Is Math Reality?

Is math reality or just a proposed description of reality which may falsely describe, or not accurately or fully describe reality? According to some, the fact that 2 + 2 = 4 is proof that math is reality and vice versa. But what about 2 + 2 = 5? One could argue that this is wrong and fits no reality and isn't real. The counter argument is 2 + 2 = 5 is real (like many string theories) in some parallel universe inside a megaverse.

Unfortunately, there is no empirical evidence of parallel universes--only mathematical evidence. Yet, it is argued that mathematical evidence is every bit as valid as empirical evidence. When these two types of evidence disagree, we simply invent a new universe, i.e., a reality where they do agree. Problem solved?

Hmmmm ..., if math is always right somewhere within a megaverse, wouldn't every crackpot idea be right somewhere within a megaverse? For example, our earth isn't flat, but surely there is some parallel universe that contains a flat earth? It looks as though the scientific method becomes a joke if we are allowed to move the goalpost (invent new unobserved universes) when the math or theory is wrong in this universe.

To claim that math is reality is to ignore infinities--that have never been observed or verified--and negative probabilities (predicted by quantum physics math) and all the instances where the math is wrong, or, where the math is approximate. When calculating the area of a circle, who knows and uses the exact value of pi? No one to my knowledge. If we don't know and can't determine the exact value of pi, then how can we say with confidence that it is real? Our math in general is riddled with approximations and error margins. From an empirical standpoint, we have yet to make a perfect measurement of the circumference of an ellipse or calculate it with a perfect value of pi; yet, some argue that math is reality and reality is math.

How Extraterrestrials Compose Music

One of the most famous sci-fi flicks of all time is "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Below is a clip regarding those musical tones that Richard Dreyfuss kept hearing in his head. But what's up with those tones? What do they mean? Why did the extraterrestrials send them to the lead actor's head? And, most importantly, how do Extraterrestrials compose music? All these questions shall be answered soon after you're done watching the clip:

Put yourself in the extraterrestrial's shoes. You are light-years from your home planet. You and your crew are exhausted after exploring much of the galaxy. Your navigation system is on the fritz due to a meteor shower. You are lost. You pull your flying saucer up to a nearby inhabited planet so you can ask directions.

Hopefully the earthlings can tell you how to get back to the constellation where you are from:

But first you have to let them know which constellation it is. They don't speak your language and the lead actor doesn't have a clue what is happening. He keeps building mounds with his mash potatoes and the the mud in his yard. His wife thinks he's insane and leaves him. That doesn't help you at all. What can you do to get through to these earthlings? You can create a musical language that describes the stars in your constellation. You begin with an alphabet or scale: Do ray me fa so lah te do.

Each note in the scale has its own frequency. When you double the frequency (f) you raise the pitch a whole octave. If you want to go down an octave, cut the frequency in half. If you want to go up or down a half tone, multiply or divide the frequency by 1.06, respectively. There are 12 half-tones per octave, so going up an octave requires 1.06^12 times the frequency (f). Going up a perfect fifth requires (1.06^7)f. Going down one full tone requires f/1.06^2.

Once you get your universal musical language together, you match each star in your constellation with a note:

You can now tell the earthlings where you are from and hopefully they can tell you the way back home. If they don't understand at first, just keep telepathically sending those tones until the whole planet is singing them.

If they still don't understand, try taking Richard Dreyfuss for a ride in your flying saucer and show him your sheet music below:

Extraterrestrials use triangles to communicate their music. The height of the top triangles are the pitch. The base (cosine) of each triangle is the duration. The up-side-down triangles are the loudness. The bigger the sine waves the louder and higher the pitch, and vice versa.

Below I use super-complex numbers to translate the alien music. (If you are not familiar with super-complex numbers, click here.) Hopefully the diagram below will serve as a Rosetta stone. Each note is indexed by the letter u.

To simplify the math further, let's assign first-rank tensor variables (T, P, L) to each cosine and isine term.

We end up with a simple tensor equation that describes the language of the universe: music. Now that we understand what the extraterrestrials want, can someone please give them directions?