Jan 14, 2026 11:58 PM
https://iai.tv/articles/aliens-might-not..._auid=2020
INTRO: If we ever meet aliens, would their physics be the same as ours? While this might seem like a purely hypothetical, abstract question, it has profound consequences for what the pursuit of scientific truth actually is. Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, Daniel Whiteson, argues that if alien physics is different from ours, then our theories are not as objective and universal as we often believe.
EXCERPT: Some argue that any such theory must be conceptually equivalent to ours, “merely the same theory dressed in different clothes,” as philosopher of science John D. Norton put it. Historically, wave and matrix approaches to quantum mechanics were shown to be equivalent, despite their different mathematical building blocks. But our failure to imagine a rival explanation doesn’t mean that there isn’t one. Convergence can just as easily come from groupthink, human minds all settling at the same conclusion because they’ve all followed the same mainstream ideas. Rival ideas outside our capacity to imagine could be obvious to aliens... (MORE - missing details)
INTRO: If we ever meet aliens, would their physics be the same as ours? While this might seem like a purely hypothetical, abstract question, it has profound consequences for what the pursuit of scientific truth actually is. Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, Daniel Whiteson, argues that if alien physics is different from ours, then our theories are not as objective and universal as we often believe.
EXCERPT: Some argue that any such theory must be conceptually equivalent to ours, “merely the same theory dressed in different clothes,” as philosopher of science John D. Norton put it. Historically, wave and matrix approaches to quantum mechanics were shown to be equivalent, despite their different mathematical building blocks. But our failure to imagine a rival explanation doesn’t mean that there isn’t one. Convergence can just as easily come from groupthink, human minds all settling at the same conclusion because they’ve all followed the same mainstream ideas. Rival ideas outside our capacity to imagine could be obvious to aliens... (MORE - missing details)