Benjamin D. Summers

Mathematical Physics & Applied Econophysics

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

Four independent arguments show that a temporal point carrying complete dynamical information does not exist:

• ε-δ limits exclude the limit point from its own construction
• QM+GR self-destructs the δt→0 limit at the Planck scale
• Special relativity requires infinite energy to compress proper time to zero
• QFT renders point-local evaluation pathological (UV divergences, Haag-Kastler)

Conclusion: the instantaneous present — the assumption baked into every textbook dynamical law — is forbidden by established physics.

https://t.co/mtXqMqeI6P

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

The instantaneous present was never physical—it was a calculational convenience mistaken for an ontological commitment. Remove it, and quantum behavior emerges naturally from indivisible stochastic dynamics. Classical divisibility is the approximation, not the rule.

Thoughts welcome.

Grateful to Ezequiel Boero for the careful read.
cc @seanmcarroll @skdh @TOEwithCurt @GilKalai @Adrian_Kent @Perimeter @FQXi

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

Four independent arguments show that a temporal point carrying complete dynamical information does not exist:

• ε-δ limits exclude the limit point from its own construction
• QM+GR self-destructs the δt→0 limit at the Planck scale
• Special relativity requires infinite energy to compress proper time to zero
• QFT renders point-local evaluation pathological (UV divergences, Haag-Kastler)

Conclusion: the instantaneous present — the assumption baked into every textbook dynamical law — is forbidden by established physics.

https://t.co/mtXqMqeI6P

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

Falsifiable prediction: stochastic systems sampled at temporal resolution below their coherence time will exhibit measurable violations of the Chapman-Kolmogorov condition—deviations from Markovian factorization that scale with the ratio of sampling interval to coherence time. Early signatures are already visible in high-frequency financial time series.

[Camus @newstart_2024]

Eric Weinstein presents a stunning and urgent thesis: the fundamental progress of theoretical physics was deliberately and mysteriously halted in the early 1970s. We have been living in a state of intellectual stagnation for over half a century, with our deepest understanding of reality frozen in time.

The evidence is chilling.

He points to a meeting where Marc Andreessen was reportedly told by the Biden White House that they had deliberately stagnated fields of theoretical physics. This is not an accident; it is policy.

The data is undeniable. Look at the age of the youngest living Nobel Laureate in theoretical physics. For generations, this number remained below 50, signaling a vibrant field producing groundbreaking work by young minds. Then, around the rise of string theory as the dominant "theory of quantum gravity," that trend stopped. The youngest living laureate is now over 70. The field is no longer generating the kind of results that shatter paradigms and win Nobel prizes.

How was this "soft sunset" of the world's brightest minds achieved?

A small group of institutions took a few theories—string theory preeminent among them—and cocooned them, declaring them the "only game in town." All competitor theories were systematically starved of funding and credibility. Careers were ended for those who dared to look elsewhere.

The mechanism of control was a mantra, repeated until it became unquestioned dogma: "Quantum gravity is the holy grail." This single, narrow focus became the entire purpose of fundamental physics. Yet, as Weinstein notes, this "holy grail" barely existed in the scientific lexicon before 1972. The pursuit is a safe, sterile one that threatens no existing power structures and leads to no tangible technological breakthroughs.

But this terrible realization contains a seed of profound hope. If we can identify this manufactured stagnation, we can break free from it.

The imperative is existential. Earth is our womb, not our home. To secure an indefinite human future and traverse the cosmos, we must move beyond our current, incomplete physics. We must surpass Einstein's speed limit of 'c'. The tools are too powerful to remain confined to one planet.

The path forward requires revitalizing Western science, but our greatest competition is not where we think. While some fear the rise of China and India, Weinstein argues the true intellectual threat—and potential—lies with the world's greatest mathematicians in France.

We are at a precipice. We have a brief window of vitality before geopolitical pressures erupt. If we choose to revitalize physics, to shatter the cocoon and encourage dangerous, heretical ideas once more, the rewards could be the universe itself.

The end of physics is not a surrender; it is a finish line we have yet to cross. Reaching it may bring wonders beyond our imagination and a future among the stars that is glorious indeed.

The stagnation was a choice. Progress can be one, too.

[ADAGIO GROUP @ADAGIOLLC]

“In everything we do, we are driven by the belief that truth is more important than conformity.”

#econophysics #quantitativefinance

[Thomas Sowell Quotes @ThomasSowell]

Elon Musk: "Physics teaches you to reason from first principles rather than by analogy."

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

We've developed a physics with a second discipline in financial mathematics undergraduate program for LSU. We are providing internships for seniors in the program and capitalizing the algorithmic trading strategies of students who complete it: https://t.co/KCWNi5aPZ4
Interested students should contact Dr. David Young at the LSU Department of Physics and Astronomy (@LSUphysastro).

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

@PhysInHistory Anecdotally speaking, it certainly seems to.

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

@PhysInHistory Quantum Bayesianism

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

@ericweinstein @pmarca I’m sure this has nothing to do with the emergence of the “shut up and calculate” culture of physics.

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

@PhysInHistory A degree in physics, yes.

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

@PhysInHistory The role of the observer in collapsing the wave function?

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

@ADAGIOLLC https://t.co/daFe5aDxtU

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

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[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

The simultaneous problem and opportunity with free markets is that popular sentiment does not drive effective marketing; effective marketing drives popular sentiment.

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

Why would a family office agree to invest $10MM as an LP into a de novo fund with an obligation to bring another $300MM into a different de novo fund?
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[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

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https://t.co/MAz1hA7yGa

[Benjamin D. Summers @besum12]

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