Your life may turn out to be just a dream; that’s okay. Create your own story. Make of it what you will. Always be respectful of your co-authors. Pray for inspired criticism and the wisdom to recognise it. And, whenever you get the chance, dream a little dream of peace.
Category Archives: Reason
A Story Untitled
What is Gravity made of ?
I saw an interesting question on the Big Question blog tonight:
Q: What is gravity made out of?
A: Gravity is made of mass. No mass. No gravity.
Mass has a natural affinity for mass. The attraction works in much
the same way that tiny bubbles in a liquid (the medium) tend to merge
into larger bubbles — with the difference being that the medium of
gravity is the vacuum that exists in both the atomic centre and in all
intervening distances between elemental masses, which, to an atom,
are indistinguishable from the vacuum of space. The concentric layers
of the atomic structure maintain a state of separation between the
internal and external vacuums creating an interactive ‘anti-medium’
which facilitates and exposes the observed ‘attractive’ mass effect.
In a somewhat wry, McLuhan-esque way: The medium is the mass–age.
.
For more on gravity…
.
Why the LHC won’t help us find the “god particle”
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, was designed to create the same sort of high energy conditions that were present during the so-called “Big Bang”. Among the mysteries that Team LHC hopes to unravel: Revealing the nature of the theoretical substances known as “Dark Energy” and “Dark Matter”; confirming the existence of the Higgs Boson (or “god particle”) as predicted by the Standard Model of quantum mechanics; and determining which, if any, of the current Grand Unification Theories is correct.
With respect to the Higgs Boson (the quantum particle thought to be responsible for giving atoms their mass) as well as with much respect to Dr. Higgs, I have a problem with the concept of a quantum “god particle”. My objection has little to do with the sacrilege of the name (offered by Leon Lederman in his 1993 popular science book), but rather the notion that one particular subatomic component can be responsible for all the mass of the unity to which it belongs.
There are two absolute states of unity in the universe: the atom (chiefly represented by hydrogen) which will endure indefinitely if sequestered from the transformative traumas of fission and fusion; and the universe itself (which has reportedly been around for a very, very long time). In between these absolutes exist myriad aggregations of matter displaying varying degrees of unity, mass, homogeneity and permanence: from planets, comets, stars and galaxies, to the seeming singularity of “black holes” — but each of these is simply echoic of our atomic and universal archetypes.
From everything I’ve read (never having had the pleasure of meeting the man) Peter Higgs seems to be a learned, conscientious physicist and a bona fide gentleman. This does not, however, vaccinate him against ever having a bad idea.
So, it has to be said: The mass of the atom comes from the functional structure of the atom itself, not from a theoretical subatomic particle. Simply put, the atom is the “god particle” — and so is the Universe.
Keep up to date on LHC activities at CERN.
.
Hello? This is Us.
Below is the image featured on a plaque installed on both the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 space probes launched in 1972 and 1973, respectively. It is intended to be our introduction to other intelligent life in the galaxy — should it eventually be found by some deep space traveler or interstellar trash collector.
Some have questioned the wisdom of sending this kind of information into space; explaining how to get to where we are; how we think; and how nice ’n’ juicy we look.
Realistically, though, this is much less of a concern than the programming we’ve been blasting out into the universe for years now. The aliens, if any, in the 70 Virginus star system (58 light years out) could be watching I love Lucy right now — but, unlike us, they wouldn’t have to watch it in re-runs!
