Incorrect. Our current understanding has a unified picture of matter, forces, gravity, space-time, and energy. So you may well be justified in claiming that "it's not really clear what reality is", but to single out matter is just ill-informed.
Then, it's not the "Picture" that most people here have in mind. Besides, you do not know the exact relationship between fields and "matter", as it's an interpretational issue, and there a more than 20 interpretations.
If you don't know what reality is, how can you know what matter is??
Knowing how "matter" behaves is not the same as saying "We know what matter is".
MatterWave writes:
We don't know what energy is and what an elementary point-particle really is.
Ditto. It sounds as if you think our current understanding is at the level of layman explanations...
Same as above - Knowing how elementary particle behaves is not the same as saying "We know what an elementary particle is".
No, we are talking about mathematical physics.
Mathematics says NOTHING about what an electron is. There is absolutely no agreement between physicists about the true nature of the electron. It's been proposed that there is an electron and an accompanying wave at the same time, that the particle electron does not exist and there is never any collapse, but just an apporximation(illusion) of it, that there is an electron only when you measure it, etc. ect.
Maths only lets you calculate probability, charge, charge density, spin... it says nothing about the nature of the "entity" being described.
At the level of this discussion, there is almost complete agreement - between physicists who actually understand this particularly narrow field. Who cares what physicists outside this field think?
Who are these physicists and can you reference a source where they claim to know the nature of matter?
No, this is layman bullshit once again trying to sound authoratative.
I think you aren't being sincere and consciously or not deceive the readers that there is agreement on topics for which there isn't any.
My question stays - If you don't know what reality is, how can ever claim to know what the nature of matter is? If there is no "matter" prior to measurement, or prior to decoherence, or prior to a pilot wave probes the "environment", etc., how can you claim to somehow possess such fundamental knowledge?
BTW, you must get used to the inevitable notion that in the abscence of fundamental knowledge of ANYTHING, you can't make such sweeping statements as "I(or some physicists - which?) know what "matter" really is".
Edited by MatterWave, : No reason given.
Edited by MatterWave, : No reason given.
Edited by MatterWave, : No reason given.