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ID:
116819
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| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Fundamental physics began the twentieth century with the twin revolutions of relativity and quantum mechanics, and much of the second half of the century was devoted to the construction of a theoretical structure unifying these radical ideas. But this foundation has also led us to a number of paradoxes in our understanding of nature. Attempts to make sense of quantum mechanics and gravity at the smallest distance scales lead inexorably to the conclusion that space-time is an approximate notion that must emerge from more primitive building blocks. Furthermore, violent short-distance quantum fluctuations in the vacuum seem to make the existence of a macroscopic world wildly implausible, and yet we live comfortably in a huge universe. What, if anything, tames these fluctuations? Why is there a macroscopic universe? These are two of the central theoretical challenges of fundamental physics in the twenty-first century. In this essay, I describe the circle of ideas surrounding these questions, as well as some of the theoretical and experimental fronts on which they are being attacked.
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| 2 |
ID:
138080
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| Summary/Abstract |
E.H. Carr contrasts ‘realism’ with ‘utopianism’ in his major work in theorising international relations, but he ought to have contrasted it with ‘moralism’, which is a complex set of attitudes that give unwarranted priority to moral considerations in explaining and justifying human action. ‘Moralism’ is a flawed approach to politics. One should distinguish it from ‘utopianism’, which is made up of different strands, not all of which are equally problematic. One strand which has been historically important was centred around an attempt to describe and realise a perfect unchanging society, and Carr seems to have this in mind primarily when he speaks ‘utopianism’. However, there has been another strand which has focused on the social construction of ‘impossibility’ in politics, and our potential ability to undo that construction. Such utopianism is compatible with realism.
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| 3 |
ID:
097006
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| Publication |
New Delhi, Wiley Eastern Limited, 1995.
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| Description |
156p.
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| Standard Number |
817236105
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Copies: C:1/I:0,R:0,Q:0
Circulation
| Accession# | Call# | Current Location | Status | Policy | Location |
| 054923 | 530.143/SIN 054923 | Main | On Shelf | General | |
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