We like Hossenfelder because she says what she thinks; not necessarily because we agree with her. (Today’s world is so full of yes men that the word “yes” is in danger of going out of business via becoming meaningless… )
Having come to the conclusion that infinity is not real, Sabine Hossenfelder thinks that maybe singularities aren’t real either:
Okay, why infinities are not, in her view, real:
Infinity and zero are everywhere in physics. Even in seemingly innocent things like space, or space-time. The moment you write down the mathematics for space, you assume there are no gaps in it. You assume it’s a perfectly smooth continuum, made of infinitely many infinitely small points.
Mathematically, that’s a convenient assumption because it’s easy to work with. And it seems to be working just fine. That’s why most physicists do not worry all that much about it. They just use infinity as a useful mathematical tool.
But maybe using infinity and zero in physics brings in mistakes because these assumptions are not only not scientifically justified, they are not scientifically justifiable. And this may play a role in our understanding of the cosmos or quantum mechanics. This is why some physicists, like George Ellis, Tim Palmer, and Nicolas Gisin have argued that we should be formulating physics without using infinities or infinitely precise numbers.
Sabine Hossenfelder, “Is Infinity Real?” at BackRe(Action)
And singularities?:
But what happens if you fall into a black hole singularity? Well, you die before you reach the singularity because tidal forces rip you to pieces. But if your remainders reach the singularity, then that’s just the end. There’s no more space or time beyond this. There’s just nothing.
At least that’s what the mathematics says. So what does the physics say? Is the black hole singularity “real”? No one knows. Because we cannot see what happens inside of a black hole. Whatever happens there is really just pure speculation.
Most physicists believe that the singularity in black holes is not real, but that it is instead of the same type as the other singularities in physics. That is, it just signals that the theory, in this case general relativity, breaks down and to make meaningful predictions, one needs a better theory. For the black hole singularity, that better theory would be a theory for the quantum behavior of space and time, a theory of “quantum gravity” as it’s called.
Sabine Hossenfelder , “Are Singularities Real?” at BackRe(Action)
Why would a person need to believe that neither infinity nor singularity are real?
Math nerds? Can you help us figure this stuff out?