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4) Recursive Dreams

This is my personal approach to understanding our position in = the=20 UNIVERSE.=20

RECURSIVE DREAMS=20

An Inquiry into the Heavy Metalphysics of the 2000's=20

Dr. Leland Gilsen=20




















If Immanuel Kant'..... who can?........ Madeline Kahn?!

Based on extrapolations, all of the key decision that will determine = if=20 humanity survives as a species must be made in the next 10 years. What = is=20 belief: One person's trash is another person's treasure.

"We cannot answer every correct question - but we can often answer = questions=20 which are not correctly asked, by first giving them a form in which they = have=20 meaning. Often the process of reformulating the question and giving the = answer=20 is the same process... This is the scientific approach. Do not expect = answers=20 before you have found clear meanings. Do not throw away unclear = questions. Keep=20 them on file until you have the means at the same time to clarify and to = answer=20 them. often these means result from developments in other fields, which = at first=20 sight appear to have nothing to do with the question" (Reichenbach 1971: = 2-3).=20

"Today, the world of physics can be divided into two areas. First, = there are=20 the laws of nature - timeless, immutable. We have no influence over = them.=20 Second, there are the initial (or boundary) conditions...The = regime of=20 eternal laws of nature within the boundary conditions of a given point = in time=20 lends the world a measure of uniqueness. The laws of nature apply to = numerous=20 natural phenomena that differentiate themselves by their initial = conditions. We=20 don't know whether there are laws of nature beyond these - laws that set = the=20 initial conditions of the universe" (Genz 1999:49).

"To us, natural law must be validated by experience - by observation = or=20 experimentation. In philosophy, this is called a contingency condition. = The laws=20 of nature are not true because of their logical deduction; they are = contingent=20 on verification. Things could be otherwise. The laws of nature, = such as=20 we see them, make statements about our world that could be conceivably = be found=20 to be invalid by observation. We might even say that every so-called=20 verification of a law of nature is tantamount to a failed attempt at = falsifying=20 it. There is no such thing as definite verification" (Genz 1999: 70). =

"Wittgenstein said, in his Tractatus, "Not how the world is, = is the=20 mystical, but that it is."

As pointed out by Barrow (1991: 38) initial conditions can be so all=20 pervasive that they look like natural laws, for example, the second law = of=20 thermodynamics. It can be theorized that the initial condition of the = universe=20 created many more ways for things to go from order to disorder then from = disorder to order. This condition established time-order... the arrow of = time is=20 a reflection of entropy and the improbability of the initial conditions. = Space=20 and time are just dimensions where three directions define spatial = parameters=20 and the fourth direction defines movement within those other three. = There may be=20 other dimensions as well, that are tied up into the minute tube-like = strings we=20 call particles so completely that they react with each other as nearly=20 point-like objects.... their other-dimensionality interfering with the = other=20 dimensions to produce the "illusion" of structure (i.e. - matter). The = tension=20 in strings is high in low energy environments, which binds the strings = up into=20 particle-like structures. Their stringiness is only seen in high energy=20 environments, like the early stages of the big bang. Again, as Barrow = noted=20 (1999: 69), if the Universe is unique then the initial conditions are = unique and=20 become a law of nature. But if the Universe is just one of many possible = universe, then the initial conditions have no special status.... but = this just=20 pushes the "origin" question back another level... and the "why" = question back=20 another level... the easy way out.

Determinism has been nullified by both quantum mechanics and our=20 understanding of chaos theory. There is a relationship between initial=20 conditions, the laws of nature, chaos theory and quantum mechanics that = yields=20 the needed degrees of freedom for our complex universe to operate. That = all=20 things must have a cause is not true in the strange world of quantum = theory.=20 Observations of specific cause cannot be traced to specific effects, and = to=20 some, this explains how the universe can be the ultimate free lunch.

"The fact that our universe is young and evolving puts the question = of the=20 origin of the laws of nature in a quite different light. If the universe = is=20 eternal, there are two possible answers for the question of why the laws = of=20 nature are as we find them to be: religion or Platonism. Either God (who = is, in=20 most tellings, eternal) made the laws of nature as he made the world; or = they=20 are as they are because there is a mathematical form for the laws that = is=20 somehow fixed by some abstract principle. But although deism and = Platonism seem,=20 at first, poles apart, in a certain sense these two kinds of explanation = are not=20 really very different. Mathematical truth is supposed to be eternal, as = is god.=20 Mathematical truth is supposed to be something that holds irrespective = of what=20 is in the world, or indeed whether the world exists at all. A world made = by=20 mathematical laws, like a world made by a god, is a world constructed by = something that exists eternally and outside of the world it creates" = (Smolin=20 1997: 17-18).

Almost everything in this booklet has nothing to do with "religion",=20 therefore it has everything to do with "religion". Throw away every=20 preconception you have. Be prepared to be non-linear.

"Dissatisfied emotion has frequently been projected into logic. In = theories=20 of the universe it often reappears in the guise of logical queries and=20 pseudo-logical constructions. A philosopher argues that he has = discovered a=20 puzzle of Being which logic cannot solve - he might as well say that he = has=20 discovered a fact that arouses his emotional resistance" (Reichenbach = 1971: 4).=20

"The Theologians think they know the questions but cannot understand = the=20 answers. The physicists think they know the answers, but do not know the = questions. An optimist might thus regard a dialogue as a recipe for=20 enlightenment, whilst the pessimist might predict the likely outcome to = be a=20 state in which we find ourselves knowing neither the questions nor the = answers"=20 (Barrow 1991: 1).

"Irrationality is the square root of all evil." - Hofstadter

Alphabetically defined:

Cosmology: A branch of philosophy dealing with the = origin,=20 processes, and structure of the universe. Divided into = physics and=20 metaphysics.

Epistemology: The division of philosophy that = investigates=20 the nature and origin of knowledge.

Metaphysics: The branch of philosophy that = systematically=20 investigates the nature of the first principles and problems of ultimate = reality. It includes the study of being (ontology) and the study of the=20 structure of the universe (cosmology) where theory cannot = be=20 verified or tested.

Physics: The science (learning or study concerned = with=20 demonstrated truths or observable phenomena and characterized by the = systematic=20 application of scientific method) of matter and energy and of = interaction of the=20 two.

Religion: The expression of the belief in and = reverence for=20 a superhuman power or powers regarded as creating or governing the=20 universe and any personal or institutionalized system of beliefs = or=20 practices embodying this belief.

Universe: All existing things, including the earth, = the=20 heavens, the galaxies, and all herein, regarded as a whole, the = cosmos,=20 regarded as the whole; the cosmos, the sphere or realm in which = everything=20 exists and takes place

"Something that is logically necessary is not subject to change. If = the world=20 with all its present properties corresponds to this definition, it has = to remain=20 the same throughout the ages. Properties we call contingent are = those=20 that might also be different. Contingencies are subject to change and = cannot be=20 uniquely captured by thought" (Genz 1999: 308).

What do these definitions have in common? They are all systematic = models for=20 the way things are and the way things work in the universe.

The metaphysics of cosmology uses the scientific approach beyond = its=20 limits in one sense, but it approaches religion and epistemology as a = limit in=20 another sense. Things merge and get fuzzy. Just how something can exist = outside=20 of time (i.e. never existed) and suddenly just exists and set the = parameters of=20 time and space (i.e. simply defines existence).. is weird stuff. =

Nobody should be afraid of "truth" as discovered by science. A = religion=20 or philosophy that cannot embrace reality derived from the scientific = method=20 shows a lack of sense and intelligence (i.e. is dull, obtuse =3D = stupid). Fear of=20 knowledge reflects dogma or doctrines used to define "us" verses = "them"...=20 creeds of the "enlightened" as opposed to the rest of the "barbarians". = How can=20 anyone declare enlightenment by excluding truth? All belief systems must = contain=20 its beliefs, and thus define its believers. That is just the way things = are.=20 Those who oppose science are opposing reality, and if = there is=20 a "god" in the religious sense, then that "god" created reality, and = denying the=20 truth of reality is denying "god".

Nobody ever said human beings are logical creatures. Most = religions=20 require their members to "believe" as faith (i.e. deny reality) the = tenets of=20 the system. In other word, they require that you become stupid in order = to=20 join.

People seem to flee from science because it offers no personal = assurance=20 for their moral and emotional needs. One does not have to have a = religious creed=20 to be moral, and most morals are defined by cultural values as well as = human=20 ecology. Since metaphysics and cosmology cannot prove or disprove = "god"...=20 anymore than religion or philosophy can... science cannot be the = dogmatic basis=20 for such beliefs or faith. Some people twist science to that end. But = most=20 people turn to religion or philosophy for defining their belief or faith = systems. But people should not deny science or truth or reality when = they choose=20 a belief system, and they should never use science to "disprove" = religion.=20 Science has shown one thing, it is impossible to fully disprove = anything. It has=20 shown that it is possible to "confirm" things by experiment and = predictions that=20 are tested against results. Science is an optimistic kind of thing. = Scientific=20 pessimism is not science, it is a belief system disguised as = science.

"Any string of symbols that can be given an abbreviated = representation is=20 called algorithmically compressible.... we recognize science to = be the=20 search for algorithmic compressions.... Science is predicated upon the = belief=20 that the Universe is algorithmically compressible and the modern search = for a=20 Theory of Everything is the ultimate expression of that belief, a belief = that=20 there is an abbreviated representation of the logic behind the = Universe's=20 properties that can be written down in finite form by human beings" = (Barrow=20 1991: 11).

"The problem of fitting human life into the impersonal tapestry of = cosmic=20 space and time has been pondered by mystics, philosophers, theologians, = and=20 scientists of all ages. Their views straddle the entire range of = options. At one=20 extreme is painted the depressing materialistic picture of human life as = a local=20 accident, totally disconnected and irrelevant to the inexorable march of = the=20 Universe from the "Big Bang" into the future "Big Crunch" of devastating = heat,=20 or the eternal oblivion of the 'heat death'. At the other is preached = the=20 traditional teleological view that the Universe has some deep meaning, = and part=20 of that meaning is ourselves" (Barrow 1991: 164).

Digression into authority:

Because people wrote things down in the past, and such writings = are=20 considered as coming from a "god" or through a "god"... anything that = shows that=20 the "word" is secular rather than spiritual is a threat. For some = reason, people=20 want to believe that founders of belief systems were somehow more = connected=20 directly to divinity than themselves... and have some special = "authority".=20

I have some basic news for you... everyone who ever lived, that = lives,=20 and who ever will live, will have no better connection or authority than = anyone=20 else. Simply because someone said they were better connected, or other = say that=20 about them, does not make it true. If you believe that there are = authorities on=20 "god", then I have this bridge I would like to sell you. Simply because = people=20 drop out of normal society to "study" religion, does not make them = experts on=20 anything except the dogma they are studying. That they dropped out of = society=20 should tell you something right away. That someone should try to become = an=20 expert on a system of faith and belief by studying and pondering on = everything=20 related to that system should again tell you something about that = persons=20 emotional needs and drives. Those who reject the universe for the sake = of a=20 religious belief also speaks loud.

My basic advice:

Put your faith and trust in yourself (in moderation). Learn, but = learn in=20 moderation. Believe, but believe in moderation.... be moderately = heretical about=20 your own beliefs. Be moderately certain you are right, but you might be=20 moderately wrong as well. Be open. Be willing to change. Do not blame. = Affirm in=20 moderation. Be tolerant of others and listen with an open mind and = heart, yet=20 question in moderation. Be moderately true to yourself and to others. = Like=20 yourself in moderation, and you can like others in moderation. Never = fear=20 change. Never fear "truth" but take it in moderation. Never fear what = science=20 brings, because even science must be taken in moderation. Scientific = "truth"=20 changes over time as more data comes in and more tests are done. Embrace = reality, never fear it. Embrace the universe and respect your place in = it as=20 well as the place of others. Think about the consequences of your = actions is=20 relation to others. Be selfish in moderation. Be loving in moderation. = Eat,=20 drink and be merry in moderation. Exercise in moderation. You are the = center of=20 your universe, but you share that universe in connection with all = non-living and=20 living things. Live in moderation.

"If I were to put it into a very few words, my dear sir, I should say = that=20 our prevalent belief is in moderation. We inculcate the virtue of = avoiding=20 excess of all kinds - even including, if you will pardon the paradox, = excess of=20 virtue itself. .... We rule with moderate strictness, and in return are=20 satisfied with moderate obedience. And I think I can claim that our = people are=20 moderately sober, moderately chaste and moderately honest. .... I can = add that=20 our community has various faiths and usages, but we are moderately = heretical=20 about them" (Hilton 1934:90-91).

"Laziness in doing stupid things can be a great virtue" (Hilton = 1934:187).=20

The reason WHY everyone has been wrong about "religion" is = simple:=20

1) The people thinking about it have been humans (a bad starting=20 point);

2) The people thinking about religion have been (living) amateurs = (they=20 have no experience as dead people);

3) God, and the Universe, are counter-intuitive. If "god"was = intuitive,=20 Xhe/she/it would be just like us, although most people assume = "god",=20 at the very least, .... is intelligent. After looking at some belief = systems,=20 that is questionable among humans.

Also, as explained in a book for children (The Phantom = Tollbooth),=20 problems are not as simple as most thinkers want you to believe. While=20 traveling, a group of critters met the Dodecahedron, a creature with = many faces=20 at a place in a road that split into three roads:

"Then perhaps you can help us decide which road to take," said Milo. =

"By all means," he replied happily. "There's nothing to it. If a = small car=20 carrying three people at thirty miles an hour for ten minutes along a = road five=20 miles long at 11:35 in the morning starts at the same time as three = people who=20 have been traveling in a little automobile at twenty miles per hour for = fifteen=20 minutes on another road exactly twice as long as one half the distance = of the=20 other, while a dog, a bug, and a boy travel an equal distance in the = same time=20 or the same distance in an equal time along a third road in mid-October, = then=20 which one arrives first and which is the best way to go?"

"Seventeen!" shouted the Humbug, scribbling furiously on a piece of = paper.=20

"Well, I'm not sure, but--"Milo stammered after several minutes of = frantic=20 figuring.

"You'll have to do better than that," scolded the Dodecahedron, "or = you'll=20 never know how far you've gone or whether or not you've ever gotten = there."

"I'm not very good at problems," admitted Milo.

"What a shame," sighed the Dodecahedron. "They're so very useful. = Why, did=20 you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half = long can=20 build a dam twelve feet high and six feet wide in two days, all you = would need=20 to build Boulder Dam is a beaver sixty-eight feet long with a fifty-one = foot=20 tail?"

"Where would you find a beaver that big?" grumbled the Humbug as his = pencil=20 snapped.

"I'm sure I don't know," he replied, "but if you did, you'd certainly = know=20 what to do with him."

"That's absurd," objected Milo, whose head was spinning from all the = numbers=20 and questions.

"That may be true," he acknowledged, "but it's completely accurate, = and as=20 long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong? If you = want=20 sense, you'll have to make it yourself."

"All three roads arrive at the same place at the same time," = interrupted=20 Tock, who had patiently been doing the first problem.

"Correct!" shouted the Dodecahedron. "And I'll take you there myself. = Now you=20 can see how important problems are. If you hadn't done this one = properly, you=20 might have gone the wrong way."

"I can't see my mistake," said the Humbug, frantically rechecking his = figures.

"But if all the roads arrive at the same place at the same time, then = aren't=20 they all the right way?" asked Milo.

"Certainly not!" he shouted, glaring from his most upset face. = "They're all=20 the WRONG way. Just because you have a choice, it doesn't mean that any = of them=20 HAS to be right."

He walked to the sign and quickly spun it around three times. As he = did, the=20 three roads vanished and a new one suddenly appeared, heading in the = direction=20 that the sign now pointed.

"Is every road five miles form Digitopolis?" asked Milo.

"I'm afraid it has to be," the Dodecahedron replied, leaping onto the = back of=20 the car. "It's the only sign we've got."

Does this sound familiar? Have you run into models that were = internally=20 consistent but have nothing to do with phenomenal reality? Have found = answers to=20 questions that were simply wrong? Are you stuck with the only facts you=20 have?

Many models can be internally consistent, but be completely = absurd. So=20 much of human belief is built on such GIGO. Most is so absurd, that = suspension=20 of common sense is a basic tenant of the system: suspend your common = sense and=20 BELIEVE... have FAITH... "After all, it's the only SIGN we've got!" Most = religions ask their adherents to cultivate ignorance as a high art: = Instead of=20 "Don't worry ... be happy" its more like "Be STUPID.... be happy." Or = perhaps,=20 as the disco lyrics go: "Lookin' for God in all the wrong places.... = lookin' for=20 God.... lookin' for God."

"The laws of nature themselves, like the biological species, may not = be=20 eternal categories, but rather the creations of natural processes = occurring in=20 time. There will be reasons why the laws of physics are what they are, = but these=20 reasons may be partly historical and contingent, as in the case of = biology"=20 (Smolin 1997: 18).

What "god" and the Universe ain't:

1) OMNIPRESENT: I can definitely tell you from personal = experience that=20 loss of time sense is sheer madness. If "god" is omnipresent,=20 Xhe/she/it is bonkers. Time and entropy are part of the basic = structure of the universe. The speed of light sets limits.

2) OMNISCIENT: Possession of universal and complete knowledge = would be a=20 total dead end. There is no intelligence in total knowledge, because = there is no=20 change. Without change, there is no meaning. A completely meaningful = being is a=20 meaningless being. Intelligence is defined as the ability to learn or = understand=20 or to deal with new or trying situations. An omniscient being cannot = learn or=20 interact with new or trying situations ... as they have already = happened. The=20 universe is not determined.

3) OMNIPOTENT: The ability to have unlimited authority or = influence is=20 again worthless. With nothing impossible, then why bother? Ultimate = banality.=20 The universe is currently not a singularity, and a singularity may have = never=20 existed.

4) OMNIFICENT: Having unlimited (endless, boundless, infinite) = creative=20 power is again useless. Creation without struggle has no merit. Infinity = is=20 really big. It is bigger than any bigness you can imagine. But with no = bounds,=20 there is no meaning. The universe may be the ultimate free lunch, but is = has=20 limits. The total energy of the universe is set.

So an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and omnificent being is = an=20 insane meaningless banal merit less being and universe. I guess that to = some=20 people, that is a pretty good description of "god" or the universe. It = certainly=20 sounds like some people I know. Maybe one of them is "god"? I should = probably=20 ask.

Barrow (1991: 23-30) put things into perspective, which I have = modified and=20 commented upon. Using three variables (G =3D God, U =3D Universe, and L = =3D Law), he=20 looked at the following:

1) U is a subset of L That there was a pre-existing set of laws or = logic that=20 define the nature of the universe when it is born, that there is a = structure=20 larger than the universe. This is the position of cosmologists looking = for the=20 Theory of Everything. Since no theorem of the Universe can possess a = larger=20 information content than the axioms of the Universe, this may be = impossible to=20 discover... unless the Universe is incomplete (?) or flawed. It would be = quite=20 amusing to discover that the Universe is a flaw in an otherwise perfect=20 symmetry.

2) L is a subset of U That law did not exist before the universe. In = some=20 places in the universe, it does not apply. That law perhaps evolves out = of the=20 structure of the universe and can change.

3) L is U This is more-or-less the singularity argument for the = beginning of=20 the universe, that law began with the birth of the universe that began = out of=20 nothing... it cannot explain why creation should occur. It implies a = prior #5=20 below!

4) L is non-existent There may be no deep structure, everything may = be chaos.=20 What we think is law is illusion.

5) U is non-existent This is interesting because it is a logical = outgrowth of=20 version 3 above... a singularity requires the non-existence of = everything before=20 it exists. A logical problem.

6) U is a subset of G This is pantheism. That God is in all things = but not=20 identical to all things. That God existed before the universe and = created it.=20

7) G is a subset of U God is a superbeing limited to this universe. = That when=20 the universe ends, God will end. This implies the prior existence of = 9=20 below.

8) G is U God as nature, found in many Eastern philosophies, = non-personal.=20

9) G is non-existent The view of the atheist. It is a precursor = of number=20 7 above with its logical problems.

10) U is non-existent Same as possibility 5 above.

11) L is a subset of G The laws of nature are imposed by God the = lawmaker.=20

12) G is a subset of L The evolving Deity where God is constrained by = some=20 higher order logic. If this relates to the universe, then implies 14 = below=20 as a pre-existing condition.

13) G is L The impersonal God as law or logic of nature.

14) L is non-existent Same as item 4 above. If relates to the = universe,=20 then can bring on logic issue with 12 above.

15) G is non-existent Same as item 9 above.

"Set theory can be viewed as a form of exact theology" - Rudy Rucker. =

Meditate on the above. Remember that some physicists think there = was no=20 singularity, that the Universe has no beginning nor end, like a sphere = has no=20 beginning or end.

THE UNIVERSE

"The logical unity of the Universe demands a single invariance that = remains=20 unchanged in the face of all the complexity and transience we see about = us from=20 the smallest sub-atomic scales to the farthest reaches of outer space.=20 Identifying this over-arching symmetry, if it does exist and is manifest = in a=20 form that is intelligible to us, may be the nearest thing we could get = to=20 discovering the "secret of the Universe"" (Barrow 1991:31).

"Some philosophers of science have used G=F6del's theorems regarding = the=20 incompleteness of arithmetic (and hence of any logical system containing = arithmetic) to argue that we can never know everything about the = physical=20 universe in terms of mathematical laws of Nature because we cannot = produce all=20 the true, and only the true, statements of arithmetic, nor can all = arithmetic=20 statements be decided true or false" (Barrow 1991: 37).

But Barrow points out that while physical reality may be = mathematical, it can=20 be flawed in that it does not use all of it, and therefore can be proved = (1991:=20 38). I like a flawed universe theory.

Probably the most remarkable thing about our universe is that at the=20 sub-atomic level, the playing field is perfect... every particle that = exists is=20 an EXACT copy of every other particle of its type. To = make a=20 pun, if you have seen one photon, you have seen every photon! This = remarkable=20 fact is basic to the organization of the Universe. = NOTHING at=20 the macroscopic level is ever an exact copy of anything else... which is = the=20 saving grace of the universe! These two differences are the key to = everything.=20 "It is this repeatability of things that is the hallmark of most basic = entities=20 in Nature and at root it is the reason why there can be accuracy and = reliability=20 in the physical world, whether it be in DNA replication or in the = stability of=20 the properties of matter" (Barrow 1991: 73).

"Recall another of Leibniz's principles, the identity of the=20 indiscernible which requires that any two particles which have the = same=20 relationship with the other things in the universe must be in fact the = same. For=20 if things are only distinguished by their relations, then there is no = way to=20 tell them apart. A world constructed according to these principles must = be=20 complex enough to allow observers to distinguish each particle uniquely, = by=20 talking about their relationships with the other particles in the = universe.

