Epistemic benefits of the material theory of induction

C. D. Broad famously labelled the problem of providing our inductive practices with a proper justification “the scandal of philosophy” (Broad, 1952). Recently, John Norton has provided a dissolution of this problem (2014). According to Norton, inductive inference is grounded in particular facts obtaining within particular domains (J. Norton, 2003b, 2010, 2014). Because the material theory does not involve a universal schema of induction, Norton claims it dissolves the problem of induction (which implies that such universal schemas cannot be justified).In this paper, I critically evaluate Norton's dissolution. In particular, I argue that the problem of induction is an epistemological problem, that Norton's material theory entails an externalist epistemology, and that it is a common feature of such epistemologies that they dissolve the problem of induction. The upshot is that the material theory is not unique in its ability to reap the specifically epistemic benefits of dissolving the problem of induction, and thus that the epistemic advantages of the material theory over extant alternatives in this regard are fewer than it may appear at first sight.     

The quantum vacuum and the cosmological constant problem

The cosmological constant problem arises at the intersection between general relativity and quantum field theory, and is regarded as a fundamental problem in modern physics. In this paper, we describe the historical and conceptual origin of the cosmological constant problem which is intimately connected to the vacuum concept in quantum field theory. We critically discuss how the problem rests on the notion of physically real vacuum energy, and which relations between general relativity and quantum field theory are assumed in order to make the problem well-defined.     

The problem of the invariance of dimension in the growth of modern topology,part II

Summary This work examines the historical origins of topological dimension theory with special reference to the problem of the invariance of dimension. Part I, comprising chapters 1–4, concerns problems and ideas about dimension from ancient times to about 1900. Chapter 1 deals with ancient Greek ideas about dimension and the origins of theories of hyperspaces and higher-dimensional geometries relating to the subsequent development of dimension theory. Chapter 2 treatsCantor's surprising discovery that continua of different dimension numbers can be put into one-one correspondence and his discussion withDedekind concerning the discovery. The problem of the invariance of dimension originates with this discovery. Chapter 3 deals with the early efforts of 1878–1879 to prove the invariance of dimension. Chapter 4 sketches the rise of point set topology with reference to the problem of proving dimensional invariance and the development of dimension theory. Part II, comprising chapters 5–8, concerns the development of dimension theory during the early part of the twentieth century. Chapter 5 deals with new approaches to the concept of dimension and the problem of dimensional invariance. Chapter 6 analyses the origins ofBrouwer's interest in topology and his breakthrough to the first general proof of the invariance of dimension. Chapter 7 treatsLebesgue's ideas about dimension and the invariance problem and the dispute that arose betweenBrouwer andLebesgue which led toBrouwer's further work on topology and dimension. Chapter 8 offers glimpses of the development of dimension theory afterBrouwer, especially the development of the dimension theory ofUrysohn andMenger during the twenties. Chapter 8 ends with some concluding remarks about the entire history covered. Dedicated to Hans Freudenthal     

Rationality and irrationality in the history of continental drift: Was the hypothesis of continental drift worthy of pursuit?

The revolution in geology, initiated with Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift, has been the subject of many philosophical discussions aiming at resolving the problem of rationality underlying this historical episode. Even though the debate included analyses in terms of scientific methodology, applications of concrete accounts of epistemic justification to this case study have been rare. In particular, the question as to whether Wegener’s theory was epistemically worthy of pursuit in the first half of the twentieth century, that is, in its early development, remained open or inadequately addressed. The aim of this paper is to offer an answer to this question. The evaluation of Drift will be done by means of an account of theory evaluation suitable for the context of pursuit, developed in ?e?elja and Straßer (accepted for publication). We will argue that pursuing the theory of continental drift was rational, i.e., that it was irrational to reject its pursuit as unworthy.     

Geometry of Light and Shadow: Francesco Maurolyco (1494–1575) and the Pinhole Camera

In his Theoremata de lumine, et umbre (1521), Francesco Maurolyco (1494–1575) discussed, inter alia, the problem of the pinhole camera. Maurolyco outlined a framework based on Euclidean geometry in which he applied the rectilinear propagation of light to the casting of shadow on a screen behind a pinhole. We limit our discussion to the problem of how the image behind an aperture is formed, and follow the way Maurolyco combined theory with instrument to solve the problem of the projection of light through small apertures. We show that Maurolyco not only reformed the classical sources which, he thought, were no longer the authoritative code of textual knowledge, but also established with the dioptra a novel linkage of method, theory, and instrument. He thereby demonstrated the importance of optics to the science of astronomy.     

