I’ve found many ideas in physics bring a sense of peace. Below are some intuitive analogies I’ve felt while trying to understand ideas in physics.

It seems, as a general statement, there are two primary categories in the universe, space/time (treated as one category), and matter (or data). Newtonian physics describes mechanical events within human experience (an apple falling, projectile motion, etc). Relativity describes the larger scale relationship between space, time, and energy (such as time slows as you reach the speed of light or that space is warped by matter).

Put in computer science terms, physics theories attempt to explain the general function which the universe computes on all its data.

There’s saved data, 10⁸¹ atoms, and a huge computer that computes everything from one cycle to the next. This analogy implies a single master computer and discrete time intervals. Of course, what master-master computer is computing our master computer. (that sentence haha) It’s turtles all the way down.

Recently, I’ve been fascinated by theories from the Wolfram Physics Project. They explain the fundamental unit of the universe as something like a “space atom.” A micro-unit of space, some tiny-tiny fraction of an atom, that performs computations to change its state based on the behavior of its neighbors. The core idea is that matter may not exist, but instead like an LED screen, all “matter” is just phenomena expressed on this fixed hypergraph of “space atoms.”

A network of “space atoms” would be like a massive game of cellular automata. An analogy would be how water molecules move when pushed or pulled by their neighbors. Or how crowds of people at concerts move together. Much like the complex structures that arise from simple cellular automata rulesets, something like a traditional atom (and beyond) is just an emergent structure in this hypergraph of “space atoms.”

So in this model, there’s no single master computer. All computation is performed in parallel, simultaneously, within each one of these “space atoms.” A switch of state in one will cause a re-computation in its neighbors. This idea is fascinating in itself and has analogies everywhere. It is a similar concept to neuromorphic computing which I’ve written a bit about here.

Because we’ve evolved to deeply monitor and respond to other people’s behavior, we’re almost like a mammalian version of cellular automata. We continually reconstruct our behavior in each moment based on the signals we’re receiving from other people. This allows us to organize and coalesce into larger formations, much like small groups of atoms forming molecules, and groups of molecules forming larger structures.

The dynamics which emerge from trillions of interconnected H20 molecules we call waves in the ocean. The dynamics which emerge from groups of interconnected humans have similar properties. Much like fluid flow, people, and the ideas that possess them, can be thought of as vectors. They have a magnitude and direction. Each person flows with their peers and the surrounding culture. Occasionally, from inside or outside, one vector shifts direction and pushes its neighbors. The shift in direction is adopted and the magnitude compounds, eventually influencing the greater direction of flow.

Often as humans, we frame the world in terms of problems and solutions. There’s a gap between what we’d like and what exists. But I feel it’s not the solution to a problem that’s most important, but how that solution echos throughout the entire system it’s connected to. From the “space atoms” idea, how one unit’s computation can cascade through its neighbors and into the larger population.

Imagine any group of people, such as you and your friends, hanging out in a living room. Say you’re all in a sour mood, there’s some conflict, someone got some bad news, or plans we’re canceled. The vector of that group is heading in some direction. Then someone cracks a joke. For a few moments, it lingers. Someone begins to chuckle, and soon everyone starts laughing. That one joke shifted the direction of the group’s vector. Now, heading in a new direction, new possibilities have opened. As the mood lightens, it may spark in someone a new idea, a new solution, or even just a small constructive comment. You never know, but after changing the mood, a conversation could start which affects everyone’s lives for the better. With the power of compound interest, these consistent nudges can grow dramatically, and it all stemmed from that one joke.

For myself, these ideas give me peace. Seeing life through the eyes of physics makes you appreciate the profundity of existence. Thinking about the interconnected dynamics of atoms, cellular automata, and humans, allows me to almost empathize with forms wildly different than myself. Seeing humans as vectors gives the sensation that you’re part of the grand flow of history. I think all this is very pretty, thanks for reading :)