Fundamental Questions
This is a list of fundamental questions. A resolution to a question is either a satisfactory answer or a conclusion that the question is ill-posed or ambiguous.
| Question | Category | Level | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why is there something rather than nothing? | Philosophy | Confident | THE fundamental question. Requires a definition of nothing, something, existence and reality. |
| What exists? | Philosophy | Confident | Alternative formulations: 1. What is the nature of reality? 2. What is real? 3. What is fundamental? |
| Does a God exist? | Philosophy | Tentative | Related: If yes, what are God’s characteristics? |
| How did our universe begin? | Physics | Guess | |
| Is there an ultimate causal origin? | Physics | Confident | |
| What is the meaning of the universe? | Philosophy | Confident | Assuming the existence of absolute meaning. |
| Is solipsism correct? | Philosophy | Guess | |
| Are we in a simulation? | Philosophy / Physics | Tentative | Related questions: 1. Is perceived reality an illusion? |
| Does an absolute reality exist? | Philosophy | Confident | |
| What is the role of the observer with respect to reality? | Philosophy | Tentative | |
| Are space and time fundamental? | Physics | Tentative | Related questions: 1. Are space and time emergent? 2. What is the ultimate nature of time? |
For every question I state my personal level of confidence to a resolution. The level should tend to go up with time, but may go down as new findings come in. These are the levels:
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Certain: I see a well articulated resolution, far superior to competing alternatives resolutions, in the form of a proof or similar. For some questions, e.g. some philosophical questions with no hope of entering into the realm of physics, this level cannot be reached even in principle.
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Confident: I see a well articulated resolution, superior to competing alternatives resolutions.
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Tentative: I singled out a resolution superior to competing alternatives resolutions, but the margin is very small or the resolution not well articulated.
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Guess: I reduced the possible resolutions to 2 or more options, but I have no clue which one is correct. I have a favoured guess, mainly based on intuition and heuristics.
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No Clue: No known resolution seems viable or I have no intuition about a random guess. Often due to lack of enough research in the question.
Achieving a Certain level on all the questions above is my life goal. Next best thing is a stable and robust Confident level on all the above!
Great Questions
This second table is about incredibly fascinating questions that do not make my personal cut into the fundamental questions table. In any case they are the source of many sleepless nights of investigation. It is possible for a question to be promoted to fundamental or viceversa.
| Question | Category | Level | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the meaning of life? | Philosophy | Confident | |
| Is consciousness fundamental? | Philosophy | Confident | |
| Is materialism correct? | Philosophy | Confident | |
| What happens after death? | Philosophy | Confident | |
| Is mathematics fundamental? | Philosophy / Mathematics | Confident | As opposed to created. |
| Does absolute truth exist? | Philosophy / Mathematics | Confident | |
| Are there other universes? | Philosophy / Physics | Tentative | Alternative formulation: Is there a multiverse? |
| What is Dark Energy? | Physics | Guess | |
| What is Dark Matter? | Physics | Guess | |
| What is the solution to the cosmological constant problem? | Physics | Guess | |
| What is the ultimate fate of the universe? | Physics | Guess | |
| Is infinity a physical concept? | Philosophy / Physics | Tentative | |
| Is the universe infinite? | Philosophy / Physics | Tentative | |
| Are mathematical points a physical concept? | Philosophy / Physics | Tentative | Related: Do black holes singularities exist? |
| Is a theory of everything possible to write down? | Physics | Tentative | As describing any possible phenomena in the universe, within the limits of experimental physics. |
| How to reconcile quantum theories with gravity? | Physics | Tentative | |
| Are there extra dimensions? | Physics | Guess | |
| What is the solution to the information-loss paradox? | Physics | Tentative | |
| Do black holes exist? | Physics | Confident | Entities with the mathematical properties of a general relativity black hole, as opposed to astrophysical approximations. |
| What is the correct interpretation of quantum mechanics? | Physics | Tentative | |
| How many Boltzmann brains exist? | Physics | Guess | |
| Are we alone in the universe? | Physics | Tentative | Alternative formulations: Are there intelligent life forms outside earth? |
| Are there non-intelligent lifeforms outside earth? | Physics | Confident | |
| Are anthropic arguments justified? | Physics | Guess | Related: Is the Doomsday argument correct? |
| Is time travel possible? | Physics / Tech | Tentative | |
| Is faster than light travel possible? | Physics / Tech | Tentative | |
| Are warp drives possible? | Physics / Tech | Tentative | |
| Are wormholes possible? | Physics / Tech | Tentative | |
| Can we create universes? | Physics / Tech | Guess | Related: What are the minimum (computer?) specs required to run a universe? |
| Is a technological singularity possible? | Tech | Tentative | |
| Is Artificial General Intelligence possible? | Tech | Confident | Related: If so, how to build it? |
| Is mind upload possible? | Tech | Confident | Related: If so, how to build it? |
| What is the origin of life? | Biology | Guess | |
| What are the characteristics of the Last Universal Common Ancestor? | Biology | No Clue | |
| How does the human brain work? | Biology | Tentative | Related: How do we reproduce an artificial brain? |
| Is immortality possible? | Biology / Tech | Tentative | Alternative formulation: Can we cure death? |
| Can we do better than the scientific method? | Science | Confident | For predictions about our universe. Requires a definition of better. |