"How differentiated does the universe have to be, according to = Leibniz's=20 principles, in order to speak meaningfully of the universe as a=20 three-dimensional space that exists in time? To use a word favored by = Leibniz,=20 the universe must have so much variety that no two observers = experience=20 the same thing, and no moment ever repeats itself"

"The common view, which we have inherited form Newtonian science, is = that we=20 live in a universe composed from a great many identical parts. The parts = - the=20 elementary particles - are each very simple, and each is identical to = every=20 other of its kind. Their arrangement happens to be very complex, but = this is in=20 no way necessary - it is just our good luck. The opposing picture, = posited, each=20 by Leibniz and Einstein, is of a world made by a great many particles, = each of=20 which is different. While each proton has the same charge and mass as = every=20 other, each is different, because each occupies a different place. Each=20 elementary particle has a unique relation to the whole. The world they = make is=20 necessarily complex because a certain minimal complexity is required if = each=20 proton is to be distinguished from all others by its relationships to = the rest.=20 We may say that where something is, is determined by its view of the = rest, which=20 is to say by its relationship to the others. If each of a vast number of = particles is to have a unique view of the rest, the world must have a = fantastic=20 variety of views" (Smolin 1997: 218-220).

The implications of this are interesting in relationship to the big = bang and=20 the entropy of the universe.

Possible Reality.

The Universe is filled with things that change through time and = move=20 through space. Life evolves out of non-life. Each living thing is born, = lives=20 and dies, and each is unique. There is some small variation in = everything. This=20 variation allows life to evolve and meet differing circumstances. Some = change is=20 detrimental to the individual. This is neither good nor bad, it just is. = Some=20 change is beneficial to the individual. This is neither good not bad, it = just=20 is. Shit happens.

The Universe was born, ages and dies. This is neither good, not = bad, it=20 just is. Life evolves in this universe. This is simply a mechanical = process=20 based on the structure of the universe. Life exists in those universes = where=20 life is possible. Life requires active systems that map the matter and = energy=20 needed to sustain life.... awareness is simply a basic aspect of living = systems:=20 how they seek and obtain the matter and energy required to sustain life. = Reproduction is life's only meaningful goal ... to sustain continued = life. What=20 each life experiences, is all there is, nothing more, nothing less. Shit = happens.

First Zen:

The Universe is really big. There are about one = hundred=20 billion stars in the Milky Way. Star Trek not withstanding, if you = started=20 counting one star a second 24 hours a day, your descendants will still = be=20 counting 3,000 years from now (Guth 1997:1)! There are at least a = hundred=20 billion other galaxies in the observable Universe (20-30 billion light = years).=20 According to Guth (1997:186) the Universe is at least 1023=20 (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) times bigger than the small parcel we = can=20 observe through our telescopes! Multiply that hundred billion galaxies = times=20 that number: that is a lot of galaxies. That is a lot of the Universe we = can=20 never see or participate in. "If the inflationary theory is correct, = then the=20 observed universe is only a minute speck in a universe that is many = orders of=20 magnitude larger" (Guth 1997: 186).

Guth suggests that "false vacuum" is the key to understanding the = creation of=20 a universe. This false vacuum both grows and decays exponentially. Where = it=20 decays, it creates a universe, where it grows, it creates the = probability of=20 creating more universes... a process that goes on forever, increasing = the rate=20 of creation of universes, like the spreading complexity of a fractal = pattern, an=20 infinity of universes upon universes... "While life in our pocket = universe will=20 presumably die out, life in the universe as a whole will thrive for = eternity"=20 (1997: 248).

"The classical big bang didn't happen at a specific place within an = infinite=20 void; rather it happened everywhere because it was everything. There was = "nothing" - not even empty space - outside of it. Hence the radiation is = everywhere and goes in all directions, and will continue to do so as = long as the=20 universe exists..."(Smoot & Davidson 1993: 85).

The thing to keep in mind is not that everything is moving because of = the=20 bang, but that space is expanding, and thus matter clumps are getting = farther=20 apart, like ink dots on an expanding balloon. There is some motion of = matter due=20 to gravity, but most of the movement is the result of space changing its = size.=20 This expansion is the Hubble flow, but galaxies also have independent = motion=20 that adds noise to the measurement of the Hubble constant. Galaxies are=20 expanding withspace rather than into space (Smoot = &=20 Davidson 1993: 53). This makes me wonder if the relative density of = matter=20 is decreasing over time with the expansion of space?

"It is easy to have parts of the universe moving apart at greater = than the=20 speed of light (without violating special relativity) if space is = expanding. If=20 space is expanding, then two parts separated by a distance greater than = the=20 speed of light divided by the expansion rate must move apart faster than = the=20 speed of light even though neither of them is moving or moving very fast = relative to its local neighbors or space-time. What is impossible is = keeping=20 things synchronized and matches. It is exactly this synchronization = problem that=20 leads to defects or a highly mismatched and lumpy universe" (Smoot & = Davidson 1993: 177).

"But, the term "big bang" is rather misleading because it was neither = big nor=20 loud, nor was it an explosion in the usual sense. If fact, the big bang = did not=20 occur anywhere in space, nor did it have an origin in time, because = initially=20 space and time did not exist. Instead, our current view of the big bang = is that=20 spacetime and energy were initially combined in an infinitely dense and=20 infinitely hot state. Under these conditions everything was extremely = simple.=20 The four fundamental forces were unified; there were no particles = because energy=20 and mass were interchangeable; and there were no measurable events. = Suddenly, 12=20 to 15 billion years ago, spacetime began expanding and as it did, = mass-energy=20 began cooling. Almost instantly, in a process known as symetry breaking, = the=20 force of gravity separated from the grand unified force (the still = unified=20 "strong electroweak force"). At this epoch, quarks and leptons, and = their=20 antiparticles were in equilibrium with energy (they materialized from = energy and=20 dematerialized back to energy in rapid succession). Another brief = instant later,=20 spacetime began inflating, exponentially, at speeds faster than light, = in a=20 process called inflation. (According to Einstein's theories, spacetime = can=20 expand faster than light. Mass-energy cannot travel through spacetime = faster=20 than light.) Inflation had the effect of flattening the geometry of = spacetime,=20 and expanding spacetime beyond the "light horizon."

"Yet the old dichotomy between the big bang and the steady state = still points=20 to the heart of a great cosmological dilemma - one that has yet to be = resolved.=20 The choice is simple: either the universe always existed or it did not. = If the=20 universe always existed (in any form at all), then we have to accept = something=20 that simply is - something infinite in time. Conversely, if the universe = did not=20 always exist, then we are forced to accept that existence arose from=20 nonexistence - an equally daunting concept" (Bernstein 2000: 70).

The relative smoothness of the universe lead to the theory of = inflation... an=20 early time where all things could interact within the constraints of = space-time.=20

Rees (1997) gives us some perspective on how small a part of the = universe=20 humanity is:

"Suppose America had existed forever, and you were walking across it, = starting on the East Coast when the Earth formed, and ending up in = California=20 when the sun was about to die. To make this journey, you'd have to take = one=20 step every two thousand years. A mere three or four steps would = represent=20 all recorded history. Moreover, these few steps would be just before the = halfway=20 stage, somewhere in Kansas, perhaps - in no sense the journey's = culmination. Our=20 sun is less than halfway through its life; we are still near the "simple = beginning" of the evolutionary story" (Rees 1997: 8).

While our sun has been fusing hydrogen into helium for 4.5 billion = years, it=20 can continue for another 5 billion (Rees 1979: 9). All of the heavy = elements=20 were created in solar furnaces after the "big bang" and were distributed = into=20 space by supernova. So the early universe stars and planets were = lifeless as the=20 chemicals required for life as we know it, did not exist. The universe = evolves=20 and changes. Over time, heavy elements are becoming more common and = lighter=20 elements are being used by stars: "We are stardust - the ashes of long = dead=20 stars" (Rees 1997: 17). But since most star systems are binaries... the = chances=20 for life on planets gets less likely.

"Our Galaxy, the Milky Way, is a huge disk 100,000 light-years across = and=20 containing a hundred billion stars. Its oldest stars formed more than 10 = billion=20 years ago. The primordial material contained only the simplest atoms - = no=20 carbon, no oxygen, and no iron. Our Sun, a middle-aged star (some others = are=20 more than twice as old), formed 4.5 billion years ago, by which time = several=20 generations of heavy stars could have been through their entire life = cycles. The=20 chemically interesting atoms - those essential for complexity and life - = were=20 forged inside these stars. Their death throes, supernova explosions, = flung these=20 atoms back into interstellar space" (Rees 1997: 18).

There was a time when it was thought the earth was the universe. = People=20 thought the heavens rotated around the earth, including the sun. Then it = was=20 found that the earth rotated around the sun and that the earth was not = the=20 center of our planetary system. So people thought our sun was the center = of the=20 universe. Later, is was realized that the sun was just a minor star in = our=20 galaxy, the "Milky Way". So people thought our galaxy was the universe. = Then it=20 was discovered that our galaxy was one of many. Our galaxy was not even = a=20 particulary big nor impressive one. Still later, it was discovered that = the=20 galaxies group along bubble-like regions and that our area is not within = a very=20 impressive wall of galaxies.

Over time, we have fallen from the center of things as a planet and = star. So=20 now, we think that life so rare that we are the center of the universe = because=20 we are alive. Or, if life is common, intelligence is not, thus we are = the center=20 of the intelligent universe. Will we ever learn from what the history of = research has been telling us for a very long time? Some day, this life = or=20 intelligence provincialism will fall as well.

"It transpires that there exist a number of very unusual coincidences = regarding the values of particular combinations of the constants of = nature which=20 are necessary conditions for our own existence. Were the fine-structure = constant=20 to differ by roughly one per cent form its actual value, then the = structure of=20 stars would be dramatically different. Indeed, there is every reason to = suspect=20 that we would not be here to discuss the matter. For the biological = elements=20 like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus are produced during the = final=20 explosive death throes of the stars. They are blown out into space where = they=20 become incorporated into the planets and, ultimately, into people. But, = carbon,=20 the crucial biological element which we believe to be essential for the=20 spontaneous evolution of life, should really only exist as the minutest = trace=20 element in the Universe instead of in the healthy abundance that we = find. This=20 is because the explosive nuclear reactions that make carbon in the late = stages=20 of stellar evolution are typically rather slow at producing it. However, = there=20 exists a remarkable coincidence of Nature that allows carbon to be = produced in=20 unexpected abundance" (Barrow 1991: 95).

The values of the particles is important, they are parameters rather = than=20 absolutes:

"Although many different kinds of elementary particles have been = discovered,=20 almost all the matter in the universe is made of four kinds: protons, = neutrons,=20 electrons and neutrinos. These interact via four basic forces: gravity,=20 electromagnetism and the strong and weak electromagnetic forces. Each of = these=20 forces is characterized by a few numbers. Each has a range, = which tells=20 us the distances over which the forces can be felt. Then, for each kind = of=20 particle and each force, there is a number which tells us the strength = by which=20 that particle participates in interactions governed by that force. These = are=20 called the coupling constants" (Smolin 1997: 37).

Smolin (1997: 59) says there are three universal phenomena: 1) = everything=20 that moves is described by the principles of relativity; 2) everything = that=20 exists is described by quantum theory; and 3) gravity, which applies to=20 everything universally. I think he is wrong, in my opinion there is = another=20 universal that applies to everything: 4) time. He notes there are = three=20 universal physical constants: 1) Newton's gravitational constant (G); 2) = Planck's constant (h); and 3) the speed of light (c). The Planck mass is = about=20 10-5 grams and the Planck length is 10-33 cm (18 = powers of=20 10 smaller than a proton or neutron!).

Gravity is universal, has infinite range, is always attractive, but = is very=20 weak (10-38). Because of its peculiar nature, it dominates = the large=20 structure of the universe (as does time). The weakness of gravity is = critical=20 for the existence of stars and the life of stars. Weak gravity allows = large=20 masses to exist to create stars that can burn for billions of years.

"If the gravitational force were stronger by only a factor of ten, = the=20 lifetime of a typical star would decrease from about ten billion years = to the=20 order of ten million years. If its strength were increased by still = another=20 factor of ten, making the gravitational force between two protons still = an=20 effect of order of one part in 1036, the lifetime of a star = would=20 shrink to ten thousand years" (Smolin 1997: 39).

"Carbon originates in the Universe via a two-step process from nuclei = of=20 helium, or alpha particles as we usually call them. Two alpha particles = combine=20 under stellar conditions to make a nucleus of the element beryllium. The = addition of a further alpha particle is necessary to transform this into = a=20 carbon nucleus. One would have expected this two-step process to be = extremely=20 improbable, but remarkably the last step happens to possess a rare = property=20 called "resonance" which enables it to process at a rate far in excess = of our=20 naive expectation. In effect, the energies of the participating = particles plus=20 the ambient heat energy in the star add to a value that lies just above = a=20 natural energy level of the carbon nucleus and so the product of the = nuclear=20 reaction finds a natural state to drop into. It amounts to something = akin to the=20 astronomical equivalent of a hole-in-one. But this is not all. While it = is=20 doubly striking enough for there to exist not only a carbon resonance = level but=20 one positioned just above the incoming energy total within the interior = of the=20 star, it is well-neigh miraculous to discover that there exists a = further=20 resonance level in the oxygen nucleus that would be made in the next = step of the=20 nuclear reaction chain when a carbon nucleus interacts with a further = alpha=20 particle. But this resonance level lies just above the total = energy of=20 the alpha particle, the carbon nucleus, and the ambient environment of = the star.=20 Hence, the precious carbon fails to be totally destroyed by further = resonant=20 nuclear reaction. This multiple coincidence of the resonance levels is a = necessary condition for our existence" (Barrow 1991: 95).

"But for the existence of stars requires not only that the = gravitational=20 force be incredibly weak. Stars burn through nuclear reactions that fuse = protons=20 and neutrons into a succession of more and more massive nuclei. For = these=20 processes to take place, protons and neutron must be able to stick = together,=20 creating a large number of different kinds of atomic nuclei. For this to = happen,=20 it turns out that the actual values of the masses of the elementary = particles=20 must be chosen very delicately. Other parameters, such as those that = determine=20 the strengths of the different forces, must also be carefully tuned" = (Smolin=20 1997: 39).

"Were the electron's mass not about the same size as the amount that = the=20 neutron outweighs the proton, and were each of these not much smaller = than the=20 proton's mass, it would be impossible for nuclei to stick together to = form=20 stable nuclei" (Smolin 1997: 40).

"Mystery number one is why the proton mass is so tiny compared to the = Plank=20 mass. Mystery number two is why the cosmological constant is so much = tinier=20 still. Between the scale of the cosmological constant and the Plank mass = is a=20 ratio of 1060. It is extraordinary that such a huge ratio = should come=20 into fundamental physics. But this is not all. Taking these values into = account,=20 it turns out, apparently coincidentally, that the lifetime of a typical = star is=20 about the same as the lifetime of the universe, measured as best we can = by the=20 speed of its expansion"

"Why should the expansion rate of the universe have been set to the = scale of=20 the lifetime of stars, if the first stars formed millions of years after = the big=20 bang? What kind of physical mechanism could account for this" (Smolin = 1997: 42)?=20

In summary, Smolin says: "... we should ask just how probable is it = that a=20 universe created by randomly choosing the parameters will contain = stars.... The=20 answer, in round numbers, comes to about one chance in 10229" = (1997:=20 45).

But this creative power is also destructive power. Recent research = into the=20 center of our galaxy has shown it is a very chaotic mess. Stellar matter = is=20 being swirled into giant blobs that is being thrown out into the spiral = arms.=20 Near the center of our galaxy, one arm of our galaxy (northern) is = distorted and=20 fanned out by this massive tumult. Our galaxy has a disk, bulge and = halo. The=20 bright central halo is about 10-30 parsecs (3.26 light years) across. = The=20 nuclear bulge is filled with stars so close together, they cannot be = resolved.=20 Near the center of the bulge is the circumnuclear ring about 1.5 parsecs = from=20 the center and about 180 parsecs in circumference. This is a cloud of = nuclear=20 material from exploded stars. The center is a black hole with a density = of about=20 3 million solar masses. The nearby 15-star cluster (IRS 16) is the fuel = pouring=20 into this black hole and losing their mass at about 500-700 km/sec. The = gas=20 outflow from IRS 16 is thrown out as huge blobs about every 100 years. = It is=20 these blobs that are fracturing the structure of the inner northern = spiral arm.=20 The gaseous wind is so powerful it creates a tail of ionized gas around=20 supergiant IRS 7 and a huge shock wave in the circumnuclear ring behind = IRS 7.=20 This entire complex can collapse at any time, reshaping the center of = our galaxy=20 and having effects throughout our Milky Way.

Molecular clouds create stars and planets. These clouds generally = range from=20 100 to 300 light-years in diameter. The presence if dust and ice = provides the=20 process for collapse into proto-stars and planetary systems. Our Milky = Way has=20 at least 6,000 such clouds. The matter is cold, only about 30 Kelvin and = only=20 contain about 1,000 million atoms per cm2... so one liter = would weigh=20 only 3 billionth's of a gram. The chemistry of such clouds is complex. = It=20 includes hydrogen, helium, ethanol, ring and acetylenic chains, carbon, = oxygen,=20 nitrogen, silicon, neon, magnesium, iron and sulphur. In the Orion = nebula, the=20 molecular cloud is several times larger than the entire nebula! Nagoya=20 University studied clouds in the direction of Cepheus and Cassiopeia. = Yonekura,=20 Dobashi, Mizuno, Ogawa, and Fukui found that clouds occur all over the = place.=20 Out of 48,000 positions, they observed 1015 clouds of which 188 were = creating=20 proto-stars, and of these 101 had never been catalogued before. This = indicates=20 there is a lot more matter out there than previously known, and a lot = more star=20 and planetary formation.

But these star forming and relatively cool clouds exist because they = contain=20 carbon that radiates excess heat and because they are dirty with dust = that=20 shields them from star light and heat. This dust is mostly carbon. Since = the=20 elements within these clouds were made in stars... how did the early = stars form=20 from the relatively pure hydrogen and helium that filled the early = universe=20 (Smolin 1997:110)?

Light takes 25,000 years to reach our sun from our galactic center. = Our sun=20 rotates one full turn in our galaxy every200- 240 million years. We are = about=20 28,000 light years from the center of our galaxy. We use one trip around = our Sun=20 as our "solar year". If we assume the universe is 10-15 billion years = old and=20 our Milky Way was created about a billion years after the big bang than = one trip=20 around the Milky Way for our Sun could be called our "galactic year". = This=20 galactic year would take about 200-240 million years and would make our = Sun a=20 mere 58 galactic years old! (Magee 2000: 106). Galaxies in these terms = are still=20 young systems, still gobbling up other galaxies and growing like = children in=20 their early childhood.

"But although the Milky Way may be a glorious sight, it is a constant = source=20 of frustration for astronomers who study the universe beyond our galaxy. = The=20 disk blocks a full 20 percent of the cosmos, and it seems to be a very = exciting=20 20 percent."

"Somewhere behind the disk, for example, are crucial parts of the two = biggest=20 structures in the nearby universe: the Perseus-Pisces supercluster of = galaxies=20 and the "Great Attractor," a gargantuan agglomeration of matter whose = existence=20 has been inferred from the motions of thousands of galaxies through = space"=20 (Kraan-Korteweg & Lahav 2000: 75).

In 1994, the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy was discovered only 80,000 = light years=20 away, in fact, well inside the Milky Way but on the other side of our = galaxy. We=20 are colliding with this galaxy, and it is being incorporated into the = Milky Way=20 in several orbits. The Magellanic Clouds pass through our galaxy every = billion=20 years and loose energy and matter each time. In about 10 billion years = (when the=20 universe is twice its present age), the Milky Way will have eaten them = as well.=20 Bizarrely enough, many of the oldest stars in the Milky Way galactic = halo move=20 in retrograde orbits... which suggests the proto-galaxy out of which we = formed=20 captured sizeable fragments moving in the opposite direction! (van den = Bergh=20 & Hesser 2000: 111).

Andromeda, our nearest neighbor is 2 million light years away and is = heading=20 for our galaxy and will hit in about 5 billion years. Our local group of = galaxies consists of us, Andromeda and about 20 smaller galaxies. We are = part of=20 the Virgo cluster centered about 50 million light years away which are = part of a=20 larger wall-like filament about 200 million years away (Rees 1997: 31). = While=20 the so-called dark matter has not been defined, there is about 0.1 atom = per=20 cubic meter of space in the universe and 400 million quanta of radiation = per=20 cubic meter as well. There are about a billion photons for every atom in = the=20 universe (Rees 1979: 50). In the centers of some galaxies are black = holes=20 weighing as much as millions or billions of stars. M47 has a dark = central mass=20 weighing about 3 billion suns and Andromeda's weighs about 30 million = suns (Rees=20 1997: 88). Galaxies are at least 10 times bigger and heavier than = previously=20 thought based on dark matter. Our Milky Way requires about 10 times the = dark=20 matter to luminous matter to maintain its structure and rotation. = Galactic=20 clusters need about 100 times their visible mass to maintain their = gravitational=20 attraction (Genz 1999: 298-299). Baryonic matter is heavy: mostly = protons and=20 neutrons. Since 99% of the matter in the universe is dark (and if the = universe=20 is flat) only about 10% can be baryonic. What this matter consists of is = unknown.

The Coma Cluster consists of about 100 galaxies containing = 1011=20 stars (Rees 1979: 116). The Hubble deep scan indicates that in our 10 = billion=20 light year volume of viewing, there are at least 100 billion galaxies. = Puts=20 things into perspective, if one can grasp such numbers and scales. The = group of=20 galaxies making up the "Great Attractor" contains at least 600 galaxies = and is=20 larger in scale and mass than the Coma Cluster. This would dominate our = sky if=20 we were on the other side of the Milky Way.

"A typical group is 50 million times as massive as the Sun, and has a = temperature of 10 million degrees C. By comparison, a typical cluster = weighs=20 1,000 trillion Suns and registers a temperature of 75 million degrees = c., the=20 heaviest known cluster is five times as massive and nearly three times = as hot"=20 (Henry, Briel & B=F6hringer 2000: 46).

The idea that we are alone in such scales approaches silly as a limit = (to=20 paraphrase what little I remember from calculus). One person, = Ksanformality=20 (Space Research Institute in Moscow) and Arkipov think life is so = prevalent,=20 that we are bombarded by artifacts from other civilizations at a rate of = about=20 4,000 artifacts in the last 4.5 billion years.

