The Heisenberg principle is a principle in quantum mechanics which postulates that increasing the accuracy of measurement of one observable quantity, increases the uncertainty with which another conjugate quantity may be known.In other words, “if you measure something really precisely, that just messes up your measurements on something else, thereby making it impossible for you to every really, accurately measure the whole of anything.”It would be like measuring the height of something, but that messes up the width, so it is impossible to ever know the true diameter. That is fundamentally the Heisenberg principle as it affects subatomic particles.
This is interesting because, while the real purpose of this blog, “Thinking Outside the Box”, is to do just that, see things from a vantage point the average person never considers, a secondary theme is the idea that truth permeates all spheres of society, whether they be religious, scientific, or my day-to-day world.For example: faith is part of Christianity, but also scientific experiment, and the fact that I have to be at work at 8:30 AM and have faith in my wristwatch.So, it is sort of contrary to the Heisenberg Principle in asserting that certain principles can be applied across all spheres of our world, physical, spiritual, behavioral, etc. So, I assert there is truth that permeates everything.
So, here is Albert Einstein. I purposely chose a photo of him that is a bit silly. It illustrates the “mad scientist” stereotype and, when one reads about him, it becomes quite probable that he made his hair stick out like this on purpose, just for fun. He was at once highly focused, yet possessing a remarkable sense of humor.
Game theory is something they teach in business school.One aspect of game theory is the “zero sum game” which states that one party’s gain is an opposing party’s loss.This is actually the basis for the Cold War’s “mutually assured destruction” philosophy, whereby strategic planners would arm heavily with nuclear weapons, the idea being that both sides possessing the power to obliterate each other would cause neither to actually use “the bomb”.
So, now to bring this all together.Albert Einstein believed in God.In fact, as a younger man he actually wrote and sang songs of praise to God, He was serious about his Jewishness, and he was definitely was a proponent of “intelligent design”, which basically means God created everything.People who despise Christians in the name of science, like Richard Dawkins, the physicist who coined the term “the flying spaghetti monster” to deride God as a fairy tale, don’t like much to talk about this. They despise God, so they explain it away as a foible of their hero, Einstein (I’ll let you in on a secret: A lot of scientist today DO believe in God…even Jesus, no less).So, Einstein’s philosophical view of the world rivaled that of Heisenberg.Einstein saw God resonate in all things. Even his Theory of General Relativity illustrated this: He proved an increase in energy does not DISSIPATE matter.It is all the same.Matter, in a sense, is just energy in a different form.This idea can be applied to international relations, economic, human relations and nearly every other field of endeavor.For instance, in economics, when I increase my prosperity, others can prosper as well (a principle of free trade). In human relations, when I am kind and respectful to others, it elevates my own humanity and we both become more decent and noble.I also reap what I sow:I will receive kindness from another person at some point.
Einstein had a friend and colleague, Niels Bohr, who was also a venerate scientist.They had friendly disagreements about the Heisenberg principle and auxiliary issues that emanated from it.
Bottom line: I think Einstein adhered generally to what I have tried to convey in my own highly flawed way: There is an order to the universe. There are universal principles created by God. Often, man manufactures lines of demarcation between science, God, and human behavior which don’t entirely exist. These are not separate fields of consideration.God created all. All is interrelated. The principles and laws of God may often be found in all areas of life.The zero sum game is a fallacy. Christ came to bring peace and unity to His creation by eliminating sin and rebellion to His created order, and there is no mutually assured destruction between Christ and Satan. The enemy will simply be vanquished. Christ will permeate all creation.
Wow. A picture of a box made out of sticks, eh? Really boring, eh? YOU HAVE NO IDEA how wrong you are! This ain't your granddaddy's math. In fact, this isn't the atrocious garbage that was perpetrated on me in the American public school system when I was a kid...how to do things in a rote manner to come up with some kind of meaningless answer so they could give the little monkey (me) a bananna (in the form of a good letter grade on my report card). "That's a good little monkey. You regurgitated the answer we wanted you to regurgitate."
Nope. This is about some of the most fascinating stuff in this universe...if you love knowledge...if you love truth...if you love to think outside the box. Let's begin:
1.618 - just a meanless number with a decimal, right? Let me tell you something amazing. Stop and think about this: 1.618 is referred to as the "golden mean". It is kinda like magic...kinda. It puzzles the most astute mathematicians. This ratio, 1.618, occurs in nature, throughout nature, almost everywhere, in fact. Why? That's a mystery of sorts. It occurs in 1) the fractional geometry of ferns (of all things), 2) the atomic structures of DNA, 3) the orbital patterns of galaxies. This number is resonant in creation from little plants on Earth to galaxies, millions of light years away!
Architects with a keen sense of scale, and proportion, often gravitate toward this ratio. Have you ever looked at a huge building, and it just look "right"? Yeah, the spacing between bricks, the proportions, the "everything" about that building is pleasing to the eye. You glance at it and just know it is right. This is often based on the fact that the spacings and patterns are based on a ratio of 1.618. The Egyptians knew this when they built the pyramids thousands of years ago. Go figure.
The Masons have known this for hundreds of years. No, not the guy Ralph who helped built your patio. I mean "the Masons". The ratio of 1.618 may be found in the dogma and rituals of the Order of the Eastern Star, a female auxillary of the Masons.
Other numbers, or mathematical values, are resonant in nature. The number "7", for instance. The Bible calls it the "number of completion", and it is resonant throughout Scripture, and creation.
What is a "number", anyway? Like the word "time", the word "number" is used by so many people, flippantly, on a day-to-basis. I am not being critical. We live in a practical, day-to-day world. We have to measure things, right? But, in a greater sense, these day-to-day people, when they refer to a number, have NO IDEA what they are talking about.
"Math" is not "numbers". "Math" is hard to define. I am not an academic, and I certainly am not a mathematician, so I will refrain from definitions I don't understand. Here is my sales guy from Pittsburgh definition of math (a definition that is evolving): "The study of 'what is', as it exists in the 3 dimensions that are currently discernible by mankind (there are most likely more than 3 dimensions, but that is a "tangent" [get it, "tangent", ha ha] that I won't go off on right now). The point is, creation can be readily observed and quantified in 3 dimensions. The world we see and live in is seen as 3 dimensions.
So in mathematics, you will find the most fascinating concepts and ideas imaginable in the natural world. As a discipline, math truly is the most transcendent academic field, being found in every single field of study, yet the pathetic public schools I went to treated it as a compartmentalized subject.
Math can be thought of spatially, in 3 dimensions as just stated, which is why I can have that 3 dimensional picture of a box at the beginning of this blog, and you all (hopefully) "get it". You fundamentally understand what a 3 dimensional box is. But, that simply means you DON'T understand what is beyond that. That box may represent nowhere near the complexity that is found in all the dimensions that really exist. It is all we are capable of representing.
Math is space. Math is time. Math is relationships. Math is order. Math is even disorder. Chew on that a while.
So, I want to mention Dr. John Stillwell, of the University of San Francisco. Google him. He spoke to the SETI Institute about the subject, "ET Math: How different could it be?". Yes, it is based on the idea that extraterrestrials would not use our math, and NO he is not a crackpot UFO cooke. John is a distinguished professor, and his real point is not actually extraterrestrials, it is about our concept of mathematics. Mathematics, per se, is a human construct. It is a product of our minds. We do not LEARN algebra, or trigonometry, or calculus, in actuality. We learn a human way of trying to understand reality.
Listen to this, so you don't miss the point...these are manmade constructs, disciplines devised by humans that allow us to, as much as possible, understand mathematical reality...don't breeze by this. Think about what you just read. WE ARE LIMITED IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MATH, OF ALL REALITY IN FACT, IF WE ALLOW OUR PARADIGMS TO BE SET BY HUMAN BEINGS, BASED ON THE LIMITED MEANS THEY HAVE HERETOFORE DEVISED TO UNDERSTAND THAT REALITY.
Although some scientists are trying to make radio contact with ETs so as to speak with them in a mathematical language, Stillwell asserts (correctly, in my view) that they most likely don't even use our math, may not understand that human construct called "numbers" and cannot communicate with us in our own, unique gibberish. Math is reality, it is physical creation, and their race would have found their own, unique entries into it's truth. We human who are courageous, outside-the-box thinkers, should endeavors to continue to explore the great, untapped riches of this fascinating universe. But, to do that, we can learn what researchers have to pass on to us, but never, ever accept that as the confine in which we live or think. Then, we have become adult versions of that little monkey in 8th grade math class, taught by a teacher who himself is a trained monkey. There is so much more out there than this feeble existence. Find it.
