He further explains:

“What’s curious is that, in many cases, incompetence does not leave people disoriented, perplexed, or cautious. Instead, the incompetent are often blessed with an inappropriate confidence, buoyed by something that feels to them like knowledge.”

As you can see in the chart above, the most competent individuals tend to underestimate their relative ability a little, but for most people (the bottom 75%) they increasingly overestimate their ability, and everyone thinks they are above average. I sometimes hear the effect incorrectly described as, “the more incompetent you are, the more knowledgeable you think you are.” As you can see, self-estimates do decrease with decreasing knowledge, but the gap between performance and self-assessment increase as you decrease in performance.

The Dunning-Kruger effect has now been documented in many studies involving many areas. There are several possible causes of the effect. One is simple ego – no one wants to think of themselves as below average, so they inflate their self-assessment. People also have an easier time recognizing ignorance in others than in themselves, and this will create the illusion that they are above average, even when they are in the single digits of percentile.

The core of the effect, however, seems to be what Dunning describes – ignorance carries with it the inability to accurately assess one’s own ignorance. Dunning also points out something that rings true to this veteran skeptic:

An ignorant mind is precisely not a spotless, empty vessel, but one that’s filled with the clutter of irrelevant or misleading life experiences, theories, facts, intuitions, strategies, algorithms, heuristics, metaphors, and hunches that regrettably have the look and feel of useful and accurate knowledge.

This accurately describes the people I confront daily with unscientific or unsupported beliefs. Just read the comments on the SGU’s Facebook page and you will quickly be subject to the full force of Dunning-Kruger.

What I think Dunning is describing above, a conclusion with which I completely agree, are the various components of confirmation bias. As we try to make sense of the world we work with our existing knowledge and paradigms, we formulate ideas and then systematically seek out information that confirms those ideas. We dismiss contrary information as exceptions. We interpret ambiguous experiences in line with our theories. We remember and then our memories tweak any experience that seems to confirm what we believe.

In the end we are left with a powerful sense of knowledge – false knowledge. Confirmation bias leads to a high level of confidence, we feel we are right in our gut. And when confronted with someone saying we are wrong, or promoting an alternate view, some people become hostile.

The Dunning-Kruger effect is not just a curiosity of psychology, it touches on a critical aspect of the default mode of human thought, and a major flaw in our thinking. It also applies to everyone – we are all at various places on that curve with respect to different areas of knowledge. You may be an expert in some things, and competent in others, but will also be toward the bottom of the curve in some areas of knowledge.

Admit it – probably up to this point in this article you were imagining yourself in the upper half of that curve, and inwardly smirking at the poor rubes in the bottom half. But we are all in the bottom half some of the time. The Dunning-Kruger effect does not just apply to other people – it applies to everyone.

This pattern, however, is just the default-mode, it is not destiny. Part of skeptical philosophy, metacognition, and critical thinking is the recognition that we all suffer from powerful and subtle cognitive biases. We have to both recognize them and make a conscious effort to work against them, realizing that this is an endless process.

Part of the way to do this is to systematically doubt ourselves. We need to substitute a logical and scientific process for the one Dunning describes above. We need to cultivate what I call “neuropsychological humility.”

As an illuminating example, I am involved in medical student and resident education. The Dunning-Kruger effect is in clear view in this context as well, but with some interesting differences. At a recent review, for example, every new resident felt that they were below average for their class. Being thrown into a profession where your knowledge is constantly being tested and evaluated, partly because knowledge is being directly translated into specific decisions, appears to have a humbling effect (which is good). It also helps that your mentors have years or decades more experience than you – this can produce a rather stark mirror.

Still, we see Dunning-Kruger in effect. The gap between self-assessment and actual ability grows toward the lower end of the ability scale.

However, medical education is a special case because self-assessment is a skill we specifically teach and assess. It is critically important for physicians to have a fairly clear understanding of their own knowledge and skills. We specifically try to give students an appreciation for what they do not know, and the seemingly bottomless pit of medical information is in constant display.

I remember as a resident seeing a two volume massive tome just on muscle disease and thinking, holy crap, that is how much I don’t know about muscle disease. There are also equal volumes on every other tiny aspect of medicine. It can be overwhelming.

