Unreal Blog

Some beliefs are superstitions, while some others are scientific theories. What exactly is the difference between them? Let’s listen to what Pirsig has to say about it.

Read the rest of "Ghost of Gravity"

Here is an unreal look at the what and why of time. Why do we have a sense of time when none of our five senses can sense it?

Read the rest of "Only a Matter of Time"

When philosophers look at anything, it becomes a bit technical. Their technical analysis may sound boring and irrelevant. Here is an attempt to tilt things in their favor.

Read the rest of "Half a Bucket of Water"

What do we mean by rationality? Why do we think it is a good thing to be rational?

Read the rest of "On Rationality and Delusions"

Blind-sight is an interesting neurological syndrome, and a philosophical conundrum. It shows how we may have senses that we are not consciously aware of. If there are senses that we can be unaware of, how sure can we be of the “sensed”? Or of our “delusions”?

Read the rest of "Blind-Sight"

Here is a concept of God that doesn’t violate the known principles of science, and should therefore be consistent with the so-called scientific worldview. Mind you, plausibility of the concept says nothing about its veracity; but it may say something about it being a delusion.

Read the rest of "A Plausible God"

Mathematical finance is built on a couple of assumptions. The most fundamental of them is the one on market efficiency. Is it wise to trust this assumption? Are there limits to it? Are we operating at the right scale to ignore the shakiness of the market efficiency assumption?

Read the rest of "Modeling the Models"

Of truth and beauty — in physics and philosophy

Read the rest of "Change the Facts"

This post is a continuation of my earlier musings on the Big Bang theory. This one looks at the foundational assumptions of quantum gravity. In management speak, it is a high level overview, which sounds like I understand it. In a physicist’s lingo, it is merely a layman description or a hand-waving argument. In other words, the management types out there may like it better than the smart ones. You be the judge!

Read the rest of "The Big Bang Theory – Part II"

This article appeared in the Wilmott Magazine in Jan 2009, and talks not quite about the chaos and uncertainty of the last few months in finance industry can be summarized in two words. It is more about the physics concepts bearing the same names, and how they can be applied to the turmoil in the financial and economic world.

Read the rest of "Chaos and Uncertainty"

Another post in the latest blitz of physics/philosophy articles, this one presents an idea that the significance of the speed of light a la Special Relativity is a consequence of our perception rather than an assumption.

Read the rest of "Why the Speed of Light?"

This post examines the realness of our space perception. (Why did you think this blog was called Unreal?)

Read the rest of "What is Space?"

This unpublished article is a sequel to my earlier paper (also posted as Are Radio Sources and Gamma Ray Bursts Luminal Booms?). This blog version contains the abstract, introduction and conclusions. The full version of the article is available as a PDF file.

Read the rest of "Light Travel Time Effects and Cosmological Features"

This post is the blog version of my article published in the International Journal of Modern Physics D (IJMP-D) in 2007, soon to become the Top Accessed Article of the journal by Jan 2008. Although it might seem like a hard core physics article, it is in fact an application of the philosophical insight permeating this blog and my book.

Read the rest of "Are Radio Sources and Gamma Ray Bursts Luminal Booms?"

People present the Big Bang theory in physics pretty much like Evolution in biology. But I feel that it is disingenuous to do that. To me, it looks as though the Big Bang theory is so full of patchwork, such a mathematical collage to cook up something that is consistent with GR that it is hard to imagine that it corresponds to anything real. Here is a short list of my trouble with the theory.

Read the rest of "The Big Bang Theory"

This essay, originally written for a Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times, was published in an altered form in a philosophy magazine called The Philosopher. The published article (also posted in this blog — Perception, Physics and the Role of Light in Philosophy) had too much editorial input, I felt.

We know that our universe is a bit unreal. The stars we see in the night sky, for instance, are not really there. They may have moved or even died by the time we get to see them. [...]

Read the rest of "The Unreal Universe — Seeing Light in Science and Spirituality"

One of the few features in physics that have captured the public attention, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle figures way up there with the Big Bang and E=mc2. It is an independent axiom, standing on its own, not reducible to any other more fundamental principles. However, here is an Unreal attempt to derive it.

Read the rest of "Uncertainly Principle"

Richard Feynman on physics and sex. My serious and not-so-serious thoughts on the words of the great man, aptly described as ‘No Ordinary Genius.’

Read the rest of "Sex and Physics — According to Feynman"

In this blog version of an article published in Omega, I discuss how Eastern and Western views say essentially the same things when it comes to the nature of space and time. And how that view can be interpreted as a basis for understanding Einstein’s theories. [Journal Ref: Omega - Indian Journal of Science and Religion, Vol. VI, (Dec. 2007), pp 138-150.]

Read the rest of "The Philosophy of Special Relativity — A Comparison between Indian and Western Interpretations"

God does not play dice with the universe — said Einstein. Whatever could he have meant? Here is my interpretation.

Read the rest of "Einstein on God and Dice"