"Those beautiful spiral patterns that one sees in pictures of = galaxies are=20 not, in most cases, the patterns of where the stars are. In many cases, = if one=20 looked at a picture of where the stars are actually distributed, one = would not=20 see a spiral pattern. The spirals are only the region in which new stars = are=20 currently being formed. As a result, while it is true that spiral = galaxies=20 rotate, it is not true that the spiral structure, which is only the = trace of the=20 process of star formation, rotates with the stars of the galaxy. = Instead,=20 observations suggest that it moves through the galaxy, dissolving and = reforming=20 on scales somewhat slower than the rotation of the galaxy" (Smolin 1997: = 121).=20

"Embedded in the halo one finds a disk of stars, gas and dust = rotating slowly=20 around an axis through the halo's center. This rotational motion is = definitely=20 not random; in any region of the disk the velocities of nearby stars = differ by=20 not more than ten percent from the overall rotational speed. One of the=20 interesting and unexpected facts about the disk is that it does not = rotate=20 rigidly, like a merry-go-round or a top. Instead, the stars and clouds = of gas=20 rotate with roughly the same velocity no matter how far they are from = the=20 center, so that those father out take more time to complete a rotation. =

The constancy of the rotational speed of the stars in a spiral disk = is one of=20 the spectacular scientific discoveries of the second half of the = twentieth=20 century. This is because it is possible to use Newton's laws to deduce = this=20 distribution of matter in a galaxy, given only the knowledge of the = velocities=20 of the stars. In most galaxies, the result of this is a very different=20 distribution of matter than is seen in the stars and gas. Typically, = between 80=20 and 90 percent of the matter of a galaxy is found to be spread out = beyond the=20 disk and is not in the form of visible stars and gas" (Smolin 1997: = 121-122).=20

"As they have been mapped by astronomers, the interstellar medium of = spiral=20 galaxies are quite complex. The different phases of the medium, which = differ=20 dramatically one from another in density, temperature and composition, = coexist=20 side by side. One of these phases consists of the very cold and dense = molecular=20 clouds in which stars are formed. Very different from this is an = extremely hot=20 plasma phase, in which the electrons and nuclei have become = disassociated. Still=20 another phase consists of normal atomic gas, with rather moderate = temperatures=20 extending up to room temperature" (Smolin 1997: 123).

Smolin deduces that spiral galaxies are not in thermal equilibrium = and that=20 there is a flow of matter and energy as a complex system through = feedback=20 mechanisms. Supernova explosion fuel the system (input), and star = formation eats=20 the fuel (output), and the spiral galaxy forms the means for the process = (throughput). Star formations occur in groups in the dense clouds of gas = and=20 dust... and this causes the cloud to heat up and be pushed away... = stopping=20 local star formation (feedback). The push of gas hits other dense clouds = which=20 triggers new star formation (feedback). As stars age, those that go = supernova=20 refuel the system with gas and dust and also send out pressure waves = that=20 trigger star formation (feedback) in relatively stable clouds (Smolin = 1997:=20 123-128).

"It has been estimated that in a typical spiral galaxy an amount of = material=20 equal to about three to five times the mass of the Sun in each year = converted=20 from gas to stars. On the other hand, the estimates are that each year = the stars=20 return, on the average, at least half of this same amount of material to = the=20 interstellar medium, through stellar winds and supernova explosions" = (Smolin=20 1997: 131).

The universe is full of structure, from the smallest to the largest = things we=20 have observed: "At the upper end, the largest scales we have been able = to probe=20 are about half a billion light years, which is roughly 1059 = times the=20 fundamental Planck length. The smallest scale we have so far been able = to probe=20 is about one hundredth the diameter of the proton, which is = 1018=20 Planck length. Thus from the largest to the smallest phenomena we have = yet=20 studied, the known world spans forty-one orders of magnitude (Smolin = 1997: 163).=20 At the top end this is within one percent of its visible diameter and it = is till=20 structured.

What about the other universal: time?

"The present is the only reality. While it slips away, we enter into = a new=20 present, thus always remaining in the eternal Now" (Reichenbach 1971: = 2).

"The deterministic conception of time flow may be compared to the = happenings=20 seen in a motion picture theater. While we watch a fascinating scene, = its future=20 development is already imprinted on the film; Becoming an illusion, = because it=20 makes no difference to the happenings at what point we look at them. = What we=20 regard as Becoming is merely our acquisition of knowledge of the future, = but it=20 has no relevance to the happenings themselves" (Reichenbach 1971: 11). =

Reichenbach (1971: 20-23) argues the following: 1) Time goes from the = past to=20 the future; 2) The present, which divides the past from the future, is = now; 3)=20 The past never comes back; 4) We cannot change the past, but we can = change the=20 future; 5) We have records of the past, but not of the future; 6) The = past is=20 determined; the future is undetermined.

He argues that time order is related to causal order... that "every=20 asymmetrical, connected, and transitive relation establishes a serial = order"=20 (Reichenbach 1971: 26). The laws of thermodynamics enter here:

"The first law states that in all changes there exists a certain = quantity,=20 called energy, which retains a constant value. In its classical = form=20 the second law states that there exists another quantity, called=20 entropy, which in some changes remains constant, but in other = changes=20 increases, whereas it is impossible that this quantity ever decrease.=20 Irreversible processes are those in which entropy increases" = (Reichenbach 1971:=20 50). In other words: 1) you can't win. =

"Since completely reversible processes do not occur, the second law = of=20 thermodynamics can be stated in the form that the entropy of a closed = system=20 increases as long as any processes are going on within it, or, in other = words,=20 so long as a state of equilibrium has not been reached" (Reichenbach = 1971: 53).=20 In other words: 2) you can't break = even.

"We see that our conception of causality, of the past that=20 determines the present and the future, is closely connected with our = definition=20 of positive time in terms of growing entropy. In opposite time = we find=20 it's equivalent in a conception of finality, according to which = the=20 future determines the present and the past" (Reichenbach 1971: 154). = In=20 other words: 3) you can't get out of the game. =

Thus the cause produces the effect and the effect records the cause. = There is=20 a close connection between entropy and information. Information is = derived from=20 the past. Information is created in the now. "Entropy measures the = degree of=20 randomness of a system" (Gatlin 1972: 26), while Information measures = the degree=20 of order of a system.

"If I stretch my imagination, I can just begin to believe in the idea = that=20 space is not something fundamental, but emerges only as an approximate = way of=20 describing the way things are organized and interrelated. Temperature is = such an=20 emergent property; it has no meaning on the atomic level. It is only a = measure=20 of the average energy of vast numbers of molecules. In the picture I = described=20 in the last chapter, space is something like this; there is a = fundamental level=20 in which there are only the connections among the nodes and edges of a = network.=20 These networks do not exist in space - they simply are. It is their = network of=20 interconnections that define, in appropriate circumstances, the geometry = of=20 space, just as the jumps and dances of all the atoms in a cubic = centimeter of=20 air define its temperature. Perceived at vastly larger scales than the = Planck=20 length, the network seems to trace a continuous geometry, just as the = cloth of=20 my shirt is woven from a network of threads. Perhaps, just perhaps, this = is the=20 way the world is" (Smolin 1997:286).

"But what about time? Could time also be something that emerges from = some=20 more fundamental level? Is it possible that at this level there is no = time, no=20 change" (Smolin 1997: 286)?

The indeterminacy principle of Heisenberg now enters the equation. It = says=20 that for every physical quantity there exists many other quantities = which cannot=20 be measured simultaneously.

Heisenberg discovered that one could discovery either the position = (space) or=20 the momentum (time) of the light, but never both at the same time. The=20 uncertainty of this turned out to be Planck's constant divided by the = mass of=20 the particle. At this level, partitioning by space or time into = successive=20 events is not possible. This area of uncertainty is what I call = god's=20 loaded dice.

There is another term that is nice to snuggle up to on a long cold = winter=20 night: eigenstate. Eigen is German for "particular". It can be said, = that for=20 states where the uncertainty principle applies that as long as no = measurement of=20 a system has been done, it is impossible to know the eigenstate of the = of that=20 system.... and the system itself does not know what its eigenstate is = until the=20 observer measures it. The thought experiments called "Schr=F6dinger's = Cat"=20 illustrates this concept. A cat is placed into a box where a small = sample of=20 radium with a 50-50 probability of a decay in any one hour could trip a = switch=20 that breaks a beaker filled with cyanide gas. After an hour, the lid is = lifted=20 to see if the cat is alive or dead. According to one extreme view of = quantum=20 mechanics, at that instant, the system will be forced to jump to one of = the two=20 eigenstates: alive or dead (like a wave or a particle)... and that until = the=20 observer looks, the cat is in both states, partly alive and partly = dead(!) ...=20 that the cat exists in two possible parallel universes, one in which it = is=20 alive, and one in which it is dead. Is light a wave or is light a = particle...=20 does light exist in two parallel universes where the action of the = observer=20 determines which one. Do previous states constrain future states? This = implies=20 that the history of the universe impacts the future of the universe... = but that=20 the each "present" can branch into different paths at the "now".

"One distinguishes two things about a wave. First, a wave has a = front, and a=20 succession of wave fronts forms a system of surfaces like the layers of = an=20 onion. A two-dimensional analog is the beautiful wave circles that form = of the=20 smooth surface of a pond when a stone is thrown in. The second = characteristic of=20 a wave, less intuitive, is the path along which it travels - a system of = imagined lines perpendicular to the wave fronts. These lines are known = as the=20 wave "normals" or "rays".

We can make the provisional assertion that these rays correspond to = the=20 trajectories of particles. Indeed, if you cut a small piece out of a = wave,=20 approximately 10 or 20 wave-lengths along the direction of propagation = and about=20 as much across, such a "wave packet" would actually move along a ray = with=20 exactly the same velocity and change of velocity as we might expect from = a=20 particle of this particular kind at this particular place, taking into = account=20 any force fields acting on the particle" (Schr=F6dinger 2000: 28-29). =

"One interpretation of wave phenomena extensively supported by = experiments is=20 this: at each position of a uniformly propagating wave train, there is a = twofold=20 structural connection of interactions, which may be distinguished as=20 "longitudinal" and "transversal". The transversal structure is that of = the wave=20 fronts and manifests itself in difraction and interference experiments; = the=20 longitudinal structure is that of the wave normals and manifests itself = in the=20 observation of single particles" (Schr=F6dinger 2000: 29).

Ultimate Zen: Can our choice, within the constraints = of the=20 history of previous choice, be directed by conscious thought?

Einstein showed that space and time are really space/time.

"It is hardly possible to explain how a length of space and a length = of time=20 can each appear differently to differently moving observers, while their = combined space-time interval remains the same for all, except by = pointing out a=20 peculiar mathematical fact: that the interval squared always equals the=20 difference between its space squared and its time squared, a difference = that is=20 constant and unaffected by shifting observer's viewpoints or the = relative=20 proportions of space and time involved" (Murchie 1961: 547).

The faster you are moving in relation to the velocity of light in = relation to=20 other objects in the Universe... the slower your clocks appear to tick = in=20 comparison. A person traveling near the speed of light may age only a = few=20 minutes while the slower person would age hundreds of years. Fast = objects=20 operate more in time than space, and slow objects operate more in space = than=20 time. So if someone calls you "spacey", you work it out.

"Interval is the sole objective physical relation between = events,=20 the mathematician's fundamental invariant, the prime ingredient of world = texture=20 and probably one of the few absolutes left in our fathomless new ocean = of=20 relativity" (Murchie 1961: 547).

Now for some additional counter-intuitive stuff (stuff is a highly = technical=20 term used by great scientists):

"If you are surprised to see that the past meets the = future=20 only here, not elsewhere, just remember the Einstein = has quite=20 thoroughly exploded the myth that simultaneity prevails throughout the = universe.=20 And this means that the only definite location of now is = here.=20 In fact, every man's nowis here (the "here" = meaning=20 "where he is"). While beyond here, now becomes more = and more a=20 matter of viewpoint, or relative motion" (Murchie 1961: 556).

"That the whole abstraction of place, which we once learned = to=20 trust, turns out to be nothing but a viewpoint that is different from = every side=20 .... it is neither the point in space, nor the instant in time, at which = something happens that has physical reality, but only the event itself" = (Murchie=20 1961: 560561).

Einstein found that gravity and accelerated motion are profoundly=20 intertwined. His mind experiment found that an observer confined inside = a=20 compartment cannot distinguish between acceleration and gravity: the = equivalence=20 principle. But in reality, I think there is a profound difference.=20 Accelerated motion require the expenditure of energy on the part of the = moving=20 object. What energy is expended by gravity? It takes energy to = accelerate...=20 does it take energy to gravitate? If they are equivalent, then something = must be=20 expending energy to create the equivalent effect. What energy? From = where? The=20 observer must know about the source of energy expended for the = accelerated=20 motion. Then why does the observer not observe the energy expended by = gravity?=20 This indicates to me that they are not equivalent. Is time perhaps the=20 observable energy?

I finally think I understand relativity a bit more after reading the=20 following:

"Einstein proclaimed that all objects in the universe are = always=20 traveling through space/time at one fixed speed - that of light. This is = a=20 strange idea; we are used to the notion that objects travel at speeds=20 considerably less than that of light.... We are presently talking about = an=20 object's combined speed through all four dimensions - three = space and=20 one time - and it is the object's speed in this generalized sense that = is equal=20 to that of light... If an object is sitting still (relative to us) and=20 consequently does not move through space at all, then ... all of the = object's=20 motion is used to travel through one dimension - in this case, the time=20 dimension. Moreover, all objects that are at rest relative to us and to = us and=20 to each other move through time - they age - at exactly the same rate or = speed.=20 If an object does move through space, however, this means that some of = the=20 previous motion through time must be diverted... the object will travel = more=20 slowly through time than its stationary counterparts, since some of its = motion=20 now is being used to move through space... We see that this framework=20 immediately incorporates the fact that there is a speed limit to an = object's=20 spatial velocity: the maximum speed through space occurs if all = of an=20 object's motion through time is diverted to motion through space. This = occurs=20 when all of its previous light-speed motion through time is diverted to=20 light-speed motion through space. But having used up all of its motion = through=20 time, this is the fastest speed through space that the object - = any=20 object - can possibly achieve... Thus light does not get old; a photon = that=20 emerged from the big bang is the same age today as it was then. There is = no=20 passing of time at light speed" (Greene 1999: 50-51).

I tried to visualize our solar system in this way... that the = light=20 generated by matter is standing still and that the matter is moving and=20 distorting space at the "speed attributed to light", and that it is us, = not=20 light that is traveling through the universe... and it twisted my brain = into a=20 knot.

Thus, I thought these factors can be viewed as vectors whose = total value=20 is equal to the speed of light. I wondered if it was possible to = substitute this=20 vector as an equation for the "c" in e=3Dmc2 ... and then = solve the=20 equation for the Planck length of a string to gain a numeric value for = "time" :=20 e=3Dm(vectors)2, where "vectors" includes directionality and = time as an=20 equation? I sent an email to Brian Greene, asking this question. He = replied that=20 the factors refer to different quantities in the units and it is more = like a=20 conversion factor than something that can be solved for... so this is = not an=20 equation in that sense. I also wondered if it is possible to solve for = the=20 amount of information in the universe? I have this GUT feeling for a law = of the=20 conservation of information parallel to the conservation of energy... = that=20 information cannot be destroyed, only converted to chaos, and that there = is a=20 simple isomorphic relationship between e=3Dmc2 and disorder, = order and=20 some constant: e(disorder) =3D m(order)c2...=20 chaos=3D(information)c2.

Douglas Adams put it best:

"We live in strange times..... We also live in strange places: each = in a=20 universe of our own. The people with whom we populate our universes are = the=20 shadows of whole other universes intersecting with our own. Being able = to glance=20 out into this bewildering complexity of infinite recursion and say = things like,=20 "Oh, hi, Ed! Nice tan. How's Carol?" involves a great deal of filtering = skill=20 for which all conscious entities have eventually to develop a capacity = in order=20 to protect themselves from the contemplation of the chaos through which = they=20 seethe and tumble. So give your kid a break, okay?=20

Extract from Practical Parenting in a

Fractally Demented Universe" (Adams 1997:737).

I wish I had said that. I like the image of a fractally demented=20 universe....but dementia is in the mind of the beholder.

There is no time at the speed of light. Light does not age, it just = is. Does=20 this sound like a description of a god-like property?

There is a distance, called the Planck distance (German = physicist,=20 Max Planck), of 1.61 x 10-33centimeters where general = relativity=20 ceases. If you divide this distance by the speed of light you get = Planck=20 time: 5.35 x 10-44 second (Morris 1985: 194-195).

ZEN 1

Time stops at the speed of light. Light is unchanging, non-aging so = it is the=20 perfect "bit" of information. But light expands the observers universe = at the=20 speed of light, and from the point of view of the observer, light = expands across=20 a larger and larger area of the universe. As it expands, the amount of = light per=20 surface area is reduced. So while light is instantaneous and unchanging, = it=20 changes in relation to any observer. So what is changing, the light, or = the=20 observer?

ZEN 2

If the entropy of the universe increases to a ball of universal = light, does=20 the universe convert to a ball of ultimate information? Is there a = correlation=20 between matter and chaos and energy an entropy?

ZEN 3=20

Is a black hole the fundamental unit of chaos, anti-information, = anti-order?=20

ZEN 4

"It appears, therefore, that we exist in a very improbable kind of = universe,=20 one that was fine-tuned to an accuracy of one part in 1015 at = a time=20 of one second after the big bang. In fact, this fine-tuning was even = greater at=20 earlier times. At some point, when the universe was only a fraction of a = second=20 old, it would have been not one part in 1015, but one part in = 1050.... If this fine-tuning had not taken place, we would = not exist.=20 In a universe that had slightly less matter than ours, the stars and = galaxies=20 would never have formed. Matter would have expanded outward at such a = rate that=20 gravity could never have created the condensations of hydrogen and = helium gas=20 from which the galaxies were formed. On the other hand, if the matter = density=20 had differed from the critical value by slightly more than a factor of = one part=20 in 1015 in the other direction, gravity would have been too = strong.=20 The expansion would have halted, and the universe would have collapsed = in a big=20 crunch long before life had a chance to evolve" (Morris 1990:53-54).

ZEN 5

The Great Attractor: In 1977, study of cosmic microwave = radiation=20 backgrounds discovered that is was slightly red-shifted on one side of = the sky,=20 and slightly blue-shifted on the other, suggesting a shift out of the = velocity=20 due to the expansion of the universe. This change was about 600 = kilometers per=20 second. In 1987, a group of astrophysicists, known as the "Seven = Samurai",=20 checked the relative motion of 400 galaxies, which resulted in an = astounding=20 discovery: "The Local Group, the cluster of galaxies in Virgo, and two=20 superclusters in the Hydra-Centaurus and Pavo-Indus region were all = caught in=20 the gravitational grip of some huge mass... All the galaxies in our = region of=20 the universe were caught up in a streaming motion toward an attractor = that had=20 the mass at least 5 x 1016 times greater than that of the = sun, and=20 equal to that of tens of thousands of galaxies, and which was situated = at least=20 400 million lightyears from the Milky Way. The velocity of the streaming = motion=20 was about 600 kilometers per second in the vicinity of our galaxy. In = places=20 close to the Great Attractor, it rose to 1,000 kilometers per second or = more"=20 (Morris 1990: 129).

ZEN 6

If there was an origin as a Big bang, then at zero time, the universe = had=20 zero size, therefore the density of the universe was infinite: this is = called a=20 singularity. Singularities may not exist, and only approach nothingness = as a=20 limit. But particles were created after the big bang and appear to have = sprung=20 into existence everywhere at the same time as a phase = transition...something=20 else other than matter approached nothingness as a limit.

ZEN 7

"The weak anthropic principle has been stated by the British = physicist=20 Brandon Carter as follows: "What we can expect to observe must be = restricted by=20 the conditions necessary for our presence as observers." In other words, = if the=20 universes did not have the properties it does, we would not be here to = see it"=20 (Morris 1990: 216).

Zen 8

"The strong principle has been stated by Carter as follows: "The = Universe=20 must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some = state". In=20 other words, a universe that does not have the potential for the = creation of=20 life is impossible" (Morris 1990: 218). As Wheeler put it, there was no = "before"=20 the Big bang, and there would be no "after" a Big Crunch. The universe = is=20 space/time, and it contains space and time, space and time did not = create the=20 universe. Wheeler came up with the principle he called "Genesis by=20 Observership", meaning the observer creates reality: "Do billions upon = billions=20 of elementary acts of observer-participancy add up to all that we call=20 creation?"

"... we have to confront the problem of how to construct a rational = and=20 complete understanding of the world that allows the observer to be in = the world.=20 But observers are not simple things, and any universe that naturally = gives rise=20 to, and is hospitable to, an observer must be complex. Thus, a theory of = a whole=20 universe, if it is to be consistent with what we know of quantum theory = and=20 relativity, must be of a complex, self-organized universe" (Smolin 1997: = 19).=20

Barrow (1991: 164-167) notes that the current universe is as big as = it is=20 because we exist right now. We exist because the chemicals needed for = carbon=20 based life exist in the necessary and sufficient quantities for life. =

"Living systems on Earth are based upon the subtle chemical = properties of=20 carbon and their interplay with hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and = oxygen.=20 These biological elements, and all much-vaunted alternatives like = silicon, do=20 not emerge as fossils from the inferno of the Big Bang. They are the = results of=20 nuclear reactions in the interiors of the stars. There, primordial = hydrogen and=20 helium nuclei are burnt into heavier elements by the process of nuclear = fusion.=20 When these stars reach the ends of their lives, they explode and = disperse these=20 heavier biological elements into space where they become incorporated = into=20 molecules, planets, and eventually people. Almost all the carbon atoms = in our=20 bodies have this dramatic astral history" (Barrow 1991: 165).

"This process whereby Nature produces the biological building blocks = of life=20 from inert relics of the Big Bang is long and slow by terrestrial = standards. It=20 takes more than ten billion years. This vast period of stellar alchemy = is=20 necessary to provide the necessary precursors to life. Since the = Universe is=20 expanding, we now discern why it is necessary for it to be at least ten = billion=20 light years in size. A universe simply as big as our galaxy indeed has = room for=20 a hundred billion stars, but it would be little more than a month old. = There is=20 a niche in the history of the Universe when life could and did evolve=20 spontaneously. That niche is bounded on one side by the requirement that = the Big=20 Bang cool off sufficiently to allow stars, atoms, and biochemicals to = exist, and=20 on the other side by the fact that all the stars will have burned out = after a=20 hundred billion years" (Barrow 1991: 165).

Genz (1999) reminds me that there is no such thing as nothingness in = space or=20 vacuum. He asked "How empty can space be and still remain in consonance = with the=20 laws of nature" (1999: vii). Space is filled with radiation, even if it = is not=20 filled with "mass":

"According to quantum mechanics - more specifically, to = Heisenberg's=20 uncertainty relation - we can never precisely fix the amount of = energy that=20 fills a certain region of space in a certain amount of time. The amount = of=20 energy will fluctuate. Consequently, we will never be able to define a=20 zero-scale for energy. One might say that the vacuum of physics = emits=20 energy - more of it the shorter the time span we define, less of it for = longer=20 times...