I truly believe we live in pre-set paradigms of our mind. We have been so programmed by the world around us, our tangible circumstances, our history, culture, suppositions, and genetic predisposition, that we are blind, so blind to the greater reality around us.I want to try to touch on that, just a little bit. I want you who read this to be quiet…clear your mind…open it up…and focus. Don’t focus by thinking. Focus by studying to be quiet and clear your mind of presuppositions, circumstances, prejudices, distractions, and concerns. Blank…listen…it doesn’t matter…just open up your mind and let the truth pour in.The Holy Spirit will pour Truth in. The reality that nobody bothers to see will become clear…if you focus…listen…wait patiently…don’t try to figure it out.Set aside a significant period of time when it is quiet and there are no disturbances…perhaps in the morning.
Have you ever spent a long period of time just listening? Waiting and listening to the Truth? No man or woman on Earth can teach you like those moments of true, serious focus. No book you study can reveal this Truth. The Bible IS the Truth, but one still must allow the Holy Spirit to open it up so it is not just dead knowledge.So…listen. Be open to what He teaches you. Don’t try to get God to conform to YOUR interpretation of the Scriptures. Don’t try to put Him in your puny little box. Rather, listen and be willing to totally change your paradigm when you learn your understanding of the Scriptures and Truth is terribly flawed.Although the Bible is all Truth, not all Truth is in the Bible. God justspoon fed enough information for us to inherit His Kingdom.
I learned very little in college that was of any use. I got a sheepskin out of it, anyway. My masters degree was a particularly horrendous waste of time, money, and effort.However, I went to a Christian college and I did learn one profound thing there, which I will never forget.I learned, “All Truth is God’s Truth”. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING that is good comes from anything OTHER than God. Is the devil capable of doing good? Kind of a no brainer, isn’t it? SO…
Thomas Edison said he used to grab ideas, “out of the air”.He eschewed any idea that he was a great analytical thinker, and his formal education was all but nonexistent.He was a very hard worker. He was renowned for his hard work, in fact. But, many other people have worked just a hard, or harder, over the years, and have been just as intelligent. Yet, they were no Thomas Edisons. They were often complete failures, in fact.Unlike Edison, they did not reach to a power beyond themselves. Edison reached into the manifold wisdom of God himself. Was he a born again Christian? Heck, I don’t know. But, I DO know all truth is God’s truth, and any laws of physics, of human behavior, or medical breakthroughs are of God. Yes, they are of Jesus Himself. They have to be…if not God, then Satan, and we know Satan, being pure evil, is incapable of creating or doing anything good, whatsoever.
Nicolae Tesla, Francis Bacon, Leonardo DeVinci, many literary masters, statesmen, and self-made business superstars have reachedinto a wisdom and knowledge above and beyond themselves. They were not all believers, but they tapped into the spiritual world. As a believer in Jesus Christ, we are capable of so much more than just wandering, or stumbling, into God’s Truth. We can wade into it freely and deliberately. We have the advantage of the “Helper”, the “Holy Spirit” of God.
I advise any serious minded person to come to Christ. Barring that, study to be quiet, open, and be a seeker of the truth. You will stumble into many great and wonderful things. In fact, don’t be surprised if things are revealed to you that completely ASTOUND you, because God’s truths are God’s truths, no matter who finds them. Besides, the Bible promises you WILL find Jesus Christ, if you seek truth with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 – “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
I love speaking to each of my three kids, because I have been blessed with children (now adults) who are more intelligent than “their old man”. Some of the most teachable moments in life, I have found, are not when you are “trying” to learn something, but when you are just having an innocuous, casual conversation with somebody. I was sitting on my porch, when my son Grant called.Among other topics, our conversation turned toward some research he had read about, out of MIT (Massachussetts Institute of Technology). I seems researchers, some time ago, found out how to predict the activity of a simple pendulum, with relative mathematical precision (mathematical precision is always relative). You know, how many times it will swing, the angular magnitude of the arcs, etc. However, this is only for a pendulum that swings back and forth.For pendulums suspended on a string, able to go in any direction, it is monumentally harder.They used this for a project in the development of artificial intelligence.The object of the study was not so much how to predict the activity of this kind of pendulum, but to develop artificial intelligence that can do the job. Well, they achieved just that, but the only problem is that the scientists developed artificial intelligence that was capable of solving a problem, but when that problem was solved, they were not able to understand the solution.Check it out – The scientists are not as intelligent as the machines they created! Hello!This is Dr. Frankenstein in the 21st Century.Right?
BEFORE DISCUSSION OF A PENDULUM BORES YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND…read on:If we create things that can perform things we cannot perform (such as logical calculations), are they really “smarter”?No.They did not create us, but we created them.By definition, we are more intelligent, for that reason.We were intelligent enough to create a “tool” (computer program) to perform something we cannot do without the tool.WE called the shots.WE figured out that the creation of such an instrument was important for achieving the higher purpose.
Let’s bring this down to Earth- People are stupid.We are just plain dumb.Why?We were created by somebody (or in deference to my agnostic friends, “something”).By definition, then, that entity is more intelligent than us.Even if you believe we came from primordial soup, the “Flying Spaghetti Monster”, or whatever, that entity, being, or process is superior.When considering the theory of evolution, one can even reason that, although creatures proceed from less complex to more complex forms, the chemical and physiological processes of this evolution our superior.The devised a way to perform more complex functions by creating more complexity.
So…who are the “most intelligent people in the world”, in your view?
Steven Hawking, the renowned cosmologist?Well, as with mathematical precision, human intelligence is relative, and I will tell you he is dumb.Yes, dumb.Proof? He has a form of Lou Gehrig’s disease, which incapacitates him.If he is really that intelligent, why can’t he heal himself, or find a cure? I mean no disrespect toward Dr. Hawking.In fact, I wrote a previous blog entry about him, and it pictures him in a very favorable light.The point I am making is that we are all subordinate to a more intelligent entity, and this is logical irrespective of theological considerations.The greatest scientists cannot keep us from getting a cold, or guarantee we will not get influenza, or die of cancer.I don’t know of a theologian who has the entire Bible committed to memory.He or she may exist, but I have yet to meet that person.If he does exist, he is almost certainly autistic, and cannot understand or apply what he can recite.We have not figured out how to travel to other planets or solar systems, eliminate recessions, stop war or poverty, eradicate human depravity, or even how to generate adequate energy without destroying our world.But, we call somebody highly intelligent?
No, there is a hierarchy in our universe.We are, by definition, more intelligent than what we create and less intelligent than what created us.It is kind of comforting to know.There was a movie by Will Smith, called “IRobot”, where robots were (“in cahoots”…is there actually such a word?)…where robots conspired to take over the world.The same thing happened in one of the Terminator movies.There are probably more modern ones but I am, alas, a bit dated at age 50.Well, when one looks at it in purely logical terms, such a scenario is impossible.This “thinking outside the box” lesson is one I am applying to myself.I have always had a bit of a war with technology in my mind.I really don’t like it.It is a nuisance and makes my world unduly complex.I won’t lie: I like it the way it was in the 1970s.I really do, and always will.But, I have decided to cease FEARING technology.It is an inanimate tool, and it will not cause me to be less human.That is a paradigm shift I am going to try to make: Stop being so fearful of technology and its intrusive implications for our world (but keep a healthy apprehension), but rather, embrace the wonderful opportunities to use technology for the higher human purposes.After all, we are the creator, and it is the created.
There once was a teacher in my local school district, WAAAY back in the 1970’s. Mathematics education in the 1970’s, in my opinion, was, well…..it just sucked. I went to an awful school district. The older I get, the more I realize just how bad it was. I will not state the name of that district, but just fill in the blank. L A B R A __. If somebody reading this is associated with this anonymous school district, take no offense. Perhaps it is now superb, but the L A B R A __ of my late 1970’s years was not only impotent, but often damaging to kids.
I had a math teacher named Mr. Merolla, who could be placed in the hall of fame for bad public school teachers, only to be rivaled by two other characters from the same school district, Mr. McConnell and Mr. Fulton (who was an expert at destroying the fragile self-esteem of children). Mr. McConnell once choked me in gym class and told everybody he never liked me.
