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Science

An elegant life

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

I recently chimed into a forum discussing the subject of quantum physics, and the implications thereof.

Out of which came some ways of explaining my views in a more 'elegant' manner.

Following are my edited excerpts of my final few posts to this forum:

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Years ago, when in a self-development course, the teacher said "you're 100% responsible for your reality" ... me, in response "nah, that can't be true" (in class), He, "it's 100%". Me, "Nah, it can't be because ... yadda yadda". Class now cranky with me, an upstart who won't sit quietly and obediently listen.

Long story short. It is a literal 100%. I've done a lot of work over the years to nail the mechanics of how that can occur.

But here's the thing. If not 100%, then what figure is it? 100% has a certain 'purity' to it that I found compelling.

Science can't get near that 100%, blaming chance, or randomness or god knows what else. That's inelegant.

100% is elegant.

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Small right, not quite there

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

A recent article in the SMH was headlined "Scientists find secret of why women live longer"

in which it is claimed

''This difference is not caused by hormonal differences between the sexes, such as testosterone in males, or to risk-taking behaviour. It's genetic.''

That only partly "explains" the difference -- as is now well established, psycho-social factors are by far the most important determinant in how well and long we live.

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Points about points

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

I was recently contacted regarding my work -- primarily concerning materials on the Belief Institute website.

The person (supportive of my work) sent me a list of 'points' by another critic who argues good articles, or beliefs should comply to various conditions:

Here's my reply to those 'points'.

  1. should not contain tautologies;

    English is a rich language, and while tautologies are a useful concept, the fact that one can frame an idea or concept (there's one now) differently using different words/approaches, reveals greater nuance to the concept or idea. Pun intended. So I wouldn't get too concerned about grammatical correctness.

  2. should not contain notion-metaphor transmutations (e.g., "power" it is a concept in Physics, but being used in Psychology, say, as "power of imagination", it becomes a metaphor);

    Well, this is a poor point. We don't know what causes 'power' in physics.

    We know now with around 30 years of research data from Princeton's PEAR that our minds have the power (physical) to move objects.

    The enormous databases produced by PEAR provide clear evidence that human thought and emotion can produce measureable influences on physical reality. The researchers have also developed several theoretical models that attempt to accommodate the empirical results, which cannot be explained by any currently recognized scientific model.
    So psychological power is related to physical power. To say otherwise would require certain (incorrect) assumptions to be correct. Which they aren't. E.g. the power to collapse the wave-function.


    Better that you don't get me started on this one ...

    :){C}

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Unfettered scientific inquiry? Hardly.

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

I recently posted a genuine question on a scientific forum website and was told to ... well, piss off, basically. I believe it has validity, and would help scientists resolve the issue of the "missing dark matter" that is one of the key problems in cosmology, and astrophysics.

I suspect the account suspension was motivated by the fear the question invokes, in a similar but lesser degree to the highly-superstitious and incoherent responses to this question.

Throughout the ages, asking questions has been shown to be the root tool by which human culture has advanced. Unfortunately, the shutting down of the ability to ask questions by a culture usually heralds that culture's demise.

Back to that scientific forum ... here's the rather interesting reply I got, and the question hat caused my account to be suspended:

Hello,
Your ____________ account has been suspended due to incorrect use. You posted the following question in Astronomy and Astrophysics:

"It seems I asked the following question on the wrong forum (particle physics). It was deleted. Perhaps before being deleted here, someone might suggest an appropriate forum?

According to David Deutsch of Oxford, "single-particle interference phenomena unequivocally rule out the possibility that the tangible universe around is all that exists."

According to some interpretations, the double-slit results occur due to the influence of what Deutsch calls "shadow particles". (Paraphrasing Deutsch, superpositions have to be 'made' of something that is, in some sense, tangibly real, or sufficiently real to cause real interference effects in said experiments).

Why doesn't that interpretation 'scale up' and account for "Dark Matter" (ie. shadow galaxies etc.), which in turn would account for how the distribution of galaxies would be, and has been found to be fractal ("studies we have done show that the distribution of matter is fractal, just like a tree or a cloud." [Francesco Sylos Labini]).

If it's a 'dumb question' perhaps someone would be so courteous to explain why, rather than simply delete it, as was done elsewhere."

ps

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Skeptics not in tune

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

While sharing some views with a neuroscientist on the ResearchGate website, I received a thank you for pointing her in the direction of this article "DNA Waves and Water" (pdf) with reference and links included in the "Congruent Solutions to Zeno's Paradoxes" article.

It wasn't until I reread the conclusions section, that something rather important occurred to me.

Specifically, that "the DNA Waves and Water (pdf) gives some linkages between mind and its effect upon chemical processes in the body (e.g. the em frequency of 7Hz of both DNA and the nervous system -- and that entered by (not in the article) deep meditative states! As I recall, light meditation (Alpha) changes brain activity to just under 14Hz, and Theta (deep meditation), changes brain wave frequency down to around 7Hz)."

