Physics is made of math. Physics describes the physical universe.
The physical universe is not made of math.
If you figure out a way to describe a physical event by taking some measured numbers and cutting them into an infinite number of pieces and putting them together in a different way, does that mean that the physical event happened by dividing something into an infinite number of pieces and rearranging them? Possibly. More likely the event just happened. The math comes from our need to start with the things we can measure and compute from that things that we want to know.
Would an alien society build the same math we do? Probably, if they happen to measure the same things and want to compute the same things. If they can easier measure something different or they care about something different then maybe not.
The idea that we shouldn’t take things from other people without their permission is a human one. No predator has that idea about their prey. The concept of human ownership is complex and changeable too. We come up with lots of exceptions—imminent domain, the abolition of slavery, etc. It’s a matter of continuing negotiation. I’m not supposed to burn my own charcoal in my own backyard—something about pollution. Is it really my own charcoal or my own land or my own air if I can’t do as I want with them? If one of my neighbors tells on me the fire department will confiscate my grill. My five-year-old doesn’t understand the complexities of the concept, but she knows how to argue about it. “We said we were going to share this toy and now Eris won’t share!” “I want it now, she can have it later!” Sometimes my solution is to have a “toy timeout” and take it away from both of them for awhile.
How can anybody argue this stuff is simple and easy and obvious when anybody can see how much we argue about it?
Physics is made of math. Physics describes the physical universe.
The physical universe is not made of math.
If you figure out a way to describe a physical event by taking some measured numbers and cutting them into an infinite number of pieces and putting them together in a different way, does that mean that the physical event happened by dividing something into an infinite number of pieces and rearranging them? Possibly. More likely the event just happened. The math comes from our need to start with the things we can measure and compute from that things that we want to know.
Would an alien society build the same math we do? Probably, if they happen to measure the same things and want to compute the same things. If they can easier measure something different or they care about something different then maybe not.
The idea that we shouldn’t take things from other people without their permission is a human one. No predator has that idea about their prey. The concept of human ownership is complex and changeable too. We come up with lots of exceptions—imminent domain, the abolition of slavery, etc. It’s a matter of continuing negotiation. I’m not supposed to burn my own charcoal in my own backyard—something about pollution. Is it really my own charcoal or my own land or my own air if I can’t do as I want with them? If one of my neighbors tells on me the fire department will confiscate my grill. My five-year-old doesn’t understand the complexities of the concept, but she knows how to argue about it. “We said we were going to share this toy and now Eris won’t share!” “I want it now, she can have it later!” Sometimes my solution is to have a “toy timeout” and take it away from both of them for awhile.
How can anybody argue this stuff is simple and easy and obvious when anybody can see how much we argue about it?