As students and residents go through their training, we also keep moving that carrot forward. As they get more confident in their basic skills we have to make sure they don’t get cocky. I talk to my residents specifically about the difference between competence, expertise, and mastery.

One specific lesson I try to drive home as often as possible, both in the context of medical education and in general, is this: Think about some area in which you have a great deal of knowledge, in the expert to mastery level (or maybe just a special interest with above average knowledge). Now, think about how much the average person knows about your area of specialty. Not only do they know comparatively very little, they likely have no idea how little they know, and how much specialized knowledge even exists.

Here comes the critical part – now realize that you are as ignorant as the average person is every other area of knowledge in which you are not expert.

Conclusion

The Dunning-Kruger effect is not just about dumb people not realizing how dumb they are. It is about basic human psychology and cognitive biases. Dunning-Kruger applies to everyone.

The solution is critical thinking, applying a process of logic and empiricism, and humility – in other words, scientific skepticism.

In addition to the various aspects of critical thinking, self-assessment is a skill we can strive to specifically develop. But a good rule of thumb is to err on the side of humility. If you assume you know relatively less than you think you do, and that there is more knowledge than of what you are aware, you will usually be correct.

[Wendy <3]

Kill yourself faggot

[Camoron]

this guy asked me if i was russian or part chinese or some shit on skype today

[Camoron]

this guy asked me if i was russian or part chinese or some shit on skype today

[Wendy <3]

Why would you use skype in the first place

[Camoron]

i meant steam

[Camoron]

nope i did mean skype

[Camoron]

i like skype

[Camoron]

when i said this guy i meant ^ plug drugs

[Plug Drugs]

Lessons from Dunning-Kruger
Published by Steven Novella under Logic/Philosophy,Skepticism
Comments: 145

In 1999 psychologist David Dunning and his graduate student Justin Kruger published a paper in which they describe what has come to be known (appropriately) as the Dunning-Kruger effect. In a recent article discussing his now famous paper, Dunning summarizes the effect as:

“…incompetent people do not recognize—scratch that, cannot recognize—just how incompetent they are,”

He further explains:

“What’s curious is that, in many cases, incompetence does not leave people disoriented, perplexed, or cautious. Instead, the incompetent are often blessed with an inappropriate confidence, buoyed by something that feels to them like knowledge.”

As you can see in the chart above, the most competent individuals tend to underestimate their relative ability a little, but for most people (the bottom 75%) they increasingly overestimate their ability, and everyone thinks they are above average. I sometimes hear the effect incorrectly described as, “the more incompetent you are, the more knowledgeable you think you are.” As you can see, self-estimates do decrease with decreasing knowledge, but the gap between performance and self-assessment increase as you decrease in performance.

The Dunning-Kruger effect has now been documented in many studies involving many areas. There are several possible causes of the effect. One is simple ego – no one wants to think of themselves as below average, so they inflate their self-assessment. People also have an easier time recognizing ignorance in others than in themselves, and this will create the illusion that they are above average, even when they are in the single digits of percentile.

The core of the effect, however, seems to be what Dunning describes – ignorance carries with it the inability to accurately assess one’s own ignorance. Dunning also points out something that rings true to this veteran skeptic:

An ignorant mind is precisely not a spotless, empty vessel, but one that’s filled with the clutter of irrelevant or misleading life experiences, theories, facts, intuitions, strategies, algorithms, heuristics, metaphors, and hunches that regrettably have the look and feel of useful and accurate knowledge.

This accurately describes the people I confront daily with unscientific or unsupported beliefs. Just read the comments on the SGU’s Facebook page and you will quickly be subject to the full force of Dunning-Kruger.

What I think Dunning is describing above, a conclusion with which I completely agree, are the various components of confirmation bias. As we try to make sense of the world we work with our existing knowledge and paradigms, we formulate ideas and then systematically seek out information that confirms those ideas. We dismiss contrary information as exceptions. We interpret ambiguous experiences in line with our theories. We remember and then our memories tweak any experience that seems to confirm what we believe.

In the end we are left with a powerful sense of knowledge – false knowledge. Confirmation bias leads to a high level of confidence, we feel we are right in our gut. And when confronted with someone saying we are wrong, or promoting an alternate view, some people become hostile.

