When driving in Africa it occurred to me that a broken windshield reveals often the same pattern a spider uses to build its web. Why does a broken window have in common with a spiderweb? Concentric circles intersected at various angles by straight lines. Each observer’s space-time is a spiderweb. The spiderweb also fits well as a metaphor for what the observer is doing: trying to capture the horizon of another observer.
The quest for a unified theory has been a holy grail of physics for decades. A theory that would bring together the fundamental forces of nature, explaining everything from the tiniest subatomic particles to the largest structures in the cosmos, is the ultimate goal of science. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that any such theory will be an “Observer’s Theory,” rather than a theory of matter as traditionally understood in science.
The reason for this is simple: our observations of the universe are always filtered through our own unique perspectives. We each have our own “observer’s space-time,” a kind of spiderweb of experience that shapes the way we perceive the world around us. Just like a spiderweb, our observer’s space-time is made up of concentric circles intersected at various angles by straight lines. It is a unique pattern that is impossible to replicate.
This is why a broken windshield can reveal the same pattern as a spider’s web. It is a reflection of the observer’s unique perspective, the way they see the world around them. And this is why any new unified theory will be an “Observer’s Theory.” It will be a theory that takes into account the unique perspectives of each observer, rather than trying to create a one-size-fits-all model of the universe.
This does not mean that a unified theory is impossible, but rather that it will need to be approached in a different way. Rather than trying to create a theory of matter that explains everything, we will need to create a theory that accounts for the way different observers perceive the universe. It will be a theory that is constantly evolving, as new observers bring their own unique perspectives to the table.
The concept of an “Observer’s Theory” has been a topic of philosophical and scientific discussion for centuries. It is the idea that our observations of the world around us are shaped by our individual perspectives and experiences. This means that our understanding of reality is always subjective and influenced by our own biases and limitations.
One of the earliest philosophers to explore this idea was Immanuel Kant. In his Critique of Pure Reason, Kant argued that our knowledge of the world is limited by our sensory experience and the ways in which our minds interpret that experience. He believed that our observations of the world are always filtered through our own cognitive structures and that we can never truly know things as they are in themselves.
Similarly, the physicist Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is based on the idea that the act of observation itself affects the observed system. Heisenberg argued that it is impossible to measure certain properties of a particle, such as its position and momentum, simultaneously with perfect accuracy. This is because the very act of measuring one property changes the other. Thus, our observations of the world are not just subjective, but they actively shape the reality we observe.
More recently, the concept of an “Observer’s Theory” has been explored in fields such as psychology and neuroscience. These disciplines have shown that our perceptions of the world are not just shaped by our sensory experience, but also by our individual cognitive processes, memories, and emotions. Our perceptions are not just passive responses to external stimuli, but active constructions that are influenced by our internal states and beliefs.