So, anyway, I had Mr. Merolla for my pre-algebra class in Jr. High. I hated math at that time. Why? Because I loved history and stories. They excited my imagination. Why should I do something so boring as math, which literally had nothing to do with my world, when I could read about people in history, who lived exciting, adventurous lives? At least, that is how I thought.
But now, I realize why class was a mild form of torture for me. First, the textbooks were terrible. Rather than teach what math IS, and then learning the mechanics of how to achieve an answer, we ONLY learned the mechanics. What IS a square root? Heck, I didn’t even know it was appropriate to ask such a question. I was only told to memorize some rote process. What really befuddled me was the fact that some nerd in my class, with thick glasses, loved doing this stuff. Anyway, the second reason algebra class was akin to having my nasal hairs plucked, one by one, is this: Mr. Merolla LOVED to humiliate kids, and then cease to help them so he could have the savory experience of giving them an F. Then, as a final blow, he would tell them how stupid they are. Do you think I am exaggerating? No, I could not understand algebra one day, and he literally said to me, loudly so the class could hear, that I was “too dumb to learn algebra” and I would never be able to learn math (Oddly, I took college math courses and got A’s, realizing I liked it, when I finally discovered, on my own, that math can be fascinating when you concentrate on concepts and application). At the time, however, it hurt me and I decided, “I HATE math.” Done. I just wanted to get that off my chest, and perhaps any of you reading this who have been victimized by teachers, like I was by that pompous little man in Jr. High, can relate.
So, this article is about vectors. Vectors are a basic mathematical concept. A vector is simply a mathematical object that have value and direction. A train has velocity. It has mass and speed, and it proceeds in a precise, narrow direction. Voila: a vector force. My son, Grant, beats people up as a hobby. He is an ultimate fighter. He is an accomplished boxer and when he punches someone, that guy's pain is the result of a vector force.
Why vectors? Because my wife and I went scuba diving in Puerto Rico. Here is what I mean: When swimming underwater there is, of course, a certain buoyancy. My first lesson when scuba diving was to stop trying to do the breaststroke underwater (I must have looked like an idiot). The instructor indicated I needed to extend my arms forward like Superman, while kicking with my feet. The vector forces of the water would keep me in place. Think about thousands of little arrows, pointed at me from all sides. Pressure pushed on me from above, below, my sides, and everywhere else. These kept me comfortably in place (although our ears started popping). Our atmosphere, again, is comprised of vector forces.
Here is a truly fascinating observation, if you will just stop and really contemplate it: Scientific axioms, and mathematic principles in particular, can have a profound impact on the non-scientific world around us…on human relationships. They really do, and I could literally write an entire volume on this (and maybe someone already has). I will not go on a tangent about all that, but I will make an observation about vector forces.
A vector is a mathematical object that has value and direction…..LIKE PEOPLE. We all have value. We are worth something. We matter. When a given mathematical VALUE is inputted into any mathematical OPERATION, it always changes the result. Even a zero (nil, nothing, nada), profoundly impacts a mathematical result.
So too with people…even those poor souls who think they are nothing, who don’t want to live a day longer, who are without hope, who think nobody cares for them, who live on a filthy sidewalk asking for change….they change the world in their own little, yet unique, way. If they were to suddenly exit the world, the world would instantly change. They matter! Tragically, they just don’t know it. Even when they think they are a “zero”, their existence changes the equation of their immediate world.
So yes, like a vector in math, people have value….but they also have direction (the other half of the definition). Everybody, whether they like it or not, is heading a certain direction in their lives. Force, energy….these are finite. They are not unlimited. So, it is important to direct one’s force in a specified direction for maximum impact. For example, if my son Grant were to go into a cage fight, close his eyes, and wildly flail his arms like a girl (sorry girls, I just wrote this for affect)…well, if Grant were to do that, he would have little effect, dissipate his energy, and ultimately collapse like a star that burns out. The result for him would be painful.
The lesson: Take the finite energy and skill you possess (we ALL have a skill or gift), and direct your value with PRECISION. Like a well-trained boxer who can deliver precise blows, for maximum effect with maximum conservation of energy, affect your world with precision. Find out what you really want to affect in this world, in your limited time here, and direct yourself toward it. Take it from me. I am a bit of a hypocrite on this count, as I spent many years of my life directing my energies in many directions. I still do to some extent, as that is my basic nature. But, a few years ago, I followed the wise example of my other son, Joel. He wrote a list of what he wants to accomplish in this world, and I did the same thing. I prioritized them. In fact, even more importantly, I have a 3 page inscription in the front of my Bible. I literally am having it written into my will that it will be read during a memorial service after my death, so it can benefit those listening (which it will). It is very personal, but it concerns the areas to which I am directing my life energies…my vector forces, if you will. Perhaps you, too, would benefit from doing this. Just sayin.
One last word to my Jr. High math teacher…”The joke is on you. Like the old saying, I “took lemons and made lemonade”, I found out from him, how to NOT treat a young person, but rather to mentor him or her. I learned there are tremendous repercussions for the seed we sow in the spirits of other people…good AND bad. But, I learned another lesson that gives me great satisfaction: I LIKE math! Ha, so there. I like it because I discovered it is simply the study of fascinating concepts about the world God made. Yeah…I like math and I am GOOD at it. Mr. Merolla tried to convince some of us that we were dumb, but in fact he was too dumb to see how smart we were. I like math and I AM GOOD AT IT. Put that in your pipes and smoke it, arrogant teachers, and everybody reading this is good at something too.
I just love my new telescope, compliments of my gems (my kids). I think about how cool and neato it will be to look at constellations with greater magnification. My big goal this summer…on a clear night, is to observe the moon’s terrain. It is theoretically possible with the type of telly I have, but in Pittsburgh it may be, well, problematic.
Anyway, I want to talk about an element – carbon. Don’t act so bored (Lydia). Let’s do this again. Drum roll, please…………….I AM HERE TO DISCUSS THE STUFF STARS ARE MADE OF…THE FOURTH MOST COMMON ELEMENT IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE….AN ELEMENT THAT CAN BE FOUND A BILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY, YET EXISTS IN YOU AS WELL. IT IS THE MOST ACTIVE ELEMENT ON THE PERIODIC TABLE, AND IS COMMONLY RECOGNIZED AS UNIVERSALLY INHERENT IN LIFE AS WE KNOW IT. YOU KNOW IT. YOU LOVE IT. CARBON. BOOM! Now I have your attention.
The word “carbon” is something you folks my age or older may remember from school (where you sometimes used carbon paper). The word carbon immediately brings to mind boot camp on Parris Island. If carbon was found in the barrel of your rifle, well, you would have a really bad day. No, I want to discuss carbon as purported to be inherent in “intelligent life”.
My son-in-law, Dr. Jared Wilson, kindly posted a video of a discussion featuring astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. I have seen him on TV before. He is a great communicator, and a big “Thinking Outside the Box” kind of guy. I have posted it below, but want to make a couple of observations. Jared is scientifically trained. Neils obviously is obviously so, as well as Dr. Leonard Susskind (more about him in a minute). I am just, well, a salesman. Sorry about that. But, anyway, this blog is simply meant to provoke some thought on the part of everyday people, while at the same time offering some compelling (yes, compelling!) satire.
Dr. Tyson makes the point that we are made out of the same elements, in the same proportion, as is the universe. OK. Cool. The idea is that we are actually residue of the big bang. Now, this is not a criticism just but an observation: Tyson makes a hip, quasi-spiritual observation regarding the fact that everything in the universe, including us, is made of the same stuff. It was almost pantheistic, i.e. “Wow, we are one with the universe. Doesn’t it make you all tingly?” (Incidentally, learning of the universe and skywatching is indeed thrilling). However, I know the Big Bang was simply our Creator speaking our reality into existence. Neil also make explains that our DNA is over 98 percent identical to that of a chimpanzee (which of course can be extrapolated to support the Theory of Evolution). He used this information to deliver a compellingly cogent monologue about the extremely high plausibility of other life in the universe.