The Dunning-Kruger effect is not just a curiosity of psychology, it touches on a critical aspect of the default mode of human thought, and a major flaw in our thinking. It also applies to everyone – we are all at various places on that curve with respect to different areas of knowledge. You may be an expert in some things, and competent in others, but will also be toward the bottom of the curve in some areas of knowledge.

Admit it – probably up to this point in this article you were imagining yourself in the upper half of that curve, and inwardly smirking at the poor rubes in the bottom half. But we are all in the bottom half some of the time. The Dunning-Kruger effect does not just apply to other people – it applies to everyone.

This pattern, however, is just the default-mode, it is not destiny. Part of skeptical philosophy, metacognition, and critical thinking is the recognition that we all suffer from powerful and subtle cognitive biases. We have to both recognize them and make a conscious effort to work against them, realizing that this is an endless process.

Part of the way to do this is to systematically doubt ourselves. We need to substitute a logical and scientific process for the one Dunning describes above. We need to cultivate what I call “neuropsychological humility.”

As an illuminating example, I am involved in medical student and resident education. The Dunning-Kruger effect is in clear view in this context as well, but with some interesting differences. At a recent review, for example, every new resident felt that they were below average for their class. Being thrown into a profession where your knowledge is constantly being tested and evaluated, partly because knowledge is being directly translated into specific decisions, appears to have a humbling effect (which is good). It also helps that your mentors have years or decades more experience than you – this can produce a rather stark mirror.

Still, we see Dunning-Kruger in effect. The gap between self-assessment and actual ability grows toward the lower end of the ability scale.

However, medical education is a special case because self-assessment is a skill we specifically teach and assess. It is critically important for physicians to have a fairly clear understanding of their own knowledge and skills. We specifically try to give students an appreciation for what they do not know, and the seemingly bottomless pit of medical information is in constant display.

I remember as a resident seeing a two volume massive tome just on muscle disease and thinking, holy crap, that is how much I don’t know about muscle disease. There are also equal volumes on every other tiny aspect of medicine. It can be overwhelming.

As students and residents go through their training, we also keep moving that carrot forward. As they get more confident in their basic skills we have to make sure they don’t get cocky. I talk to my residents specifically about the difference between competence, expertise, and mastery.

One specific lesson I try to drive home as often as possible, both in the context of medical education and in general, is this: Think about some area in which you have a great deal of knowledge, in the expert to mastery level (or maybe just a special interest with above average knowledge). Now, think about how much the average person knows about your area of specialty. Not only do they know comparatively very little, they likely have no idea how little they know, and how much specialized knowledge even exists.

Here comes the critical part – now realize that you are as ignorant as the average person is every other area of knowledge in which you are not expert.

Conclusion

The Dunning-Kruger effect is not just about dumb people not realizing how dumb they are. It is about basic human psychology and cognitive biases. Dunning-Kruger applies to everyone.

The solution is critical thinking, applying a process of logic and empiricism, and humility – in other words, scientific skepticism.

In addition to the various aspects of critical thinking, self-assessment is a skill we can strive to specifically develop. But a good rule of thumb is to err on the side of humility. If you assume you know relatively less than you think you do, and that there is more knowledge than of what you are aware, you will usually be correct.

:hmm:

[Plug Drugs]

IAK5qOAdDcs&autoplay=1

[TheLizardWhisperer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv5pagal-ls

[Plug Drugs]

i like skype
I don't; "your MSN messenger account (which already had to be merged with a microsoft account earlier) has been merged with your skype account!"
...
Login failed,
...
Login failed,
..
Try resending your account details to your email address and reset your password
..
Login failed, still
..
Unable to use skype for a year and a half
..
Hey suddenly it works again, cool

[Plug Drugs]

I even tried reinstalling skype entirely and making a fnew account:
Login failed.
"What the fuck?"
Tried logging into the new account on a different device:
Login failed.
"What did I do this time and why are they out to get me?"

[Plug Drugs]

> Why am I talking like a gay 4chan memer
> I don't know

[Plug Drugs]

> Faster to type and communicate this way than typing out full sentences

[Plug Drugs]

thank you Lisa for not replying to this thread so it didn't turn into you arguing with everyone about your college degree and whatever

[juji]

stop

[Plug Drugs]

what

[Plug Drugs]

shut up

[Wendy <3]

I love waking up in the mornings and shoving a fistful of pills up my ass and falling asleep again and waking up shitting the bed

[Plug Drugs]

damn right