The world is understandable

Paul Dirac was one of the founding fathers of quantum theory, and he spent his life looking for beautiful equations. It may sound a rather odd idea, but mathematical beauty is something that those familiar with such matters recognize.

Dirac looked for beautiful equations because time and again, he found that they were the ones that described the physical world. He once said that it was more important to have beauty in your equations than to have them agree with the experiment. I don’t believe he meant that it didn’t matter whether or not the equations fitted the facts, but if there was a discrepancy it might be due to not solving the equations correctly, or, even, that the experiments themselves were wrong. At least, there was a chance that it would all work out in the end, but, if the equations were ugly — well, then there was no chance at all.

When we use mathematics in this way, as the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe, something very unique is happening. Mathematics is pure thought. My mathematical friends sit in their studies and they dream up, out of their heads, the beautiful patterns of pure mathematics, and that’s what mathematics is really about, making and analyzing patterns.

What I’m saying is that some of the most beautiful of these patterns are actually found to occur out there, in the structure of the physical world around us. So, what ties together reason within — the mathematics in our heads — and the reason without — the structure of the physical world. It’s a very integral connection, going far beyond anything we need for everyday survival. In this sense, the world is understandable.

~ by Natalie on 19 March.