Paper detail

Rhythms of Memory and Bits on Edge: Symbol Recognition as a Physical Phenomenon

Preoccupied with measurement, physics has neglected the need, before anything can be measured, to recognize what it is that is to be measured. The recognition of symbols employs a known physical mechanism. The elemental mechanism-a damped inverted pendulum joined by a driven adjustable pendulum (in effect a clock)-both recognizes a binary distinction and records a single bit. Referred to by engineers as a "clocked flip-flop," this paired-pendulum mechanism pervades scientific investigation. It shapes evidence by imposing discrete phases of allowable leeway in clock readings; and it generates a mathematical form of evidence that neither assumes a geometry nor assumes quantum states, and so separates statements of evidence from further assumptions required to explain that evidence, whether the explanations are made in quantum terms or in terms of general relativity. Cleansed of unnecessary assumptions, these expressions of evidence form a platform on which to consider the working together of general relativity and quantum theory as explanatory language for evidence from clock networks, such as the Global Positioning System. Quantum theory puts Planck's constant into explanations of the required timing leeway, while explanations of leeway also draw on the theory of general relativity, prompting the question: does Planck's constant in the timing leeway put the long known tension between quantum theory and general relativity in a new light?