Here is MY “however”…however. Dr. Leonard Susskind is a renowned astrophysicist at Stanford University. How renowned? Well, he is a perennial nemesis (in a collegial, academic sense only) of Steven Hawking, and he is very much Dr. Hawking’s intellectual equal. Anway, Leonard’s lectures may be found online, and I have listened to a couple of them. In one such lecture, he discusses the history of particle physics. He describes in detail how earlier physics theorists were divided between those who thought matter was comprised of particles. Their rivals contended that matter was solid and continuous. The particle people won the day. Well, there was then a period of time where atoms were considered to be the smallest element that existed. This continued for a long time, until the discovery of sub-atomic particles created the field of quantum physics. Also, scientists used to think our solar system was the end of cosmic reality, until they found out we are part of a greater galaxy. Then, we learned there are many galaxies. When I was just a pup, I was taught in school that the universe was unending. Now, enter “string theory”. There is serious data supporting the idea that our universe is one of many. Add to this some additional information: Our galaxy along is estimated to be 2.3 million light years in breadth, which is quite impressive when we consider that light travels at approximately 186,000 miles/second. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity indicates that matter, when it reaches the speed of light, ceases to exist, becomes pure energy. Conclusion: We can never travel outside of our solar system….ever.
But, guess what? Let’s bust some narrow minded paradigms! Copernicus, Bacon, and a whole bunch of other pioneers succeeded because they knew there was more to learn. My Savior, Jesus, was the master paradigm buster. He destroyed dogma and ignorance.
So, here’s the bottom line: How on Earth can we be sure that there are not things SMALLER than quarks, neutrinos, leptons, muons, and the gigantic number of yet undiscovered subatomic particles? Perhaps they, themselves, can be subdivided into entire universes that are again divisible, ad nauseum. What is beyond a universe or a string of universes? Even more compelling: Do other universes and realities exist AMONG us, but we do not know it because they function by an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PHYSICS…not our physics of the periodic table elements, but a physics predicated on totally different concepts about which we cannot even speculate because we have no frame of reference? We commonly recognize three dimensions, although it is hypothesized that there could be eleven (read about The Universal Theory). So, another reality could exist among us, but since it uses a different physics, it exists in a way that we cannot recognize it with our limited physical senses that operate with OUR physics. OR, we do not have the intelligence to even recognize the existence of advanced lifeforms around us?
Back to carbon – Why do we only think about intelligent life in terms of “carbon-based life forms”? Is it because that is the only frame of reference our science can muster? Why can’t life exist in the form of a gas, or a hard mineral, or in a form invisible or which our senses or low intelligence level preclude us from detecting? Why carbon? Because it is one of the elements that is ubiquitous in our universe? Let’s get out of that paradigm and think outside the box. That is a good rule of thumb for life in general, not just for science, in my view.
I have spent a considerable portion of my life thinking, “What if….?” It is not such a bad thing. In fact, when not taken to extremes, not psychotic, and not immoral, a little “what if” can go a long way. The greatest inventions, innovations, and discoveries in the history of mankind started out with “What if….?”
Here’s one….we hear about a federal budget deficit in excess of 14 trillion dollars (no you cannot contemplate it, it is too vast). This deficit is growing exponentially! The credit rating of the UNITED STATES was recently downgraded for the SECOND time. For those who don’t think much about such things, let me tell you, until about three years ago, a downgrading of U.S. creditworthiness was the stuff of science fiction stories, the paranoid hyperbole of conspiracy theorists, of the ilk who think the Pope is the False Prophet of Revelation or Freemasons secretly run the world, along with the Illuminati. So, U.S. Government backed securities, since World War II, and to a lesser extent before, have been THE standard bedrock security against which other investments are measured.
All of that has changed in the 21st Century Obama economy (whoops, sorry for the political commentary). We are apparently behind the exponentially growing curve of compounding federal debt, and the consequent chink in the armor of America, the economic “city on a hill”. What to do? What to do? Scurry, scurry, worry, worry, right? Make no mistake, it really bothers me, until I remember the axiom that whatever is not of faith is sin (God said that, by the way).
So, now to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. Now to consider “What if…the U.S. Government just gave up and defaulted?” I am serious. I am not suggesting this is necessarily the right policy at this time, but the greatest thoughts come from musing and asking “What if?”, so let’s do that. What if the United States of America were to say, “OK, we have an announcement to make. Honestly fellas….we just can’t pay it anymore. We are in so deep, it is literally, logically, mathematically, and ethically impossible to dig out. So, let’s be real. Ain’t gonna happen. The heck (or hell) with it. We aren’t paying. And if you think about it, there’s really nothing you can say about it. We are wiping the slate clean. After all, there are no REAL dollars. Only Federal Reserve Notes, that by legal decree, are backed by the good faith and credit of the United States. Not real money, but just pieces of paper, where we all gathered around and collectively said, ‘We all agree that we will use these green pieces of paper to buy and sell stuff. So, it’s agreed. Right gang? (Right!).’ By the way, you have no choice. Uncle Sugar makes the rules and, much like Cosa Nostra, he has “toughs” to act as enforcers. Why should I accept little green pieces of paper for the goods and services I supply? Because the guys who make the laws and have the guns say so, that’s why (We are to render unto Caesar what is his, but I’m just sayin’).
So, the bottom line is this: We are greedy voters who elected greedy politicians, who prostitute themselves and blow money for the proverbial “bread and circuses” (ala the latter day Roman Empire), while wasting “money” on foreign military entanglements, lining the pockets of contractors who funnel some of that money back to politicians who ensure we print more of those pieces of paper to funnel back to simple, greedy voters who vote the politicians back office so they can start the vicious cycle over again. This is a simplistic generalization. I was in politics myself, and I met some sincere, idealistic politicians. Perhaps most voters love America, as well. But, in a politico-economic sense, this is fundamentally true.
In my fantasy world, using my sometimes vivid imagination, I see someone in charge saying, “Sorry boys. The merry-go-round is about to stop. No more money. Done. Ya’ll ain’t getting’ paid because there is no more money and we are going to stop printing pieces of paper and pretending like it IS money. The ash heap of history is laden with countries who have had unrestrained currency and they have been buried by hyperinflation and currency devaluation. It is happening here, so we are stopping it right now. We, the U.S. government, are not going to pay our debt.” Wow.
I just read a book by Representative Ron Paul, entitled “End the Fed”. He asserts that modern wars, as well as reckless federal government spending and usurpation of liberty, are driven by the power to print money, to control the money supply. Thus, “End the Fed”. On August 15th, 1971, President Nixon directed the Secretary of the Treasury to limit the amount of federal currency that was convertible into fixed assets like Gold and Silver. This was an abrogation of the Bretton Woods international monetary system. Without digressing into an academic discussion of all this, we may suffice it to say that, although the Federal Reserve had been a spigot to spew forth currency as needed, President Nixon’s order was akin to opening the spigots to full blast. I listened to a video of Nixon’s speech at this time, and he assured the American people that it was not a problem, because “…the vast majority of Americans spend their hard-earned American dollars in America, on American goods.” Well, that is clearly no longer the cases. We have a criminal trade deficit, and we are shoveling dollars to China (and others) by the boatload. Our military adventures (some of which have been necessary, but far from all) have put money overseas. Finally, we must remember that the plethora of American military bases overseas, which pump many dollars out of the U.S., as well. There are too many dollars around the world. The dollar is weak. The dollar is floundering.
So, what if we just said, “We can’t pay you. Sorry.”? What if we then wiped the board clean, started over with a brand new currency, backed by a fixed standard, whether it be hold or some other universally respected commodity that holds its value, is easily divisible, and is portable? I am reading “Worldly Goods: A new history of the Renaissance”, by Lisa Jardine. In it, she describes the formation of banking and money, as we know them, beginning in the 15th century. In the 1430’s “The Medicis” were the Pope’s bankers. One beautiful part of the whole compound interest gig is the fact that is could finance wars. The concept of capital was born. Some of the Popes liked interest, because interest meant venture capital, which meant the outfitting of armies, which meant plunder and profit, which could be used to pay back the lenders. Nice little cycle, not unlike, hmmm……us? Military contractors financing wars, to ostensibly noble motives….I dunno, just some thoughts.
But, this is pretty interesting, I think: The Bible teaches against usury so those unscrupulous Popes (and they were not all dirtbags, by the way), avoided that pesky admonition against charging interest by permitting what is like a modern day pawn shop. People paid someone to hold their commodities or other valuables for safekeeping. So, it was ostensibly a “fee”, when it was de facto interest.
