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Work #1090 · Late

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

John Archibald Wheeler
1998 · English
Scientific autobiography · Theoretical physics / Foundations of physics

Wheeler's 1998 autobiography — a life with Bohr, Einstein, Feynman, and at the foundations of quantum gravity

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam (Late)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Curved
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Non-Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Non-Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Partial
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

The twentieth-century arc — Wheeler's 1911-2008 life, the development of modern physics.

Space

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

The institutional spaces — Princeton, Copenhagen, Los Alamos, Austin.

Matter

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

The material universe — nuclei, black holes, quantum-foam space-time.

Observer

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

The participatory observer of late-Wheeler quantum philosophy.

Energy

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

The physical energies whose physics Wheeler helped to develop.

Information

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

The "it from bit" — informational view of the universe Wheeler championed.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam

Wheeler's late participatory-universe and "it from bit" speculations have been variously assessed — defenders see them as proper philosophical extension of measurement-theory; sceptics see them as un-falsifiable metaphysics.