re: Relative Measures

Some get lost or frustrated in these discussions, Martin, but I actually enjoy them. To your point, and mine too, actually, so much of this is a relative construction, an ‘agreement’ of sorts of what constitutes near/far, hot/cold, large/small.

I will say that the universe defies our sensibilities at the extremes, intergalactic vs. quantum, etc. So we take comfort in observable science, the stuff we CAN measure, and the simple rules that DO have meaning. It gives us just enough reality to hang our arguments on. I like to go back to Descartes for that, cogito ergo sum is enough grounding to get me to the next cup of coffee.

For me, the game-changing, paradigm-shifting discussions must be around complexity, hurtling past scientific laboratory constraints that control conditions and limit variables.

In emergent space we remove many of those limitations you opened your thesis on, and we talk about possibility and contingency.

Unbounded possibility, I absolutely love.

Kant laid some groundwork for complexity, but I don't think he gets enough credit for it. Watch for an upcoming post from me on that.

Meantime, it's time for more coffee. Suspending your concerns over measurement here — care for one scoop, or two?