Bartering was big back then, without a universally accepted form of money. When money WAS used, it was a commodity with real value. A common money in the 15th Century was pepper. Pepper was highly, universally coveted, valuable, easy divisible, and portable. We all agreed on pepper. Other things can be used, but they all had value. I know little about prison life, other than what I have seen on TV, or what I have learned talking to people. However, I know cigarettes are commonly used as currency. They are coveted, and they have real, tangible valuable that is easily convertible (like, you just open the package and get one of those babies out then fire homie up). Like gold, cigarettes are easily convertible. Gold is highly malleable, and likewise, cigarette cartons can be divided into packs, each transaction consisting of 3 packs, 2 packs, or 1, etc. Then, as you would pull change out of your pocket to fine-tune your purchase, you could do like this, “OK, that shank (I learned that cool, prison sounding slang word on TV)….That shank costs 2 pack 1, meaning 2 packs of cigarettes plus 1 additional cigarette.
So, if Uncle Sam decided to stiff everybody by defaulting, it would hurt China and no doubt have large political and international trade ramifications. A lot of Americans would be hurt, but in the long run they would get over it and perhaps the long-term benefit of living in a sound economy, with real, sound currency would far surpass the temporary discomfort of losing their investments. True wealth, true trade, after all, is mere barter. But, in order to barter, one must have a unit of currency that has universal value. When a currency loses enough of its value, it ceases to be a reliable medium for barter. Then, we get a black market. People begin using whatever they have, of universally recognizable value. In a post-apocalyptic world, money could be fresh water (rather heavy, though), grain, even ammunition.
I try not to be an anachronism of the late 20th Century, but try as I might, part of me IS that anachronism. Accordingly, one of my favorite, and perhaps my very favorite movie of all time, is Thunderdome. The characters live in Bartertown. In this story, people are “real”, bare. When we are stripped of trappings, pretense, falsity, and smoke and mirrors, only that which is honest remains. Good or evil, but honest. The madman master of ceremonies, in the Thunderdome, spoke of the modern world of finance and war as “damn near the death of us all”. In my view, at least, the dome, where opponents entered and fought to the death (the chant: “Two men enter. One man leave.”), is a metaphor for the inner motivation of corrupted mankind. When all the pretense and general B.S. is eliminated, fallen men are simply savages who want what the other guy has. The world is a contest with winner and losers, and often the stakes are high, and the game is for keeps.
What is Hexapawn? Why do I have a picture of a human brain (no, it is not a cauliflower) alongside a game board? Well, let me explain. I am afflicted with epilepsy, which is not actually a disease per se. Rather, it is a broad term describing disorders where the synapses within a brain misfire. Synapses structure that permits neurons to pass electrical or chemical signals among one another. I will refrain from going further down that road, as it is very complex and better handled by a professional. But, I want to talk about Hexapawn and the brain.
No, stop that right now! This is NOT boring. I will make sure of that. Just read. Let me ask you something? Have you ever known someone who is highly talented, but suffers a significant failure, only to allow their spirit to be crushed? You know, the person who fails and says “Oh well, I guess I just am not cut out for that.” Maybe you hear that person (whine), “It was too hard. I guess I will just keep the job I have.” Another one is, “The next time, I will just mind my own business.” You can think of some examples yourself. I have a relative who precedes many of his sentences with “I know you probably don’t have time to talk to me but…..”, or “You don’t need to talk to me now, I know you are busy. I was just wondering….”. Crushed spirit. Anathema to people who are determined to live a successful life (like me).
If you speak to, or read of, a person who achieves significant success, you will invariably hear stories of failure. Remarkable failures, in fact. This person viewed each failure as a learning opportunity. Just like working on your car, doing a math problem, mastering your job, learning to ride a bike, how to maintain a successful relationship…a successful person’s failures have helped that person to be a future success. This is because he or she learned from failure. Following disappointment, that person eliminated the actions that precipitated those failures. In other words, they aren’t going to do THAT again. Now they know, it doesn’t work. How many times have you failed at something, and if someone were to ask you what you will do the next time to succeed, your reply was basically, “I don’t know what I will do, but now I know what I WON’T do (you won't do the thing that resulted in failure).”
I have failed in politics (a number of times), in business, in some career goals, and I have sometimes failed to be the best father or husband I can be. I have failed to live up to my standards as a Christian. On three occasions, I trained for MONTHS to run a marathon, and never successfully completed one,due to injuries (although I will succeed THIS year). MAN OH MAN, I have learned a LOT. My inevitable successes are due in large part to my learning moments (i.e. failures).
Sometimes, when you are a homeowner, or when you buy Christmas presents for your kids, you have to put something together or install something. It can be nerve wracking. My wife sometimes gloats by saying, “I am the one who is mechanical.” It so annoys me, because it pricks my male pride. Anyway, when we would assemble something, a swing set perhaps, I would read the directions step...by...step. Lydia, on the other hand, would just “start messing with it”, and she would have things assembled while I was still reading. Was she REALLY so much more mechanically inclined than me? I don’t know about THAT. She used a better “heuristic” (way of learning). She “messed’ with the thing, found out a certain approach would not work,then tried an alternative approach. That often (but not always) is quicker than painstakingly reading instructions. So, now I know. Now, I try figuring it out on my own BEFORE I retreat to instructions. Have you ever known a nerd who is a genius with book learning but can barely tie his or her shoelaces? Perhaps the nerd gains comfort from books because he or she is so intelligent and is good at mastering the contents. But, in doing so, he tends to refrain from doing “hands-on”. He has had such great success studying books, so why try a different approach? Hence, the proverbial genius with no “common sense”. That nerd has just failed to hone "common sense", whereas people who are not so good with books do a lot of hands on learning, so obviously they refine that approach.
Have you ever build a robot? You can build one out of matchboxes and jellybeans. Oh, yes you can. It is not my idea. Jeffrey Satinover (2001) wrote a book I am currently reading, entitled “The Quantum Brain: The Search for Freedom and the Next Generation of Man”. He explains his hypothesis of how we learn through experience, by explaining how to create a robot that plays Hexapawn. I will make it as ridiculously simple as possible for purposes of this blog, but feel free to refer to his book (Amazon) for a more detailed explanation. Fundamentally, if a person lines up 25 matchboxes to create the hexapawn board (like Tic Tac Toe), he or she can then put jelly beans in each box. For brevity’s sake, I will not detail the exact colors and proportions of Jellybeans that Satinover used, but the point is this: First, you “play” Hexapawn against this computer (i.e. matchboxes and jellybeans), by making your move, then randomly drawing a jellybean from the corresponding box, to represent your “opponent’s” move. When you win a game, you then eliminate that jellybean. The next time you land on that matchbox, you draw a different jellybean. When you again win, you eliminate THAT jellybean (perhaps by eating). YOU ARE PROGRESSIVELY ELIMINATING THOSE LOSING COMBINATIONS (moves). What is left, ultimately, are those jellybeans that creating a winning combination of moves. Voila! This is artificial intelligence. The computer has corrected itself and become increasingly more intelligent. In theory, it inevitably wins. (If this is not clear, post a comment, and I can elaborate).
LESSON: You learn and improve by LOSING. You do NOT learn by winning (according to Satinover).
Lesson: Do, and learn, and succeed. Doing, and not giving up, is in ITSELF a victory. The great irony: failures can be successes! It is entirely up to YOU. If you CHOOSE (yes, we have a choice. You can use “failures” as a learning moment to reach your ultimate success. What is success, by the way? Most people use objective standards. In other words, the world programs them how to think, and they swallow it hook, line, and sinker. The world tells them what success is, so that is what they aspire to achieve (often wealth, power, sex appeal, or fame, or even a Corvette). Be like everybody else? How unbelievably mundane! The truly happy people, those who have joy and guaranteed success, are those who set their OWN standards of success and work toward those, realizing they cannot fail, because even if they do not reach their objective, they WIN! They win because when they go to sleep at night, when they are on their deathbed, they can look back and, like the Apostle Paul, say, “…I have fought the good fight…”. That, in itself, IS the very definition of success.
So, use those darn synapses. Allow them to continue to correct themselves, by DOING, by LIVING. If in doubt, ere in the way of guts! Ere in the way of courage! Ere in the way of adventure! Ere in the way of passionate love! Ere in the way of compassionate self-sacrifice! Ere in the way of doing the heroic, those things that will create a lasting legacy. Choose your brass ring and go for it. If someone says you cannot, or should not do it, well, God gave YOU this life. You do not answer to them, but to God. THEY have enough to worry about with their own life. So, do it. Not tomorrow. NOW!
