The Uncertainty Principle Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [1]

Hawking (1988: 168):

Even if we do discover a complete unified theory, it would not mean that we would be able to predict events in general, for two reasons. The first is the limitation that the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics sets on our powers of prediction. There is nothing we can do to get around that. In practice, however, this first limitation is less restrictive than the second one. It arises from the fact that we could not solve the equations of the theory exactly, except in very simple situations.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, as previously explained, the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics entails that meaning potential construed of experience is itself probabilistic.

The Possibility Of An Ultimate Theory Of The Universe Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 165-7):

But can there really be such a unified theory? Or are we perhaps just chasing a mirage? There seem to be three possibilities:

1. There really is a complete unified theory (or a collection of overlapping formulations), which we will someday discover if we are smart enough.
2. There is no ultimate theory of the universe, just an infinite sequence of theories that describe the universe more and more accurately.
3. There is no theory of the universe: events cannot be predicted beyond a certain extent but occur in a random and arbitrary manner. … 

The second possibility, that there is an infinite sequence of more and more refined theories, is in agreement with all our experience so far. On many occasions we have increased the sensitivity of our measurements or made a new class of observations, only to discover new phenomena that were not predicted by the existing theory, and to account for these we have had to develop a more advanced theory. …

What would it mean if we actually did discover the ultimate theory of the universe? As was explained in Chapter 1, we could never be quite sure that we had indeed found the correct theory, since theories can’t be proved. But if the theory was mathematically consistent and always gave predictions that agreed with observations, we could be reasonably confident that it was the right one. It would bring to an end a long and glorious chapter in the history of humanity’s intellectual struggle to understand the universe.

Blogger Comments:

The notion that there is an ultimate theory of the universe that may or may not be eventually discovered makes the epistemological assumption that meaning transcends semiotic systems — that meaning is 'out there' to be discovered.  This is the opposite of the epistemological assumption of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory: that meaning does not transcend semiotic systems.

From the latter perspective, meaning is construed, by consciousness, of experience of the non-semiotic domain, and it is this meaning that constitutes "reality". In this view, theorising is not the matching of meanings of theory with pre-existing meanings outside semiotic systems, but the reconstrual of the meanings of "reality" as the meanings of theory. On this basis, there is no end to theorising. Instead, theorising is an unceasing, open-ended evolution of meaning-making.

The Infinite Energy And Mass Of Virtual Particle-Antiparticle Pairs Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 156-7):

The main difficulty in finding a theory that unifies gravity with the other forces is that general relativity is a “classical” theory; that is, it does not incorporate the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics. On the other hand, the other partial theories depend on quantum mechanics in an essential way. A necessary first step, therefore, is to combine general relativity with the uncertainty principle. … The trouble is, as explained in Chapter 7, that the uncertainty principle means that even “empty” space is filled with pairs of virtual particles and antiparticles. These pairs would have an infinite amount of energy and, therefore, by Einstein’s famous equation E = mc², they would have an infinite amount of mass. Their gravitational attraction would thus curve up the universe to infinitely small size.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, the infinite amount of energy and mass of virtual particle-antiparticle pairs in "empty" space quantifies them as potential only.  Finite amounts of energy and mass, only, are actually instantiated, and only for the limited time before the particles and antiparticles annihilate.  It is because the infinities are potential only, that their gravitational attraction does not actually "curve up the universe to infinitely small size".

The Thermodynamic, Psychological And Cosmological Arrows Of Time Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [2]

Hawking (1988: 152):

To summarise, the laws of science do not distinguish between the forward and backward directions of time. However, there are at least three arrows of time that do distinguish the past from the future. They are the thermodynamic arrow, the direction of time in which disorder increases; the psychological arrow, the direction of time in which we remember the past and not the future; and the cosmological arrow, the direction of time in which the universe expands rather than contracts.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, there is only one direction of time, since time is the dimension along which processes unfold — whether the processes are material (e.g. thermodynamic), mental-verbal (e.g. psychological) or relational (e.g. cosmological).

The Psychological Arrow Of Time Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 147):

Our subjective sense of the direction of time, the psychological arrow of time, is therefore determined within our brain by the thermodynamic arrow of time. Just like a computer, we must remember things in the order in which entropy increases. This makes the second law of thermodynamics almost trivial. Disorder increases with time because we measure time in the direction in which disorder increases.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, the psychological arrow of time is the direction of the unfolding of processes of consciousness, such as construing experience as meaning, and (re)construing meaning as the second law of thermodynamics.