According to Albert Einstein's famous formula E =3D mc2, = energy and=20 mass are the same thing. Mass therefore also fluctuates, and empty space = will=20 see a constant emergence and disappearance of particles that carry this = mass.=20 These particles don't last, and physicists call then virtual=20 particles...

The physical vacuum is by no means empty and devoid of = characteristics.=20 Rather, anything that can exist at all will oscillate and spin in it in = a=20 random, disordered fashion. In this vacuum, quantities will emerge that, = in an=20 abstract space of particle properties, will define directions; these = quantities,=20 which in their abstract space act somewhat like magnets in real space, = are=20 called fields" (Genz 1999: viii).

Fields are odd little things. There was an argument about whether the = electron has a negative charge and a proton has a positive charge, or if = simply=20 that they were opposites. Herman Weyl solved this issue by finding an=20 explanation as to why we can make whatever choice we want. He found that = if the=20 particles did not directly interact, but instead interacted with a field = in=20 space, then the charge of each is felt through its impact to the field, = and all=20 that matters is the relationship between the charge and the field. When = Weyl did=20 the math to describe this, he discovered it was the same as the = equations for=20 the electromagnetic field! The concept of fields has become what is = called the=20 gauge principle (Smolin 1997: 51-53).

"...let us consider a more complicated kind of electron, which can = have not=20 one, but three kinds of charge. Let us name these charges after the = three=20 primary colors, so now we can have red charges, yellow charges and blue = charges.=20 Following Weyl's ideas, several people then asked what would happen if = we were=20 able to change our minds about which color was which, freely, in = different=20 places at different times. They found that this could be accomplished if = there=20 was a field that interacted with the particles. This new field is a = fancier=20 object than the electromagnetic fields; it is something like = eight=20 different electrodynamic fields, which interact not only with the = colored=20 particles but with each other. The new theories were called Yang-Mills = theories=20 after C. N. Yang and Richard Mills, who together were among those who = proposed=20 them in 1954" (Smolin 1997: 53).

"Shortly after this, several people realized that, when combined with = quantum=20 mechanics, Yang-Mills fields can have some remarkable properties. = Everyone is=20 familiar with the fact that in electricity opposite charges attract. But = when=20 there is more than one kind of charge, as in our example with colors, = this=20 tendency can be realized in a way that is much more drastic. Opposite = colors not=20 only attract - they cannot be separated from each other. No combination = of=20 colored particles can be separated from others unless all the color = averages out=20 completely. This property is called the confinement of colors. = It means=20 that one can never observe a colored particle in nature. One can only = see=20 combinations of particles in which the colors cancel each other out.

"As soon as people understood this property of confinement, the = application=20 to physics was obvious. Physicists had a good reason to believe that = protons and=20 neutrons are each composed of three particles, which had been called = quarks.=20 Moreover, every one of the many strongly interacting particles that had = been=20 seen in experiments could be interpreted as containing an equal mix of = the three=20 colors. The result was one can understand all the phenomena of the = strong=20 interactions, including all of nuclear physics, by supposing that each = of the=20 quarks comes in three colors, and that the forces between them are the = result of=20 their interactions with the Yang-Mills field.

"This new theory, called quantum chromodynamics, or QCD, for = short,=20 must be considered to be one of the triumphs of twentieth century = science"=20 (Smolin 1997: 53-54).

There is a basic first variant in quantifying things called the = Higgs=20 field. In order to visualize this field one must think about phase=20 transitions. The freezing of water is such a transition with a critical=20 temperature (energy) of 0 degrees Celsius. The critical temperature for = the=20 Higgs field transition was so high it occurred in the very earliest = phase of the=20 big bang.... fractions of a second after its creation (Genz 1999: 11). = The Higgs=20 field "pops up in our empty space simply because, in its presence, space = is in a=20 state of lower energy than in its absence" (page 11). This field = "connotes a=20 highly ordered state - just as water molecules become ordered = when they=20 undergo a phase transition into ice. As long as they move in the liquid = water=20 phase, they wander about in random motions; in the crystalline ice = phase, they=20 oscillate about a point of rest" (page 13).

Ice forms a pattern that has symmetry with respect to arbitrary = translations=20 and rotations. Symmetry is important to understanding transitions. "Ice = has only=20 very limited translational and rotational symmetries, leaving its = crystal=20 structure unchanged. This means that certain distances and certain = directions in=20 geometrical space are singled out as special. The same is true for the = Higgs=20 field; this field also distinguishes certain directions in its own = abstract=20 space - the space spanned by the properties of elementary particles" = (Genz 1999:=20 13-14).

Order, chaos and symmetry are connected and symmetry can be broken, = for=20 example, through the circle, the line of the plane. "Patterns = with=20 symmetries that are based on the ordering of finite elements will, by = that very=20 definition, break higher symmetries based on continuous = parameters"=20 (Genz 1999: 15). Nondeterministic symmetry breaking is called = spontaneous=20 symmetry breaking. Thus "empty" space contains nothing that could = be=20 changed by translation, rotation or mirror imaging so it is symmetric in = all=20 three. In addition, there are symmetries between "empty" space and = natural laws=20 excluding changes in velocity (acceleration and deceleration):

"The only property of space that can be defined by itself objectively = and=20 free of arbitrary choices is the physical concept of its acceleration; = this is=20 true because Newton's laws are not symmetrical under changes in = acceleration" (Genz 1999: 20).

If a space of lowest energy is in a state that is not invariant under = symmetry transformations of the basic laws of nature, then it contains=20 "something"; it is not a void. The transformations of the basic laws of = nature=20 act on this "something" and change it. The very fact that this space has = distinguishable states, equivalent to each other through symmetry=20 transformations of the laws, permits the definition of a direction, a = distance,=20 a concept that defines a particular rotational motion, and these vary=20 transformations can take the space from one such state to another.... = any space=20 that distinguishes directions and accelerations cannot be "empty"..." = (Genz=20 1999:20-21).

"If we remove from space as much energy as possible, there may be a=20 "spontaneous" materialization of structures that we have named Higgs = fields...=20 virtual particles incessantly emerge and vanish in this space... The = vacuum of=20 physics contains in its facilities everything that the laws of nature = will=20 permit, It fluctuates - the virtual particles come and go. The only = thing that=20 may be missing is the energy it would take to make them appear as real=20 particles. All that can appear in reality must be present as a = possibility - as=20 a state of virtual particles - in a vacuum. Add energy to the vacuum and = those=20 virtual states may appear as particles" (Genz 1999: 24).

Thus it appears that a Higgs field will appear if energy is at its = minimum,=20 but that the transformation from a virtual universe to a real one = requires an=20 energy input. "Real systems are, in this sense, "excitations of the = vacuum" ...=20 The vacuum in itself is shapeless, but it may assume specific shapes: in = so=20 doing, it becomes a physical reality, a "real world"" (Genz 1999: 26). = The=20 implications of this are interesting. A singularity of infinitely low = energy=20 interacts with an infinitely hot and dense flash of pure energy with = zero=20 structure generates a Higgs field which in turn generates structure = where space,=20 matter and time share a common origin. Infinite heat means infinite = disorder.=20 I ask, is there a phase transition between information and energy = that=20 generates the heat needed to begin a universe?

"... the mass of the electron is not intrinsic; it comes from its = interaction=20 with certain particles, which are called Higgs particles. If there were = no Higgs=20 particles, the electron would have no mass. It would move at the speed = of light,=20 like a photon. But if it finds itself surrounded by a gas of Higgs = particles, an=20 electron is not able to move so quickly. The electron seems to gain mass = because=20 it is moving, not through empty space, but through a muck of Higgs = particles, it=20 becomes heavier because when one pushes it, one also pushes all the = Higgs=20 particles around it.

"In fact there is good reason to believe that the world is filled = with a gas=20 of Higgs particles, which are responsible for giving the electron its = mass. But=20 that's not the whole story. Adding the Higgs particles doesn't really = remove the=20 distinction between electrons and neutrinos: they are now different = because the=20 electron interacts with the Higgs particles while the neutrino does not" = (Smolin=20 1997: 54-55)

There should be neutrino Higgs as well.. Where are they? It was = discovered=20 that the only stable=20

configuration was one in which there was only one type of Higgs = particle.=20 Spontaneous symmetry breaking created our universe with its electron = Higgs=20 field.

"... the true vacuum at zero temperature still has an infinite supply = of=20 radiation energy. As we proceed, we shall see that electromagnetic = radiation is=20 in fact only one component, albeit infinite in quantity, of the = unfathomable=20 energy supply of the vacuum" (Genz 1999: 189).

"We have seen that the vacuum of physics is distinct from a simple = nothing by=20 virtue of the nonrenewable activity we called zero-point radiation. = Fields and=20 particles originate and disappear; virtual particles appear for the = briefest of=20 time - shorter for the heavier ones, a bit longer for the lighter ones. = In this=20 framework, real particles appear - in a fashion reminiscent of what = Heraclitus=20 called panta rhei - as phenomena accompanied by = excitations of=20 the vacuum. We can loosely compare the vacuum to a farmer's field of = wheat that=20 is swaying in the wind, and the particles to the wave patterns excited = by the=20 wind on its surface" (Genz 1999: 189).

"There is a saying that mass is, in a way, frozen energy" (Genz 1999: = 190) in=20 that the rest mass is "frozen" but the other energy of the particle can = be=20 transferred to other particles. In addition, "the uncertainty relation = implies=20 that there cannot be a region in space totally devoid of electromagnetic = fields"=20 (Genz 1999: 202).

"... every particle has its antiparticle of opposite charge and that = particle=20 plus antiparticle are nothing but an excitation of the vacuum accessible = from=20 the Dirac sea once there is enough energy for the transition. = Conversely, we saw=20 that every real particle-antiparticle pair annihilate into a pure energy = excitation of the vacuum. these are the results that count; and the = uncertainty=20 relation tells us that pair creation and pair annihilation happen in the = vacuum=20 at all times, in all places" (Genz 1999: 205).

There is a field for every particle. The Higgs field pervades the = entire=20 universe as it originated when the universe cooled down. This field has = a lower=20 energy content than space in its absence. It emerged into the universe = when the=20 temperature dropped below 1015 degrees Celsius.

"The parameter we hold responsible for the ability or inability of a = particle=20 to move with a velocity other than that of light is its mass. When the = mass is=20 zero, such as that of a real photon, the particle has to move with the = velocity=20 of light at all times; for finite masses, its velocity can take any = value below=20 the velocity of light, and can also be zero. We saw that quantum = mechanics=20 treats light as a current of mass-zero particles called photons, which = have to=20 move with the greatest possible velocity across space. That space, real = space,=20 contains the pervasive Higgs field. The photon is one of the particles - = it=20 might even be the only one! - that does not interact with the Higgs = field and=20 can therefore move in this field without being slowed down. We might = redefine=20 the influence of the Higgs field on the velocities of the particles it = interacts=20 with in the following way: The Higgs field imparts effective masses to = the=20 particles - which, above the critical temperature of 1015 = degrees,=20 are massless like the photon" (Genz 1999: 231).

I wonder if light defines the Higgs field? That perhaps the field = was=20 created when the photon separated out as a phase transition? The Higgs = field is=20 frictionless, particles move with constant motion through empty space. = Could the=20 Higgs field be the result of the symmetry break that created the = photon... that=20 the universe is larger (in time) than its space/time, and that the time=20 out-of-phase defines the false vacuum? And that time/phase allows it to = be=20 larger than the space it contains? Just a thought from an amateur for a = Monday=20 afternoon.

ZENLET: "... there may be something that = has less=20 energy than nothing" (Genz 1999: 261).

The following table is from Genz 1999: 270 (modified by myself)

Time Temp (K) Gigavolts Distance (cm) Size of Characteristics=20

(seconds) of collisions of collisions Universe=20

______________________________________________________________________= ________=20

0 infinite? infinite? 0 0 or smear? Origin (TOE)*=20

10-44 1032 1019 10-33 0 = Planck=20 time (GUT), gravity=20

10-36 1028 1015 10-29 0 = Inflation=20 starts, strong break=20

10-33 1027 1014 10-28 10 = cm=20 Inflation ends=20

10-10 1015 100 10-16 1015 = (solar=20 system) Electroweak break=20

1013 4000 10-10 10-5 1025 = Cosmic=20 background=20

018 2.7 10-13 0.1 1028 Now

TOE =3D Theory Of Everything=20

GUT =3D Grand Unified Theory

Prior to Planck time, all forces (gravity, weak, strong and = electromagnetic)=20 were a single "ur-force" that was probably dominated by gravity. The = first=20 critical instant was when gravity broke away as a phase transition and = the GUT=20 is broken. When the strong force breaks, inflation begins.

Makes me think of a bubble universe surrounded by a = out-of-time-phase=20 Planck rind... and I wonder if one looks at the universe in this way... = this=20 could explain the transitions and the so called 'cosmological constant". = If the=20 universe started out as a pre-matter something, then even light did not = exist...=20 and that the interval between the birth of matter and the gravitron = created a=20 "false vacuum quantum rind" that was the entire = universe. Then=20 the pulling power of this rind would approach infinity as a limit as it = is all=20 there is... which pulls light and gravity out of the quantum foam. If = one=20 visualizes a small bubble that is everything, once light/gravity = separate out as=20 the bubble expands... the relative percentage of outer rind over inner = stuff=20 decreases super-exponentially... reducing the relative value of the = pull. It=20 never reaches zero, but approaches zero as a limit, soon after the = "bang". Can=20 inflation be thought of this way... as a positive jerk of almost = infinite size=20 that fades almost instantly towards zero as a limit, but still exists = today in a=20 quantum foam rind? Not a space rind but a space/time rind... slightly = out of=20 time phase with the rest of space?

Another thought about inflation. If the universe is getting = larger, and=20 the galaxies and stars are getting farther apart from this increase in = size,=20 what is happening to the matter and energy as well. Is matter getting = bigger=20 (inflating) as well? If so, to what effect? If we are looking into the = past when=20 we look through our telescopes, then the matter we are looking at was = "denser"=20 than today? If the universe was smaller, wouldn't the matter be smaller = as well,=20 so when we look at it, shouldn't the rate of expansion appear less than = today,=20 giving the appearance of an accelerating universe? This would be a = complex issue=20 related to the flatness of the universe, the nature of time and the=20 observational limits of any observer.

ZENLET: "As long as we limit ourselves to average = values,=20 there is no way of telling complete chaos and perfect symmetry apart" = (Genz=20 1999: 276). (i.e. - chaos is symmetric with respect to translation = or=20 rotation?).

Spontaneous symmetry breaking implies the existence of waves. The = Goldstone=20 theorem is that every symmetry that is not also the symmetry of the = ground state=20 implies a particle and fixes the properties of that particle (Genz 1999: = 283).=20 Spontaneous symmetry breaking and phase transitions are the processes = that=20 created the particles in our universe.

There appears to be no difference between gravitational (the force = that=20 attracts mass to mass) and inertial (resistance to acceleration) mass. = Even the=20 best vacuum we can make contains 10,000 molecules per cubic meter and = the=20 estimated density in interstellar space is about 1 hydrogen atom per = cubic=20 meter. The critical matter density for the Universe is estimated at=20 10-7 hydrogen atoms cm3 (Genz 1999: 142).

"... in the general theory of relativity... Its space is in no way = absolute;=20 it is, we might say, adaptable. It adapts to the masses of the universe = ... All=20 masses act on space, and space reacts by fixing their = trajectories...=20 Einstein's general theory of relativity elevates the concept of=20 inertiarather than that of Euclidian geometry to the central = postulate of=20 its edifice: Mass points, or probes, will move along lines of shortest = distances=20 in an appropriately chosen geometry" (Genz 1999: 171).

Genz concludes that light does not need a material medium for = "propagation".=20 It is easy to visualize light as a particle zooming through empty = space but=20 hard to view as an oscillation that oscillates no substance. I have no = problem=20 with the latter when I view light as the medium... it oscillates itself. = There=20 is no space if there is no light. Light is the excitation of empty space = because, in my opinion, light is space. Light is pure energy in that = respect, it=20 defines the medium, the vacuum. Light is the "field" of dreams. Light = does not=20 loose energy in traveling "through" space, because light "defines" = space. This,=20 in my opinion, removes the statistical problems of the wave nature of = light as=20 well. No "black box" experiment can remove all energy from a sub-system = of the=20 universe... or it will pop out of the universe (what a black hole tries = to do,=20 but cannot fully). Empty space free of all radiation is simply not = possible=20 except at the outside our universe, a place impossible to reach. A zero = matter=20 and zero energy space has no "measure" nor "observability". = "Casimer,=20 Sparnaay, and Lamoreauz really do show that there are electromagnetic=20 oscillations in free space that is empty as it could be - as cold as = possible,=20 and without boundaries" (Genz 1999: 186).

".. the true vacuum at zero temperature still has an infinite supply = of=20 radiation energy. As we proceed, we will see that electromagnetic = radiation is=20 in fact only one component, albeit infinite in quantity, of the = unfathomable=20 energy supply of the vacuum" (Genz 1999: 189).

Thus mass is like a phase transition of energy. And light, in my = opinion,=20 act like a "massless particle" and thus is constantly there as a "real = particle"=20 of its own medium. This is why there is a fundamental connection between = matter,=20 energy and light (e =3D mc2). The "frozen" energy of the rest = mass of=20 particles can only be removed by breaking the particles, but the other = energy=20 the particle have is the useful energy in our macro-universe that can be = transferred from one form to another.

Smoot & Davidson (1993) summarize the thermal history of the = universe:=20

"At a ten-millionth of a trillionth of a trillionth = (10-42) of a=20 second after the big bang - the earliest moment about which we can = sensibly=20 talk, and then only with some suspension of disbelief - all the universe = we can=20 observe today was the tiniest fraction of the size of a proton. Space = and time=20 had only just begun. (remember, the universe did not expand = into=20 existing space after the big bang; its expansion created space-time as = it went.)=20 The temperature at this point was a hundred million trillion trillion=20 (1023) degrees, and the three forces of nature - = electromagnetism and=20 the strong and weak nuclear forces - were fused into one.

By a ten-billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second=20 (10-34 second) inflation had expanded the universe (at an=20 accelerating rate) a million trillion trillion (1030) times, = and the=20 temperature had fallen to below a billion billion billion = (1027)=20 degrees. The strong nuclear force had separated, and matter underwent = its first=20 phase transition, existing now as quarks (the building blocks of protons = and=20 neutrons), electrons, and other fundamental particles.

The next three phase transitions occurred at a ten-thousandth of a = second=20 when quarks began to bind together to form protons and neutrons (and = antiprotons=20 and antineutrons). Annihilation of particles of matter and antimatter = began,=20 eventually leaving a slight residue of matter. All the forces of nature = were now=20 separate.

The temperature had fallen sufficiently after about a minute to allow = protons=20 and neutrons to stick together when they collided, forming the nuclei of = hydrogen and helium, the stuff of stars. This thick soup of matter and=20 radiation, which initially was the density of water, continued expanding = and=20 cooling for another three hundred thousand years, but was too energetic = for=20 electrons to stick to the hydrogen and helium nuclei to form atoms. The=20 energetic photons existed in a frenzy of interactions with the particles = in the=20 soup. The photons could only travel a very short distance between = interactions.=20 The universe was essentially opaque.

When the temperature fell to about 3,000 degrees, at three hundred = thousand=20 years, a crucial further phase transition occurred. The photons were no = longer=20 energetic enough to dislodge electrons from around hydrogen and helium = nuclei=20 and so atoms of hydrogen and helium formed and stayed together. The = photons no=20 longer interacting with the electrons and were free to escape and travel = great=20 distances. With this decoupling of matter and radiation, the universe = became=20 transparent, and radiation streamed in all directions - to course = through time=20 as the cosmic background radiation we experience still. The radiation = released=20 at that instant gives us a snapshot of the distribution of the matter = within the=20 universe at three hundred thousand years of age. Had all matter been = distributed=20 evenly, the fabric of space would have been smooth, and the interaction = of=20 photons with particles would have been homogeneous, resulting in a = completely=20 uniform cosmic background radiation. Our discovery of the wrinkles = reveals that=20 matter was not uniformly distributed, that it was already structured, = thus=20 forming the seeds out of which today's complex universe has grown" = (Smoot &=20 Davidson 1993: 283-285).

What is probable in "god", the universe and everything:

Only some things are probable. The logic of probabilities is = statistics.=20 There is no such thing as fundamental chaos. Chaos is the primary tool = of=20 matter. Just as "In relativity, Matter tells Space how to curve, and = Space tells=20 Matter how to move" (Douglas Adams: Life, the Universe and = Everything),=20 Chaos tells Matter how to function, and Matter tells Chaos how to form = itself.=20 The information level of the universe remains constant. Just as:

E=3DMC2 E=3Denergy M=3Dmatter C=3D[speed of] light = (constant)

Here is my guess, just based on consistency:

Ch=3DIT2 Ch=3Dchaos I=3D information T=3Dtime?

My GUT level feeling is that energy and chaos are isomorphic, as = are=20 information and matter. As matter and energy can be converted into each = other.=20 Chaos and information can be converted into each other. The total amount = of=20 matter, energy and light stays the same... and the total amount of = chaos,=20 information and time remains the same... that light and time are = reciprocals of=20 each other?

"Since it varies directly with the entropy, high entropy means high = potential=20 information... Are we to conclude that as the entropy increases the = information=20 always increases? No, it is not quite that simple. The information = concept is=20 far richer than that" (Gatlin 1972: 48-49). Gatlin feels that stored = information=20 varies at least inversely with entropy.

"The second law of thermodynamics is indeed an order-degrading = principle=20 in itself and without constraint; but when we place it under = the=20 control of the higher laws of information theory, it becomes directly=20 responsible for the production of order of a very important type. This = is why=20 life has arisen " (Gatlin 1972: 190).

"When something falls into a black hole, one cannot expect it ever to = come=20 flying back out. The information coded in the properties of its = constituent=20 atoms is, according to Hawking, impossible to retrieve. The problem... = is that=20 if the information is truly lost, quantum mechanics breaks down. Despite = its=20 famed indeterminancy, quantum mechanics controls the behavior of = particles in a=20 very specific way: it is reversible. When one particle interacts with = another,=20 it may be absorbed or reflected or may even break up into other = particles. But=20 one can always reconstruct the initial configuration of the particles = from the=20 final products."

