Related papers: Resolving the observer reference class problem in …
The ability to make decisions based on data, with its inherent uncertainties and variability, is a complex and vital skill in the modern world. The need for such quantitative critical thinking occurs in many different contexts, and while it…
The Copernican principle (CP), i.e. the assumption that we are not privileged observers of the Universe, is a fundamental tenet of the standard cosmological model. A violation of this postulate implies the possibility that the apparent…
The standard cosmological model is based on general relativity and includes dark matter and dark energy. An important prediction of this model is a fixed relationship between the gravitational potentials responsible for gravitational…
Solar System tests give nowadays constraints on the estimated value of the cosmological constant, which can be accurately derived from different experiments regarding gravitational redshift, light deflection, gravitational time-delay and…
The aim of "A glance beyond the quantum model" [arXiv:0907.0372] to modernize the Correspondence Principle is compromised by an assumption that a classical model must start with the idea of particles, whereas in empirical terms particles…
Unobserved confounding arises when an unmeasured feature influences both the treatment and the outcome, leading to biased causal effect estimates. This issue undermines observational studies in fields like economics, medicine, ecology or…
The existence of multiple regions of space beyond the observable Universe (within the so-called "multiverse") where the vacuum energy density takes different values, has been postulated as an explanation for the low non-zero value observed…
Unobserved confounding is a central barrier to drawing causal inferences from observational data. Several authors have recently proposed that this barrier can be overcome in the case where one attempts to infer the effects of several…
Canonically, `classic' tests of general relativity (GR) include perihelion precession, the bending of light around stars, and gravitational redshift; `modern' tests have to do with, inter alia, relativistic time delay, equivalence principle…
We present a new solution to the cosmological constant (CC) and coincidence problems in which the observed value of the CC, $\Lambda$, is linked to other observable properties of the universe. This is achieved by promoting the CC from a…
General relativity as a classical field theory does not predict gravitationally induced entanglement, as such, recent proposals seek an empirical demonstration of this feature which would represent a significant milestone for physics. We…
Physical cosmology tries to understand the Universe at large with its origin and evolution. Observational and experimental situations in cosmology do not allow us to proceed purely based on the empirical means. We examine in which sense our…
The discovery that the Universe is accelerating in its expansion has brought the basic concept of cosmic expansion into question. An analysis of the evolution of this concept suggests that the paradigm that was finally settled into prior to…
We give an introduction to the cosmological multiverse, aimed at an audience of artists. We discuss general relativity -- our modern theory of gravity -- and the cosmological constant, which is widely believed to be responsible for the…
The perception-related origins of physical measures and standards are considered within the framework of the general observer theory. The impact of observer characteristics on the development of observer-centric physics, physical concepts…
A PhD student is locked inside a box, imitating a quantum system by mimicking the measurement statistics of any viable observable nominated by external observers. Inside a second box lies a genuine quantum system. Either box can be used to…
In both quantum mechanics and relativity theory, the concept of the observer plays a critical role. However, there is no consensus on the definition of observer in these theories. Following Einstein's thought experiments, one could ask:…
We study a model of temporal voting where there is a fixed time horizon, and at each round the voters report their preferences over the available candidates and a single candidate is selected. Prior work has adapted popular notions of…
Promoting a theory with a finite number of terms into an effective field theory with an infinite number of terms worsens simplicity, predictability, falsifiability, and other attributes often favored in theory choice. However, the…
The Kuchar observables notion is shown to apply only to a limited range of theories. Relational mechanics, slightly inhomogeneous cosmology and supergravity are used as examples that require further notions of observables. A suitably…