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Comment by RandomTisk | Hacker News Reader

I find the E8 lattice incredibly interesting, if for no other reason to find out if it's truly representative of particle physics. It predicts more particles we haven't observed yet.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Exceptionally_Simple_Theory... [1] https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-m...

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I felt like the idea got a bit of a bad rap because of the pun in the title inadvertently created a lot of media publicity of the sort "Surfer dude discovers simple answer to everything"

The E8 structure does make for a compelling idea, while I'm not aware of any particular evidence that makes it logically any better than existing ideas. It certainly is aesthetically pleasing.

I only which my math skills were up to calculating the properties and values of particles based on the idea so I could better understand what people should be looking for to prove/disprove it.

Honestly, even if the E8 lattice is nothing but imagination, it's so beautiful that we need to make a para-verse like that someday. You know, when we've mastered creating universes and stuff, at least when we're able to live in virtual fluff. The beings in such a simulated universe would be so in awe of 'everything' as they uncover the theory thereof.

If you haven't yet, you should read some of Greg Egan's books.

A glance at his wiki page says he's my kind of author, indeed. Thanks for the pointer!

Greg Egan is indeed a goldmine for this kind of material. For this particular topic I would highly recommend his book Diaspora.

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