I leave you with the well-known observation by my favorite President, Theodore Roosevelt. It is actually an excerpt from a speech he delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, in 1910, entitled “Citizenship in a Republic”. This excerpt has come to be known as:
THE MAN IN THE ARENA
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
…I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34
If you are reading this blog, good for you. You are about to read something that is very important, and you would do well to take heed. After a bit of a hiatus from this blog, being involved in other things, I have a responsibility to now share something. The idea of "Thinking Outside the Box" is to cause us to look at an issue from a totally different perspective, one which heretofore has not been considered.
To the Christian, this offers some thoughts on a subject with which he or she is familiar (hopefully). To the non-believer, I want to respectfully say, "Wake up. Time for a little dose of reality."
Two things happened to me in the last several months which cut into my spirit (in a good way). My heart was pierced because I know these things were from the Lord himself. I do not want to be overly dramatic, or in the view of some, perhaps a bit flighty (not that I really care so much). Born-again believers know that Yahweh (whom most people call "God", so that is what He will be referred to going forward) speaks to us in a quiet, still voice. Yes, we can imagine things, or think God spoke, when we just want him to validate our own desires. However, on those rare (in my case) situations where He does speak, we instantly know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
On October 8th, I could not sleep, and at 3:00 AM I was in prayer. I did not talk a lot, but mostly I cleared my mind and listened. Then, as I began to pray for some situations I said, “Lord, you know I am a man of peace…” God instantly, and unmistakeably, spoke to me and said, “You are NOT a man of peace. You are a WARRIOR.” This was spoken to me, not audibly, but in the Spirit. I immediately knew what He meant. Although I am a compassionate, (relatively) nonviolent man here on Earth, our battle is being done in the Heavenlies. We are pawns, and we are also the prize, in an intergalactic battle between Good and Evil…between our Creator and a wicked imposter, who wants to destroy your soul. I want to describe Satan a little bit. You may think I am weird, “creepy”, writing something that is unnecessary, or dwelling on “sick” thoughts. Well, I can only say that I think this is important. Satan, the devil, is often thought of an evil entity, who would like to glare at us and say, “Ha, Ha, now I am going to take you to Hell! You REFUSED to say the sinners prayer. Time up. You lose.” Well, Satan, and his hordes of demons, who do his bidding, want to:
Pounce on you, then tear you to shreds, savoring every bit of flesh and blood here on Earth, as they slice, dice, and decimate your eternal soul.
Satan comes as an “Angel of Light”. The Renaissance painting at the beginning of this blog tells a wonderful story of God’s deliverance of Rome from a pestilence, as a result of intensive prayer. However, it shows him as ugly, when in fact he will come in the form of beauty, wisdom, celebrity, and money. He will find your vulnerabilities, and capitalize on them, putting you into bondage and a living Hell before you know what has happened. He will put you into HELL ON EARTH, until you only wished you were dead. Do you know that every day we meet people who are in unrelenting mental anguish…EVERY DAY? People who seem to have everything kill themselves! The same demons who want their soul in eternal Hell, have started afflicted them with that Hell, that torture, HERE and NOW…because these people have absolutely no defense. Sadly, they are clueless.
Satan is like “Michael Myers” on the movie Halloween (note the photo on my Facebook page). I am not recommending you watch this movie, and put that garbage into your mind and spirit. But, the truth is, many of you have watched it. Like this “Michael Myers”, who is a tool of Satan doing evil, Christ has his own Michael. He is Michael the Archangel, doing battle in the heavenlies. He always wins, because he has the armor and weapons of God Almighty, who is perfect.
Yes, AMAZING – One of the most mind boggling, fantastic things in the entire universe, so beyond our understanding, is this: God allows Michael and the other angels to move as WE direct. We do not TELL them what to do, as they get their powers from God. Yet, as believers, with His Spirit living within us, we can pray, invoking the name of Jesus Christ –At the very name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Hell shudders, demons tremble, and ultimately, they must flee. Warfare is done in the Heavenlies. No, that is not a figure of speech. The Heavenlies means just that. Right now, in the atmosphere around you, millions of angels and demons are at war, and you help affect the outcome.
Do you think this is silly? Are you too educated for this type of superstition? You will never convince ME. I KNOW of all this from some experiences that I will perhaps elaborate on at another time. There is not enough space or time for me to elaborate on the other time I sensed the Lord speak recently, which was through a dream,
For now…digest this…take it or leave it. But, I hope you take it. I hope you stop and contemplate the eternal consequences, laying aside all your prejudices, pre-conceived ideas, or “important” things that are pressing right now. Ask God to validate all this. Nobody else knows what you are thinking, so if you are so sophisticated that you do not want to consider this silly stuff, stop and realize that honest consideration of the thoughts of others CONSTITUTES and DEFINES intelligence and being educated. The stakes are too high not to think about this. The good news: If you allow Christ to have dominion over your soul, and purpose to serve Him, and ask for His wisdom, you can have the honor and privilege of being a tool, through prayer, in this eternal heavenly warfare that will determine the course of our world for eternity (and don’t worry, we win).
Oh yeah, the “meat grinder”. In World War II, the Marines invaded the Japanese island of Okinawa. The Marine Corps (and Army, who helped just a little) suffered 12,250 deaths and 36,361 wounded. Japanese casualties were estimated to be well in excess of 109,000. Marine rifle companies would charge the enemy and come back with 90 percent casualties. In some cases, the entire company would go out to fight the enemy and never, ever return. They were ALL killed. Yes, this was known as the “meatgrinder”. Too many people walk straight into the meatgrinder every day of their lives, where the Devil chews them up then spits them out. Even Christians stray into the meatgrinder at times, which is so tragic because they already have all the armor and superior weaponry they will ever need. And those faithful knights in service of Christ, those angels, stand ready, awaiting the word of prayer from these saints. Just say the word…the Word of God, prayers offered in reverence to Him, and those angels are authorized to prevail in battle. Just waiting…waiting for prayer WARRIORS, who will be used to usher in the Kingdom of Peace.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12
I have a confession to make: I love Stephen Hawking. I mean, I just love the guy! Do I think he is so great because he is an internationally acclaimed cosmologist? No. That would make him really, really cool, but that is not why I love him. Because he is a Christian like me? No. In fact, he calls the Bible a “fairy story”. I am enamored with Stephen Hawking, who is paralyzed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), because he is like Rambo in a wheelchair. He is just plain tough. Gutsy. A man’s man. But, the icing on the cake is the fact that he is Master of Paradigms. I will explain why he is a “tough guy”, and why he is MP (Master of Paradigms), but FIRST a little bit of background on Stevie, in case you have not yet heard of him. Most of America is focused on tripe like EHollywood and who is going to win the Super Bowl (while Rome is burning), so maybe you ain’t hip to Steve. For the rest, a refresher doesn’t hurt.
Dr. Hawking is a theoretical physicist by training, spent years as a distinguished professor of mathematics, and is now a cosmologist. A theoretical physicist uses mathematics and the principles of physics to understand and predict natural phenomena. A cosmologist studies the cosmos, i.e. outer space. But, Stephen Hawking is to Black Holes as Paula Deen is to butter. He likes the cosmos in general, but black holes are his thang. Paula likes cooking in general but butter is her “thang”. In fact, she is drawn to butter, like a fly to honey. Oh, correct that. She is drawn to honey too. Anyway…
Interestingly, theoretical physicists, worldwide, were asked to rate their peers. They were asked to list the 20 most talented TPs (theoretical physicists….I made that up myself) on the planet. Stephen Hawking was not on the list. Not surprising. He is very bright indeed, but some of his appeal is the fact that he is paralyzed and he is pretty darn good at PR (after all, he has been on Family Guy. He also has hosted some feature television documentaries). Among lay people (that’s me), you know, the average guy or gal who watches the science channel while sucking down some potato chips, he is numeral uno. They know Stephen Hawking. That is because he is macho and Master of Paradigms. Before I explain those points, just a couple of professional bullet points:
- His credo: “My goal is simple: A complete understanding of the universe, why it is what it is and why it exists at all”.
He, like most high-octane TPs, is searching for a universal theory. In lay terms it is, in essence, a theory about how all of creation works together. In other words, gravity, chemistry, electromagnetism, mass, velocity, etc., etc….scientists want to find a central design, a set of principles upon which links it all together and makes sense. This quest has gone on for decades, but has become even more focused with the advent of quantum physics, which reveals subatomic particles have no apparent rhyme or reason for what they do. How can you teach a schoolboy or girl principles of science, when no such principles are known to exist?