汽车孔缝对电磁屏蔽效能的影响

汽车正在逐步走向电子化,只有处理好汽车上电子设备的电磁兼容（EMC）问题,才能更好地运用电子设备。本文主要针对汽车上几种规则孔缝的电磁泄漏进行建模、理论分析和仿真分析,得出一个屏蔽效能（SE）较高的模型,从而有效地降低了汽车的电磁辐射和提高了本身的抗电磁干扰能力。并对某一款式的轿车进行了电磁屏蔽设计,使其电磁屏蔽效能提高了8dB。从而验证了本文电磁屏蔽设计方法的有效性。     

The problem of coincidences

Summary This paper deals with the origin, history and various appearances of the problem of coincidences (matches, rencontres) in the theory of probability.     

Quantum Mechanics as a Principle Theory

I show how quantum mechanics, like the theory of relativity, can be understood as a ‘principle theory’ in Einstein's sense, and I use this notion to explore the approach to the problem of interpretation developed in my book Interpreting the Quantum World.     

Magnification: how to turn a spyglass into an astronomical telescope

According to the received view, the first spyglass was assembled without any theory of how the instrument magnifies. Galileo, who was the first to use the device as a scientific instrument, improved the power of magnification up to 30 times. How did he accomplish this feat? Galileo does not tell us what he did. We hold that such improvement of magnification is too intricate a problem to be solved by trial and error, accidentally stumbling upon a complex procedure. We construct a plausibility argument and submit that Galileo had a theory of the telescope. He could develop it by analogical reasoning based on the phenomenon of reflection in mirrors—as it was put to use in surveying instruments—and applied to refraction in sets of lenses. Galileo could appeal to this analogy and assume Della Porta’s theory of refraction. He could thus turn the spyglass into a revolutionary scientific instrument—the telescope.     

Prelude to dimension theory: The geometrical investigations of Bernard Bolzano

This paper treats Bernard Bolzano's (1781–1848) investigations into a fundamental problem of geometry: the problem of adequately defining the concepts of line (or curve), surface, solid, and continuum. Bolzano's interest in this problem spanned most of his creative lifetime. In this paper a full discussion is given of the philosophical and mathematical motivation of Bolzano's problem as well as his two solutions to the problem. Bolzano's work on this part of geometry is relevant to the history of modern mathematics, because it forms a prelude to the more recent development of topological dimension theory.     

Quantum probability and many worlds

We discuss the meaning of probabilities in the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. We start by presenting very briefly the many worlds theory, how the problem of probability arises, and some unsuccessful attempts to solve it in the past. Then we criticize a recent attempt by Deutsch to derive the quantum mechanical probabilities from the non-probabilistic parts of quantum mechanics and classical decision theory. We further argue that the Born probability does not make sense even as an additional probability rule in the many worlds theory. Our conclusion is that the many worlds theory fails to account for the probabilistic statements of standard (collapse) quantum mechanics.     

Interpreting Aristotle on mixture: problems about elemental composition from Philoponus to Cooper

Aristotle’s On generation and corruption raises a vital question: how is mixture, or what we would now call chemical combination, possible? It also offers an outline of a solution to the problem and a set of criteria that a successful solution must meet. Understanding Aristotle’s solution and developing a viable peripatetic theory of chemical combination has been a source of controversy over the last two millennia. We describe seven criteria a peripatetic theory of mixture must satisfy: uniformity, recoverability, potentiality, equilibrium, alteration, incompleteness, and the ability to distinguish mixture from generation, corruption, juxtaposition, augmentation, and alteration. After surveying the theories of Philoponus (d. 574), Avicenna (d. 1037), Averroes (d. 1198), and John M. Cooper (fl. circa 2000), we argue for the merits of Richard Rufus of Cornwall’s theory. Rufus (fl. 1231-1256) was a little known scholastic philosopher who became a Franciscan theologian in 1238, after teaching Aristotelian natural philosophy as a secular master in Paris. Lecturing on Aristotle’s De generatione et corruptione, around the year 1235, he offered his students a solution to the problem of mixture that we believe satisfies Aristotle’s seven criteria.     

Einstein,Nordström and the early demise of scalar,Lorentz-covariant theories of gravitation

Conclusion The advent of the general theory of relativity was so entirely the work of just one person — Albert Einstein — that we cannot but wonder how long it would have taken without him for the connection between gravitation and spacetime curvature to be discovered. What would have happened if there were no Einstein? Few doubt that a theory much like special relativity would have emerged one way or another from the researchers of Lorentz, Poincaré and others. But where would the problem of relativizing gravitation have led? The saga told here shows how even the most conservative approach to relativizing gravitation theory still did lead out of Minkowski spacetime to connect gravitation to a curved spacetime. Unfortunately we still cannot know if this conclusion would have been drawn rapidly without Einstein's contribution. For what led Nordström to the gravitational field dependence of lengths and times was a very Einsteinian insistence on just the right version of the equality of inertial and gravitational mass. Unceasingly in Nordström's ear was the persistent and uncompromising voice of Einstein himself demanding that Nordström see the most distant consequences of his own theory.     

