I know that this blog is supposed to be about art, but every once and a while I feel like wandering elsewhere (it’s my Blog after all), see e.g., Blog No. 39.
I was conversing with God one day when I thought we could talk about something that had been bothering me. “Is the theory of relativity correct when it says that the universe is subjective in nature? For example, the movement of body A can only be thought of in terms of another body B, and therefore A’s movement is necessarily relative to B. Surely there is more, a God’s eye view.” God smiled and answered, “Did you read that interesting blog at www.violetcrownphotographs.com about the fact a man can never know what it’s like to be a bat?” Puzzled, I said “of course.” “Well then, there is your answer.” More puzzled, I asked Him to explain. “The term ‘move’ includes relativity in it, duh!” I had to admit that I couldn’t think of an example where the concept of movement didn’t involve a comparison of one or more bodies to one another. “The thing to understand is that humans have no other way of understanding their world except as a human could understand it; a bat lives in another world uninhabitable by humans. As Professor Heisenberg has said, ‘There is no use in discussing what could be done if we were other beings than what we are.'” “That can’t be true” I exclaimed, “at least if there is only one reality.” But the dawn was beginning to break. “You mean, since I am human there is literally no other way for me to perceive the natural world except as I perceive it?” God smiled again (a bad sign), and said, ” I also gave humans a special gift: their reason. You believe in me because it’s reasonable to do so don’t you?” I agreed.
“Well, humans perceive the natural world the way they naturally do, but they can use their reason to understand their world more deeply can’t they?” Again, I agreed. “So, Einstein imagined the universe differently from Newton and developed a very useful theory humans could use to continue their exploration of the world around them and this theory understood movement to be relative and the universe to be subjective because it was humans asking the questions.” God continued, “I will tell you that there is a God’s eye view of the natural world because I stand outside it, beyond causality if you will.” I asked “How can the universe be both subjective from a human perspective, and objective from Your perspective?” God responded, “What if I were to tell you that space-time was a laminated solid?” “A solid?” I asked in amazement. He continued, “If it were an infinitely layered solid that could be flipped page by page, or slice by slice if you will, like a cartoon; Body A and Body B would not actually be moving, but would appear to be moving relative to each other.” I then asked, “So, humans would perceive movement, but in reality there would be none? Parmenides got it right! ” God gently said: “The key is understanding what ‘reality’ is.” The human experiences a past, a present and a future; if an electron could be aware as it traveled at the speed of light, it would only experience a present because at light speed there is no past or future. Which is “real”?
“Humans can only know ‘reality’ as humans are capable of knowing it, which is their ‘reality.’ It makes no sense from a human standpoint to speak as if there were more than one reality, but each species has its own reality that it cannot escape. Why do you think modern cosmologists are having such a hard time getting passed theories expounded nearly a century ago? Technology has advanced, but your way of thinking about it has not. I agree with Professor Feynman who famously said, ‘Humans don’t really understand quantum mechanics.'” “So, there is no hope of greater understanding?” I queried. “Of course, humans have only scratched the surface of what they are capable of, but accepting your limits will keep you from wasting your time trying to be something you’re not; men are not bats.” “You mean we can eventually understand that the universe is a solid?” In a tone of voice indicating that our conversation had come to a close, God said: “I never said that.”
No. 48: Humans ask the questions
I know that this blog is supposed to be about art, but every once and a while I feel like wandering elsewhere (it’s my Blog after all), see e.g., Blog No. 39.
I was conversing with God one day when I thought we could talk about something that had been bothering me. “Is the theory of relativity correct when it says that the universe is subjective in nature? For example, the movement of body A can only be thought of in terms of another body B, and therefore A’s movement is necessarily relative to B. Surely there is more, a God’s eye view.” God smiled and answered, “Did you read that interesting blog at www.violetcrownphotographs.com about the fact a man can never know what it’s like to be a bat?” Puzzled, I said “of course.” “Well then, there is your answer.” More puzzled, I asked Him to explain. “The term ‘move’ includes relativity in it, duh!” I had to admit that I couldn’t think of an example where the concept of movement didn’t involve a comparison of one or more bodies to one another. “The thing to understand is that humans have no other way of understanding their world except as a human could understand it; a bat lives in another world uninhabitable by humans. As Professor Heisenberg has said, ‘There is no use in discussing what could be done if we were other beings than what we are.'” “That can’t be true” I exclaimed, “at least if there is only one reality.” But the dawn was beginning to break. “You mean, since I am human there is literally no other way for me to perceive the natural world except as I perceive it?” God smiled again (a bad sign), and said, ” I also gave humans a special gift: their reason. You believe in me because it’s reasonable to do so don’t you?” I agreed.
“Well, humans perceive the natural world the way they naturally do, but they can use their reason to understand their world more deeply can’t they?” Again, I agreed. “So, Einstein imagined the universe differently from Newton and developed a very useful theory humans could use to continue their exploration of the world around them and this theory understood movement to be relative and the universe to be subjective because it was humans asking the questions.” God continued, “I will tell you that there is a God’s eye view of the natural world because I stand outside it, beyond causality if you will.” I asked “How can the universe be both subjective from a human perspective, and objective from Your perspective?” God responded, “What if I were to tell you that space-time was a laminated solid?” “A solid?” I asked in amazement. He continued, “If it were an infinitely layered solid that could be flipped page by page, or slice by slice if you will, like a cartoon; Body A and Body B would not actually be moving, but would appear to be moving relative to each other.” I then asked, “So, humans would perceive movement, but in reality there would be none? Parmenides got it right! ” God gently said: “The key is understanding what ‘reality’ is.” The human experiences a past, a present and a future; if an electron could be aware as it traveled at the speed of light, it would only experience a present because at light speed there is no past or future. Which is “real”?
“Humans can only know ‘reality’ as humans are capable of knowing it, which is their ‘reality.’ It makes no sense from a human standpoint to speak as if there were more than one reality, but each species has its own reality that it cannot escape. Why do you think modern cosmologists are having such a hard time getting passed theories expounded nearly a century ago? Technology has advanced, but your way of thinking about it has not. I agree with Professor Feynman who famously said, ‘Humans don’t really understand quantum mechanics.'” “So, there is no hope of greater understanding?” I queried. “Of course, humans have only scratched the surface of what they are capable of, but accepting your limits will keep you from wasting your time trying to be something you’re not; men are not bats.” “You mean we can eventually understand that the universe is a solid?” In a tone of voice indicating that our conversation had come to a close, God said: “I never said that.”