This is illustrated by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Fundamentally, it states that the more precisely a certain quality of a particle, the less precisely one can measure other qualities. For example, if we succeed at more precisely determining the positioning of a particle, the less we are able to measure the momentum. Why? Scientists are pretty much in a quandary about such things. But it eats at them, in part, because mankind, in its pride, MUST understand why all this happens. Many researchers, subconsciously, are searching for “god”. Even Stephen refers to god, but to him, god is an overriding unified force that binds the universe together in a systematic, comprehensible manner. We know that force is the Holy Ghost, but that is revealed by Spirit, not intellect, so people with high IQs, who rely exclusively on their brains, are quite handicapped. Anyway, this is his lifelong quest.
- Without delving into all the mumbo jumbo that led up to these results, here are some things he “determined” (all theory of course, as in science, NOTHING is ever proven. All is theory):
He deduced from Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity that universes started with a
Big Bang, and end with Black Holes.
This unified Einstein with quantum mechanics, in essence, bringing science a step closer to a Unified
Theory.
Because Black Holes (allegedly) result from Big Bangs, they emit radiation and
eventually evaporate (don’t ask, I don’t completely understand this concept).
In contradiction to many TPs, he theorizes the universe has no boundaries in imaginary
time (A truly fascinating subject. I wrote a previous blog on imaginary time).
OK..BLAH, BLAH,BLAH
HERE IS WHY STEPHEN HAWKING IS MACHO:
We live in a time, in America, where pro football players won’t play because they are bruised. I work with guys who think they are tough, because they go to the gym and create shapely muscles. But, a guy can do all this and be a gutless, whiny, “girly girl”. There is always some guy who whines to everybody, “I just can’t do that today (Cough Cough), my throat is sore. Or grown men wrap their arms around themselves and cry, “I am SO cold”.
Here we have a man who is totally, completely paralyzed, and has been for most of his life. When he is barely able to make a sound, it is nearly inaudible. Yet, with a synthesizer, he can be heard. He dictates complex scientific papers to an assistant by using eye motions that correspond to letters of the alphabet, much as Morse code, as it is too exhausting for him to speak for extended periods. He is the man, the legend, Stephen Hawking! That takes guts. He does not complain. Here are some of his observations about his life (condensed):
“Before my condition had been diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There had not seemed to be anything worth doing. But shortly after I came out of the hospital, I dreamt I was being executed. Another dream, that I had many times, was that I would sacrifice my life to save others. If I was going to die, I might as well do some good before I go. I didn’t die … I have had a motor neuron disease all my life, but it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family, and being successful in my work … I am lucky that my disease has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But, it shows that one need not lose hope.”
He is the very picture of tenacity:
“It is no good getting furious if you get stuck. What I do is keep thinking about the problem but work on something else. Sometimes it is years before I see the way forward. In the case of information loss and black holes, it was 29 years.”
And I should dare say,”It’s not fair”, or “it’s too hard, I can’t do it”? Nah, I won't say that stuff.
HERE IS WHY STEPHEN HAWKING IS MASTER OF PARADIGMS:
This blog is all about paradigms. Theoretical physics is all about challenging old paradigms and establishing new ones. That is what makes it so fascinating, so compelling. Even within a profession that inherently challenges paradigms, he is often a rebel, challenging the paradigm challengers, as it were (I was never sure what “as it were” means, but it seems appropriate and I always wanted to say it).
For instance, he has promulgated the theory of “wormholes”, which could theoretically be portholes for time travel. Many prominent physicists say that is just a bunch of poppycock.
He looks at our world in from a perspective none of us may ever have considered, in his case, a mathematical perspective of the highest order. He challenges us to think, to question, and not to assume. In the long run, I want him to realize the ultimate object of his quest is God, with the Big G.
In the meantime, he inspires us to do something we all should - use the gray matter God gave us and think. Don't just accept the information, opinions, and paradigms dictated by lost souls in this world. Don't just regurgitate slop you learned in school. Question. Think. And never give in and stop blubbering. Stephen Hawking can distinguish himself, and so can you.
Summertime in Pittsburgh….the Pirates are winning. Sweet. As the fair weather fans remember how much they like the Pirates, and the old perennials, we decide to go “catch a game”. That’s me, Lydia, and her friend Kelly.
Sometime, oh I don’t know, right before the 7th inning stretch, I noticed something. Huh? I looked at the diamond, with particular emphasis on 2nd base because of an outstanding double play that had just taken place. The Cubs were just getting into position for the next batter, but there were TWO men standing at second. Not one, but two. Well whaddya know? It was the Ump. I opened my eyes real wide and said to old Chuck (me), “Hey old Chewey (me again), look at the umpires all over the field..first base….second …..third….outfield…..and of course, home plate.” We tend to notice the home plate guy, because he is always running his mouth (ha,ha). “Strike”, “ball”, “safe”, etc. However, I know the other guys are there, but I just kinda forget about them. I quit thinking they are there because (no offense umpires), but nobody CARES about them. They don’t care about them. They come to see the team, and umpires are only useful as somebody to occasionally yell at, and even then that is usually just the home plate guy.
I have talked to others, and I am not the only one who thinks this way.
Do you ever watch boxing? There are three guys in the ring at all times. How many of you guys get caught up in the fighting and forget for a time that another guy is standing right there? How’s about the basketball referees? (yins). How often do you drive the same path, never noticing a certain business? My daughter (who writes a better blog than I) once pointed out how we often do not notice the homeless. I would like to build on that: How often do we not see pain, loneliness and desperation among those around us? One last illustration, if I may: Have you ever gotten a new car, AND THEN you notice all of them on the road? It goes something like this, “Hey Marge, look. That’s OUR car. I never noticed, but there are a lot of these on the road. My wife and I will look at a bumper sticker and say to each other, “Look…Marine Corps”. If either of us has had a lot of caffeine or sugar, we may follow that statement with a “hoorah”.
Here some of my personal take-aways on this whole failure to notice the other guy standing at second base:
- How often do people see no evidence of Jesus in the world, thinking those who believe are ridiculous, or at least a bit dim? YET, these people are simply not focusing on Him. They are captivated by the world, and all the things that are going on around them. They are not looking for Jesus, as we don’t look for the umpire, so naturally, they don’t see Him. But, he is standing there the whole time, and he sees all. In fact, He is watching them.
- Conversely, when someone truly believes, he or she focuses on Christ, and does not really see the inane activity of the world. That Christian knows it is there, and that person should be cognizant of what is going on in this world, in order to be used….that is a different path, which we will not go down. But the point is, we see what we focus on.
- How often does divorce happen because someone is so focused on themselves (MY dreams, MY fulfillment, MY needs) that they fail to see the treasure before them…the spouse and/or the children with whom they have been gifted?
- How often do people focus on their problems (addictions, failures, wrongs they have suffered, self-doubts that plague them), when they never open up and SEE the people around them who just MIGHT be their friend, encourager, or helper). Instead, they focus on their hurt, in fact nurturing it as some kind of sick self-identity. Often, the answer is right there along. I am not offering flippant answers to life’s very real pain and complex issues that often seem intractable. I am only saying people fail to see what is right in front of their nose. Sometimes they CHOOSE that path. I have an unnamed relative, whom I love dearly, but who is bound and determined to see no answers out of his self-imposed dilemmas. He says, in essence”, “Nope, I do not care what you say. “I am miserable, depressed, worthless, and hopeless, and NOTHING you say or do will talk me out of it.” I have to be very frank with you…how sick. There is no complex way out for this. It is simple (but not easy): God is standing RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOUR NOSE. He is waiting for you to get your eyes off the losing ball game and look at HIM. He is the ultimate umpire, but we gotta see Him and listen. He DOES have the answers. They may be hard, but they ARE the answers.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
When I was but a boy, there were a lot of "super" toys. Of course, there was Super Man. That is a no-brainer, but there was also "Super Elastic Bubble Plastic" and "Super Friends Figurines", among others. However, the greatest, superest toy in the history of mankind, and arguably the most dangerous, is the "Super-Collider", and it is located in France. It is a truly magnificent scientific instrument. When I attended the county fair in my formative years, I thought the "round-up" was the ticket. But no, this has it beat.
Actually, this blog entry is NOT about the Super Collider, but it will be mentioned. It is about...well....nothing. Just nothing. But, nothing is a fascinating subject.
