A brief comment on Maxwell(/Newton)[-Huygens] spacetime

I provide an alternative characterization of a “standard of rotation” in the context of classical spacetime structure that does not refer to any covariant derivative operator.     

Holographic space and time: Emergent in what sense?

This paper proposes a metaphysics for holographic duality. In addition to the AdS/CFT correspondence I also consider the dS/CFT conjecture of duality. Both involve non-perturbative string theory and both are exact dualities. But while the AdS/CFT keeps time at the margins of the story, the dS/CFT conjecture gives to time the “space” it deserves by presenting an interesting holographic model of it. My goals in this paper can be summarized in the following way. First, I argue that the formal structure and physical content of the duality do not support the standard philosophical reading of the relation in terms of grounding. Second, I put forward a philosophical scheme mainly extrapolated from the double aspect monism theory. I read holographic duality in this framework as it seems to fit the mathematical and physical structure of the duality smoothly. Inside this framework I propose a notion of spacetime emergence alternative to those ones commonly debated in the AdS/CFT physics and philosophy circles.     

Newton–Cartan theory and teleparallel gravity: The force of a formulation

It is well-known that Newtonian gravity, commonly held to describe a gravitational force, can be recast in a form that incorporates gravity into the geometry of the theory: Newton–Cartan theory. It is less well-known that general relativity, a geometrical theory of gravity, can be reformulated in such a way that it resembles a force theory of gravity; teleparallel gravity does just this. This raises questions. One of these concerns theoretical underdetermination. I argue that these theories do not, in fact, represent cases of worrying underdetermination. On close examination, the alternative formulations are best interpreted as postulating the same spacetime ontology. In accepting this, we see that the ontological commitments of these theories cannot be directly deduced from their mathematical form. The spacetime geometry involved in a gravitational theory is not a straightforward consequence of anything internal to that theory as a theory of gravity. Rather, it essentially relies on the rest of nature (the non-gravitational interactions) conspiring to choose the appropriate set of inertial frames.     

Theory (In-)Equivalence and conventionalism in f(R) gravity

f(R) Gravity is the most natural extension of General Relativity within Riemannian Geometry. Due to (inter alia) its potential capacity for a unified treatment of early and late-time cosmic expansion, it has enjoyed recent attention in astrophysics and cosmology. I critically examine three inter-related claims found in the pertinent physics literature, of general interest to the philosopher of science. 1. f(R) Gravity is equivalent to a particular Brans-Dicke Theory. 2. The spacetime geometry underpinning f(R) Gravity has substantial conventional elements. 3. f(R) Gravity is an instance of a theory in which the distinction between matter and spacetime is conventional. Whilst the first claim can be vindicated in precise terms, the remaining two claims, I submit, are unwarranted – at least for the reasons usually adduced. On different grounds, though, the case for conventionalism about spacetime geometry in f(R) Gravity (as well as General Relativity) turns out to be considerably stronger.     

Minkowski spacetime and Lorentz invariance: The cart and the horse or two sides of a single coin?

Michel Janssen and Harvey Brown have driven a prominent recent debate concerning the direction of an alleged arrow of explanation between Minkowski spacetime and Lorentz invariance of dynamical laws in special relativity. In this article, I critically assess this controversy with the aim of clarifying the explanatory foundations of the theory. First, I show that two assumptions shared by the parties—that the dispute is independent of issues concerning spacetime ontology, and that there is an urgent need for a constructive interpretation of special relativity—are problematic and negatively affect the debate. Second, I argue that the whole discussion relies on a misleading conception of the link between Minkowski spacetime structure and Lorentz invariance, a misconception that in turn sheds more shadows than light on our understanding of the explanatory nature and power of Einstein׳s theory. I state that the arrow connecting Lorentz invariance and Minkowski spacetime is not explanatory and unidirectional, but analytic and bidirectional, and that this analytic arrow grounds the chronogeometric explanations of physical phenomena that special relativity offers.     

