The emergence of statistical mechanics (SM) as a science in the late 19th century was marred by conceptual difficulties from the outset. Past Hypothesis is hailed as the solution to the issue of matching time-reversal invariant laws of motion and thermodynamic processes that evolve monotonically in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics.  PH establishes the link between statistical mechanics and early universe cosmology and is an exercise loaded with controversy. I point out the arguments that would make it more credible.

GA Making PH Stronger

Philosophers of science are a verbose bunch of people.  Most often they discuss the foundational paradoxes of physics using common language. Linguistics of any kind, even the most precise sort, is a poor substitute for the mathematical rigor when applied to the description of the fundamental fabric of reality for two reasons. One is that it carries a semantic load, therefore subjecting the definitions to interpretation based on the meaning of the words used, and meanings are often different to different users.  The second reason is that the languages we use are conditioned on human experience that is inevitably classical in nature and therefore is nigh on useless when applied to non-classical settings, such as those of Quantum Mechanics or General Relativity.  more →

I am not qualified to opine on whether the CERN announcement on July 4 2012 validates the existence of the elusive particle, although the statistical significance at a level of 5.1 sigma is above the 5 mark – a threshold that is commonly assumed to qualify for a scientific discovery. more →

I am so enamored with the below explanation following my two-year-long study of the mathematical version of Quantum Mechanics, as well as its philosophical foundations, that I am reprinting it in full from the Discover Magazine blog: more →

Expl and Ind Fall 2011 Final Paper ga2334 copy