Tuesday 27 November 2012

Musings on the Universe
What do I think? I think the more advanced and precise machines we can build, as our understanding of engineering and science in general expands, the more we will know, and the more we will become of aware of how much there is we don't know. I do adhere to the tenants of String Theory, even though, yes at present, it is only an elegant mathematical equation, and M-theory. I think there are more layers to our existence than we can be aware of at this time. I think back to when educated humans were quite certain the earth was flat, based on the best data we had at the time. I think that in another century, what we know now may very well appear to be just as limited. Deity vs Accident- I just don't know. I always hold out the possibility that whatever I think, I could be wrong. I have never (I remember quite clearly coming to this view sitting in a small, country church when I was eight!) accepted the idea that humans have only one limited life span and then cease to exist. Given an intellect such as Galileo, Marcus Aurelius, Einstein, Wheeler, or Hawking; or the spiritual effect of Martin Luther King, HH the Dalai Lama, Jesus, and Gandhi; I cannot accept that energy would simply disappear. One of the many reasons my search for a spiritual fit led me to Buddhism is its synchronicity with science. One of the basic tenets of physics is the conservation of energy; energy is never lost but is converted. Buddhism makes that same statement. In early Christianity, reincarnation was not only accepted, but also taught until it became monetarily and politically not as efficacious as the concepts of heaven and hell. I also think it is an ongoing discussion. Once we cease to question, we are lost to the confines of the nearest opaque wall. The further out into space we can see, through the eyes of more advanced telescopes, or space travel; I believe the more we will see. I do think there is life abounding beyond our sight – carbon based, as well as life forms with compositions we have only imagined, but all with purpose and intellect. Have you read The Lensman Series by E.E. Doc Smith? It was written in 1936 and holds forth an amazing view of the possibilities of existence. AND I can’t wait to find out the mysteries of Dark Matter!!!!

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