"If this rule is broken by black holes, energy may be created or = destroyed,=20 threatening one of the most essential underpinnings of physics. The = conservation=20 of energy is ensured by the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics, = which=20 also guarantees reversibility; losing one means losing the other. As = Thomas=20 Banks, Michael Peskin and I showed in 1980 at Stanford University, = information=20 loss in a black hole leads to enormous amounts of energy being = generated. For=20 such reasons... I believe the information that falls into a black hole = must=20 somehow become available to the outside world" (Susskind 2000: 118).

I like the idea that information contains huge amounts of = energy!=20

"Hot objects also possess an intrinsic disorder called entropy, which = is=20 related to the amount of information a system can hold. Think of a = crystal=20 lattice with N sites; each site can house one atom or none. Thus every = site=20 holds one "bit" of information, corresponding to whether an atom is = there or=20 not; the total lattice has N such bits and can contain N units of = information.=20 Because there are two choices for each site and N ways of combining = these=20 choices, the total system can be in one of 2n states (each of = which=20 corresponds to a different pattern of atoms). The entropy (or disorder) = is=20 defined as the logarithm of possible states. It is roughly equal to N - = the same=20 number that quantifies the capacity of the system for holding = information."

"Beckenstein found that the entropy of a black hole is proportional = to the=20 area of its horizon. The precise formula, derived by hawking, predicts = an=20 entropy of 3.2 x 1064 per square centimeter of horizon area. = Whatever=20 physical system carries the bits of information at the horizon must be = extremely=20 small and densely distributed: their linear dimensions have to be=20 1/1020 the size of a proton's."

"The discovery of entropy and other thermodynamic properties of black = holes=20 led hawking to a very interesting conclusion. Like other hot bodies, a = black=20 hole must radiate energy and particles into the surrounding space. The = radiation=20 comes from the region of the horizon and does not violate the rule that = nothing=20 can escape from within. But it causes the black hole to loose energy and = mass.=20 In the course of time an isolated black hole radiates away all its mass = and=20 vanishes" (Susskind 2000: 121).

Susskind believes string theory resolves the information paradox:

"A string is a minute object, 1/1020 the size of a proton. = But as=20 it falls into a black hole its vibrations slow down, and more and more = of them=20 become visible. Mathematical studies done at Stanford by Amanda Peet, = Thoracius,=20 Arthur Mezhlumian and me have demonstrated the behavior of a string as = its=20 higher modes freeze out. The string spreads and grows, just as if it = were=20 bombarded by particles and radiation in a very hot environment. In a = relatively=20 short time the string and all the information that it carries are = smeared out=20 over the entire horizon."

"This picture applies to all the material that ever fell into the = black hole=20 - because according to string theory, everything is ultimately made of = strings.=20 Each elementary string spreads and overlaps all the others until a dense = tangle=20 covers the horizon. Each minute segment of string, measuring = 10-33=20 centimeters across, functions as a bit. Thus, strings provide a means = for the=20 black hole's surface to hold the immense amount of information that fell = in=20 during its birth and thereafter."

"It seems then, that the horizon is made up of all the substance in = the black=20 hole, resolved into a giant tangle of strings. The information, as far = as the=20 outside observer is concerned, never actually fell into the black hole; = it=20 stopped at the horizon and was later radiated back out" (Susskind 2000: = 122).=20

But what about gravity and time? If light is timeless, then it is = space... gravity may not be a force, it is merely bent space... bent = light. If=20 you are looking for the fabric of the Universe, it is = light.=20 The old concept of the "ether" is just "light". Mass bends light, so one = gets=20 the appearance of a force we call gravity. Stop light from bending... = and you=20 have a an anti-gravity device. Think of space/time: where light, = traveling at=20 the speed of light, does not exist in time... but in fact sets a time = barrier=20 which is also the limits to the Universe. Light =3D space/no time. = Energy =3D no=20 space/time. Mass =3D space/time. A black hole is ultimate mass, that = bends light=20 so completely that light is converted into pure energy within no space = (i.e.=20 light is converted from space to time). Light is space, energy is time, = and=20 matter is a mixture of both. (Light-space)/information is one variable,=20 (energy-time)/entropy is another, and (matter-space-time)/chaos is the = third=20 variable that define the Universe. Light removes time and useful = information=20 from the Universe and builds space. Mass and black holes bend or remove = light=20 and space from the Universe and modify or build time. The speed of light = as=20 space sets the limits. Light can travel slower than its maximum as the = vacuum.=20 The total amount of information is a constant, but information levels = can change=20 just as light can slow down. The arrow of time is set by conversion of=20 matter/energy to light, which expands the limits of space.... at the = expense of=20 matter, energy and their related chaos and entropy. The amount of = information=20 remains the same, but the conversion of information from useful to = non-useful is=20 directly related to the expansion of space. Life converts light into = information=20 (!!!) by organizing matter into structure at the overall expense of the=20 Universe. Light near matter (mass) is bent and light hitting matter is = partially=20 converted to energy as heat and partially reflected. The conversion of = light to=20 heat REDUCES the density of light around mass! This bends light, and = therefore=20 space, since light is space. Reflect all light, and space is not bent = (there is=20 no gravity)! "I am the light and the life".

"The energy in the gravitational fields that hold stars, planets, = galaxies,=20 and clusters of galaxies together is far greater than all the other = forms of=20 energy combined. This is due to the long range of the gravitational = force.=20 Although the gravitational force is relatively weak, every particle in = the=20 universe attracts every other.... In the cosmic scheme of things, then, = gravity=20 is far more important than heat, light, chemical energy, or = radioactivity. There=20 is much more gravitational energy in the universe than there is nuclear = energy.=20 Furthermore, this gravitational energy is negative. It is so large a = negative=20 quantity that all the positive contributions of other kinds of energy = are=20 unimportant... It turns out that the contribution of matter is a very = large=20 positive number, and that the contribution of gravity is a very large = negative=20 quantity. Do they exactly balance one another? No one really knows, but = they=20 very well could" (Morris 1990: 66-68).

"Gravity is an extraordinarily weak force. On the scale of atoms and = everyday=20 objects, it is ten followed by 37 naughts time weaker than the other = forces of=20 Nature. Hence it is very difficult to detect. Its effects are = overwhelmed by the=20 other forces: magnets stop pieces of metal falling to the ground; the = sub-atomic=20 forces of Nature prevent elementary particles just falling into a heap = on the=20 floor. Moreover, gravity acts upon everything: you cannot turn it off or = shield=20 it as you can other forces. For, whereas electricity and magnetism come = in=20 positive and negative varieties which cancel out, the gravitational = "charge" is=20 mass and that only comes in positive doses. And it is this that allows = gravity=20 to rule in the domain of the very large. For when astronomically large = bodies of=20 matter accumulate the net positive effects of the forces of nature tend = to=20 cancel out because they exist in positive and negative varieties. Mass, = by=20 contrast, just accumulates in the positive sense and eventually wins out = despite=20 its intrinsic weakness" (Barrow 1991: 84).

If light is a particle, a photon, that has energy, but no mass, = and if=20 light is massless, timeless space, then light becomes the medium within = which=20 mass and energy operate. Mass does not define space, light does, but = mass forms=20 the texture of space. Therefore, gravity is not a "force", it is merely = the=20 warping of space by the presence of mass. I wonder if gravity may not be = a=20 particle (gravitron), it may be simply the warped medium of light energy = in=20 which mass sits. Its effect are infinite, because the warping of the = medium has=20 changed the shape of the universe. The amount of mass determines the = amount of=20 warping... so the balance between matter/mass (as a positive number) and = "gravity" (as a negative number) is always equal. Light-warping gives = the=20 appearance of a force. Light is the medium, mass is the cause. Without = mass,=20 space has no warping, Without space, mass has no medium to exist within = and=20 warp. The stretching and warping of the massless, timeless space/light = is a form=20 of thinning or concentrating of space/light that creates the illusion of = gravity. Gravity is, I suspect a density issue of the fabric of space. = Mass=20 changes the density of space like a ball bearing dropped onto a thin = rubber=20 sheet changes the density of the sheet as it dimples down ... giving the = appearance of a gravity field for any object rolled across the rubber = sheet. I=20 suspect, that instead of a "gravitron", physics need to look at the = relative=20 density of the photon as "gravity"... and that they may have already = found the=20 "gravitron".... it is the photon? But according to superstring theory, = the=20 graviton has a spin-2 while the photon has a spin-1... so there must be = a=20 gravitron after all. But then... many late 1990's physicists think = string theory=20 is dead.

The speed at which gravity propagates is no higher then the speed = of=20 light. When mass changes, the rate of bending of light changes, and this = change=20 moves out at no more then the speed of light, because it is light. Since = light=20 is space, the effects of gravity is defined by the defining character of = the=20 universe, the ball of light, within which any observer is confined by = its=20 limiting character.... one cannot exceed the speed of light (exit the = universe).=20 The only possible appearance of exception is the black hole where space = is=20 converted to time that approaches infinity as a limit. It does not reach = infinity because of the second law of thermodynamics.

As to dimensions: space has three physical dimensions: 1) length; = 2)=20 width; and 3) depth. The other dimension 4) is time. If light is space, = then it=20 has the three dimensions.... but a photon has a time dimension of zero, = so light=20 is a unique form of space, its limiting factor. I suspect that energy = has three=20 dimensions as well: 5) chaos; 6) entropy; and 7) information. Energy = operates in=20 time as well, except for light as a form of energy. Matter (mass) is a=20 space/time mixture. Time has three dimensions: 8) past; 9) present; and = 10)=20 future, which modify space. Space has another dimension 11) density = which is=20 related to the density of time/light (gravity). Energy has density as = well=20 (variable 12?). A black hole is the other limiting factor for space, = where light=20 is warped to the point it leaves the universe... and is perhaps = converted to=20 infinite time as a limit.

In a 1998 Scientific American, Andrei Linde presented a model based = on=20 fractals and scalar fields that produces possible models for = self-reproducing=20 multiple universes:

"If this model is correct, then physics alone cannot provide a = complete=20 explanation for all properties of our allotment of the universe. The = same=20 physical theory may yield large parts of the universe that have diverse=20 properties. According to this scenario, we find ourselves inside a=20 four-dimensional domain with our kind of physical laws, not because = domains with=20 different dimensionality and with alternative properties are impossible = or=20 improbable but simply because out kind of life cannot exist in other = domains...=20 Does this mean that understanding all the properties or our region of = the=20 universe will require, besides a knowledge of physics, a deep = investigation of=20 our own nature, perhaps even including the nature of consciousness? This = conclusion would certainly be one of the most unexpected that one could = draw=20 from the recent developments in inflationary cosmology" (Linde 1998: = 104).

Anything is possible. Less things are probable. The art of = possibilities=20 is fuzzy logic. Information operates by fuzzy logic. The information = content of=20 the Universe is a constant. Matter is converted to energy and matter is=20 converted into chaos when matter is concentrated at critical densities. = A star=20 is a matter to energy converter. A black hole simply converts matter to = chaos.=20 The creation of energy allows information to be reintegrated as life on = blobs of=20 matter below the threshold density (planets). The possibility of life is = thus=20 probable in a statistical sense. Probabilities, out of possibilities = arise.=20

I have this GUT feeling that if gravity relates to mass changing = the=20 curve of the Universe, and the universe is expanding, hence changing its = curvature, then gravity is relative as well... it slowly changes as the = universe=20 changes in size. What this means when figuring out how much mass is = required for=20 a universe to slow down and collapse is beyond my non-mathematical mind. = I had=20 this idea while looking at two beach balls creating pseudo-gravity wells = in my=20 grand-children's plastic pool as I filled it up .... and it expanded a = bit with=20 the pressure of the water. Is gravity a variable that has changed in = strength=20 over time? I have another GUT feeling that its effect will be inverse... = that it=20 will increase as the universe expands and was weaker when it began... = perhaps=20 zero at the moment of the big bang.... how does that relate to ideas = like the=20 inflation concept? I learned after I had written these words that Paul=20 Steinhardt has authored a theory about extended inflation by = incorporating a=20 gravitational constant that changes in strength during the early phases = of the=20 growth of the universe.

Jacob Bekenstein proposed that "the area of a black hole was not = analogous to=20 entropy, it was entropy.... based on a twentieth-century spin on the = idea of=20 entropy: that it was negative information, that is to say, that disorder = destroys meaning... Information could be quantified into "bits" like the = contents of a computer memory. In 1972 he calculated the number of bits = it took=20 to characterize the details that had been erased about matter lost = inside a=20 black hole and showed that they were proportional to the area of the = event=20 horizon. In effect, what Bekenstein proposed was that what a black hole = really=20 eats and is swelled by is information" (Overbye 1991: 106-107).


Hawking (ND) has looked into the gravitational entropy of black holes = and=20 found that black holes radiate exactly the energy required to prevent a=20 violation of the second law of thermodynamics and that entropy is a = global=20 property. "Hawking had come full circle from the days when he resisted=20 Bekenstein's notion that black holes had entropy. Now he seemed to see = black=20 holes as almost pure entropy, wreaking disorder and randomness on the = universe,=20 roaming like hungry sharks, eating information, and spreading = unpredictability=20 in their wakes. Because it came from the singularity, he said, the = radiation=20 from a black hole had an unpredictability that went beyond the already = famous=20 unpredictability of the uncertainty principle. In the latter case one = could know=20 either the velocity or the position of a particle. In the case of black = hole=20 radiation, he contended, you couldn't predict either one. This extra = degree of=20 randomness he called the "principle of ignorance". He concluded by = alluding to a=20 famous statement that Einstein had one made in arguing against quantum = theory...=20 "God doesn't play dice".... "God not only plays dice." Hawking = announced, "he=20 sometimes throws them where they can't be seen."" (Overbye 1991: = 116-117).

"Perhaps the greatest achievement, so far, in the search for quantum = gravity=20 was the realization, in the mid-1970's, that black holes are = thermodynamic=20 systems. This means that, as discovered by Jacob Bekenstein and Steven = Hawking,=20 each black hole has a temperature and an entropy. The entropy of a = system is a=20 measure of the maximum amount of information it may contain. What is = remarkable=20 about a black hole is that its entropy is proportional to the area of = its=20 horizon. ... Since the entropy of a black hole is proportional to its = area, the=20 maximum amount of information any system can contain is proportional to = the area=20 of its boundary. ... So the entropy of any system contained within a = finite=20 region is bounded. But then the information it can contain is also = bounded, as=20 entropy is a measure of information" (Smolin 1997: 274).

REALITY 1

The Universe does not care about what happens to you.

REALITY 2

You must care for what happens to you in the Universe.

REALITY 3

You should care very much about what happens to the = Universe.

When a child is learning to walk, and falls down, and hurts itself on = the=20 hard, hard, ground. The ground does not care one bit. The child must = learn not=20 to fall down, if it does not want to get hurt.

When a rock falls off a cliff and hits someone in the head and kills = them...=20 that is not god's fault. It is fault-less. The rock just fell. Rocks = fall. The=20 person who was killed was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If = that=20 person had been there a second earlier or later... the rock would have = missed.=20 There is no blame in natural occurrence or in simple statistical = probability.=20 When a plane crashes, and some die and some live, there should be no = guilt in=20 survival... it is just happened. There is no justice or inequality = implied...=20 just that there is an outcome of some kind. If you survive, go on with = life...=20 if you didn't ... that's just a fact you can no longer live with = (because your=20 dead).

When a friend gets cancer and dies, the cancer does not care who the = friend=20 is. You should care about that friend. That is your job.

Your choice will change your Universe. Everything you do, = effects=20 every thing you will do. Everything you do, impacts all other beings in = your=20 Universe. Everything that cooperating and non-cooperating other beings = do,=20 effects others who share your Universe. It is a catch 22, because if you = exit=20 through death, that changes the Universe as well. Everything you do, or = not do,=20 changes everything that will be.

REALITY 4

There possibly may be no such thing as a trivial action.... = but=20 there probably are.

In CHAOS theory, an action, or any non-action, has some effect on any = system=20 of which it is a part. The Universe is the ultimate system... you cannot = get out=20 of it.

"Tiny differences in input could quickly become overwhelming = differences in=20 output - a phenomenon given the name "sensitive dependence on initial=20 conditions". In weather, for example, this translates into what is only=20 half-jokingly known as the Butterfly Effect - the notion that a = butterfly=20 stirring the air today in Peking can transform storm systems next month = in New=20 York" (Gleick 1987:8).

Chaos theory also teaches us that when any system is under pressure, = that its=20 equilibrium level rises, and at some point splits into two states = through which=20 it fluctuates. As pressure increases, bifurcation comes faster and = faster until=20 the system turns chaotic.... then oddly, in the midst of choice verging = on=20 infinity... patterns emerge out of chaos. Such structure becomes = infinitely deep=20 and can have exquisite fine structure. The implication is that order is = driven=20 by chaos. Perhaps genetic order is simply genetic chaos and not = "negantropic"=20 but very "entropic"? The study of chaos has created a geometry of = nature, as=20 seen in Mandelbrot sets and fractals.

REALITY 5

Chaos is full of strange attractors (patterns and structure) that are = recursive and self-referential. THINK ABOUT THIS: CHAOS CREATES=20 INFORMATION

So to thine own self be true. Strangely enough, when systems = bifurcate into=20 chaos, the rate of change becomes constant, discovered by a man named = Feigenbaum=20

"Feigenbaum's number let him predict when the = period-doublings would=20 occur. Now he discovered that he could also predict the precise values = of each=20 point on this ever-more-complicated attractor - two points, four points, = eight=20 points ... He could predict the actual populations reached in the = year-to-year=20 oscillations. There was yet another geometric convergence. These = numbers, too,=20 obeyed a law of scaling" (Gleick 1987:175).

He discovered that the model was recursive and self-referential, and = this=20 guided the behavior hidden inside.

"To Robert Shaw, strange attractors were engines of information. In = his first=20 and grandest conception, chaos offered a natural way of returning to the = physical sciences, in invigorated form, the ideas that information = theory had=20 drawn from thermodynamics. Strange attractors, conflating order and = disorder,=20 gave challenging twist to the question of measuring a system's entropy. = Strange=20 attractors served as efficient mixers. They created unpredictability. = They=20 raised entropy. And as Shaw saw it, they created information where none = existed"=20 (Gleick 1987: 258).

REALITY 6

Nature, and living systems are chaotic patterns operating under the = laws of=20 thermodynamics. "Sensitive dependence on initial conditions serves not = to=20 destroy but to create" (Gleick 1987: 311). "Evolution is chaos with = feedback" ,=20 says Joseph Ford.

Thus:

"Some are orderly in space but disorderly in time, others orderly in = time but=20 disorderly in space. Some patterns are fractal, exhibiting structures=20 self-similar in scale. Others give rise to steady states or oscillating = ones....=20 Thoughtful physicists concerned with the workings of thermodynamics = realized how=20 disturbing is the question of, as one put it, "how a purposeless flow of = energy=20 can wash life and consciousness into the world"" (Gleick 1987: 308).

So don't go around blaming "god" for the way things are. We are = the way=20 we are because of chaos. Chaos create incredible beauty, and allows = infinite=20 variety. Praise "god" for such a methodology for creation. Be thankful = for=20 random chance... gods loaded dice, for without them, life and choice = could not=20 exist. So what if some beings are born different... without that = difference,=20 life could not exist. Sometimes life contains errors (as we see it) and = appears=20 to be unfair to the life form with such a "burden" (remember - this is a = perception about functionality). A child born with a "defect" (variation = far=20 from the norm and function)... is not to be pitied, but simply accepted. = Don't=20 complain to god, that is not gods fault... there is no fault. It is = simply how=20 the universe works. Sometimes we can "fix" it, sometimes not (under = current=20 circumstances). Don't judge, or complain. Just accept, look for creative = ways to=20 celebrate reality to the best of your ability.

I cannot see like an eagle, nor smell like my dog (although some = people=20 may say I do smell like my dog). I do not beat my chest and wail about = how "god"=20 is unjust in not making my eyes see infrared and ultraviolet or giving = me a nose=20 that can detect the tracks of my friends who walked across my lawn = yesterday. I=20 would not be the same creature if I had those abilities. Nor should I = cry and=20 moan because my child might be born with webbed fingers or with Downs = syndrome.=20 Such an event is simply a fact that must be dealt with, just as having a = "within=20 normal limits" child. Don't blame... accept. Don't cry, find the joy and = celebrate it.

There is a clear order to the evolution of the universe, moving from=20 simplicity and symmetry to greater complexity and structure. As time = passes,=20 simple components coalesce into more sophisticated building blocks = spawning a=20 richer, more diverse environment. Accidents and chance, in fact, are = essential=20 in developing the overall richness of the universe. In that sense = (although not=20 in the sense of quantum physics), Einstein had the right idea: God does = not play=20 dice with the universe. Though individual events happen as a matter of = chance,=20 there is an overall inevitability to the development of sophisticated = complex=20 systems" (Smoot & Davidson 1993: 296).

Gatlin (1972: 1) defined life as an information processing system - a = structural hierarchy of functioning units - that has acquired through = evolution=20 the ability to store and process the information necessary for = its=20 accurate reproduction".... and "DNA sequences are very long. The minimum = DNA=20 content per haploid cell (the genome size) ranges from about = 104 base=20 pairs for bacteria to over 109 base pairs for mammals..... = Since=20 there are four sets of DNA bases, over 4109base=20 sequences are possible for present-day organisms. This number is greater = than=20 the estimated number of particles in the universe" (Gatlin 1972: 4).



ODD STUFF

There does not appear to be any such thing as fundamental chaos. For = all=20 things in the Universe to be random in relation to all other things, = each thing=20 must be aware of the location (position) and velocity of all other = things: (i.e.=20 - be teleological). This appears to relate to the uncertainty principle. =

Does the uncertainty principle require that there is no fundamental = chaos in=20 the Universe? Does this in turn imply that there is always some = potential for=20 structure, some level of potential difference, some level of potential = energy=20 and therefore change?

If light is space and mass distorts space (light).... then matter = is=20 "aware" of light and light is "aware" of matter. The structure of the = universe=20 is based on this awareness (distorted structure or density). It = structures the=20 universe and is infinite in scope: mass distorts the structure... = therefore the=20 entire universe is changed. Mass and light have a fundamental = teleological=20 relationship to each other ... they break the uncertainty principle! = Since bent=20 space (or differential density of space) is the fundamental structure of = the=20 universe and since bent space is "gravity"... the structure of the = universe can=20 be described as being based on gravity. If one thinks of light as having = a=20 density of 1 (one) and mass as having a density of 0 (zero) then one can = view=20 gravity as a negative process (i.e. - "other" mass drops down your = gravity=20 well).

Does this mean there is a fundamental design? Does this = teleology=20 imply purpose?

