"You get your information on the facts merely by looking at what others have to say about it."
- Niklas Luhmann, "Introduction to Systems Theory"
from Google AI:
This quote from Niklas Luhmann (often rendered within the context of "second-order observation") describes how modern society handles knowledge and reality, as discussed in his work Introduction to Systems Theory (specifically regarding observations and the "observation of observers").
Context of the Quote
Luhmann argues that modern society has shifted from directly observing reality to "second-order observation"—the observation of observers.
Descriptions of Descriptions: Instead of looking at "facts" directly, we look at reports, news, scientific papers, and opinions about those facts.
Advanced Mode of Perception: This is not seen as a failing, but as the "advanced mode" of perceiving the world in functional domains like academia, economy, art, and politics.
Examples: We know about global warming, economic trends, or current events not by direct observation, but by "looking at what others have to say about it".
Meaning in Systems Theory
Observation of Observers: In a complex, functionally differentiated society, we cannot experience everything. Instead, we observe how others (scientists, journalists, politicians) observe the world.
Structural Complexity: Because function systems (like law, science, or media) are "operatively closed," they only observe their own operations and create their own version of reality.
Reducing Complexity: We "get our information on the facts" by selecting from the massive amount of communication produced by these systems.
This approach highlights that in the modern world, knowledge is essentially social, mediated, and constructed, rather than a direct perception of objective reality.
"Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"T. S. Eliot
Snappily named Xi-cc-plus, Cern physicists spotted the particle in shower of debris that lit up Large Hadron Collider
Scientists at the Cern nuclear physics laboratory near Geneva have discovered a heavier version of the proton, the subatomic particle that sits at the heart of every known atom in the universe.
They spotted the particle in a shower of debris that lit up a detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located deep beneath the ground at Cern, which smashes protons together at close to the speed of light. The collisions recreate in microcosm conditions that prevailed just after the big bang, with the energy converting to particles that spray in all directions.
The newfound particle, which is four times heavier than the regular proton, should help physicists refine their understanding of the strong nuclear force that glues together the innards of all atomic nuclei. The force is unusual because it behaves like a rubber band, getting stronger as the distance between subatomic particles increases.
Physicists working on the LHCb experiment found the heavy proton after the detector was upgraded to make it more powerful.
“This is just the first of many expected insights that can be gained with the new LHCb detector,” said Prof Tim Gershon at the University of Warwick, who takes over as the LHCb international lead in July. “The improved detection capability allowed us to find the particle after only one year, while we could not see it in a decade of data collected with the original LHCb.”
Atoms of hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element in the observable universe, contain only a proton and an electron. Protons, along with neutrons in heavier atoms, consist of elementary subatomic particles called quarks. A proton contains two up quarks and one down quark, but there are heavier, unstable versions of quarks known as charm, strange, top and bottom.
In the heavy proton detected at Cern, both up quarks are replaced with charm quarks. The particle, snappily named Xi-cc-plus, was revealed by its signature decay into other particles. After popping into existence, it does not hang around: scientists suspect it survives for less than a millionth of a millionth of a second before breaking down.
“The more we learn about these particles, the more we can learn about the strong force, and that is the same strong force that binds our protons and neutrons together,” said Prof Chris Parkes, a physicist at the University of Manchester.
The discovery comes as UK Research and Innovation(UKRI), the nation’s science funder, faces fierce criticism for its plans to pull £50m funding for the LHCb’s final upgrade in the 2030s. The revamp would ensure the detector made the most of a major transformation to the LHC that could substantially improve its discovery potential.
UK scientists working in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics have been told their grants will be slashed following cost overruns at major science facilities. Projects have also been hit, including the next LHCb upgrade and an electron-ion collider under development with researchers in the US.
Last week, Chi Onwurah, chair of the Commons science committee, sent a scathing letter to Prof Ian Chapman, chief executive of the UKRI, and Patrick Vallance, the science minister, calling the cuts “wholly unacceptable” and “a failure” by UKRI, the Science and Technology Facilities Council and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The letter demands “swift and decisive action” and asks whether the decision on the LHCb upgrade is final.
“It is so important that we can overcome the problems caused by the UKRI decision to deprioritise the funding for this project,” Gershon said. “No other experiment either running or planned will be able to do this physics.”
4:43 What causes our very first heartbeat?6:36 Noble’s 1958 research on the first heart model8:40 On self-excitation in cells (and what “self” means)9:24 The central dogma in biology11:17 Schrödinger’s view of life as a crystal13:43 To what degree DNA replicates like a crystal15:16 The amazing error correction in our genome16:59 How enzymes know when they encounter an error19:19 “Genes look like a code of life…”22:05 The merits and limitations of the Human Genome Project23:39 Can we really say “the cell wants” something?24:51 Understanding the scales and extraordinary mechanisms in a cell27:18 What we do and don't understand29:16 On Michael Levin’s work31:23 On cancer
35:41 Neo-Darwinism vs true Darwinism38:19 Something must have sped evolution up41:22 The cell controls the genome44:19 On the metaphysics of chemistry leading to life46:42 Biological relativity51:08 The universe as a self-excited circuit52:18 On Richard Dawkins54:27 On the difference between causation and association56:48 The limitations on the predictive power of genomics58:46 The false hopes around the Human Genome Project1:00:20 The central dogma in biology has the wrong metaphysics1:07:03 Noble on Spinoza1:11:08 How dualistic thinking still limits us1:13:40 On the nature of the self1:17:06 How life lives on the boundary between order and chaos1:18:32 How errors become solutions1:19:51 A love story between a human and an AI1:23:58 On quantum biology1:26:27 On the importance of humility in science1:28:16 How we crave meaning (and reductionist science has deprived us of it)1:29:07 Denis Noble singing troubadour poetry1:30:27 Science must lay down its weapons1:32:18 What dancing to the tune of life means on a personal level
Causation and Association/Correlation Multiplicities = Intelligence (@ 52:00-56.48)? Why when one approach fails multiple others react and attempt to compensate for the failed mechanism? Mutliple "agents" applying (at a multiplicity of biological levels) a "use it or lose it" philosophy?
0:00 - Introduction0:44 - Biological intelligence9:17 - Living vs non-living organisms14:30 - Origin of life18:15 - The search for alien life (on Earth)51:19 - Creating life in the lab - Xenobots and Anthrobots1:04:21 - Memories and ideas are living organisms1:18:02 - Reality is an illusion: The brain is an interface to a hidden reality2:03:48 - Unexpected intelligence of sorting algorithms2:29:26 - Can aging be reversed?2:33:17 - Mind uploading2:51:57 - Alien intelligence3:06:52 - Advice for young people
