Category Archives: science

Quantum Realities

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If Schrodinger’s cat experiment offers plausability to the existence of two simultaneous realities, does the quantum world open up existences to worlds that can only be imagined? Could time fluctuations create parallel worlds and multiply dimension fracturing time and space into unimaginable complexities splintering the here and now?

SciFi fodder for sure, but the quantum world can’t be ignored. 85% of what makes up the physical universe is dark matter or energy, invisible substance that does not emit or absorb light but provides the gravitational underpinnings that hold the planets in place and the universe together.

Or so it is supposed; there is little but conjecture, albeit offered by the most knowledgeable theoretical physicists, to justify belief in any sort of universal order. Enter the spiritual realm.

Alive and Dead?

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Irwin Schrodinger’s thought experiment poses the paradox: A cat in a box bombarded with photons (the photons being particles and/or waves) and containing a cyanide capsule (triggered by particles but not waves) will be alive and dead, that is, in a ‘super position’ until the box is opened and the condition of the cat observed.

The implication is that multiple realities exist and will only become one in the presence of an observer. Which means, I guess, we all determine our own reality.

It makes me think about the importance of assuming personal responsibility for one’s existence.

Predicating Christianity

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I’ve been reading how Plato and like thinkers derived, through dialectical thinking the existence of metaphysical forms, ideals that exist of which everything on earth are but imperfect copies.

(Plato’s) Socrates compares the ‘unbegotten’ immortal soul to a charioteer in a chariot with two-winged horses that when perfect soars upward, ordering the world, whereas the imperfect soul, loses its wings, drops in its upward flight, settles on the ground as an earthly creature.

From the earliest times, great minds have found meaning beyond the material world, which is not to discount other great minds that have found, through empirical observation, sufficient explanation for existence in natural philosophy.

Osmosis

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I’ve been thinking about osmosis as being, on the one hand, a fact of science and as an imaginative concept on the other. The reality of osmosis as apparent in the loss of air in car tires over time demonstrates the movement of a tangible material (air) through an otherwise impermeable material (rubber).

Which, I guess, demonstrates the movement of subatomic particles in space and confirms that on the molecular level nothing is ‘solid’ but rather transitional, in flux and changeable.

Which brings to mind our inherent impermanence as bodies in space. Such perspective, when thought about ought to temper the inclination to react too strongly to the political events of the day.

The Einsteins

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Anecdotal evidence informs us Albert Einstein did not fare well within a formal educational environment. One might surmise, considering the discoveries he later made in theoretical physics, the pace and structure of conventional rote learning didn’t work for him.

His Theory of Relativity remains the paradigm for understanding the relationships between space/time and gravity. The idea that large bodies in space warp the trajectory of light means, I guess, that the actual location of the celestial body emitting that light is somewhere other than the location of the light we see, a situation exacerbated by our own movement over time. This idea of there being a fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, the mathematical specifics of which notwithstanding, offers, when considered from a scifi perspective, immense opportunity for the creative mind.

Love

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There’s something about the word ‘love’ that makes me cringe. Not the word so much as the idea, how it’s used and what it’s intended to mean. It seems, these days, to be overused and without thoughtfulness.

Well, there are different ways to think about it. Erotic love begins with mutual adoration, the two sensing the one of union. Things can turn; conceivably one lover might enter the thralls of so deep a passion, an emotional realm so overwhelming, rational thought will cease, cause unexplainable fluctuations of feeling that may even lead to deep hatred.

When applied to familial affection, extreme emotional fluctuation would appear to be the rule. Children and parents fighting, at each other tooth and nail one instance then enjoying a pleasant togetherness in front of the TV set the next.

Then, there’s the idea of agape; love of God and mankind. It seems to me likely anyone attempting such love will inevitably fall short which, I guess, will reinforce the sinfulness they know they can never escape, which on the positive side will eliminate the sin of pride.

Better, I think, to leave the term alone, not use it, and keep one’s emotions under control.

Blessed by the Holy Father

Story Lines

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As people became more sedentary during the Neolithic era tribal groups united forming larger populations. These disparate groups, to form a functioning society needed to share a common sense of the way things are, a shared belief system. They needed a storyline that all could grasp, accept and believe in order to accept a hierarchical structure to deal with property ownership and exchange of goods.

A workable storyline would need to include reference to the supernatural. Human uncertainty requires connection to an entity that can be appealed to when crops fail, drought occurs, or outsiders threaten the groups existence.

As societal stability evolves, multiple story lines will develop, one flexible and open to new developments, another rigid, protective and resistant to change. Hopefully stable institutions will be in place at that point to accommodate such diversity of thought.

The Problem with the Theory of Intelligent Design

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After thinking about for some time, it occurs to me that the problem with the theory of Intelligent Design is that it requires combining and organizing disparate parts into a whole; particularly complex structures may involve evolved parts which are themselves constructed from even more basic components making such a concept unimaginable.

But biological life begins as a whole (single cell amoeba) that evolves from a primordial chemical soup. It grows and evolves from infancy to adolescence to maturity. Only afterward does the evolved being manifest the intelligence to conceive the notion of organized parts.

An Unsettling Scenario

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I’ve been reading how the infiltration of artificial intelligence entities, robots, into the public sphere has the potential, as AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, to undermine the free and open exchange of ideas necessary to a democratic society.
Algorithms, as anyone who consumes social media knows, feed the reader more of the same. The potential for these entities to harbor hidden agendas, to move the consumer into conspiratorial beliefs is a real concern. The complex nature of the information produced through the computer system, based as they are on a multitude of factors, makes deciphering the how and why of the digital results beyond the comprehension of most human agents leading many to simplistic beliefs in deep state conspiracies like Qanon.
Hopefully mechanisms will be put in place and sufficient political will will be exercised to regulate the increasingly sophisticated cyber beings.

Science and the Humanities

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I’ve been reading, lately, about the distrust science elicits these days from diverse segments of the populace. Apparently, the condemnation isn’t coming only from the religious right who might, I suppose, have a problem with the dismissal of dogmatic beliefs toward which empirical investigation tends to lead, but also from certain intellectuals who see science as reductive explanation for the complexities of our world.

I must admit this second concern resonates with me a bit, being inclined as I am to wonder in awe at the mysteries of nature. My readings have awakened me to the realization that through aesthetic contemplation I can gain a deeper, richer experience of the natural world I find so compelling. The mysteries of consciousness, addressed with such magic by the Surrealists, becomes even more intriguing when considered in the light of neuroscientific studies on the human brain. Art can be appreciated in greater depth when considered in context, provided through historical and archaeological investigation and the psychology of aesthetic response is considered.

I’ll keep this in mind, well, at least be peripherally aware of the contribution science might play in my daily aesthetic experiences even though I find it hard to put language to the ephemeral.