In quantum physics there is a series of odd experiments. If one sends = light=20 from a source through tiny slits, the light shows interference patterns = of light=20 and dark stripes. Light appears to go through both slits and interferes = with=20 itself like it is a wave. It is now possible to shoot light out photon = by=20 photon. When each photon (particle) is shot at a double slit, it arrives = on a=20 photo plate as a single photon (particle).... but as one after another = photons=20 are shot, the points of light on the plate take on the appearance of the = stripes=20 of light and dark stripes. Each photon appears to leave as a particle, = go=20 through both slits like a wave, and arrive as a particle that knows how = to=20 arrange itself into the statistical interference pattern. When one hole = is=20 closed, the pattern stops and the light piles up like anything tossed = into a=20 pile.

"This behavior encompasses two mysteries. First, how does the single = photon=20 go through both holes at once? Secondly, even if it does perform this = trick, how=20 does it "know" where to place itself in the overall pattern? Why doesn't = every=20 photon follow the same trajectory and end up in the same spot on the = other side"=20 (Gribbin 1995: 5).

The same experiment has been done with electrons and helium atoms. = Known as=20 the Copenhagen Interpretation, it was proposed that what passes through = the wall=20 is a wave of probability, that collapses into a particle when it reaches = the=20 plate and is observed as to its location.

But if one slit is closed, how does the photon know this ... that the = other=20 hole is closed? A simple particle could not know if other paths were = present.=20 When the experiment is changed to open or close the hole after the = photon is=20 fired, it will "choose" the appropriate path! If one looks at the slits = to see=20 if the photon is going through both or one or the other holes, , only = particles=20 are seen and the pattern disappears into a pile of light under each = slit! "The=20 act of observing the electron wave makes it collapse and behave like a = particle=20 at the crucial moment when it is going through the hole" (Gribbin 1995: = 13) and=20 if it went through the other hole (not under observation) it only goes = through=20 and arrives as a particle as well!

"Take the Copenhagen Interpretation literally, and it tells you that = an=20 electron wave collapses to a point on a detector screen because the = entire=20 Universe is looking at it. This is strange enough; but some cosmologists = (among=20 them Stephen Hawking) worry that it implies that there must actually be=20 something "outside the Universe" to look at the Universe as a whole and = collapse=20 its overall wave function. Alternatively, John Wheeler has argued that = it is=20 only the presence of conscious observers, in the form of ourselves, that = has=20 collapsed the wave function and made the Universe exist. On this = picture,=20 everything in the Universe only exists because we are looking = at it"=20 (Gribbin 1995: 15-16).

Sort of Zen of Zens?

Remember that Einstein's theory that all motion is relative, that = anybody can=20 say they are at rest and measure all motion relative to themselves. = Enter=20 inertia and the Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction: that "while motion makes = lengths=20 shrink, it makes time intervals expand. The two = effects are=20 matched with one another, so that the amount by which a moving object = shrinks is=20 exactly balanced by the amount of time expands for it" (Gribbin 1995: = 77-78).=20 Therefore:

"The Lorentz transformations tell us that time stands still for an = object=20 moving at the speed of light. From the point of view of the photon, of = course,=20 it is everything else that is rushing past at the speed of light. And = under such=20 extreme conditions, the Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction reduces distance = between=20 all objects to zero. You can either say that time does not exist for an=20 electrodynamic wave, so that it is everywhere along its path (everywhere = in the=20 Universe) at once; or you can say that distance does not exist for an=20 electrodynamic wave, so that it "touches" everything in the Universe at = once"=20 (Gribbin 1995: 79).

Son of Zen of Zens?

Feynman (i.e. - quantum electrodynamics or QED) came up with the = concept that=20 photons and electrons take all possible routes in the experiment, not = just=20 straight lines but the most complex wiggly ways one can imagine. Take = the same=20 experiment and add two more slits, then more and more and more until = there are=20 more slits than obstruction, and then no obstruction at all adds up to=20 integrating all of the probabilities for every conceivable path. Those = which=20 approach a straight line as a limit are more probably than those that do = not and=20 make up the "classical" path of physics (the straight line).

QED does not distinguish between forward and backward time:

"Waves moving outwards from an electron, or a radio antenna, are = called=20 "retarded" waves, because they arrive somewhere else after they have = been=20 emitted. Waves traveling backwards in time are called "advanced" waves = because=20 they arrive somewhere before they have been emitted somewhere = else"=20 (Gribbin 1995: 104).

A digression into polarization. Light is stranger still. If a = polarizer is=20 held up in front of light, only those photons that are tilted in the = correct=20 direction get through, like a wiggled rope up and down through the slits = in a=20 fence. Wiggle the rope sideways, and the wave is stopped by the slits. = Place two=20 polarizers at right angles and light is stopped. Put the second at 45 = degrees=20 and, wow, half the light gets through! Add a third at right angles to = the first=20 and 25 percent of the light gets through.... but remove the center one = and no=20 light gets through!

Calcite crystals split light into two equally strong beams, one of = which is=20 polarized at 45 degrees from the other, but:

"When the beam is so weak that only single photons are passing = through the=20 experiment, the light behaves as if each individual photon has split in = two and=20 followed both paths through the experiment, recombining with itself to = restore=20 the original polarization" (Gribbin 1995: 114).

In 1992, Japanese researchers (Yutaka Mizobuchi and Yoshiyuke Ohtake) = observed photons exhibiting both wave-like properties and particle-like=20 properties at the same time. This implies a photon mat be in two places = at the=20 same time! But is this explained by quantum uncertainty? A photon has a = small=20 probability of just popping up in a vacuum, the so called "quantum = fluctuation".=20 But the Japanese experiment seemed to indicate that while the original = photon=20 was detected in only one place, its effect were happening somewhere else = at the=20 same time. This has lead a few cosmologists to assume the Universe is a = quantum=20 fluctuation.

In another experiment set up by NIST, beryllium ions were heated to = test a=20 quantum theory for transition states to see what would happen if they = watched=20 the experiment... which stopped the boiling of the ions! As long as they = peeked=20 at the experiment faster than the 256 milliseconds needed for 100% = transition,=20 the watched quantum pot refused to boil (Gribbin 1995: 135)! =

Ghost Zen?

David Bohm has created a model where particles always have a distinct = position and velocity, but that any attempt to measure them destroys the = information about them and alters the "pilot" wave associated with the=20 particles. His "pilot" wave shape determines how it influences = particles, any=20 change, no matter how strong or weak. Also, this wave responds = instantaneously,=20 everywhere, to any local disturbance (it is non-local). He developed = this so=20 that everything is connected to everything else and affected by = everything that=20 happens to anything else instantaneously (Gribbin 1995: 158-159). = Another view=20 is that of multiple Universes, each splitting for every choice at the = quantum=20 level, billions upon billions of universes in every dust mote.... as = many as it=20 takes to carry out every option (supported by David Deutsh)

Inertial Zen?

Ernst Mach was concerned with inertia. "How does an object that is = given a=20 push instantly take stock of how that push is going to affect = its=20 motion relative to all the matter in the Universe, and respond = accordingly?"=20 (Gribbon 1995: 179).

"The nature of time is fundamental to all of the scientific = understanding of=20 the world. In quantum physics, the "unmeasured" state of the Universe is = a=20 superposition of all possible states, and the physics has to = take into=20 account (in principle) of all those states" (Gribbon 1995: = 180).

Thermodynamics come into play when lots of particles are in = operation, and=20 the arrow of time comes into being. Ilya Prigogine proposes that = thermodynamics=20 are real and models of particle physics are not real, only = approximations of=20 reality. Any theory that violates thermodynamics is wrong, even Newton's = laws or=20 Schroedinger's equations (Gribbon 1995: 181).

Gribbon proposes that the instantaneous feedback in quantum physics = is the=20 core problem, as if: "each charged particle - including each electron- = is=20 instantaneously aware of its position in relation to all other = charged=20 particles in the Universe....why do ordinary lumps of matter resist = being pushed=20 around, and how do they know how much to resistance to offer when they = are=20 pushed? Where does inertia itself come from? ...Gravitation mass = determines the=20 strength of the force which an object extends out into the Universe to = tug on=20 other objects; inertial mass, as it is called, determines the strength = of the=20 response of an object to being pushed and pulled by outside forces - not = just=20 gravity, but any outside forces... Newton described what = happens if you=20 take a bucket of water hung from a long cord, twist the cord up tightly, = and=20 then let go... Newton pointed out that the concave shape of the surface = of the=20 rotating water shows that it "knows" that it is rotating. But what is it = rotating relative to? The relative motion of the bucket and water seems=20 completely unimportant. If the bucket and the water are both still, with = no=20 relative motion, the water is flat; if the bucket is rotating and the = water is=20 not, the surface is still flat even though there is relative motion = between the=20 water and the bucket; if the water is rotating and the bucket is not, = there is=20 relative motion between the two and the surface is concave; but if the = water and=20 the bucket are both rotating, so that once again there is no relative = motion=20 between the water and the bucket, the surface is concave. So, newton = reasoned,=20 the water "knows" whether or not it is rotating relative to absolute = space"=20 (Gribbon 1995: 224-227).

Another detour into string theory. Chu proposed that particles = interact in=20 time symmetrical ways with retarded and advanced waves that we see as = gravity by=20 averaging over all interactions. Since strings are so small that = 1020=20 of them would be needed to stretch across a proton, their average effect = is=20 smooth and continuous... so Newtonian physics emerges as a statistical = averaging=20 on the behavior of billions of particles. Keep in mind that many people = think=20 string theory is now dead (1999 at the edge of 2000)

"The link with thermodynamics is explicit. The key concept in = thermodynamics=20 is entropy, a property which measures how close a system is to = equilibrium.=20 Chu's description shows that Einstein's equation of motion is the = correct=20 description of particle trajectories under the equilibrium condition of = maximum=20 entropy. But as in the original Wheeler-Feynman theory (and attempts to=20 incorporate Mach's Principle into the general theory of relativity) = there must=20 be complete absorption of all radiation from strings today into the = future - in=20 other words, the Universe must be closed" (Gribbon 1995: 232-233).

John Cramer suggests that a typical quantum transaction is shaking = hands=20 somewhere in space and time. A particle send out both a retarded wave = (positive=20 energy) and an advanced wave (negative energy) and the retarded wave = heads off=20 into the future until it encounters an electron which absorbs the = energy... this=20 produces a new retarded wave that cancels out the original so there is = no=20 retarded wave. The advanced wave heads off into the past along the same = path as=20 the retarded wave until it hits the same particle that emits an advanced = wave=20 that cancels it out. No time has passed, but there was a double wave = linking the=20 two, half retarded and half advanced and because two negatives make a = positive,=20 there is a retarded wave left.... the direction of time. This is = atemporal=20 because it happens all at once, time canceling out time, but leaving = times=20 arrow. This means there is not need for an observer in the original = quantum=20 experiments:

"In Cramer's view of events, a retarded "offer wave" (monitored in=20 "pseudo-time" for the purpose of this discussion) sets off through both = holes in=20 the experiment. If the screen is set up, the wave is absorbed in the = detector,=20 triggering an advanced "confirmation wave" which travels back through=20 both slits of the apparatus to the source. The final = transaction forms=20 along both possible paths (actually, as Feynman would have stressed, = along=20 every possible path), and there is interference.

If the screen is down, the offer wave passes on to the two telescoped = trained=20 on the slits. Because each telescope is trained on just one slit, it is = only=20 possible for any confirmation wave produced when the offer wave = interacts with=20 the telescopes itself to go back to the source through the slit on which = that=20 telescope is trained. And, of course, the absorption event must involve = a whole=20 photon, not a part of a photon. Although each telescope may send back a=20 confirmation wave through its respective slit, the source has to = "choose" (at=20 random) which one to accept, and the result is a final transaction which = involves the passage of a single photon through a single slit. The = evolving=20 state vector of the photon "knows" whether the screen is going to be up = or down=20 because the confirmation wave really does travel back in time through = the=20 apparatus, but the whole transaction is, as before, atemporal" (Gribbon = 1995:=20 214).

As Gribbon put it for the polarization experiment:

"If the confirmatory waves do not match an allowed polarization = correlation,=20 then they cannot be "verifying" the same transaction, and they will not = be able=20 to establish the handshake. From the perspective of pseudo-time, the = pair of=20 photons cannot be emitted until an arrangement has been made to = absorb=20 them, and that absorption arrangement itself determine the polarization = of the=20 emitted photons, even though they are emitted "before" the absorption = takes=20 place. It is literally impossible for the atoms to emit photons in a = state that=20 does not match the kind of absorption allowed by the detectors. Indeed, = in the=20 absorber model the atom cannot emit photons at all unless an agreement = has=20 already been reached to absorb them" (Gribbon 1995: 242).

Greene (1999) indicates that string theory resolves many issues... = "the=20 different vibrational patterns of a fundamental string give rise to = different=20 masses and force changes" (Page 143).

"Greater energy means greater mass, and vice versa. Thus, according = to string=20 theory, the mass of an elementary particle is determined by the = energy of the vibrational pattern of its internal string.... = Since the=20 mass of a particle determines its gravitational properties, we see that = there is=20 a direct association between the pattern of string vibration and a = particle's=20 response to the gravitational force.... The electric charge, the weak = charge,=20 and the strong charge carried by a particular string, for instance, are=20 determined by the precise way it vibrates. Moreover, exactly the same = idea holds=20 for the messenger particles themselves. Particles like photons, weak = gauge=20 bosons, and gluons are yet other resonant patterns of string vibration. = And of=20 particular importance, among the vibrational string patterns, one = matches=20 perfectly the properties of the gravitron, ensuring that gravity is an = integral=20 part of string theory" (Greene 1999: 145).

"So we see that, according to string theory, the observed properties = of each=20 elementary particle arise because its internal string undergoes a = particular=20 resonant vibrational pattern. This perspective differs sharply from that = espoused by physicists before the discovery of string theory; in the = earlier=20 perspective the differences among the fundamental particles were = explained by=20 saying that, in effect, each particle was viewed as elementary, the kind = of=20 "stuff" each embodied was thought to be different. Electron "stuff", for = example, had negative electric charge, while neutrino "stuff" had no = electric=20 charge. String theory alters this picture radically by declaring that = the=20 "stuff" of all matter and all forces is the same. Each = elementary=20 particle is composed of a single string - that is, each particle = is a=20 single string - and all strings are absolutely identical. Differences = between=20 particles arise because their respective strings undergo different = resonant=20 vibrational patterns" (Greene 1999: 145-146).

"In 1974, when Scherk and Schwarz proposed that one particular = pattern of=20 string vibration was the gravitron particle, they were able to exploit = such an=20 indirect approach and thereby predict the tension on the strings of = string=20 theory. Their calculations revealed that the strength of force = transmitted by=20 the proposed gravitron pattern of string vibration is inversely = proportional to=20 the string's tension. And since the gravitron is supposed to transmit = the=20 gravitational force - a force that is intrinsically quite feeble - they = found=20 that this implies a colossal tension of a thousand billion billion = billion=20 billion (1039) tons, the so-called Planck tension. = ... the=20 huge string tension causes the loops of string theory to contract to = minuscule=20 size. Detailed calculation reveals that being under Planck tension = translates a=20 typical string having Planck length - 10-33 centimeters -" = (Greene=20 1999: 148).

All of this means the energy levels of the theorized string are very = high.=20 Particles have a fixed spin that never changes, a charge and mass... and = so does=20 a black hole.... except that its spin is not fixed... and that there is = a=20 fundamental lower limit to the size of the universe... the Planck = length. So=20 there is no "singularity".... it creates a cosmic bounce when pushed to = hard.=20

"According to string theory, the universe is made up of tiny strings = whose=20 resonant patterns of vibration are the microscopic origin of particle = masses and=20 force changes. String theory also requires extra space dimensions that = must be=20 curled up to a very small size to be consistent with our never seeing = them. But=20 a tiny string can probe a tiny space. As a string moves about, = oscillating as it=20 travels, the geometrical form of the extra dimensions plays a critical = role in=20 determining resonant patterns of vibration. Because the patterns of = string=20 vibrations appear to us as the masses and charges of the elementary = particles,=20 we conclude that these fundamental properties of the universe are = determined, in=20 large measure, by the geometrical size and shape of the extra = dimensions"=20 (Greene 1999:206).

"We concluded that as a Calabi-Yau shape goes through a space-tearing = conifold transition, an initially massive black hole becomes even = lighter until=20 it is massless and then it transmutes into a massless particle - such as = a=20 massless photon - which in string theory is nothing but a single string=20 executing a particular vibrational pattern. in this way, for the first = time,=20 string theory explicitly establishes a direct, concrete, and = quantitatively=20 unassailable connection between black holes and elementary particles" = (Greene=20 1999: 331-332).

In addition, Greene notes (page 358) that Brandenberger and Vafa = showed that=20 if one runs the clock backwards into the big bang, that when the = universe=20 shrinks to Planck length and gets hotter, all of the dimensions are = curled up=20 into a Planck sized nugget and then the temperature decreases with a = bounce back=20 outward as some of the dimensions uncurl into spatial dimensions to = create a new=20 universe. Thus time is always there and there is always some level of = fully=20 curled dimensionality, and there is no singularity.

Sternglass, proposes something different still for our Universe. He = suggests=20 that "the cosmos is apparently designed for the development of life and = destined=20 to exist forever, neither to fly apart into dying cinders, nor to = collapse into=20 a fiery point of infinite density, a "singularity" in which all life = will end"=20 (1997:1).

"The basic assumption underlying this theory is that the fundamental = entities=20 are the electron and its oppositely charged "twin", the positron. These = entities=20 form a rotating pair of a very small, but finite size. From one such = pair, all=20 other particles and stable cosmological structures such as galaxies and = stars=20 arose in a succession of division processes" (Sternglass 1997: 1).

He is reviving an idea proposed by Georges Lema=EEtre (1930's) of a = "primeval=20 atom" that divided and divided into smaller and smaller particles to = create the=20 universe: "namely, a very compact, rotating, highly excited bound state = on an=20 electron and positron pair that could divide into ever-smaller mass = pairs with=20 decreasing energy and lifetime" (1997: 1-2). Sternglass proposes that = the=20 organization and size of the universe can be explained by this simple = process,=20 including "inflation"... and solves the "missing matter" problem.... and = that=20 this resolves itself in the great stability of the proton, which means = there is=20 no limit to the length of time matter in its present form can continue = to exist.=20

"An equally attractive feature of a theory based on the electron and = positron=20 as the basic entities of all matter is that no arbitrary or adjustable=20 quantities are needed to explain the mass of the universe, its size, and = its=20 highly regular organization other than the fundamental atomic constants = that=20 specify the electron and its antiparticle. Thus, in sharp contrast to = the=20 "standard model" that requires more than a dozen = experimentally-determined=20 parameters, the only quantities essential to the electron pair theory = are the=20 basic atomic constraints: (1) the mass of the electron, (2) the charge = of the=20 electron, (3) the maximum speed of the electron (equal to that of = light), and=20 (4) the spin of the electron given by Planck's Constant, a quantity that = is at=20 the root of quantum theory" (Sternglass 1997: 7-8).

His theory requires a form of string theory, where mass is an = illusion=20 produced by energy in a vortex-like motion. He states that "inflation" = is the=20 exponential division process that lasted for the first 270 divisions = until a=20 mass about twice that needed for two protons was reached. There was a = phase=20 transition that crystallized protons and stopped exponential expansion. = Not all=20 of the divisions occurred at the same time, and formed the seeds for the = structure of galaxies and stars within a few billion years:

"This process of division of the first electron pair by two in stages = of ten=20 such steps on average leads to a highly regular pattern in the masses of = cosmological systems. Every division process produces two such pairs, = each with=20 a mass half as large. After ten such divisions there will be 1,024 = pairs, each=20 with a mass 1,024 times smaller than the original pair. Thus, the = seed-pair for=20 a supercluster will result in about a thousand galaxies making up such a = system,=20 each with a mass about a thousand times smaller than that of a = supercluster.=20 Similarly, the seed-pair of a galaxy such as ours will eventually give = rise to a=20 thousand dwarf galaxies. Each seed pair of a dwarf galaxy will in turn = give rise=20 to a thousand globular clusters, and so on down to stellar clusters of = about a=20 thousand stars. Moreover, the model requires that the sizes or spacings = of these=20 large systems will decrease by a factor equal to the square root of the = factor=20 by which the masses decline in ten divisions, or a factor of = thirty-two......=20 The patterns of galaxies and stars strongly support a vortex or = superstring=20 model of matter, and an origin by successive division from a single = primordial=20 electron pair of finite mass and size. In this model, there was no = infinitely=20 dense singularity at the beginning of time, and matter, like light, = consists of=20 nothing but localized motional energy......

Lema=EEtre's primeval atom with a mass equal to that of the entire = universe,=20 corresponding to that of some seven trillion galaxies and a radius of = 2.5=20 trillion light years - hundreds of times larger than the present visible = radius=20 of about ten billion light-years - requires a period of some fifteen = trillion=20 years for a single rotation. Instead os a small fraction of a second in = which=20 Guth's inflation is assumed to have taken place, it now appears that = some=20 fifteen trillion years passed before the original seed of the universe = divided=20 and gave rise to ordinary matter in the accelerating expansion that = ended with=20 the Big Bang. Although the birth of ordinary matter as we know it took = place=20 some ten billion years ago in a state of enormous but finite density, it = seems=20 that the formation of ordinary matter was preceded by a long period of=20 gestation, during which the structure of the universe was laid down in = embryonic=20 form.....

The result is that the universe, far from being a random or chaotic = system=20 without order, structure and coherence, the basic entities of which = cannot be=20 visualized, appears instead to be amazingly comprehensible and rational, = and far=20 more like a living, evolving entity that is governed by surprisingly = simple=20 laws. It appears to be designed according to a simple architectural = principle=20 capable of evolving complex structures and self-replicating organisms = based on=20 the inherent properties of its fundamental constituents in accordance = with=20 unchanging laws obeyed on every scale" (Sternglass 1997: 15-17).

Sternglass explains the split screen experiment this way: In a purely = electromagnetic concept of the electron, it is never a point source. An=20 accelerated electron moving at half the speed of light is flattened by = the=20 Lorentz (and Einstein) formula into a disk of growing size determined by = how=20 close it approaches the speed of light as a limit. When he calculated = the size=20 of this disk when compared to the width of the slits, it was 20 times = wider than=20 the slit distance in the actual experiments. So the electron was going = through=20 both or either slit at the same time. "In all cases, the size of the = region over=20 which the electron's field and thus its mass-energy is distributed - and = through=20 which it interacts with other systems composed of electrons and protons = - is=20 necessarily comparable with the distance between scattering centers. If = this=20 condition is not met, it becomes impossible to detect the pattern of = light and=20 dark interference fringes, because they are too faint and too closely = spaced."=20

In an article by Arz=E9leis, he:

"...found a simple calculation of the forces between two very rapidly = or=20 relativistically moving charges that I had not seen before. It turned = out to be=20 based on a suggestion made by Einstein in his famous 1905 paper in which = he=20 advanced his Special Theory of Relativity. Einstein had written that, to = avoid=20 an asymmetry in the calculation for charges in relative motion with = respect to=20 each other, one has to calculate it as measured by an observer at rest = to one or=20 the other charges. As Arz=E9leis pointed out, this meant a consistent = answer is=20 unobtainable if the force is calculated by an observer in another = reference=20 frame, such as the laboratory where the center of mass of the particles = might be=20 at rest. For the particular case of an electron moving around a proton = as in my=20 neutron model, this meant that the force could be described as a = strengthened=20 electrostatic force.

