I think you characterized the three body problem and Godels incompleteness theorem poorly. "There is no explicit formula that can describe their motion over time", aren't our laws of physics able to describe their motion over time? We run into issues with computation? Maybe you are making the same mistake you talk about in the article, just because it is difficult to compute doesn't mean that the laws aren't correctly describing it
The worst part about any complete system that purports to describe reality is that some of its practitioners will specifically disclaim those parts of the universe it cannot describe and vitiate those who try anyway.
I'd suggest Worrall's 1989 "Structural Realism: The Best of Both Worlds?" as the best place to start; he goes much deeper into the philosophical arguments, but it's still a fairly accessible read.
“I thought I killed that thing 90 years ago??!”
I think you characterized the three body problem and Godels incompleteness theorem poorly. "There is no explicit formula that can describe their motion over time", aren't our laws of physics able to describe their motion over time? We run into issues with computation? Maybe you are making the same mistake you talk about in the article, just because it is difficult to compute doesn't mean that the laws aren't correctly describing it
The worst part about any complete system that purports to describe reality is that some of its practitioners will specifically disclaim those parts of the universe it cannot describe and vitiate those who try anyway.
Beautiful article! Any reading suggestions about or from Worrall?
Thanks, Mario!
I'd suggest Worrall's 1989 "Structural Realism: The Best of Both Worlds?" as the best place to start; he goes much deeper into the philosophical arguments, but it's still a fairly accessible read.