Professor John Norton has spent decades dismantling the hidden assumptions in physics from Newton’s determinism to the myth of Landauer’s Principle. In this episode, he explains why causation may not be real, how classical physics breaks down, and why even Einstein got some things wrong. If you’re ready to rethink the foundations of science, this one’s essential.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

03:37 Norton's Dome Explained

06:30 The Misunderstanding of Determinism

09:31 Thermodynamics and Infinite Systems

14:39 Implications for Quantum Mechanics

16:20 Revisiting Causation

18:15 Critique of Causal Metaphysics

20:21 The Utility of Causal Language

24:58 Exploring Thought Experiments

33:05 Landauer's Principle Discussion

49:48 Critique of Experimental Validation

52:25 Consequences for Maxwell's Demon

1:13:34 Einstein's Critiques of Quantum Mechanics

1:28:16 The Nature of Scientific Discovery

1:42:56 Inductive Inferences in Science

Links Mentioned:

•⁠ ⁠A Primer on Determinism (book): https://amzn.to/45Jn3b4

•⁠ ⁠John Norton’s papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UDteMFoAAAAJ

•⁠ ⁠Causation as Folk Science (paper): https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/003004.pdf

•⁠ ⁠Lipschitz continuity (wiki): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipschitz_continuity

•⁠ ⁠The Dome: An Unexpectedly Simple Failure of Determinism (paper): https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/2943/1/Norton.pdf

•⁠ ⁠Norton’s Dome (wiki): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton%27s_dome

•⁠ ⁠Approximation and Idealization (paper): https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/Ideal_Approx_final.pdf

•⁠ ⁠On the Quantum Theory of Radiation (paper): https://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/scientists/einstein/1917_Radiation.pdf

•⁠ ⁠Making Things Happen (book): https://ccc.inaoep.mx/~esucar/Clases-mgc/Making-Things-Happen-A-Theory-of-Causal-Explanation.pdf

•⁠ ⁠Causation in Physics (wiki): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/causation-physics/

•⁠ ⁠Laboratory of the Mind (paper): https://www.academia.edu/2644953/REVIEW_James_R_Brown_Laboratory_of_the_Mind

•⁠ ⁠Roger Penrose on TOE: https://youtu.be/sGm505TFMbU

•⁠ ⁠Ted Jacobson on TOE: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8

•⁠ ⁠The Thermodynamics of Computation (paper): https://sites.cc.gatech.edu/computing/nano/documents/Bennett%20-%20The%20Thermodynamics%20Of%20Computation.pdf

•⁠ ⁠What’s Actually Possible? (article): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/p/the-unexamined-in-principle

•⁠ ⁠On a Decrease of Entropy in a Thermodynamic System (paper): https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/862.22/notes/computation/Szilard-1929.pdf

•⁠ ⁠Landauer’s principle and thermodynamics (article): https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10872

•⁠ ⁠The Logical Inconsistency of Old Quantum Theory of Black Body Radiation (paper): https://sites.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/papers/Inconsistency_OQT.pdf

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