Bulletin of the American Physical Society

2008 APS March Meeting
Volume 53, Number 2

Monday–Friday, March 10–14, 2008; New Orleans, Louisiana

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Session C1: Poster Session I: 2:00 pm - 5:00
pm

2:00 PM–2:00 PM, Monday, March 10, 2008

Morial Convention Center Room:
Exhibit Hall A

Sponsoring Unit: APS

Abstract ID:
BAPS.2008.MAR.C1.198

Abstract: C1.00198 : Two Theories Are Better Than
One

Preview Abstract

Author:

Robert
Jones
(Emporia State University)

All knowledge is of an approximate character (B.
Russell, Human Knowledge, 1948, pg 497 and 507). Our formalisms abstract,
idealize, and simplify (R. L. Epstein, Propositional Logics, 2001, Ch XI and E.
Bender, An Intro. to Math. Modeling, 1978, pg v and 2). Each formalism is an
idealization, often times approximating in its own DIFFERENT ways, each offering
somewhat different coverage of the domain. Having MULTIPLE overlaping theories
of a knowledge domain is then better than having just one theory (R. Jones, APS
general meeting, April 2004). Theories are not unique (T. M. Mitchell, Machine
Learning, 1997, pg 65-66 and Cooper, Machine Learning, vol. 9, 1992, pg 319). In
the future every field will possess multiple theories of its domain and
scientific work and engineering will be performed based on the ensemble
predictions of ALL of these. In some cases the theories may be quite divergent,
differing greatly one from the other. This idea can be considered an extension
of Bohr's notion of complementarity, ``...different experimental
arrangements...described by different physical concepts...together and only
together exhaust the definable information we can obtain about the object.'' (H.
J. Folse, The Philosophy of Neils Bohr, 1985, pg 238)

To cite this abstract, use the following reference:
http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2008.MAR.C1.198

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