Physics Committee Calls Emergency Session to Vote on Whether Reality Is Real
Following a new book questioning if the universe can be fully known, a hastily formed panel has moved to settle the matter by motion and second.
Inspired by a bestselling book suggesting the universe may not be fully knowable, a coalition of physicists has convened what organizers are calling an 'emergency epistemological session' to determine, once and for all, whether reality qualifies as real.
The session opened with a procedural motion to define 'the universe' for voting purposes, which was tabled after a subcommittee objected that the definition itself might not be knowable. A second subcommittee was formed to review whether the first subcommittee's objection was valid, and a third to schedule a future meeting about the outcome of the second.
"We came together as one universe, divided," said a spokesperson for the session, before excusing themselves to attend a working group on whether working groups can be said to exist.
By the end of the day, the assembly had passed a nonbinding resolution stating that reality exists 'provisionally, pending further study,' with an amendment noting that the amendment itself may not exist. A closing motion to adjourn was ruled out of order on the grounds that adjournment presupposes time, which remains under review.
The committee plans to reconvene indefinitely, or possibly not at all, depending on the findings of a fourth subcommittee tasked with determining whether reconvening is a coherent concept.