Question What if we look at the universe completely wrong? In other words, what if all the laws of gravity, physics, and everything are actually wrong? Would people keep trying to make a fictional world with fictional rules or strive for the truth? Nick-14

Accepted:
November 6, 2005

Comments

It depends, and even then it depends. It depends first upon whether we ever discover our massive misconceptions. If not, then I imainge we'd continue along merrily piling fancy details upon them. But if (as I think you are imagining) we one day discover that we've gotten it all wrong, then what happens depends upon the inclination of the discoverers, and their culture. There would be shell-shock, certainly, and perhaps some desire to keep heads in the sand and continue on oblivious to the truth. But it's difficult to live by claims we know to be false--try it sometime. And we humans have a genuine built-in urge to understand the way our world works--some say it's what distinguishes us from the other animals. So in all likelihood, we would soon embark upon fresh attempts to understand the way the world actually works--new experiments, new theories, and new conceptual frameworks. I hereby propose, though, that an independent commission be established to determine how on earth we got everything wrong. And a second one, comprised of philosophers, to determine whether this is really even possible.

Question What if we look at the universe completely wrong? In other words, what if all the laws of gravity, physics, and everything are actually wrong? Would people keep trying to make a fictional world with fictional rules or strive for the truth? Nick-14 Accepted:November 6, 2005

Question What if we look at the universe completely wrong? In other words, what if all the laws of gravity, physics, and everything are actually wrong? Would people keep trying to make a fictional world with fictional rules or strive for the truth? Nick-14

Accepted:
November 6, 2005