Last Updated on August 10, 2026 by Rob Cashman
A model can be extraordinarily successful and still be incomplete.
The most interesting scientific discoveries do not necessarily replace what came before them. Sometimes they reveal what the earlier model could not see.
Missing Variables asks what happens when things assumed to be true turn out to be missing variables which alter the scientific principles which rely on those assumptions?
What variables might our current models still be missing?
What We’re Investigating Now:
- Whether time contains variables that change it from simply being the culmination of all past events.
Subtopic #1: What if those variables caused time to resist change, or forced it to rearrange itself around unexpected events?
Subtopic #2: What there is an end-state attractor that pulls time to unfold towards a certain state or goal? - Why do monsters come out at night? The science of how our visual systems react to light waves and process information in darkness.
- The inherent dangers of using AI-designed viruses to interfere in a complex system.
- Whether system-level forces are already making the release of “open-weight” AI systems into the wild inevitable.
- The parallels between ancient philosophies and modern scientific principles.