Time measures the unfolding of processes, whether the processes result in increased overall disorder or increased local order (as in self-organising systems).

The Thermodynamic Arrow Of Time Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 145-6, 147-8):

The second law of thermodynamics results from the fact that there are always many more disordered states than there are ordered ones. … Suppose a system starts out in one of the small number of ordered states. As time goes by, the system will evolve according to the laws of science and its state will change. At a later time, it is more probable that the system will be in a disordered state than in an ordered one because there are more disordered states. Thus disorder will tend to increase with time if the system obeys an initial condition of high order. …

But why should the thermodynamic arrow of time exist at all? Or, in other words, why should the universe be in a state of high order at one end of time, the end that we call the past?

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, the change from a ordered state to a disordered state unfolds as a process, whereas time is the dimension along which the process unfolds. On this view, physicists routinely confuse the process (e.g. the ticking of a clock) with the temporal dimension (e.g. the interval between each tick, the duration of the ticking, etc.).

The Thermodynamic, Psychological And Cosmological Arrows Of Time Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [1]

Hawking (1988: 145):

The increase of disorder or entropy with time is one example of what is called an arrow of time, something that distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time. There are at least three different arrows of time. First, there is the thermodynamic arrow of time, the direction of time in which disorder or entropy increases. Then, there is the psychological arrow of time. This is the direction in which we feel time passes, the direction in which we remember the past but not the future. Finally, there is the cosmological arrow of time. This is the direction of time in which the universe is expanding rather than contracting.

In this chapter I shall argue that the no boundary condition for the universe, together with the weak anthropic principle, can explain why all three arrows point in the same direction — and moreover, why a well-defined arrow of time should exist at all. I shall argue that the psychological arrow is determined by the thermodynamic arrow, and that these two arrows necessarily always point in the same direction. If one assumes the no boundary condition for the universe, we shall see that there must be well-defined thermodynamic and cosmological arrows of time, but they will not point in the same direction for the whole history of the universe. However, I shall argue that it is only when they do point in the same direction that conditions are suitable for the development of intelligent beings who can ask the question: why does disorder increase in the same direction of time as that in which the universe expands? 

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, the reason that time has a direction is simply because it is the dimension of the unfolding of processes. In this view, there is only one direction that the arrow of time can point. The thermodynamic arrow of time is the dimension of the unfolding of material processes that lead from order to disorder. The psychological arrow of time is the dimension of the unfolding of mental (and verbal) processes. The cosmological arrow of time is the dimension of the unfolding of the relational processes of spatial expansion.

The Strong Anthropic Principle Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 125):

The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron. We cannot, at the moment at least, predict the values of these numbers from theory — we have to find them by observation. … The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life. … Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at that beauty. One can take this either as evidence of a divine purpose in Creation and the choice of the laws of science or as support for the strong anthropic principle.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, most interpretations of the strong anthropic principle tend to mistake the causal relation of result for the causal relation of purpose; mistaking humans as the result of physical processes for humans as purpose of physical processes.

Since beauty is a construal of experience as meaning, the beauty of a universe depends on there being such a construal by processes of consciousness.

Big Bang And Black Hole Singularities Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [2]

Hawking (1988: 115):

Einstein’s general theory of relativity, on its own, predicted that space-time began at the big bang singularity and would come to an end either at the big crunch singularity (if the whole universe recollapsed), or at a singularity inside a black hole (if a local region, such as a star, were to collapse). Any matter that fell into the hole would be destroyed at the singularity, and only the gravitational effect of its mass would continue to be felt outside.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, a singularity is the geometrical point at which all spatial intervals equal zero (and time intervals equal infinity).  Because there is no space for matter-energy, and because there is no matter-energy, there are no processes to unfold, and because there are no processes, there is no time dimension to measure their unfolding.

The big bang is the relative expansion of space intervals (and contraction of time intervals) from such a singularity, whereas the collapse to a black hole is the relative contraction of space intervals (and expansion of time intervals) towards such a singularity.

Gravitational Waves Vs Light Waves Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 89-90):

General relativity predicts that heavy objects that are moving will cause the emission of gravitational waves, ripples in the curvature of space that travel at the speed of light. These are similar to light waves, which are ripples of the electromagnetic field, but they are much harder to detect. 

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, according to General Relativity, gravitational waves are propagations of a disturbance, relatively contracted space intervals and expanded time intervals, caused by the acceleration of a massive body.

On the other hand, from the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, according to Quantum Mechanics, the wave model of light reconstrues light as potential — measured as probability — whereas the particle model of light reconstrues light as instance.  That is, the (crests of) ripples in the electromagnetic field represent peak probabilities of particle locations.

