Initial+Proposal

__Initial Proposal__

In attempting to discern my career path, I determined that my undergraduate majors would likely be quite different from my final vocation. All sources indicated to me that majoring in Pre-Law was an essentially useless endeavor. As such, I plan on double majoring in the fields that have provoked the most independent thought: physics and philosophy. Physics is an explanation of how, a way of describing the behavior of reality. Philosophy searches for the why, and more fundamental queries on existence. For the majority of their history, the two were inextricable. It is only natural that one might once again combine them, for philosophy is but a function of our understanding of reality as defined by physics. This thought sequence led me to my driving question. What are the philosophical implications of the existence of parallel universes? Generally viewed as science fiction, parallel universes are at of the forefront of theoretical physics as our ability to conceptualize reality grows ever larger. We no longer live in a universe, we live in a multiverse. The consequences for this in terms of ethics and our understanding of reality are vast. Regrettably, philosophy and theoretical physics seldom find their way into the high school curriculum. I wish to bring a meaningful slice of these areas into the high school. My planned project is to create a demonstration or activity that will illustrate one or more aspects of parallel universes. I will then work through the activity with a class in the school (pending the teacher’s permission). Likely choices are Quest 8, Quest 9, and AP Physics C: Mechanics. Possible presentations deal with the structure of the universe according to m theory, the concept of space as flat, and the idea of the universe as a bubble in hyperspace. It is likely that my demonstration will include some sort of science fiction anecdote or film clip about parallel universes as an introduction to the topic. If possible, I will find a ready-made physics demonstration on the topic online and request use of the activity for incorporation into my project. I plan to have the nature of the activity fully determined by the end of October, leaving November and December as possible months to implement the project. Planning the “lesson” will take up more time than actually delivering it. Upon determining and finalizing the material, I will organize the activity to fit into the time allotted. Then, I will rehearse the lesson in front of my mentor, who will provide feedback so that I might improve the activity. I will make the necessary adjustments, and then repeat this process as much as necessary before the date of the project. The resources required by the project will depend largely on the activity I find. It is possible that a few sheets of paper and some string will be enough to demonstrate m theory, but I may find a more in depth approach online. The main sources for the project will be Stephen Hawking’s //A Brief History of Time// and the “Parallel Universes” program from the BBC. Each has a comprehensive explanation of parallel universes that is relatively accessible. The research for the final presentation will be a bit more complicated so as to cover the philosophical aspect of the driving question. I will begin by working with my list of ten sources, and then expanding into research on ethics, especially as related to law. Then I will delve into philosophy related to existence, perhaps touching on philosophy of religion in considering the cosmology of physics. Perhaps the most likely problem I will encounter will be a lack of sources directly related to my particular synthesis of topics. In this case, I will have to personally determine the connections between ethical imperatives and physical realities. This will necessitate a larger amount of research and time put into crafting the final presentation.