The Lorentz factor now came into play. It is a pure number that = increases=20 from the value at zero relative velocity of the two charges to an = infinitely=20 large value as the speed of light is approached, in effect making the = finite=20 speed of light play the role of an infinite velocity in the physical = world. It=20 means that the strength of the electric field measured by the number of = lines of=20 force per unit area, or their density, produced by a moving charge = becomes=20 increasingly greater as the speed of a passing charge approaches that of = light,=20 some 186,000 miles per second. It is as if the lines of force that are = normally=20 distributed around a charge are compressed into a plane at right angles = to the=20 direction of motion, resulting in a strengthening of the normal = electrostatic=20 force...

As the relativistic mass of the moving charge seen by the observer at = rest=20 with respect to the other charge increases, with its velocity in = proportion to=20 the Lorentz contraction factor, thereby increasing the outward = centrifugal=20 force, there is an exactly equal increase in the attractive electrical = force=20 with increasing velocity, also due to the Lorentz factor. As a result, = no matter=20 how big the relativistic mass becomes, the particles remain in = equilibrium at a=20 finite distance, equal to the classical size of the electron. It as if, = just as=20 the speed of light limits the speed particles can have relative to each = other,=20 the finite size of the electron's rest-mass and fundamental charge, = combined=20 with the relativistic contraction that strengthens both the centrifugal = and=20 electrostatic forces, leads to a finite inner size of our physical space = This=20 combination of factors results in a natural lower limit to the distances = between=20 fundamental particles that are sources of electromagnetic fields. If all = particles are charged, then our physical space has both inner and outer = limits"=20 (Sternglass 1997: 116-117).

He then argues that there can be no singularities, points are really = small=20 impenetrable spheres of finite size, nor infinite quantities.. There can = be no=20 Big Bang singularity and the laws of physics apply to a primeval atom = with=20 finite quantities.

Sternglass investigated the pi-meson as a model for Lema=EEtre's = primeval atom.=20 This study brought the precession issue into his calculations where half = the=20 angular momentum was in the motion of the vortex and half in the frame = in which=20 the orbit is at rest relative to the observer. He found that as the = velocity=20 increased, its contraction resulted in an increase in strength at right = angles=20 to the motion so a purely electromagnetic electron-positron pair would = never fly=20 apart and therefore could be energized to a state to contain the entire=20 universe.

"... in a rotating frame of reference, ordinary Euclidean geometry no = longer=20 holds. Space becomes curved, giving rise to gravity: "In a system of = reference=20 rotating relatively to an inertial system, the laws of disposition of = rigid=20 bodies do not correspond to the rules of a Euclidian geometry on account = of the=20 Lorentz contraction" (Einstein quoted by Sternglass)... The precession = of the=20 highly relativistic states would not only cause the electron to shrink = in the=20 tangential direction along its direction of motion around the proton, = but the=20 enormously high rotational velocity and the resulting inward = acceleration would=20 lead to a locally very high distortion or curvature of space, analogous = to the=20 distortion of the normal uniform density of air by a tornado" = (Sternglass 1997:=20 140).

"In the particular case of the lowest allowed state of the = relativistic=20 electron-positron pair system, the reduction in the diameter of the = electron's=20 classical charge distribution was by about 274 times, equal to the = relativistic=20 increase in its mass... Einstein had considered the possibility that a = high=20 local degree of space-curvature of a high local gravitational field = resulting=20 from an abnormally high value of the gravitational constant within the = electron=20 might account for its stability" (Sternglass 1997: 142-143).

The production of matter out of energy can be explained by = visualizing energy=20 as a donut shaped (o) torus vortex of pure motion. When struck by = something it=20 vibrates into an ()-like structure where the pinch at the center can cut = across=20 the each other, breaking the ring into two half rings held together as = if they=20 had suction cups at each end () and where the two half rings touch, = there is a=20 cancellation of rotation where electrostatic fields emerge and end. The = presence=20 of positive or negative fields creates the appearance of matter out of = energy as=20 these fields possess inertial mass and gives all charges rest-mass. = Matter is=20 thus broken and glued vortex rings. Whole rings are energy like photons. = Broken=20 rings are particles. Whole rings are stopped or deflected by broken and = glued=20 rings. Matter can be turned into energy and energy into matter = (Sternglass 1997:=20 180-182).

Sternglass has used the work of Vera Rubin, that there is evidence = for wide=20 scale rotational energy in the Universe expressed as a hierarchy of = motion. That=20 planets rotate around stars and stars rotate around galaxies, and = galaxies=20 rotate around super-clusters that rotate around the universe. He thinks = that=20 quasars are delayed splitting primal atoms creating galaxies. As this = primeval=20 atom split and split again, its rotational energy was preserved. The = large=20 masses that continued to split, acted as seeds for the super-structure = and finer=20 structure of the universe. Not all of these splitting particles split at = the=20 same time, some held on for billions of years. He feels that his model = hold a=20 connection between gravity, electromagnetism and quantum theory that = agrees with=20 the most recent gravitational constant measurement with 0.0015 percent. = His=20 model predicts the spacing of super-clusters, clusters, galaxies and = star=20 quantities and distribution. It also predicts rotational energy all the = way up=20 to the very universe itself. His prediction for the universe is one = rotation=20 every 15.6 trillion years, for super-complex groupings: 487 billion = years, for=20 complexes: 15.2 billion years, for super-clusters: 476 million years, = and for=20 galaxies: 14.9 million years. He went on the predict an average = rotational=20 energy for planets as 14.2 years, and for planetary satellites at 161.8 = days.=20 His model implies that all stars have planets, but that the majority = were=20 ejected and not captured and that space is filled with normal dark = matter as=20 halos near stars, galaxies, and the increasingly larger structures of = the=20 universe. Gamma-ray bursters he sees as splitting primeval atoms forming = star=20 seeds, and that symmetrical quasars are heavy particle seeds thrown out = of a=20 splitting heavy particle inside proto-galaxies.

But hold everything, the 1998 Super-Kamiokande experiment to find = neutrinos=20 appears to suggest that they do have mass, about one Ten-millionth of = the mass=20 of the electron. This, if true, spells doom for the current Standard = Model! Muon=20 neutrinos mutate into tau neutrinos. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory = (under=20 construction) may resolve this conclusion.

Some cosmologists, like Anatoli Vankov, think our universe is one = small=20 bubble in an infinite Grand Universe (GU) model. He believes there was = no "big=20 bang", but instead our universe is a matter based fluctuation in an = infinite=20 chaotic 3D space of matter and anti-matter filled with limited volume = typical=20 universes. Some of these are matter universes and some are anti-matter. = When=20 matter and anti-matter bump in the GU, a bubble is created and which = ever had=20 the greater mass will determine the left-over matter or anti-matter in = the=20 resulting bubble. He feels this explains the Baryon asymmetry, cosmic = ray=20 energy, and dark matter in our bubble. Sort of infinite foam that is = constantly=20 changing and creating and absorbing bubble universes like a bubble bath. = Rees=20 (1979) also goes along with the "multiverse" concept as a way to resolve = the=20 anthropic issue:

"Complex evolution would occur only in "oases" where the constants = had=20 propitious values. Our oasis must be at least 10 billion light-years = across=20 because the physical laws seem the same everywhere we can observe. But = the=20 "desert" beyond it could come into view in the remote future, when, = maybe=20 1012 years or more from now, light from the edges of our = domain has=20 had enough time to reach us... The other universes may even be = completely=20 disjoint from ours, so that they will never come within the horizon of = our=20 remotest descendants. We may be part of an infinite and eternal = multiverse=20 within which new domains "sprout" into universes whose horizons never = overlap -=20 ironically, the steady-state concept can then be revived, but applied to = the=20 multiverse rather than its constituent universes... The multiverse could = encompass all possible values of fundamental constants, as well as = universes=20 that follow life cycles of very different durations: some like ours, may = expand=20 for much more than 10 billion years; others may be "stillborn" because = they=20 recollapse after a brief existence, or because the physical laws = governing them=20 aren't rich enough to permit complex consequences... Natural selection = of=20 "favored" universes seems the stuff of science fiction. However, the = American=20 cosmologist, Lee Smolin conjectures that the multiverse could display = the=20 effects of heredity and selection. When a black hole collapses, he = speculates=20 that another universe sprouts from its interior, creating a new expanse = of space=20 and time disjoint from our own. Small universes, in which there was too = little=20 space or time to form many black holes, would not leave many progeny. = Nor, he=20 argues, would even a large universe if its physics prohibited stars from = ever=20 terminating as black holes" (Rees 1979: 248-249).

Rees (1997: 23) also says "The size of our universe shouldn't = surprise us:=20 its extravagant scale is necessary to allow enough time for = life to=20 evolve on even one planet around one star in one galaxy" and "We are = clearly not=20 a typical planet in the universe: we are on a planet with special = properties,=20 orbiting around a stable star. Somewhat less trivially, we are observing = the=20 universe not at a random time, but at a time when the requirements for = complex=20 evolution can be met".

Goldsmith still says: "Why is there something rather than nothing? = Like the=20 origin of life, which has proven a much greater riddle than life's = evolutionary=20 history, the origin of the cosmos poses a sterner problem than = deciphering its=20 past to predict its future. The multiverse concept takes the problem and = casts=20 it away as far as possible, into infinite resesses of time and across = cosmic=20 boundaries. All may agree, however, that the problem remains: How did = the=20 multiverse itself begin?" (2000: 209).

In my own opinion, that we exist on a planet with a large moon is = also a=20 critical factor. The geological activity and plate tectonics is probably = related=20 to our almost double-planet circumstance with our constantly changing = gravity=20 well maintaining much of the long history of life. The tidal impacts on = the seas=20 also probably had a great speeding-up effect on Earth's evolutionary = history and=20 the moon acted as an additional barrier to occasional hits from = asteroids and=20 comets.... allowing greater time depth to evolutionary = processes.=20 The large outer planets are also acting like mine sweepers, = cleaning=20 out incoming missile as Jupiter recently did. There may be far fewer = places that=20 meet so many localized circumstances above and beyond simply having a = planet of=20 the right size and distance from its sun for life to evolve and to = continue=20 sufficiently long for intelligence sufficient for human-like = consciousness.=20

"... rather than living in an eternal cosmos, we live in a young = world, the=20 story of whose maturation we see spread out before us as we look out = with our=20 telescopes and antennas. This makes it possible to ask, as scientific = questions,=20 not only how was the world we see around us made, but what existed = before=20 this world? It is not much of an exaggeration to say that the = question=20 of what happened during, and perhaps even before, the Big Bang is slowly = coming=20 into focus in the last years of this century in the same way that the = question=20 of what happened before the origin of our species came into focus during = the=20 last" (Smolin 1997: 17).

The January 1999 Scientific American contained a series of articles = about=20 cosmology. Hogan, Kirshner & Suntzeff report on current research on = the age=20 of the Universe based on supernovae which indicates the universe is = bigger,=20 emptier and expansion may be speeding up, not slowing down! Astronomers = claim=20 they can monitor how long a supernova lasts and compute its inherent = brightness=20 to within 12 percent. The "High-Z Team" has been looking for such events = in the=20 most distant galaxies and now have a few events dating between 4-7 = billion light=20 years ago when the universe was only half to two thirds its present = size. Both=20 teams found that the supernovae were fainter than expected by about 25%. =

"If the universe is made of normal matter, gravity must steadily slow = the=20 expansion. Little slowing, as indicated by the supernovae measurements, = thus=20 implies that the overall density of matter in the universe is low" = (Hogan,=20 Kirshner & Suntzeff 1999: 50-51).

"Although this conclusion undermines theoretical preconceptions, it = agrees=20 with several other lines of evidence. For example, astronomers have = noted that=20 certain starts appear to be older than the accepted age of the universe = - a=20 clear impossibility. But if the cosmos expanded more slowly in the past, = as the=20 supernovae now indicate, the age of the universe must be revised upward, = which=20 may resolve the conundrum" Hogan, Kirshner & Suntzeff (1999: 51). =

The big surprise is that the supernovae we see are fainter than = predicted=20 even for a nearly empty universe (which has a maximum negative = curvature). Taken=20 at face value, our observations appear to require that expansion is = actually=20 accelerating with time. A universe composed of only normal matter cannot = grow in=20 this fashion, because its gravity is always attractive. Yet according to = Einstein's theory, the expansion can speed up if an exotic form of = energy fills=20 empty space everywhere. This strange "vacuum energy" is embodied in = Einstein's=20 equations as the so called cosmological constant" (Hogan, Kirshner & = Suntzeff 1999: 51).

This was followed by an article by Krause (1999) entitles = "Cosmological=20 Antigravity" which summarizes thought about the cosmological constant as = an=20 outcome of virtual particles which produce measurable effects. The big = problem=20 is that Quantum theory predicts a spectrum of virtual particles spanning = every=20 possible wavelength, creating an infinite energy. The energy for the set = of=20 existing theory on particles predicts a constant at least 120 orders of=20 magnitude larger than the total energy of the universe.

'A lower density of matter, signifying an open universe with slower=20 deceleration, would ease the tension somewhat. Even so, the only way to = lift the=20 age of the universe above 12.5 billion years would be to consider a = universe=20 dominated not only be matter but by a cosmological constant. The = resulting=20 repulsive force would cause the Hubble expansion to accelerate over = time.=20 Galaxies would have been moving apart slower than they are today, taking = longer=20 to reach their present separation, so the universe would be older" = (Krause 1999:=20 56).

Research seems to show that luminous matter accounts for between = 10-20% of=20 the mass of the universe - including protons and neutrons as well as = dark matter=20 candidates - is still only about 60% of what is needed to flatten the = universe.=20

"The cosmological constant changes the usual simple picture of the = future of=20 the universe. Traditionally, cosmology has predicted two possible = outcomes that=20 depend on the geometry of the universe, or equivalently, on the average = density=20 of matter. If the density of a matter-filled universe exceeds a certain = critical=20 value, it is "closed", in which case it will eventually stop expanding, = start=20 contracting and ultimately vanish in a fiery apocalypse. If the density = is less=20 than the critical value, the universe is "open" and will expand forever. = A=20 "flat" universe, for which the density equals the critical value, also = will=20 expand forever but at an ever slowing rate" (Krause 1999: 58).

"Yet these scenarios assume that the cosmological constant equals = zero. If=20 not, it - rather than matter - may control the ultimate fate of the = universe.=20 The reason is that the constant, by definition, represents a fixed = density of=20 energy in space. Matter cannot compete: a doubling in radius dilutes its = density=20 eightfold. In an expanding universe the energy density associated with a = cosmological constant must win out. If the constant has a positive = value, it=20 generates a long-range repulsive force in space, and the universe will = continue=20 to expand even if the total energy density in matter and in space = exceeds the=20 critical value. (Large negative values of the constant are ruled out = because the=20 resulting attractive force would already have brought the universe to an = end.)"=20 (Krause 1999: 58).

The cosmological constant would have to account for 40-70% of the = energy to=20 make the universe flat... fine tuning to 123 decimal places that leaves = the=20 124th untouched... or the "constant" may be a variable, changing over = time...=20 but that requires that we live in our universe at a time when the = density of=20 matter is comparable to the energy of space!

Bucher & Spergel (1999) tackle "Inflation in a Low-Density = Universe" in=20 the next article. The variable omega is the ratio between the = gravitational=20 energy of the universe to kinetic energy contained in the motion of that = matter=20 as the universe expands. If equals 1 it is stable, if it varies up or = down, over=20 time it will either drop to zero or become infinite. Since the universe = is=20 billions of years old, must be exactly 1 or very close to 1 (within one = part in=20 1018). In order to deal with this factor, inflation was = proposed to=20 explain the uniformity of the universe. If is greater than 1, the = universe has a=20 positive curvature like a ball. If is less than 1, the universe has a = negative=20 curvature like a saddle. Inflation flattens the universe so that the = occupied=20 portion appears to approach 1 as a limit and the irregularities are = evened out.=20 Current research on matter has an of about .3. Is a flat universe the = outcome of=20 inflation?

"If the inflaton field had a different potential energy function, = inflation=20 would have bent space in a precise and predictable way - leaving the = universe=20 slightly curved rather than exactly flat. In particular, suppose the=20 potential-energy function had two valleys - a false (local) minimum as = well as a=20 true (global) minimum. As the inflaton field rolled down, the universe = expanded=20 and became uniform. But then the field got stuck in the false minimum.=20 Physicists call this state the "false vacuum", and any matter and = radiation in=20 the cosmos were almost entirely replaced by the energy of the inflaton = field.=20 The fluctuations inherent in quantum mechanics caused the inflaton field = to=20 jitter and ultimately enabled it to escape from the false minimum - just = as=20 shaking a pinball machine can free a trapped ball" (Bucher & Spergel = 1999:=20 65).

"The escape, called false-vacuum decay, did not occur everywhere at = the same=20 time. Rather it took place at some random location and then spread. This = process=20 was analogous to bringing water to a boil" (Bucher & Spergel 1999: = 65).

"In false-vacuum decay, quantum fluctuations played the role of the = random=20 atomic motion, causing bubbles of true vacuum to nucleate. Surface = tension=20 destroyed most of the bubbles, but a few managed to grow so large that = quantum=20 effects became unimportant. With nothing to oppose them, their radius = continued=20 to increase at the speed of light. As the outside of a bubble passed = through a=20 point in space, the inflaton field at that point was jolted out of the = false=20 minimum and resumed downward descent. Thereafter the space inside the = bubble=20 inflated much as in standard inflationary theory. The interior of this = bubble=20 corresponds to our universe. The moment that the inflaton field broke = out of its=20 false minimum corresponds to the big bang in older theories" (Bucher = &=20 Spergel 1999: 65-66).

"For points at different distances from the center of nucleation, the = big=20 bang occurred at different times. This disparity seems strange, to say = the=20 least. But careful examination of the inflaton field reveals what went = on. The=20 inflaton acted as a chronometer: its value at a given point represented = the time=20 elapsed since the big bang occurred at that point. because of the time = lag in=20 the commencement of the big bang, the value of the inflaton was not the = same=20 everywhere; it was highest at the wall of the bubble and fell off = steadily=20 toward the center. Mathematically, the value of the inflaton field was = constant=20 on surfaces with the shape of hyperbolas" (Bucher & Spergel 1999: = 66).

The value of the inflaton is no mere abstraction. It determined the = basic=20 properties of the universe inside the bubble - namely, its average = density and=20 the temperature of the cosmic background radiation (today 2.7 degrees C = above=20 absolute zero). Along a hyperbolic surface, the density, temperature and = elapsed=20 time were constant. These surfaces are what observers inside the bubble = perceive=20 as constant "time". It is not the same as time experienced outside the=20 bubble.... loosely speaking, time represents the direction in which = things=20 change, and change inside the bubble is driven by the inflaton" (Bucher = &=20 Spergel 1999: 66).

"According to relativity, the universe has four dimensions - three = for space,=20 one for time. Once the direction of time is determined, the three = remaining=20 directions must be spatial; they are the directions in which time is = constant.=20 Therefore, a bubble universe seems hyperbolic from the inside. For us, = to travel=20 out in space is, in effect, to move along a hyperbola. To look backward = in time=20 is to look toward the wall of the bubble. In principle, we could look = outside=20 the bubble and before the big bang, but in practice, the dense, opaque = early=20 universe blocks the view" (Bucher & Spergel 1999: 66).

"This melding of space and time allows an entire hyperbolic universe = (whose=20 volume is infinite) to fit inside an expanding bubble (whose volume, = though=20 increasing without limit, is always finite). The space inside the bubble = is=20 actually a blend of both space and time as perceived outside the bubble. = Because=20 external time is infinite, so is internal space" (Bucher & Spergel = 1999:=20 66).

"This seemingly bizarre concept of bubble universes frees = inflationary theory=20 from its insistence that equal one. Although the formation of the bubble = created=20 hyperbolas, it said nothing about their precise scale. The scale is = instead=20 determined by the details of the inflaton potential, and it varies over = time in=20 accordance with the value of . Initially, inside the bubble equals zero. = During=20 inflation, its value increase, approaching one. Thus, hyperbolas start = off with=20 an abrupt bend and gradually flatten out. The inflaton potential sets = the rate=20 and duration of flattening. Eventually inflation in the bubble come to = an end,=20 at which point is poised extremely near but very slightly below one. = Then starts=20 to decrease. If the duration of inflation inside the bubble is just = right (to=20 within a few percent), the current value of will match the observed = value"=20 (Bucher & Spergel 1999: 66).

But Luminet, Starkman and Weeks (1999) indicate there has been a = flurry of=20 papers about the topology of the universe in the 1990's. They indicate = the=20 universe may be finite and the illusion of infinite space is created by = light=20 bent around the topology of space.... like a hall of mirrors. They say = that the=20 "infinite" universe is an unwarranted conclusion from Einstein's general = theory=20 of relativity. The universe may be multiple connected system, which is = preferred=20 by some schemes for unifying the fundamental forces of nature. They = indicate=20 that both mach's inertia issue and that a low-volume universe is more = probably=20 than a large-volume one argue for a finite universe derived from a = finite=20 quantum fluctuation. A finite universe does not require an edge and is a = hyper=20 sphere or hyperbolic manifold and not embedded in any higher dimension = space.=20

"The universe, too, can be measured in units of radians. Diverse = astronomical=20 observations agree that the density of matter in the cosmos is only a = third of=20 that needed fro space to be Euclidean. Either a cosmological constant = makes up=20 the difference,.... or the universe has a hyperbolic geometry with a = radius of=20 curvature of 18 billion light-years. In the latter case, the observable = universe=20 has a volume of 180 cubic radians - enough room for nearly 200 of the = Weeks=20 polyhedra. In other words, if the universe has the Weeks topology, its = volume is=20 only 0.5 percent of what appears to be. As space expands uniformly, its=20 proportions do not change, so the topology remains constant" (Luminet, = Starkman=20 & Weeks 1999: 94-95).

"There are three basic hypothesis for the birth of the universe, = which are=20 advocated, respectively, by Andrei Linde of Stanford University, = Alexander=20 Vilenkin of Tufts University and Stephen Hawking of the University of = Cambridge.=20 One salient point of difference is whether the expected volume of a = newborn=20 universe is very large (Linde's and Vilenkin's proposals) or very small=20 (Hawking's). Topological data may be able to distinguish among these = models"=20 (Luminet, Starkman & Weeks 1999: 97).

