Comment on video about the solar interior – another way, with the whole human species working together

What Does The Inside Of The Sun Look Like?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ayHXTnN4fk

In the visualization from 3:00 to 4:00, I think there should be small particles coming from every point to every point in the detector. For instance something coming from the far upper right. to the far lower left. Not just radially outward from one point at the center.
It seems to be aimed at showing a varied and active surface, and occasional small things. But if that whole surface can be the source of the small things, they would be more like wind driven rain drops where they can go in any direction, as long as they seem to originate from the surface. The surface variations seem about right, with large islands of bright and dark, and texture similar to the pictures of the sun. But, with visualizations, it is possible to simulate perfect cameras and sensors and you seems to be representing pixels in the camera that get saturated, rather than infinitely continuous in intensity and spatial frequencies. I would try to use long videos of high frame rate images and then use real statistics. I know you are just explaining a few things, but I like seeing things as close to reality as possible. If there are not methods for measuring or modeling (with lots of data to constrain the model assumptions and algorithms), then build global communities to fill in the gaps and let everyone run them and make improvements. Going from human mind to images is art. Letting everyone interact with and try to improve models accumulates knowledge for the whole human species, in ever improving, open collaborations. Not dependent on the skills of a few individuals or closed groups.

“sun’s surface” OR “photosphere” has 7.15 Million entry points, with much material and many groups and individuals. But it is a mess and can take years to just look througn. Much duplication, each group running their own, sharing tiny bits of output and ideas. But science grows from sharing, verification, calibration, replication, comparisons, new integrations, cross fertilization, and the goals of the human species.

(“sun” OR “solar” OR “stellar”) (“interior” OR “core” OR “radiative” OR “convective”) has 8.31 Million entry points just now. And if you check a few hundred thousand of them randomly, you will find the same patterns of individuals and small groups working ONLY for their own purposes, much duplication with no sources and and untraceable authors. With a wide range of levels of skill, units, methods and purposes. It is as complex and more varied than these visualizations of the “complex” sun and its interior.

I think you hit an important gap in the human species’ knowledge of our universe. We, collectively, don’t know exactly what is happening now. And with everyone only dumping stuff on the Internet, with no framework, standards, collaboration – not anywhere close to giving the roughly 4.9 Billion Internet users a clear guide to what is known, and tools for making improvements – about “sun’s interior”. If you are thinking “wikipedia”, then try again.

site:wikipedia.org (“sun” OR “solar” OR “stellar”) (“interior” OR “core” OR “radiative” OR “convective”) has 134,000 entry points. So, yes, all those independent, disorganized and unsupervised contributors to wikipedia are dumping new stuff onto those text page every day. And no one is curating and re-organizing, verifying and improving it for each entire topic. The equations are not equations that you can merge, compare, connect as a whole. The data is not in a form where it can be used immediately in models, calculations, simulations, calibrations. The software and algorithms (mathematics is algorithms), they all are works on paper, not working tools and model components that can be combined and worked with as a whole.

(“solar” OR “stellar” or “the sun”) AND (” model” OR “models” OR “simulation” OR “simulations” OR “equations” OR “sensors” OR “measurement”) has 56 Million entry points, and I just wrote the most obvious pieces for a quick look. And there is no effort to bring that all together. Now imagine every first time learner (about 1.93 Billion kids from 5 to 20) each faced with that many choices – just to learn what is known about the sun, including all measurements, software, models, and explanations. They are not in one classroom with 30 to 100 kids listening to one persons ideas and memories about the sun, but faced with tens of millions of voices and images and music – all supposed to be related to “the sun”.

This duplication and “mess” (that is what I end up having to say to characterize the state of the Internet on hundreds of thousands of global topics( is the most serious issue facing the human species. We need to get out of putting marks on paper (screens) that only human eyes and memories can access, and begin to face combining all that is known or measured or being measured. Including “everyone” who is interested and working on the topic and their reasons. If the human species can externalize our knowledge so that it can be worked on, and used by “everyone”, then even if humans die out, that knowledge could continue on its own.

I quit saying “artificial intelligence” several decades ago. Now I say, “intelligent algorithms”, including an intelligent algorithm (collection) that curates and organizes topics like “the sun”, “global climate change”, “covid”, “domesticating” “viruses”, “solar system colonization”, “faster than light communication”, “breaking the gravitational speed barrier” and so many other things. We need to not talk face to face or present talking faces and publications, but rather put the data and tools on a common board, where everyone can use the best methods and data. My four year old grand daughter has used the computer since she was a few months old. Her world needs a clear global view of everything – in infinite depth. I have spent that last 30 years trying to work out how to do that, and it is not impossible. If human greed and “only for ourselves” can change to “lets all work together to solve this, or improve this”.

“astrophysics” OR “solar physics” OR “magnetohydrodynamics” OR “plasma has about 8.1 Billion entry points), you will find lots of individuals and small groups. But, on the Internet as a whole, they are not working together for everyone.

Thank you for this video. If you did not have value and potential, I would not write here. So keep up the great work, and please think about finding all the people on the Internet making videos and simulations and visualizations about the sun.

Can you think of ways groups and individuals can work together for everyone?

Richard Collins, Director, The Internet Foundation