Interesting to see that 7Hz figure, which is not as easily achieved in meditation. Most schools (meditative practices) are largely focused on Alpha, but for medical issues, 7Hz (Theta) states would be required, it seems!

And that's important in medical circles on issues of health and wellbeing: It's not just a matter of wishful thinking to, say, reverse cancer -- it requires deep meditative practices!

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The jig is up

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on
There is an astonishingly deep and dangerous disconnect between our mainstream world view, and reality. So deep and dangerous is that disconnect I believe it imperils the survival of the human race. That disconnect is demonstrated by modern science's approach: that for every physical effect, there is (in theory) a physical cause. If someone is sick, a physical cause is sought. A bacteria perhaps? Hence the widespread use of antibiotics. It is a simple matter to show that these mechanical-world views are wrong. Dangerously wrong.

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Does God Exist?

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

In response to the question "Does God exist?" on a forum in LinkedIn, I drafted the following, which seems to be sufficiently well-formed to be posted here, prior to posting there as well:

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There is no "God" in a purely objective, independent sense for that would require weird, nonsensical disconnects (within any holodynamic systems, or indeed any reasonable rational context).

The idea of an independent creator was an idea developed during the childhood of humanity:

Bishop John Shelby Spong:

"Religion ... was for most of human history, always childlike and by definition authoritarian. It was, to be specific, a primary activity of the childhood of our humanity as a species."1

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Immunising ourselves against fear

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

This evening I watched a program on television which basically was about how those who oppose immunisation (vaccinations) are rabid do-gooders or some such.

The issue of immunisation (vaccination), and of children in particular, is a highly emotive one, judging by the commentary.

The arguments are the usual ones ... since vaccinations began we've seen off all sorts of horrible diseases like Polio and Whooping Cough, the list goes on.

There's only one problem with the apparent linking of vaccinations with the lowering of rates of disease. It's not based on good science.

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Looking backwards, for control

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Just ran across a wonderful quote by Harriet Rubin, which I expect will be lost on many:

"Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash."

I found that quote while researching one by Einstein that I consider an important one, as did Einstein himself:

The most important question a person can ask is, 'Is the Universe a friendly place?"

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Science - religiously late

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire ActionIn his entertaining TED presentation Simon Sinek1 explains what it means to be a laggard (they're the late late-adopters): "The only reason these people buy touch tone phones is because you can't buy rotary phones anymore."

A curious phenomenon is occurring. And it is extraordinarily fascinating to be in the middle of it, observing it live, as we speak! What's so fascinating is that the great bulk of scientific theory is now lagging well behind the advances in quantum fact.2 But for those who are lagging none of this is at all fascinating. Not in the least. Indeed, it's something else entirely.{C}

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Interesting reading

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Some years ago I attempted to correct some errors on Wikipedia concerning Zeno's Paradoxes.

Having reread my contributions I've reprinted here. It's interesting reading, in particular the bias by some towards repeated dogmatic assertions that have no evidence in fact.

Note: I've highlighted my contributions for convenience of reading

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Want different answers?

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Do you genuinely seek answers to the deeper questions and problems of life?

The Belief Doctor Then you'll find some different and arguably deeper, and more congruent perspectives at this site. Hopefully they'll be of value to you. The ideas provided are based on timeless truths, and are (at least in my experience) able to be applied in all areas of life. Enjoy. Steaphen Pirie The Belief Doctor

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Do Atheism and Religion rely on ignorance?

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Last night I attended a philosophers' meeting, in which the merits of atheism was discussed.

There was a talk given on "The new atheists" - as the email alert of the event explained, "The new atheists are Dawkins along with Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris. The Four Horsemen they call themselves and they can be found on the web. Adding in Michel Onfray and his recent publication, The Atheist Manifesto only extends the concern that they are all barking up a dead end canal."

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The travesty of modern science

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Overview

There are many who argue in various scientific circles and forums that mathematical theories based on unending, contiguous numerical continuity (infinite-series, calculus) are able to explain a series of perplexing theoretical dilemmas dating back nearly 2,500 years.

Those dilemmas, widely known as Zeno's Paradoxes raise issues relating to the apparent impossibility of everyday physical movement, which is assumed to occur continuously and smoothly.

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What's wrong with science, religion & new-age

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

In the midst of the 'swine-flu' scare a while back it struck me ... how science, religion and various new-age philosophies are very similar.

The swine-flu scare has gained considerable media coverage, despite 30+ years of research confirming that physical things (bugs, bad genes, obesity, bad diet) account for a minority of the cause of disease, disability and premature death. We now know it is poor 'psycho-social eco-systems' that are the majority cause of early death and illness. But still the panic, or at least the media hype.

It's clear ... they each (in a strikingly similar manner) place the 'cause' of life 'out there' -- with religion it's God, with science it's 'chance' and new-age it's the planets, or some set of numbers or some reclusive soul that never seems to show up when it counts.

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