Add new comment
-
Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.
A new machine learning framework provides doctors with a reliable tool to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease early.
What do we know about monkeypox, what do we not know, and what efforts are going into modelling it?
The COVID-19 emergency resulted in some amazing mathematical collaborations.
Here's a simple game at which a human can out-fox even the cleverest algorithm.
The INI is celebrating its 30th birthday. What is it and what is it do for maths and mathematicians?
I was fortunate to meet John Wheeler when he visited my university to talk about Black Holes in the mid ‘70s just before he went to UT Austin.
I asked him a question that gave him pause… he stumbled backwards.
I asked him if he had questioned his fundamental assumptions, such as is time discrete or is it continuous.
He did not answer at that time, but years later he coined “It from Bit,” which seems based on that question.
My followup question if he answered discrete would have been “Is there a shortest unit of time?” which is implied if time is discrete. If yes, my next question would have been “What exists between those shortest units of time?”
This question has haunted me ever since I met Dr. Wheeler. Have these questions ever been posed and considered?