Science Fiction Notes and Thought Creates Reality

One thing I readily admit is that I am a bit of a science fiction nerd. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say I am an avid science fiction fan, but the general concepts of the genre do fascinate me. One thing I like about it is the way some sci-fi authors (or writers in general) really nail what could (and does) happen in the near future. Or the way a good writer can express ideas about our current and possible cultures, using a fictional story to give us unique perspective.

It's books like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, which can paint an almost too real future, that really gets me thinking. The society depicted in it can easily be linked with elements of modern societies; - the government influenced homogeneous conformism, bio-engineering technology, the synthetically created 'soma' drug that depresses free-thinking, all issues today in one way or another. Take for example biotechnology and cloned animals; the other day I read about scientists cloning a Pyrenean ibex, a mountain goat that was deemed extinct in 2000. Using saved samples of the animal scientists successfully cloned one, (that died shortly after birth from a defect which raises some ethical issues obviously). As the technology progresses daily so do the questions on multiple levels (morally, ethically, philosophically, etc.) surrounding things like stem cell's, genetic engineering, pharmaceuticals, government controlled media etc.

Another one of my favorite sci-fi books is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and one thing from it that struck me is the way author Orson Scott Card alludes to the oncoming power of the internet. There's that story arc in the novel where Ender's brother and sister use what they call 'the nets' (a kind of computer network for intellectuals) to insert and assert their political opinion into the mainstream media; using 'the nets' anonymity so as not be revealed as kids. The following passage from the book is between Ender's brother Peter and sister Val (all of whom are genius-children), "Peter, you're twelve."
"Not on the nets I'm not, On the nets I can name myself anything I want, and so can you."

Keep in mind this was written in 1985 (in the acknowledgments Card mentions elements of the story were first published in August 1977, the month and year I was born incidentally, also the month and year when Elvis died). But that's totally what the internet has become in a sense, an instantaeous worlwide information center, with the power to manipulate it in the hands of anyone with a keyboard.

A short synopsis of what good science fiction is, can be taken from the introduction to Ender's Game. Card explains that his inspiration for the book had partly come from reading Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, which set him to thinking (as all good science fiction should do), "What would the future be like? How would things change? What would remain the same?" And then he goes on to say, "In science fiction, however, the whole point is that the ideas are fresh and startling and intriguing; you imitate the great ones, not by rewriting their stories, but rather by creating stories that are just as startling and new. "

(sample from Atmospheric Dust by Ed T. )

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." -Albert Einstein

Anyways, the thing that started the idea for this post happened when I caught one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation on TV the other day. (I refuse to enter a debate on which Star Trek show was the best, because it's clearly STNG.) It's the episode - "Where No One Has Gone Before" from 1987, in which the Enterprise crew encounters the mysterious "traveler" who accidentally teleports them and their ship millions of lightyears away. When Captain Picard is questioning the traveler as to how the ship got millions of lightyears from where it was, he asks him "What got us here?", the traveller replies "Thought" and then goes on to say, "Thought is the basis of all reality, the energy of thought, to put it in your terms, is very powerful."

I think this idea is true not only in an abstract sense, (positive thinking and visualizing can help one achieve goals, heal the body, you are what you think about, etc.) but in a very physical direct way also; thoughts are real and determine our reality in a myriad of different ways. From defining our universe in a metaphysical math equation or exploring the 'realness' of some sensations or events in dreams, thoughts play a vital role in understanding ourselves and the universe.

From Buddha to Einstein; All Matter is Energy

Today I want to discuss the concept: matter is energy, and the universality that this idea has. Matter is energy condensed into a slow vibration; energy that is transmutable. Energy particles don't disappear, they transform, everything is a never ending process of energy transformation. There is the same amount of energy on this earth has there was millions of years ago. All reality exists on a sub-atomic level. Take this quote from Einstein as we explore this idea further.

"Even the Greeks had already conceived the atomistic nature of matter and the concept was raised to a high degree of probability by the scientists of the nineteenth century. But it was Planck's law of radiation that yielded the first exact determination - independent of other assumptions - of the absolute magnitudes of atoms. More than that, he showed convincingly that in addition to the atomistic structure of matter there is a kind of atomistic structure to energy, governed by the universal constant h, which was introduced by Planck." -Albert Einstein

If you're wondering what Planck's constant h is; h = the fundamental physical constant attribute of the mathematical equations of quantum mechanics. Describing the behavior of particles and waves on the atomic scale, including the particle aspect of light. Radiation, as with light, is emitted, transmitted, and absorbed in energy packets, or quanta, determined by the frequency of the radiation and the value of Planck’s constant. The energy of each quanta equals h times the radiation frequency.

We've split the atom for gosh sakes. What more proof do you need than the massively destructive force that results from splitting an atom, to know that at a deep microscopic level that energy is atoms. The more physics looks inside the atom, the seemingly infinitesimally smaller particles we discover. We are everything literally. We all are energy, everything around us is energy, it's all light particles. But as Einstein states above in reference to the Greeks, this idea did not originate in the realm of physics.

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” -Aristotle

“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion” -Democritus

In the above quote Greek philosopher Democritus says, "empty space". According to Planck and Einstein this is not empty space but extended space. But the point is that the Greeks had a firm grasp of what Einstein calls the atomistic nature of matter. Buddha also had a firm grasp of this:

"We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything." -Gautama Buddha

Equations of quantum physics of the 20th century tells us the same thing that Buddha and Greek philosophers told us thousands of years ago. So the idea that everything is made up of the same basic form of energy is not decades or centuries old, but at least thousands of years old.