The Super Collider, in super simple layperson terms, is also known as the Large Hadron Collider,a giant, concentric, cylindrical coil, or what some may call a "coil thingy". Think of it as what your garden hose looks like, wrapped on a spool. In fact, there are almost thirty miles of this tube. The U.S. planned to build one that was 57 miles long, and much more effective, but Congress axed funding. I hate when Euros beat us at something but, oh well. The bottom line is this: These geniuses (no sarcasm intended...they really are geniuses) want to create millions of megavolts of electricity to accelerate a particle, like a proton for instance, at speeds bordering the that of light, then slam them into each other, creating conditions as they existed at the origin of the universe. BOOM, there it is! Small black holes will be created for a fraction of a second.
The problem is, some rebels within the whole scientific community, and they are just a small, unorthodox minority,say...LOOK OUT!...these tiny black holes could swallow our entire planet, and we all die. Yes, a super killer toy, operated by mad scientists.
A black hole, again in "baby talk", is an area in space that consumes, i.e. "sucks up", other bodies in the universe, even light. In fact, we have never really seen one, because the absence of light makes them invisible to the human eye. However, they seem to emit radiation, so we can hypothesize where they exist. We do not know a lot about them, and most of what we know is conjecture and a work in progress. Because they suck everything in, and have absolutely no discernible mass, a black hole is actually A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING. Some cosmologists (scientists who study the universe believe black holes may contain entire universes (not planets or galaxies, but UNIVERSES). So, if a universe is a whole lot of something, then when it becomes nothing, it is a WHOLE LOT of nothing. It also is hypothesized that a black hole is an entry point to the space time continuum. If you are not familiar with that, read about it to get the theory and mechanics. For the purpose of this concise blog, let me just say it can be a means of time travel (see "wormholes", a possible medium for intragalactic travel).
Here is where we talk about PARADIGMS. THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX. I want to offer some bullet point thoughts:
- God is infinite. Even if you are an agnostic or an atheist, science makes clear that creation is infinite. Therefore, when a black hole swallows a universe, it is what I decided to call "reverse infinity". A black hole is nothing...infinitely so. It is infinitely nothing.
- It follows then, that the magnificence of infinity, the incomprehensible vastness of the ever expanding universe, the bounds of which cannot be fathomed, is mirrored in perfect fashion, by the incomprehensible nothingness of the ever contracting universe that exists in a black hole.
- Think of it this way. If you were to look in a mirror, you would see a reflection of yourself (this illustration is also used to explain matter/antimatter, but that is a different subject), SO look in a mirror. On one of the glass side is you. Think of yourself as everything. Pure infinity. All that is. Conversely, think of the mirror reflection as being on the other side of the glass (like Alice in Wonderland). That image in the mirror, on the other side of the glass, is "nothing". Pure nothingness. The everythingness and the nothingness are both expanding exponentially at incomprehensible rates. They a mirror image of each other, and therefore of equal, but opposite, value.
- Black holes form when a certain amount of mass exists in a small area (a really HUGE amount), such as when a star explodes (supernova). SO...if a black hole were to exist, even a tiny one in a supercollider, the idea of these rebel scientists is that it would begin to consume everything around it. As it grows exponentially, nothing can stop it. Like a crazy science fiction movie, it will eventually suck in our earth and solar system. WHEN THIS HAPPENS TO A UNIVERSE, when it gets sucked into a black hole, THE INFINITY OF A UNIVERSE BECOMES THE INFINITY OF NOTHING...the reflection on the other side of the mirror.
- A paradigm that says God is omnipresent, is infinite, and omniscient,in royal magnificence, is also present in the equally magnificent splendor of reverse infinity. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient in...NOTHING!
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work."
Ecclesiastes 4:9
"No man is an island entire of itself..."
John Donne
Announcement Please: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I introduce to you, one of the most fascinating, dare I say "awe inspiring", and compelling phenomena of all time. He is everywhere! And, I do mean everywhere! The one and only, the incomparable....SYMMETRY! (yay).
"Whoopee" you say? (derisively, perhaps). Symmetry is an "it", but I introduced it as "He". Why? Because, like all things in creation, it testifies to Yahweh(God).
In fact, symmetry is so all encompassing, found throughout the universe, that I could use any of a bazillion examples (if there is such a number). Anything from science, to history, to people, to relationships. Symmetry is cool. Many know what it is, but for the uninitiated, here is a boring definition, straight from Webster:
"Property of sameness. Balanced proportions. Exact correspondence in position." Now, here is my "regular old people" definition: If you split something in half, and each half looks like the other, only opposite, that is symmetry.
Why this subject? You may think I have too much time on my hands, but I usually sit behind my house on summer evenings and look at the sky, before bed. I enjoy it, and it gives me time to just think, without distraction. When I was thinking about some very heavy stuff: Anthony Weiner (soon to be ex Congressman). Then, by association, I thought of Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Edwards, which led me to thinking about marriage and divorce (note the Scripture above).
What on Earth do these celebrity adulterers have to do with the photos above?
God has a unique creation, as this principle of symmmetry extends back to God's first command to "Let there be light..." (Genesis 1:3), and probably even before that. Then God created Adam, because He did not want to be alone. Then, God formed man to work the garden He created. Why would God do that? After all, He is...God, for heaven's sake (excuse the pun). He could have done it. The fact is, God wanted someone to love. Yes, HE, God, the creator of all, wanted to love somebody. I don't understand how, but it is amazingly true. After all, the Word teaches that God IS love, and He is infinite. Therefore, He has an infinite amount of love to share. He created the garden for man, so that he COULD work it.
Then, God created woman for man, because it was not good for man to be alone. Yes indeed, the power of two (again, notice the Scripture at the top). In the King James Bible, it refers to two people as a cord that is not easily broken). Spiritually, men and women are symmetrical. They are equal before God. They complete each other.
So, when marriages break up, the one is always weaker than the two. What? But what if there is spousal abuse, domestic violence, etc? OK, the "potential" of one is less than the potential of two. This is a fallen world, with disease and sin, but these are infections of God's creation. Again, all other aspects being healthy, it is always better for two to become one, in every sphere of life. So, these famous people have weakened their future potential as human beings by AT LEAST 50%, and probably a lot more, and that is even before factoring in their lost credibility.
This extends into all of God's creation, not just relationships. Here are some examples:
1. Look at a tree, a person, a leaf, a worm, a snake, a dog...I could go on for days. Check out the ever expanding universe, extending outward, at equal rates in all directions. The sun and the moon are symmetrical. It is virtually impossible to even TRY to draw something that is not symmetrical. OK, you may not want to draw a circle or square, but try your hand at a triangle, or something crazy, like a tetrahedron - sorry -symmetrical. You might even say, "Oh yeah, I will just draw a bunch crazy, crooked lines and shapes, a swirley mess. Nope, it is symmetrical. You look at it on a piece of paper, along a vertical and horizontal axis. Turn the paper sideways, so you are looking straight at the outside edge of the paper. If you could split the mess that way, you would have symmetry. It is part and parcel of creation. It is fundamentally inherent. I am adding a few bullet points to consider:
1. The universe is composed of matter and its complete opposite, antimatter.
2. Atoms are positive and negative.
3. Even something like water, totally fluid, is symmetrical.
4. The Law of Conservation of Energy, like any principle of physics, involves symmetry. This law states that energy remains constant over time (symmetry). The amount of energy you have at the end of the activity equals the amount at the beginning. Also, this law states that energy will take many forms, but it is still there.
5. Interestingly, it is not JUST creation where this is found. People themselves, created by God in His own image, have a natural affinity for, and inclination toward, symmetry. Studies have revealed that people who have more symmetrical faces are perceived as being more attractive. Notice anything man has created. Look at a car. Mentally split that car in half, and you will notice each half is equal and opposite the other. I am currently looking at a house that is symmetrical, and a potted plant. Split that plant in half - whoops, there it is. Symmetry. One might contend the plants inside are not planted symmetrically, but alas, each and every plant in the pot is symmetrical.
Whew! Enough of that. Here is my paradigm changing take away:
When we go through life, hopefully as believers, but even the unbelievers can benefit from this....anyway....When we go through life, let us create unity. Whenever we have the opportunity, let's work to make two as one. Let's bring people together, not tear them apart. Let's create oneness. Let's cause others to be bound together, in marriage, in friendship, in fellowship, and in love. Let's fix things, not destroy. Let's create and restore. This needs to permeate our lives.
Oh yeah, Jesus commanded this by the way, when He said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:10). After all, unity, strength, and symmetry are of God, as demonstrated in all His creation. As sons, we were created in His own image. Let's be that image, starting today.
