Blog 20161005 Regression of
the week: Tyson thinks he might be living in the matrix
Thanks to Steve Puetz for this heads-up on the latest
regressive outrage:
This comes as a special shock because Neil Degrasse
Tyson is supposed to be the modern replacement for Carl Sagan. That a
well-trained scientist would bother himself with such sci-fi notions shows just
how far astray regressive physics and cosmogony have gone. This propensity
needs a little explanation:
It is particularly revealing because Tyson gives no
physics in his answer, just pure speculation based on immaterialism. After all, if you can believe in Einstein’s “immaterial
fields” you can believe almost anything else. In addition to the matrix idea,
others have considered that we might be part of a grand simulation. Tyson
couches this in terms of probability, which just goes to show that he has not
been able to make up his mind and that he lacks principles that would help him
do so.
Those familiar with "The Ten Assumptions of
Science" know that neither materialism
nor immaterialism can be proven
correct. That is why I wrote materialism
like this: “The external world exists after the observer does not.” Clearly,
there can be no personal proof of that. Likewise, we could be imagining all the
things and all the occurences around us, with our senses
being part of that imagining. Berkeley’s chair might disappear after he left
the room and Chopra’s consciousness might be required for the universe to exist
after all. Of course, all those imaginings, like Tyson’s matrix, are nonsense.
As we mature, we should be able to determine the
difference between sense and nonsense. We do this by finally deciding which of
the two dialectical opposites in philosophy is likely to be correct and
thereafter assuming that we have made the correct decision. Making
that decision closes many doors (e.g., matrices and simulations) and opens many others (e.g., how the universe really works).