An explanation of the plaque by NASA:
“The Pioneer F spacecraft, destined to be the first human made object to escape from the solar system into interstellar space, carries this pictorial plaque. It is designed to show scientifically educated inhabitants of some other star system, who might intercept it millions of years from now, when Pioneer was launched, from where, and by what kind of beings (With the hope that they would not invade Earth). The design is etched into a 6 inch by 9 inch gold-anodized aluminum plate, attached to the spacecraft’s attenna support struts in a position to help shield it from erosion by interstellar dust. The radiating lines at left represents the positions of 14 pulsars, a cosmic source of radio energy, arranged to indicate our sun as the home star of our civilization. The “1-” symbols at the ends of the lines are binary numbers that represent the frequencies of these pulsars at the time of launch of Pioneer F relative of that to the hydrogen atom shown at the upper left with a “1” unity symbol. The hydrogen atom is thus used as a “universal clock,” and the regular decrease in the frequencies of the pulsars will enable another civilization to determine the time that has elapsed since Pioneer F was launched. The hydrogen is also used as a “universal yardstick” for sizing the human figures and outline of the spacecraft shown on the right. The hydrogen wavelength, about 8 inches, multiplied by the binary number representing “8” shown next to the woman gives her height, 64 inches. The figures represent the type of creature that created Pioneer. The man’s hand is raised in a gesture of good will. Across the bottom are the planets, ranging outward from the Sun, with the spacecraft trajectory arching away from Earth, passing Mars, and swinging by Jupiter.” Source: http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001623.html
Another interesting about the Pioneer missions is that the craft have unexpectedly started slowing down.
More on that later…
Is one Jewish state one too many?
By HASKELL NUSSBAUM
Originally appeared in the Jerusalem Post Jun 6, 2009
This month a consortium of Canadian universities and institutions will be sponsoring a conference at York University in Toronto that will effectively conclude that one Jewish state in the world is one too many.
The conference, innocuously named “Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace,” will ostensibly debate whether a “one-state” or “two-state” solution is the best way to advance peace. But the conference’s symbol is a map of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with a zipper sewing up the seam lines between them. And a close look at the speakers and the abstracts of their intended speeches show that the overwhelming consensus will be that Israel should cease being a Jewish state and morph instead into a binational one.
It is a rich irony indeed that the conference is ostensibly proposing that Israel annex the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – a position that once might have been considered solely in the domain of the most right-wing Israelis. But as the program speeches make clear, the proposed solution is not to simply allow Israel to annex territory. Rather, it is to strip the Jewish state of its Law of Return (allowing Jews to immigrate) and uproot the country from its Jewish foundations.
York University’s program makes only a nominal attempt to stir genuine debate. The program is riddled with speakers who take as a given that Israel is an apartheid state that discriminates against Palestinians and that is fundamentally “unjust.” A number of the speakers are recognizable as organizers and advocates of the movement to boycott Israel. Indeed, the handful of notable professors who do not believe that Israel should cease to exist as a Jewish state stand out like vegetarians at a slaughterhouse.
Belatedly realizing the nature of the conference, some have begun to pull out.
Conference defenders have been quick to point to the right of free speech and the value of academic debate to support the program. And it is clear that when discussing Israel and the Palestinians passions are likely to run high. But the issue is not freedom of expression or the value of hearing alternate viewpoints. The issue is not York University’s right to hold such a conference, but rather its desire to do so.
A CONFERENCE is not held in a vacuum. Against a backdrop of the ascendency of Iran calling to destroy Israel, Hamas consolidating its hold over the Gaza Strip and continuing to rain rockets against southern Israeli cities and a global increase in anti-Semitism, is it possible that York University doesn’t understand that a conference calling on Israel to cease being a Jewish Zionist state plays into the hands of those seeking to annihilate it completely?
Never mind that the proposed “one-state” solution is completely unrealistic. Never mind that there is not a single mainstream Israeli political party that would ever endorse it – and that it will therefore simply never materialize. Never mind that a conference held at the end of June, with few students on campus, is mostly an exercise of academics preaching to the converted. The pernicious nature of this conference is not measured by its efficacy at promoting its solution. It’s measured by the legitimacy it confers on those who will build upon it to promote genocide.
This conference, if unopposed, will be copied. The notion that for the sake of peace and justice Israel must be denuded of its Jewish character will be lent the imprimatur of a respected university. In time, nongovernmental organizations, quasi-governmental bodies and international institutions may well quote the conclusions of such conferences, and the movement to boycott Israel will be immeasurably strengthened. Groups like Hamas and Hizbullah will seize on its conclusions immediately, using them to excuse their terrorist activities against the Jewish state.
One need not cut off debate, or the presentation of alternative viewpoints. But is it really too much to expect respected universities not to endorse the destruction of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state?
imahd.ca 