this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] drathvedro@lemm.ee 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I ain't no physicist, but the last time I've checked, it was a theory galore, with theories upon theories about whether there could even exist a single definite theory of everything, with stuff not being observable by it's nature (quantum particles), other stuff not being observable by it's nature (beyond observable universe), and theories based upon the event of literal creation of the universe itself, which is in turn theorized by linearly extrapolating a single phenomenon all the way down to zero (correct me if I'm wrong on this one, shit's fascinating).

Finding how dinosaurs sounded like, on the other hand, doesn't take much theorizing - just take some well preserved remains, approximate breathing cavities structure and model it with something like a pink trombone. I'm oversimplifying, of course, but, the point is, it's miles closer to us, time and space wise, than whatever physicists are rambling about.

[–] theoretiker@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 month ago

Am physicist. Quantum particles are observable. Often things are observable because you can observe their effects. Can't measure a top quark, but you can measure the electrons and photons when it decays. And their energy and how often it happens lines up with theories developed to describe some different thing.

Theory of everything can't exist, be abuse Gödels incompleteness theorem. But no physicist doubts that all the microscopic stuff gives rise to the macroscopic.

The beginning of the universe you can see in the microwave background or something. So again that's just experimentally motivated theory.

Some of us come up with random theories because it's fun. But most of the time the theory is aimed at explaining some thing that we observe and will coincidentally make predictions about other stuff which we can test.

Finding out how dinosaurs sounded like is dope af from a physicists perspective.

[–] HasturInYellow@lemmy.world -3 points 1 month ago

But with a powerful enough telescope, you just .... Like... Fucking LOOK AT the beginning of time. The instant that instants became. There is a lot of theory about why it looks like that (all based on math you could never possibly understand) but it's not just a bunch of half baked dudes on a couch coming up with "theories" as you seem to use the word.