Holography and emergence

In this paper, I discuss one form of the idea that spacetime and gravity might ‘emerge’ from quantum theory, i.e. via a holographic duality, and in particular via AdS/CFT duality. I begin by giving a survey of the general notion of duality, as well as its connection to emergence. I then review the AdS/CFT duality and proceed to discuss emergence in this context. We will see that it is difficult to find compelling arguments for the emergence of full quantum gravity from gauge theory via AdS/CFT, i.e. for the boundary theory's being metaphysically more fundamental than the bulk theory.     

Squaring the circle: Gleb Wataghin and the prehistory of quantum gravity

The early history of the attempts to unify quantum theory with the general theory of relativity is depicted through the work of the Italian physicist Gleb Wataghin, who, in the context of quantum electrodynamics, has anticipated some of the ideas that the quantum gravity community is entertaining today.     

Observation and prediction in ancient astrology

What is the relationship between observations, predictions, texts, and instruments in ancient astrology? By distinguishing between two distinct kinds of observation claim in astrological texts, I show on the one hand the rhetorical and theoretical importance of each kind of observation claim to ancient astrological traditions, and on the other hand how practices of ancient astrology break from observation once astronomical phenomena become reliably predictable. We thus see a shift in practice from observationally derived predictions to a reliance on textual and instrumental authority, even though the rhetoric of ancient astrology still tries to maintain an emphasis on observation.     

Constructive empiricism, observability and three kinds of ontological commitment

In this paper, I argue that, contrary to the constructive empiricist’s position, observability is not an adequate criterion as a guide to ontological commitment in science. My argument has two parts. First, I argue that the constructive empiricist’s choice of observability as a criterion for ontological commitment is based on the assumption that belief in the existence of unobservable entities is unreasonable because belief in the existence of an entity can only be vindicated by its observation. Second, I argue that the kind of ontological commitment that is under consideration when accepting a scientific theory is commitment to what I call theoretical kinds and that observation can vindicate commitment to kinds only in exceptional cases.     

Chromosomal translocations among the healthy human population: implications in oncogenesis

Chromosomal translocations are characteristic features of many cancers, especially lymphoma and leukemia. However, recent reports suggest that many chromosomal translocations can be found in healthy individuals, although the significance of this observation is still not clear. In this review, we summarize recent studies on chromosomal translocations in healthy individuals carried out in different geographical areas of the world and discuss the relevance of the observation with respect to oncogenesis.     

一种面向下垫面不均一的森林碳通量监测方法

特定时刻内通量塔观测结果只能代表其上风向下垫面贡献区域的CO2通量值,当下垫面不均一时,通量塔观测结果是不能真实反映观测区域实际碳通量的.如何将通量观测塔的空间代表性进行有效的由点到面的扩展,亟需一种能够对观测区域采取多点同步精确观测的可行方法.完全的利用现有的无线传感器网络(WSN)技术虽然具有实时多点同步观测的优势,但精度不能满足通量观测的要求.本研究将利用通量塔观测数据对无线传感器接收数据进行校正,通过校正后数据计算观测区域内的通量值,力求解决下垫面不均一时通量塔观测结果不具代表性的问题.根据涡度相关技术和FSAM模型(fux-source area model),采用仿真数据分析方法,研究结果表明通过通量塔观测数据对WSN进行校正能够提高WSN观测精度;利用WSN多点同步监测的优势能够很好地解决下垫面不均一情景下通量塔观测结果不具代表性的问题.WSN结合通量塔进行陆地生态系统碳通量观测上具有很大的应用前景.     

A word of the Empirics: the ancient concept of observation and its recovery in early modern medicine

The genealogy of observation as a philosophical term goes back to the ancient Greek astronomical and medical traditions, and the revival of the concept in the Renaissance also happened in the astronomical and medical context. This essay focuses primarily on the medical genealogy of the concept of observation. In ancient Greek culture, an elaboration of the concept of observation (tērēsis) first emerged in the Hellenistic age with the medical sect of the Empirics, to be further developed by the ancient Sceptics. Basically unknown in the Middle Ages, the Empirics' conceptualisation of tērēsis trickled back into Western medicine in the fourteenth century, but its meaning seems to have been fully recovered by European scholars only in the 1560s, concomitantly with the first Latin translation of the works of Sextus Empiricus. As a category originally associated with medical Scepticism, observatio was a new entry in early modern philosophy. Although the term gained wide currency in general scholarly usage in the seventeenth century, its assimilation into standard philosophical language was very slow. In fact, observatio does not even appear as an entry in the philosophical dictionaries until the eighteenth century--with one significant exception, the medical lexica, which featured the lemma, reporting its ancient Empiric definition, as early as 1564.     

