2025 Summer School on the Assumptions of Physics

Wednesday June 25 ( full day video )

10:00 - 11:30 : Introduction to Reverse Physics ( session video - pptx - pdf )
The aim of Reverse Physics is to start from existing physical theories, which are typically stated through a mathematical formulation, and reconstruct a series of physical premises that are equivalent. This provides a different way to analyze each theory, teasing out the realms of applicability and highlighting what assumptions are shared and which aren't. We will give an overview of the techniques, uncovering how entropy provides a unifying theme across classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.
11:30 - 13:00 : Reverse Physics for classical mechanics ( session video - pptx - pdf )
We will explore some of the key results of Reverse Physics in classical mechanics. We will see the details of how the principle of least action is equivalent to assuming deterministic/reversible evolution, independence of degrees of freedom and kinematic equivalence (i.e. motion in space is enough to recover the dynamics).

Thursday June 26 ( full day video )

10:00 - 11:30 : Introduction to Physical Mathematics ( session video - pptx - pdf )
The aim of Physical Mathematics is to recover all mathematical details from axioms and definitions that are fully grounded in physical definitions. As an example, we will see how requiring connection to experimental verifiability recovers topological and sigma-algebraic structures. This allows a tight connection between the math and the physical model it represents, and explains why physics requires "well-behaved functions," avoids the Banach-Tarski paradox, and how physical requirements in general lead to well-behaved mathematical structures.
11:30 - 13:00 : Some results in Physical Mathematics ( session video - pptx - pdf )
We will explore some key results of Physical Mathematics. We will see the details of how the experimental requirement of repeatability leads to ensembles. Each space of ensembles must satisfy some basic requirements which, encoded into axioms, lead to universal geometric, linear and measure structures. These can be used to generalize theorems that are applicable to all physical theories.