Constructor Theory

It’s been a while since I wrote for this blog. Something I’ve never been able to determine is how to end a blog. When does the last entry for a blog occur? I know how to start a blog; I’ve started at least three different blogs prior to this one. This one is the most long-lived, but still, having blogged a bit over the years, having started writing tripe for the web before it was even called blogging, I have had some experience in that regard. But I still don’t know how to know in advance when a blog has had seen it’s final entry. For that matter, the same is true of just about most experience, no? For most of us in this life, we cannot know when our last sunrise may be, our last kiss, our last meal. I don’t want to get too gloomy here so I’ll leave that particular topic for now. Suffice it to say that the particular moment, this blog still breathes, as do I.

My previous entry was published early in the midst of COVID-19 lockdown, which now seems to be more of a permanent condition than it may have appeared then. Much has happened since then but in many ways nothing has changed. Masks are still the norm. There seems to be considerable concern and activity around vaccines for the virus, but given the fact that so many people have been vaccinated and yet there is still such extreme concern for widespread outbreak, one wonders what to make of the effectiveness of the vaccine efforts. Personally, for personal reasons, I will keep my attitudes and beliefs regarding the vaccine and the virus to myself.

So Constructor Theory.

I confess here now that I am a subscriber to New Scientist. I admit it. I realize it is science porn. I confess that I have a paid subscription and it feels good to finally admit it. When Liz and I met in Manhattan many years ago, one of the key data points for us to accept the true love nature of our union was our shared subscriptions. At the time, Omni was still in print, and we both had copies in our respective apartments, along with stacks Scientific American, and Wired. Science and technology have long been a shared passion for us.

As such it is only natural that search engines deliver suggestions based on my interests and searches, one of which caught my attention a few days ago. It was a Science Times articles published last year which the title served as click-bait candy to assuage my addiction: Constructor Theory Could Explain Life, Universe, and Existence

I mean, come on! Who could resist such a temptation?

I do realize I’m a little late coming to the party for this particular meme. The fact is, I had read about Deutsch a few years ago and actually did come across his ideas regarding the information laced fabric of the universe. I think my mental association of Constructor Theory with object oriented programming and constructors is probably a little responsible for my interest in Deutsch’s work, and while I do admit that his depth of knowledge in physics far surpasses any understanding I may have, I am a fanboy of theoretical physics nevertheless.

So maybe my mental association is not really too far off? Maybe a good analogy for Constructor Theory in terms of the universe, existence, et al, is objected oriented programming concepts? Start with a class — a prototype from which instances can take form — sort of Plato’s Perfect Form. What if that’s the way the quantum cookies crumbles?

Not a new idea here, I am sure. Late the party, yes. Unoriginal, perhaps. But those are my thoughts for today, for this point in space-time, for this specific spring day in 2021. COVID-19 fear continues, regardless of remedies. Climate Change is still the cultural rage, regardless of weather. And Joe Biden’s now the POTUS. A year ago, I would have not predicted that I would be writing this entry with these facts from this particular universe. But here it is. And with any luck it’s not my last time.