Ring chromosomes and leukaemia.

The observation of 2 leukaemic patients with ring chromosomes, and their comparison with a few previously reported cases, suggests a close association between this rare chromosomal abnormality and erythroleukaemia and indicate a poor prognostic significance of this finding.     

Neurath’s protocol statements revisited: sketch of a theory of scientific testimony

This paper puts forward a significant revision of the interpretation of Neurath’s proposal for the form and content of so-called protocol sentences that was given by the author some years ago. Importantly, it eschews the ambition to give necessary and sufficient conditions for Neurath’s explicandum and instead aims merely to provide a characterisation of central cases. Even more importantly, it refocusses the explicandum from observation statements generally to observation reports and casts Neurath’s proposal in the form of an incipient theory of scientific testimony, in particular, testimony about observational evidence. In light of this analysis the paper then links Neurath’s proposal to current debates about the viability of Sellars’s anti-foundationalism and explores the nature of testimony and the justification of perceptual knowledge in science and everyday life.     

Ring chromosomes and leukaemia

Summary The observation of 2 leukaemic patients with ring chromosomes, and their comparison with a few previously reported cases, suggests a close association between this rare chromosomal abnormality and erythroleukaemia and indicate a poor prognostic significance of this finding.     

Data,epistemic values,and multiple methods in case study research

Case Study research is characterized by the employment of multiple data gathering methods. In this paper, I examine the concurrent use of participant observation and qualitative interviews. The question I examine is: what is the rationale behind their combination in case study research? In the literature on case study research, the two most common reasons for using multiple methods appeal to comprehensiveness and convergent confirmation respectively. I argue that there is a third significant, yet overlooked, way to motivate the joint use of participant observation and qualitative interviews: the methods may generate complementary evidence and this puts the researcher in a better position to confirm that her data manifest central epistemic values and so are suitable as a basis for providing an adequate answer to her research question. I refer to this as the rationale of “blended epistemic value validation”.     

Covariance estimation for multivariate conditionally Gaussian dynamic linear models

In multivariate time series, estimation of the covariance matrix of observation innovations plays an important role in forecasting as it enables computation of standardized forecast error vectors as well as the computation of confidence bounds of forecasts. We develop an online, non‐iterative Bayesian algorithm for estimation and forecasting. It is empirically found that, for a range of simulated time series, the proposed covariance estimator has good performance converging to the true values of the unknown observation covariance matrix. Over a simulated time series, the new method approximates the correct estimates, produced by a non‐sequential Monte Carlo simulation procedure, which is used here as the gold standard. The special, but important, vector autoregressive (VAR) and time‐varying VAR models are illustrated by considering London metal exchange data consisting of spot prices of aluminium, copper, lead and zinc. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

有无植物条件下明渠水流紊动特性对比

在可变坡水槽中，模拟了带枝杈植物对明渠水流的干扰作用，借助超声多普勒流速仪（ADV）测量了不同水深下垂线不同测点的瞬时流速，计算了各测点的三维时均流速、脉动强度及雷诺应力等紊动参数，通过与无植物干扰的明渠均匀流紊动特性进行对比，分析植物对水流紊动参数的影响规律。试验结果表明：在有植物明渠水流中，时均流速呈三区分布特征；脉动强度及雷诺应力均在植物顶部附近出现最大值；脉动强度明显增大，在3个方向上趋于接近；可以用植物顶部以上的雷诺应力分布推求摩阻流速。     

Articular cartilage canals — a new pathogenetic mechanism in infectious arthritis

Summary In experimentally-induced erysipelas polyarthritis, preexisting cartilage canals in articular cartilage play a crucial role during the very onset of the disease. This observation might have some implications for the pathogenesis of other infectious arthritides in young animals or even rheumatoid arthritis in man.