On Quantizing Gravity by Quantizing Motion

We argue that to attempt to quantize gravity by quantizing spacetime is equivalent to setting out to develop General Relativity ( GR ) from Newton’s Law of Gravitation . Historically, Einstein developed GR by first developing a relativistic perspective of motion. This inspires us to suggest that the quantization of motion, not spacetime, should be the focus of quantum gravity research. To illustrate the efficacy of this approach, we herein propose a quantum theory of motion – discrete motion at quantized velocities – from which we proceed to formulate the outlines of a quantum theory of gravity. We then applied the resulting theory to the resolution of gravitational problems that have thus far defied traditional gravitational theories: the derivation of the Weak Equivalence Principle , the resolution of the Hierarchy Problem , the integration of wave-particle duality into gravitational theory, and the parsimonious explanation of the shapes of galactic rotation curves. Crucially, the gravitational theory that emerged when we quantized motion is seemingly the “microscopic” theory anticipated by Eric Verlinde (2011) in his seminal work on entropic gravity where he states, “… the central notion needed to derive gravity is information … associated with matter and its location, in whatever form the microscopic theory likes to have it, measured in terms of entropy. Changes in this entropy when matter is displaced leads to a reaction force … [that] takes the form of gravity.” Our discrete motion model also rationalizes the much-critiqued assumptions of this emergent gravity theory.