The theory theory thrice over: the child as scientist, Superscientist or social institution?

Alison Gopnik and Andrew Meltzoff have argued for a view they call the ‘theory theory’: theory change in science and children are similar. While their version of the theory theory has been criticized for depending on a number of disputed claims, we argue that there is a fundamental problem which is much more basic: the theory theory is multiply ambiguous. We show that it might be claiming that a similarity holds between theory change in children and (i) individual scientists, (ii) a rational reconstruction of a Superscientist, or (iii) the scientific community. We argue that (i) is false, (ii) is non-empirical (which is problematic since the theory theory is supposed to be a bold empirical hypothesis), and (iii) is either false or doesn't make enough sense to have a truth-value. We conclude that the theory theory is an interesting failure. Its failure points the way to a full, empirical picture of scientific development, one that marries a concern with the social dynamics of science to a psychological theory of scientific cognition.     

The ontology of quantum field theory: Structural realism vindicated?

In this paper I elicit a prediction from structural realism and compare it, not to a historical case, but to a contemporary scientific theory. If structural realism is correct, then we should expect physics to develop theories that fail to provide an ontology of the sort sought by traditional realists. If structure alone is responsible for instrumental success, we should expect surplus ontology to be eliminated. Quantum field theory (QFT) provides the framework for some of the best confirmed theories in science, but debates over its ontology are vexed. Rather than taking a stand on these matters, the structural realist can embrace QFT as an example of just the kind of theory SR should lead us to expect. Yet, it is not clear that QFT meets the structuralist's positive expectation by providing a structure for the world. In particular, the problem of unitarily inequivalent representations threatens to undermine the possibility of QFT providing a unique structure for the world. In response to this problem, I suggest that the structuralist should endorse pluralism about structure.     

基于 R-RNN的孵化器运营水平评价及应用

针对科技企业孵化器运营水平难以科学定量评估的问题,提出了基于粗糙集和 RBF神经网络的 R RNN孵化器运营水平评价模型.基于孵化器运营工作原理的归纳分析,提出多层次孵化器运营水平评价指标体系.根据指标重要程度采用粗糙集理论对评价指标进行预处理,去除冗余指标项,选取重要控制指标并减少网络输入维度,进而采用 RBF神经网络对科技企业运营水平进行综合评价.最后通过具体的应用实例验证了该评价模型的有效性与可行性     

Typical worlds

Hugh Everett III presented pure wave mechanics, sometimes referred to as the many-worlds interpretation, as a solution to the quantum measurement problem. While pure wave mechanics is an objectively deterministic physical theory with no probabilities, Everett sought to show how the theory might be understood as making the standard quantum statistical predictions as appearances to observers who were themselves described by the theory. We will consider his argument and how it depends on a particular notion of branch typicality. We will also consider responses to Everett and the relationship between typicality and probability. The suggestion will be that pure wave mechanics requires a number of significant auxiliary assumptions in order to make anything like the standard quantum predictions.     

Correspondence principle versus Planck-type theory of the atom

This article examines the problem of the origins of the correspondence principle formulated by Bohr in 1920 and intends to test the correctness of the argument that the essential elements of that principle were already present in the 1913 “trilogy”. In contrast to this point of view, moreover widely shared in the literature, this article argues that it is possible to find a connection between the formulation of the correspondence principle and the assessment that led Bohr to abandon the search for a Planck-type theory. In fact, a thorough examination of Bohr’s works shows that the birth of this principle coincided with the depletion of a research program whose origins may date back to Bohr’s stay at the Rutherford’s laboratory (summer 1912). Finally, this article argues that original program of research was abandoned when it became clear that Planck’s quantum hypothesis for the harmonic oscillator was not an adequate support for the theoretical architecture of atomic physics; namely, there was evidence enough to justify a most drastic conclusion, according to Bohr: “I do not think that a theory of the Planck type can be made logical consistent”.     

高粘性铝土矿流动性及助流技术研究

利用力学理论、室内放矿模拟实验及数值分析,研究了高粘性铝土矿在矿仓内矿石结拱堵塞的机理、影响矿仓内矿石流动性的主要因素。研究表明：矿石含水量、漏斗壁面摩擦系数及装矿量为影响矿石在矿仓内流动性的主要因素。根据研究结果,提出了一种新的矿仓助流技术。经现场工业试验研究表明：该助流技术能有效解决高粘性铝土矿在矿仓内结拱堵塞的问题.