NSP World Model
Following is the final revision of my summary on Robert Herrmann's NSP
World. Dr. Herrmann, thank you very much for your feedback. I incorporated
your comments, though not necessarily word for word. Anyone is welcome to pass
this on to anyone you feel would appreciate it, that is what I made it for. It
is just a short summary. Anyone seriously interested should look up
Dr. Herrmann's web site or some of
his other papers on other web sites.
Wayne Spencer, 3/9/97
Robert Herrmann's NSP World
The D-World, MA Model, and U-Cosmology
Robert Herrmann is a Mathematics Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. His research is in the broad division of mathematics known as mathematical logic, and more specifically what is called nonstandard analysis. The academic disciplines of linguistics, philosophy, and mathematics are normally considered to be far removed from each other, but in Herrmann's Nonstandard Physical World Model, these three are linked. The NSP World and its consequences provides what is likely the most rigorous available for intelligent design in the physical universe. The result of all this is a very promising approach to answering major questions in modern physics and astronomy and answering them from a Biblical creationist perspective. The strength of Herrmann's model is that it was developed not based on Biblical teachings or any religious ideas but based on secular methodologies in mathematical analysis. Yet, it has important implications relevant to Christianity and creationism. Dr. Herrmann has published dozens of research level papers in technical level journals in mathematics, theoretical physics, as well as periodicals such as the Creation Research Society Quarterly and the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation.
Linguistics, formal symbolic logic, and mathematical logic all have one thing in common in that they all involve combining symbol strings according to various definitions and rules. Dr. Herrmann makes the point that linguistic patterns in language follow logical patterns that correspond to events in the natural world. Linguistic patterns follow event patterns. A computer is a good illustration of this in a man-made device. All a computer's operations can be written out in terms of what is known as Boolean logic, a symbolic way of showing the processes carried out in the computers electronics. The on and off switching of voltages and signals in the computer parallel symbolic expressions. Transistor circuits are constructed to produce output signals which follow the appropriate logic operations. Thus, there is a parallel between the symbolic logic and the actual physical processes. This is made possible by intelligent and the actual physical processes. This is made possible by intelligent engineering design. Herrmann has constructed a model of nature that predicts mathematically a world beyond nature that mirrors the behavior of an infinite mind. God as an infinite mind, in the Bible, is said to have created by his word (Psalm 33:9). So His word determines reality, both in the unseen supernatural realm and in the natural realm.
The Nonstandard Physical World is a broad term describing both linguistic or thinking processes and physical processes in both the natural world we experience and in a world we do not experience. It presupposes only that the natural world exists and that for natural processes to be useful to mankind and science these processes must follow some simple logical procedures that are used in human language. The world beyond what we perceive and understand is known as the Ultra-world. There are what are known as ultrawords, ultraprocesses, and ultrasubparticles. These entities cannot even in principle be completely described by us since our natural words and our understandings are too limited in comparison. The aspects of the NSP World that model thinking, linguistics, and deduction are referred to as the D-World.
The aspects of the NSP World that model physical reality logically is referred to as the MA-Model. (MA stands for Metamorphic Anamorphosis model, technical terms related to two predicted possibilities. "Metamorphic" refers to sudden appearance of complex physical structures and "anamorphosis" refers to how recording and measuring physical phenomena can "distort" the system and affect the results of the measurement.) Theologically, the NSP World can be thought of as a sort of interface between the Supernatural and the Natural, or as a model of the interaction of the two realms of reality.
Dr. Herrmann's work also touches on varied subjects in physics, astronomy and logic. He does some important analysis of the meaning of the concept of cause and effect in nature. Events in the ultraworld can affect the natural world we perceive through what are represented symbolically as consequence operators. The fiat commands of an infinite Creator initiate ultraprocesses that operate on "objects" in the ultraworld as well as objects of our natural world. Herrmann clarifies what "model" means in science and its limits. The concept of virtual particles of modern physics as mediators of forces in space are replaced with Herrmann's ultrasubparticles. Ultrasubparticles are considered to exist in a manner that is not limited to the natural realm alone and these ultra particles make up all natural particles including electrons, photons, and quarks. Robert Herrmann has also done extensive work on General Relativity in which he has completely redone Einstein's derivation of General Relativity. A very different interpretation of Relativity results though the mathematical results are the same. This approach seems more consistent with a Biblical philosophy of nature, God, and reality.
Herrmann's work also seems very consistent with many Scriptures such as the following. Gen. 1:26 says God made man in His image. The parallel between the ultra and natural worlds as a consequence of design agrees with this. Isaiah 55:8-9 says God's thoughts are higher than ours. This corresponds to some consequences of the differences between natural words (like this paper) and ultranatural words. The Bible teaches that God created all things and sustains all things by His word (Hebrews 11:3, Hebrews 1:3 and Colossians 1:17). Again, this summary is not dealing with the rigorous symbolic and formal nature of Herrmann's work, but only presents the major ideas in a simplified way. It may provide a very promising basis by which Creationists can begin to answer difficult questions in physics and cosmology without sacrificing Biblical or scientific integrity.
Ending comment by Dr. Herrmann:
1. I appreciate Wayne Spencer's efforts in presenting this summary. However, there is one slight misconception. It has to do with the "anamorphosis" portion of the model. The model has many, many features. The name chosen only refers to two of these features. This one term refers to one possible scenario for the development of the universe in which we dwell. The model yields a possible scenario that implies that the cosmological data "received" (electromagnetic, particle, etc.) can be a distortion of the actual data produced. And, although the data might fit into a specific theory such as the standard model, the actual data relative to a "beginning" scenario could be hidden from secular science by such a distortion. This is one of the possible barriers to secular knowledge the model presents. I would like to stress, however, that this is but one of the numerously many scenarios that are consistent with the MA-model. This possible effect is discussed in my paper "Developmental Paradigms" CRSQ 22 (March 1986):189-198 (Part 5 Long Term Developmental Processes that begins on page 196.)
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