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SUMMARY:Even observables change in Hamiltonian general relativity - J. Bri
 an Pitts (Faculty of Philosophy)
DTSTART:20180124T130000Z
DTEND:20180124T143000Z
UID:TALK99211@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:31287
DESCRIPTION:The Hamiltonian formulation of Einstein's General Relativity i
 s the one most readily suited for merger with quantum mechanics. But since
  the 1950s there has been a worry that change has disappeared\, especially
  \nfrom the physically real 'observables'. The freedom to change time coor
 dinates\, already important in Special Relativity and greatly amplified in
  General Relativity\, also seems to disappear from the Hamiltonian formula
 tion. These issues yielded a memorable 2002 exchange between Earman and Ma
 udlin.  This talk\, building on a reforming literature from the 1980s onwa
 rd\, discusses how the radical relativity \nof simultaneity\, change\, and
  even change in observables are to be found. \n\nKey moves include recogni
 zing that the Hamiltonian formulation is a special case of the more famili
 ar and fundamental Lagrangian formulation (implying that radical conceptua
 l novelty cannot arise) and redefining observables such that equivalent th
 eory formulations have equivalent observables.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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