That is, whereas gravitational waves are instantial propagations of space-time variation, light waves quantify potential instantiations of matter-energy.

Big Bang And Black Hole Singularities Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [1]

Hawking (1988: 88-9):

The work that Roger Penrose and I did between 1965 and 1970 showed that, according to general relativity, there must be a singularity of infinite density and space-time curvature within a black hole. This is rather like the big bang at the beginning of time, only it would be an end of time for the collapsing body and the astronaut. At this singularity the laws of science and our ability to predict the future would break down.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, according to the General Theory of Relativity, a singularity is a geometric point at which intervals of the three spatial dimensions contract to 0 and time intervals expand to ∞ due to the presence of matter.  Curvature is a feature of particle trajectories through regions of contracted space intervals.

The singularity of a black hole and the singularity of the Big Bang differ significantly in the fact that the former is located in space and surrounded by matter-energy, whereas the latter is not, since it represents the space of the entire universe as a geometric point.

If time is the dimension measuring the unfolding of processes, the end of time is the end of all processes whose unfolding time measures.  At a singularity, there are no spatial dimensions for processes to unfold in, and no space for the quantum fields in which particles are probabilistically instantiated.

The Contraction Of Space In The Formation Of A Black Hole Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 88):

This scenario is not entirely realistic, however, because of the following problem. Gravity gets weaker the farther you are from the star, so the gravitational force on our intrepid astronaut’s feet would always be greater than the force on his head. This difference in the forces would stretch our astronaut out like spaghetti or tear him apart before the star had contracted to the critical radius at which the event horizon formed! However, we believe that there are much larger objects in the universe, like the central regions of galaxies, that can also undergo gravitational collapse to produce black holes; an astronaut on one of these would not be torn apart before the black hole formed. He would not, in fact, feel anything special as he reached the critical radius, and could pass the point of no return without noticing it. However, within just a few hours, as the region continued to collapse, the difference in the gravitational forces on his head and his feet would become so strong that again it would tear him apart.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, according to General Relativity, gravity is manifested as the relative contraction of space intervals with proximity to the centre of mass of a material body.  On this basis, in both of the above scenarios, the space intervals at the astronaut's feet are relatively more contracted than the space intervals at the astronaut's head.  This means that, in the gravitational collapse in the formation of a black hole, the astronaut in the region of collapse is relatively crushed from the feet up.

The Expansion Of Time In The Formation Of A Black Hole Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Hawking (1988: 87-8):

In order to understand what you would see if you were watching a star collapse to form a black hole, one has to remember that in the theory of relativity there is no absolute time. Each observer has his own measure of time. The time for someone on a star will be different from that for someone at a distance, because of the gravitational field of the star. Suppose an intrepid astronaut on the surface of the collapsing star, collapsing inward with it, sent a signal every second, according to his watch, to his spaceship orbiting about the star. At some time on his watch, say 11:00, the star would shrink below the critical radius at which the gravitational field becomes so strong nothing can escape, and his signals would no longer reach the spaceship. As 11:00 approached, his companions watching from the spaceship would find the intervals between successive signals from the astronaut getting longer and longer, but this effect would be very small before 10:59:59. They would have to wait only very slightly more than a second between the astronaut’s 10:59:58 signal and the one that he sent when his watch read 10:59:59, but they would have to wait forever for the 11:00 signal. The light waves emitted from the surface of the star between 10:59:59 and 11:00, by the astronaut’s watch, would be spread out over an infinite period of time, as seen from the spaceship. The time interval between the arrival of successive waves at the spaceship would get longer and longer, so the light from the star would appear redder and redder and fainter and fainter. Eventually, the star would be so dim that it could no longer be seen from the spaceship: all that would be left would be a black hole in space. The star would, however, continue to exert the same gravitational force on the spaceship, which would continue to orbit the black hole.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, according to General Relativity, gravity involves the relative expansion of time intervals, as between ticks of a clock — the closer to the centre of mass in a gravitational field, the more relatively expanded the time intervals. This is why the watch of an astronaut on the surface of a star ticks relatively ever more slowly as the spatial dimensions of a star contract under gravity, with the time intervals eventually expanding to ∞, relative to the time intervals at the orbiting spaceship.

The redshift of the light emitted from the collapsing star, on the other hand, is due to the relative expansion of space intervals between photons — reducing their relative frequency — as light moves from the relatively contracted space intervals near the event horizon to the relatively expanded space intervals where the orbiting spaceship is located.