The Buddha, Odilon Redon, 1904.

Let's take a closer look at one specific part of the quote from Buddha, "We are the same as plants, as trees...." On a side-note branching from this idea, let me ask the question, who's to say that some plants don't have a kind of consciousness? The oldest living thing is the box huckleberry, the age of one colony found in Pennsylvania is 13,000 years. The redwoods in California are well over 200 ft tall and more than 2,000 years old. Early this decade in Oregon researchers discovered a single organism of the Armillaria ostoyae, (the honey mushroom) whose underground mycalea spans 2,200 acres (890 hectares) and is least 2,400 years old, possibly older. Mycalea are fibers linking the plant together almost like the fiber network of a brain. But this brain spans 2,200 acres and is 2,400 years old.

A living organism that old and that successful has some kind of cognizance. It's been proven in experiments that plants respond directly to the playing of music for example, take a loot at Plants respond to music. In 1966, Cleve Backster performed a series of experiments on the dracena cane plant hooked into a polygraph machine. His results indicated that it responded in a variety of ways that clearly indicated at least primary perception.

I will conclude by giving you Backster's definition of primary perception: "The vehicle of communication, the invisible, unrecognized field that interconnects all species and life forms, whereby biocommunication can occur." One could define biocommunication as: types of communication within and between species of plants and/or animals.

So anyways, I hope all this has given you something to think about, feel free to expand on any of these ideas with a comment. If you enjoy any of my writings and articles, feel free to digg (icon below) them and/or hit the thumbs up icon or the vote for me icon on the bottom right of the sidebar.

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Thoughts and Ideas on the Spiritual Nature of Experience

What is the nature of spiritual reality? Spirituality is the nature of this experience on earth. It bugs me sometimes when people talk about life after death as the ultimate question in life. This to me is just not true. Spiritual reality is as real, well more real than the chair you're sitting in right now. I trust the physical reality of the existence of my soul over just about anything else in this life. Science tells us that matter is merely energy condensed into a slow vibration. Metaphysics implies that there are at least 11 dimensions. All cultures in the history of mankind acknowledge some kind of spiritual reality. Let us be enlightened by a quote from the French mystic Teilhard de Chardin:

“You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience.”

-Teilhard de Chardin, (1881-1955)

A simple and very true thought from a spiritual man, but now let us look at the thoughts of a man from science;

"When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them all. They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature and only then with their physical selves.”

-Albert Einstein

What is always interesting to me is the correlation between science and spirit. Here with these two quotes we have a perfect example of this. Comparing these two ideas we come across a theme - that first comes the basic fact of the spiritual nature of our reality, and then second is the physicality of this existence.

The Circumference of Humankind's Knowledge

I was extremely bored just now so I made a little bit of modern art to illustrate this quote from Albert Einstein. That being said, I will let the brilliant diagrams below; do the talking in today's post, (clearly we see our unknown knowledge [if that makes any sense] growing as we learn more about the universe).

"As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it."

-Albert Einstein

The Striving Artist

Striving or struggling can free us from our ego, which I know in my case can get out of control if not checked at the door sometimes. Let me give an example of this idea though. Take the career of singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, who as a young man went to New York City to play his music. Then of course embarking on a long and eventually extremely successful music career. Writing some of the most influential and revolutionary poetry and songs America and the world had or has ever seen. Also let's take a look at a quote from Albert Einstein:

"Measured objectively, what a man can wrest from Truth by passionate striving is utterly infinitesimal. But the striving frees us from the bonds of the self and makes us comrades of those who are the best and the greatest."


-Einstein

Now contrast this with his son Jakob's and his band The Wallflower's musical career. They are really good, fantastic even. His songs are well-written and have a lot of voice. But is it revolutionary music? - No. Is it extremely original or unique? - Not really. Does the factor that Jakob didn't maybe strive quite as much or struggle like his father did as a young man play a role in this? - Absolutely. And thus in a completely unscientific and roundabout way, with things that have maybe nothing to do with each other, I prove my point. Good Day.

The Freedom of Expression

I like the following quote from Einstein because it represents the tip of the iceberg of what is a very large subject:

"Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population."

-Albert Einstein

For example, separation of church and state is one of the greatest things about America, and the ability to worship or not worship in any way that one wants to, is exactly the kind of place I want to live in. Another great idea is what a lot of cities and states have now; a 1% for art program, which require 1% of the money spent on certain public construction projects, be matched with money spent on art projects. The world would be a grey and dull place without art, imagine if there was no dancing, music, movies, television, sculpture, art; the list is endless. Even and especially ideas that are considered distasteful and shocking to some, must still be allowed to exist. To have otherwise is inviting mindless and domineering thought control. A truly free society must never give in to tradition for the sake of conformity.

There is always that question, "what is art?" For me, the answer is another question - "what is not art?" Art can be anything, the way the light catches and reflects from a window, that classic idea of the leaf swirling in the wind, etc. From a deeply personal symbolic language, to a representation of your lover or favorite haunt, to creating something completely new from nothing, to a child's intuitive interpretation of the world. Me personally, I don't think everything has been done already and can prove it with my artwork.

Creating Art Quiets the Noisy Mind

I especially agree with the last part of the following quote from Albert Einstein:

"One of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires."

-Albert Einstein

"...from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires" he says. Some of my best moments are when I am lost in my painting and all the internal noise in my head is quiet. I have an overly analytical way of thinking about things sometimes, so getting lost in the creative process can be a form of therapy, meditation; a way to drive all the usual clutter of the conscious mind away with a kind of ritualized creative activity.