Is Hawking's 'Grand Design' just PR spin

Posted by Simon Raggett on 20 September 2010 | 2 Comments

Tags: Hawking, string theory, cosmology, Big Bang, inflation theory, intelligent design

Stephen Hawking has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the universe. However, his latest book 'Grand Design' looks more like PR spin for a dominant but in trouble world view. One side of Hawking's argument is based on string theory, which was initially atttactive in that it reconciled the two basic theories in modern physics, relativity and quantum theory. String theory appeared to run into problems when it became apparent that there were trillions of possible forms of the theory. Normally this would indicate the demise of a scientific theory, because effectively any data would be consistent with this number of solutions, so the theory could never be tested. However, over time a substantial weight of academic careers, funding and credibility had come to depend on the sucess of string theory, while alternatives came to be side lined. This might be felt to create a significant bias in favour of anything that could rescue string theory.

In fact a convenient let out for string theory did appear. The Big Bang theory had brought with it the fine-tuning problem, which is the impossibly large odds against the outcome of a random explosion generating laws of physics that would permit the emergence of intelligent life. This problem brought with it the threat that some form of intelligence was implicated in the origin of the universe. The solution to this came from inflation theory. This proposes a phase of very rapid expansion in the early universe to account for the degree of thermal equilibrium in the background radiation. Subsequently it was proposed that a very large or even infinite number of universes could have been flung of during this period of inflation. Given such a large number of universes, it was inevitable that one of them would contain the laws of physics necessary for intelligent life. This large number of universes is at the same time suggested to equate to the universes possible in string theory. Rather than the multiplicity of solutions in string theory being a problem, Hawking is able to glorify them as glimpses into other universes. This marriage of inflation amd string theory does have a look of contrived convenience in dealing with both the problems of string theory and the threat of intelligent involvement in the origin.

It is difficult to test either string theory or inflationary theory, but even if these ideas were less speculative, there would be further problems down the road. It is claimed that for inflation to start, the universe needs a low level of entropy that is as improbable as the original fine tuning problem. Furthermore proposals for the actual beginning of the universe, including Hawking's own 'no-boundary' proposal assumes the prior existence of a vacuum governed by quantum laws in which a fluctuation can generate the explosive appearance of a new universe. This still leaves the question of how such a law-like vacuum arises. Something is still needed to break an infinite regression of cause and effect.     

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Reflections on 'Mind as Healer, Mind as Destroyer' conference

Posted by Di Clift on 3 September 2010 | 2 Comments

Tags: Network conference, Body and Beyond

The Scientific and Medical Network held a major conference on 'the Body and Beyond: Mind as Healer, Mind as Destroyer' at Latimer Place, Buckinghamshire, last weekend. This is part of a series of cutting edge annual conferences which alternate in subject between 'Beyond the Brain' and 'the Body and Beyond'.

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