"If observations do find the universe to be finite, it might help to = resolve=20 a major puzzle in cosmology: the universe's large-scale homogeneity. The = need to=20 explain this uniformity led to the theory of inflation, but inflation = has run=20 into difficulty of late, because in its standard form it would have made = the=20 cosmic geometry Euclidean - in apparent contradiction with the observed = matter=20 density. This conundrum has driven theorists to postulate hidden forms = of energy=20 and modifications to inflation ... An alternative is that the universe = is=20 smaller than it looks. If so, inflation could have stopped prematurely - = before=20 imparting a Euclidean geometry - and still have made the universe = homogeneous.=20 Igor Y. Sokolov of the University of Toronto and other used COBE data to = rule=20 out this explanations space is a 3-torus. But it remains viable if space = is=20 hyperbolic" (Luminet, Starkman & Weeks 1999: 97).

Interestingly enough, they state that "The theories of everything, = such as=20 string theory, are in their infancy and do not have testable = consequences. But=20 eventually the candidate theories will make predictions about the = topology of=20 the universe on large scales". This suggests some people thing string = theory is=20 still viable.

"The new observations of faraway supernovae imply that space is not = only=20 expanding - it is accelerating its expansion. So something is pushing = space=20 outwards. What could it be? According to quantum physics, space, the = "vacuum,"=20 is not a vacuum at all - it is teeming with energy. Virtual particles = appear and=20 disappear continuously in what we think of as empty space. There is a = great=20 amount of energy in what looks like perfect emptiness, and we don't = understand=20 this energy or where it's coming from. The vacuum is like a contracted = spring=20 that wants to burst out. The pressure exerted by the invisible spring = packed=20 with energy makes the space in which it is hidden expand. But the spring = relaxes=20 at a much slower rate than the expansion it is causing, and so the = expansion is=20 accelerating its pace. The energy of the vacuum, the force pushing space = outwards, is modeled by Einstein's cosmological constant" (Aczel 1999: = 179-180).=20

Paul Steinhardt calls this pressure force "quintessance"... a fifth = force of=20 nature.

"Based on observations of various z-levels, it now seemed that from = the time=20 right after the big bang to about seven billion years ago the universe = was=20 indeed slowing down its expansion. But the density of matter in the = universe was=20 simply not enough to slow the expansion to a halt. As the universe = continued to=20 grow, its mass diluted, allowing Einstein's "funny energy" to take over. = Seven=20 billion years ago, the expansion rate thus started to pick up speed, and = the=20 universe is now expanding faster all the time" (Aczel 1999: 216).

Goldsmith (2000: 1) describes the non-zero cosmological constant = universe:=20

"Imagine a strange universe in which the expansion of the cosmos, = instead of=20 being slowed by gravity, undergoes a continuous acceleration from the = presence=20 of a mysterious form of energy. This energy, concealed from any direct = detection=20 by its complete transparency, permeates seemingly empty space, = furnishing the=20 cosmos with a "free lunch" of just the sort that old wives tales forbid. = Just as=20 amazingly, every cubic centimeter of the new space that the outgoing = cosmic=20 expansion creates likewise teams with this invisible energy, the = existence of=20 which endows each volume of space with a tendency to expand. As a = result, the=20 universe multiples its energy content many times over as time goes by. = The=20 increase in its hidden energy makes the universe accelerate ever more = rapidly,=20 eventually driving its basic units of matter to utterly unfathomable=20 separations. Instead of a chance to contact, perhaps to recycle itself = through=20 another big bang, this universe faces a future in which all cosmic = distances=20 grow billions of times their present immense values. As this happens, = the=20 average density of matter in the universe falls ever more rapidly = towards zero,=20 because the energy of empty space makes the universe expand at a = continuously=20 increasing rate."

Recent observations of early supernova suggests this may be true. = That there=20 is a non-zero cosmological constant and that it is changing over time: = "If the=20 cosmological constant equals zero, then the universe is positively = curved and=20 will eventually contract, if and only if the actual value of the = density=20 exceeds the critical density. Conversely, if the actual density = falls below=20 the critical density, the universe must ne negatively curved and will = expand=20 forever. If the actual density exactly equals the critical density, = space in the=20 universe must be flat, and the universe will expand more and more slowly = as time=20 goes on, but will cease its expansion completely only after an infinite = amount=20 of time has passed" (Goldsmith 2000: 46).

Based on observation, space is flat (the universe looks the same in = any=20 direction, even those parts that have never been in causal contact). The = mass of=20 the universe combined with the cosmological constant must be unity (1). = If the=20 cosmological constant is zero, then the mass is 1, exactly the critical = density=20 for a contracting universe. If the cosmological constant has any value, = then the=20 critical density must be less than 1, and the negatively curved = constantly=20 expanding universe is the resulting model.

The early universe mass was concentrated in a very small area. The = initial=20 "big bang" had a huge cosmological constant that allowed inflation: "In = other=20 words, inflation can turn a region thirteen orders of magnitude smaller = than a=20 proton into a volume a million times larger than the visible universe = today! The=20 exact - or even the approximate - sizes of the small and large volumes = scarcely=20 matter. What counts is that the inflationary era could take any = incredibly small=20 volume of space and - in a mere 10-30 second - make it a = region far,=20 far larger than the visible universe" Goldsmith 2000: 55). The effects = of mass=20 slowed this expansion to nearly zero, but not zero, as there was a = non-zero=20 cosmological constant. If the constant had been zero, the universe would = have=20 started collapsing at that point, as gravity took over. This huge quick=20 expansion explains how the universe which is not presently in causal = contact=20 looks the same in all directions... it was in contact at the beginning = of the=20 expansion phase.

But what next? Because the constant was not zero, the universe = continued to=20 expand. At first, the constant was very close to zero and the mass was = very=20 close to 1. But over time, the relation has been changing. The relative = amount=20 of mass has been shrinking in its effects and the relative pressure of = the=20 cosmological constant has been increasing.

"No matter what the curvature of space may have been before the = inflationary=20 era began, the increase in size by a factor of 1060 or so = would=20 inevitably have made space effectively flat. More precisely, inflation = would=20 have made any small region of space, such as the visible universe today, = seem=20 perfectly flat (to about 1 part on 1060), just as a tiny = fraction of=20 a balloon's surface seems flat to those who remain within that region. = If=20 inflation did in fact increase the size of a once-tiny region of space = by a=20 factor of 1060, then, as we have seen, the entire visible = universe,=20 extending 15 billion light-years in all directions from us, would span = less than=20 1 part on 10 of the inflated volume. In that case, everything we can = observe, or=20 hope to observe, within the volume that we call the visible universe = amounts to=20 looking at less than one square millimeter on the surface of a balloon = the size=20 of a town. Not surprisingly, this square millimeter would seen almost = perfectly=20 flat" (Goldmith 2000: 58-59).

Currently, the measure of the mass of the universe suggests a value = of about=20 0.3 and the cosmological constant as about 0.7, so the cosmological = constant is=20 now more than double the value for the mass of the universe. In the far = off=20 future, the mass will approach zero and the cosmological constant will = approach=20 unity as a limit.

This present a mental model where at the initial "big bang", mass was = close=20 to zero and the cosmological constant was close to unity as a limit... = then=20 during the inflation, mass approached unity and the cosmological = constant=20 approached zero as a limit. This was followed by our current cycle where = mass is=20 again approaching zero and the cosmological constant approaching unity = as a=20 limit. This suggests a cyclical system where the ending condition = describes the=20 beginning condition. Perhaps there is no need to have a "big crunch" = to=20 recycle the universe... rather it redefines itself by its limits? =

That life in a time when the two factors are close together in order = of=20 magnitude involves the evolutionary history of the universe. When mass = was the=20 heavy hitter, stars were producing the heavy elements and seeding dust = clouds to=20 produce planets with the required elements for life. In the future, this = seeding=20 may be so great as to heavy metal poison any possible evolution of life = and=20 later still, there will simply be a star shortage to power life.

Before Goldsmith's book came out, I was wondering is mass expands = along=20 with space/time, then this has some implications for a number of = theories. If=20 mass is along for the ride and its "relative density" changes over time = as space=20 expands then this has implications, as noted before, for the = cosmological=20 constant issue and recent findings that the rate of expansion of the = universe is=20 increasing. If we are looking into the past, we are looking at a smaller = universe where matter may have greater mass density than now. So the = difference=20 may account for the observation that things are faster now than in the = past? As=20 well, the very small changes in any single particle or string, when in = very=20 large structures may create enough summation of effects to change how = the=20 structure looks and behaves... could this be the so called "dark matter" = effect?=20 If this is true, what are the implications for black holes? Their = density would=20 change as well... causing... with enough time, their re-entry into the = normal=20 universe? If particles are folded strings with parts of their dimensions = hyper-folded so that they do not affect the larger universe... there are = implications as well.

I did the following thought experiment:

1) Think of a singularity string with no dimensions except time. = That=20 time is the only uncurled dimension. As dimensionless time vibrated in = its only=20 dimension of time, its proto-universe became quasi-large enough for = another=20 dimension to uncurl as a phase transition:

A) time/space... visualize a dimensionless line spreading out = into an=20 invisible single dimension universe, but that has all potential = orientations at=20 once. "Quasi-matter" separates out from energy but particles do not yet = exist.=20 Electromagnetism and the strong and weak forces are still unified. As = this=20 proto-universe expanded and vibrated in one dimension along with time = and the=20 size of the string changed, another dimension uncurled as a phase=20 transition:

a) time/space/space... visualize a diskoidal-plane with an = invisible=20 quasi-direction potential of all directions at once and of zero = thickness=20 spreading out as a proto-universe. The string breaks up into = quasi-strings and=20 now vibrate in two dimensions as well as time. This separated out the = strong=20 force and quasi-matter comes into existence as quasi-quarks. As this=20 proto-universe expands, another dimension uncurls in another phase = transition=20 and inflation ends:

aa) time/space/space/space... visualize a double pseudo-sphere = generated=20 essentially simultaneously as the zero-thickness disk has all potential=20 orientations at once. This is our familiar universe with its quark = strings=20 vibrating in three physical and one time dimension. Quarks bind together = to form=20 protons and neutrons and annihilation of matter and antimatter begin and = leave a=20 slight residue of matter... or matter and anti-matter separated into two = separate universes as opposite sides of a reversed pseudo-sphere = (tractrix) or=20 double Minkowski space.. All the forces are separated. The universe is = big and=20 almost flat. The presence of three dimensions stabilizes the strings for = the=20 long haul... but... with enough expansion... other hyper-curled = dimensions could=20 uncurl creating higher dimension universes until the strings have fully=20 uncurled? The expansion of the universe is expanding the strings, so the = apparent density of the universe is changing. The very minute changes of = many=20 strings creates the effect of "dark matter" and the appearance (when we = look=20 backward into time) that the rate of expansion of the universe is = increasing.=20 The total "mass" of the universe must include both the matter and the = energy, as=20 they are interchangeable. Even if mass is only 20% of the universe, then = the=20 other 80% is energy equal to 1. Or if the universe is a reversed double = ended=20 pseudo-sphere then the matter went one direction and the anti-matter the = other=20 (adding up to 1). In looking for gravitational waves related to strings = prior to=20 this phase transition, one must figure out how to find waves of fewer = than three=20 physical dimensions in a three dimensional space (four-dimensional=20 space/time).

That is my grand though for a Monday afternoon near the last day = of the=20 new millennium in 1999. Gregory Bothun (University of Oregon) indicated = to me=20 that the spinning of milli-second pulsars would be coupled to any string = based=20 gravitational waves from the early quark-sized universe (if there were = strings).=20 Since there is no evidence for such a gravitational wave background=20 (gravitational Brownian movement?), cosmic strings can be ruled out as = physical=20 entities. I wonder, based on the dimensional issues in my model if = vibrations=20 that were created in less-than our current four dimensional space can = either be=20 detected of have an effect? I also wonder if the relative density of a=20 quark-sized universe might not push the frequency of any vibrations so = far down=20 the spectrum as to be non-detectable as well? My GUT level feeling is = that such=20 densities must have an effect on vibration frequency. Other physicists = are=20 telling me that string theory is dead but that barygenesis continues to = be a=20 problem. They also tell me that mass does expand with space/time but the = amount=20 of change is vanishingly small.. About 100 km/s per Mpc (so two objects=20 separated by 1 Megaparsec (3.26 million light years) would have a = relative=20 expansion velocity of 100 km/s and the Milky Way (0.1 Mpc) would only = expand at=20 10 km/s but has a rotation of about 250 km/s... so the expansion rate is = overwhelmed by its rotation. Thus the change due to space/time is small = in=20 relation to the changing mass density of the universe. (Thanks to the = physics=20 department at the University of Oregon).

If the universe is expanding and an increasing rate, then the cosmos = will=20 expand to a size where galactic matter will be so separated that it will = no=20 longer be visible... a very lonely universe indeed. The Star Trek = universe of=20 inter-galactic travel better happen soon, or it will never happen. Or = perhaps we=20 are in a packet of space where things are doing different things than = other=20 areas of our universe... we simply do not know.

Adams & Laughlin summarize the fine-tuning of our universe = (expanding on=20 earlier aspects of this) ...

"Having looked at impossible events, and improbably events, let's now = consider the most extraordinary event that did take place - the ascent = of life.=20 Our universe is rather convenient for life as we know it. In fact, all = four=20 windows of astrophysics play a vital role in its development. Planets, = our=20 smallest window of astronomy, provide the home for life. They provide = the petri=20 dishes which life can arise, evolve, and develop. Stares are obviously = important=20 as they provide the energy source that drives biological evolution. = Stars play a=20 second fundamental role, as the alchemists that produced the elements = heavier=20 than helium - the carbon, oxygen, calcium, and other nuclei that make up = life=20 forms"(Adams & Laughlin 1999: 195)

"Although less obvious, the galaxies are also important. Without the = binding=20 influence of galaxies, the heavy elements produced by stars would spread = out=20 over the universe. These heavy elements are the essential building = blocks of=20 both planets and life-forms. The galaxies, with their large masses and = strong=20 gravitational attraction, keep together the chemically enriched gas left = over=20 from stellar death. This previously processed gas is then incorporated = into=20 future generations of stars, planets, and people. The gravitational = attraction=20 of galaxies thus ensures that heavy elements are readily available for=20 successive generations of stars, and for the production of rocky planets = like=20 earth" (Adams & Laughlin 1999: 196).

"Let's illustrate the required fine-tuning of our universe a bit = more.=20 Galaxies, one of the astrophysical entities required for life, are = produced as=20 gravity wins its battle with the expansion of the universe and = instigates the=20 collapse of local regions. If the gravitational force was much weaker; = or the=20 cosmological expansion rate was much faster; then no galaxies would have = formed=20 within the current age of the cosmos. The universe would continue to = spread=20 itself out, but would contain no gravitationally bound structures, at = least not=20 by this time in cosmic history. On the other hand, if gravitational = forces was=20 much stronger of the expansion rate was much slower, then the entire = universe=20 would recollapse into a big crunch before galaxies even begin to form. = In either=20 case, no life would evolve in our present universe. The interesting case = of a=20 universe filled with galaxies and other large cosmic structures thus = requires a=20 reasonably delicate compromise between the strength of gravity and the = expansion=20 rate. And our universe has realized just such a compromise" (Adams & = Laughlin 1999: 197).

Adams & Laughlin see the universe as evolving through five stages = or=20 ages: 1) the primordial era that creates the structure and = process of=20 the universe from which the forces are created and matter evolves; 2) = the=20 stelliferous era where stars are formed, galaxies evolve and = stars cook=20 up the elements needed for development of planets (we live in this era) = ; 3) the=20 degenerate era when star formation has ended and stars have = turned into=20 red and brown dwarfs which radiate themselves away and then protons = decay so=20 that all elements evaporate; 4) the black hole era as they = radiate heat=20 until they explode; and 5) the dark era when the universe = contains=20 photons of colossal wave lengths as well as neutrinos, electrons and = positrons=20 that slowly annihilate each other.

Our sun is about six billion years old and will last for another six = billion=20 or so before using up all of its hydrogen... but its power output will = slowly=20 increase. By about six billion years from now, the sun will swell to a = red giant=20 and the Earth will move out to about the orbit of Mars and the Earth = will be a=20 burned out molten rock. The core of the sun becomes a white dwarf star = while the=20 deep red stellar atmosphere expands. Then the sun will burn helium into = carbon=20 as a huge helium flash that will be comparable to the power produced by = all the=20 stars in the Milky Way. This is followed by a stable conversion of = helium to=20 carbon for about a hundred million years... and the Earth would = resolidify with=20 no hint of its past. The Stelliferous Era will end when the universe is = about=20 one hundred trillion years old.

A recent report suggests researchers have found frame-dragging around = a=20 massive black hole with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer... a distorted = area of=20 space rotating around a black hole where as the disk spins the very = space the=20 disk inhabits is warped along, twisting space and time. In another = recent=20 development, there is a gamma haze around our galaxy that should not be = there,=20 suggesting the annihilation of dark matter as one possible scenario.

Gilsen theory of the universe for a Monday morning (27 November=20 2000):

There is now the possibility of dark energy as well as dark = matter. If=20 the universe were a pie chart, about 2% would be regular matter = and=20 energy, another third would be dark matter and = two-thirds would be dark energy! This gave me the odd = thought=20 that there was no "big bang" but rather a "big suck"! That this dark = energy=20 pulled regular matter and energy into existence through some kind of = tension as=20 a phase transition... that the tension grew and grew until matter and = energy=20 popped into existence... releasing the tension as "inflation"... which = dropped=20 the tension close to zero... which allowed the tension to begin to build = again=20 which is called the "cosmological constant" and which is heading towards = infinity at an ever increasing speed... carrying along the matter an = energy of=20 our recognizable universe with it (runaway universe). This explains = inflation.=20

This model has some implications. As the universe expands, the = relative=20 size of "particles" expands as well. As the tension builds again and = matter is=20 spread out as simple protons... perhaps each will be placed under enough = tension=20 that each proton will explode into a new universe? Thus the "big bang" = becomes=20 the "big bangs" of the formation of multiverses from = each=20 universe splitting into proton annihilation universes? Dark energy = supplying the=20 tension for this act?

If space/time did not exist before the Higgs excitation and since = the the=20 Higgs did not exist either, it not only created the universe, it created = the=20 conditions under which it could create the universe. Therefore one could = view=20 the Higgs as "god" (the ultimate definer of the universe). If this is a = simple=20 zero sum process, then those that worshiped the sun (our local = thermodynamic=20 source) were probably closer to "god" than anyone. An infinite universe = is a=20 universe with infinite information. I am forced to conclude that the = structure=20 is irrelevant, it is the process that is important. The multiverse = theory of=20 infinite tension and release through phase transition seems to me the = better=20 solution. The resultant universes would inherit the characteristics of = the=20 parent universe. There is no beginning or end, only process.

Before talking about life, it is perhaps wise to talk about death. = There is=20 strong evidence that the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by an = asteroid=20 (2/3rds of all species went extinct). What are asteroids? Currently = there are=20 about 50,000 catalogued. Most are found between Mars and Jupiter, the = main=20 asteroid belt. Three objects make up about half the mass of all of the = objects:=20 Ceres, Pallas and Vesta (933, 523 and 501 kilometers in diameter). The = area of=20 the belt is so huge that each object is several million kilometers apart = (forget=20 the movies with spaceships dodging asteroids). The Trojan asteroids = reside at=20 the 1:1 resonance with Jupiter. Comets come from the Kuiper Belt, and a = cloud of=20 objects called the Oort Cloud. Kuiper objects orbit beyond Neptune. = Large=20 objects have been found, and the count as of 1999 was 179. Pluto is now=20 considered to be a Kuiper object rather than a planet by some = astronomers....=20 and the larger objects are now dubbed "plutinos".

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 proved the massive energies involved in a hit = by such=20 an object. The expanding rings were gravity waves rather than sound = waves. Two=20 years after the impacts, Jupiter was showing considerable changes in its = atmospheric chemistry. We now know that objects larger than 1 kilometer = cause=20 global consequences. The Tunguska event was a small 50 meter stony = asteroid and=20 hit with the power of 10-20 megatons of TNT! It flattened 2000 square = kilometers=20 of forest.

"Dendrochronologist Mike Baillie at Queens University in Belfast, = Northern=20 Ireland, has found evidence of multiple short-term catastrophic climate = changes=20 over the past 6,000 years. Dendrochronolgy uses the study of tree rings = to=20 determine chronology and climate of a region. Baillie has found episodes = of low=20 growth rates at sites around the world in tree rings that coincide with = upheaval=20 in human affairs. The most recent corresponds to the Dark Ages in Europe = around=20 A.D. 530 to 540. Similar global climate changes have been found around = 2345=20 B.C., 1628 B.C., 1150 B.C., 207 B.C. and 44 B.C. Baillie suggests that = the=20 impact of small objects exploding in the atmosphere or in the oceans = would=20 inject enough dust into the atmosphere to reduce sunlight - similar to = the dark=20 impact scars caused by Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 when it hit Jupiter in = 1994. This=20 would cause years without summers, crop failures, famine and other side = effects.=20 These small objects, he believes, are part of the Taurid complex and = have=20 impacted during periods when the core of the debris complex intersects = the orbit=20 of earth. Many of the legends and mythology of mankind may well be = linked to the=20 appearance of bright comets in the sky overhead" (Scotti 2000: 186).

One final "bit"... John Wheeler suggests that physical phenomenon are = somehow=20 defined by the questions we ask of them... "the it from bit". Several = physicists=20 are now looking at quantum theory in terms of information theory "and = have found=20 the Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, wave-particle duality and = nonlocality=20 can be formulated more powerfully in the context of information theory" = (Horgan=20 2000: 349).

I still like recursive dreams and a fractal-like universe... sweet = dreams.=20

LIFE

Lee Solin (1997: 156) defines life as:

1) a self-organized non-equilibrium system such that

2) its processes are governed by a program which is stored = symbolically and=20

3) it can reproduce itself, including the program (with = redundancy and=20 variations).

Based what was said about the creating of carbon, iron, etc. in = stars, and=20 that the universe cooks up the stuff needed for life, does this mean = life is a=20 natural outcome? The best book I have seen on this issue is Paul Davies' = The=20 Fifth Miracle: The Search for the origin and Meaning of Life. As he = notes,=20 some scientists now believe that the universe is rigged in favor of = life....=20 that life will evolve if conditions are right. This has been bolstered = by the=20 finding of planets around stars, the assumption being that more planets = means=20 greater chances for life to evolve. The finding of organic chemicals in = space,=20 comets and meteorites, has had its impact as well. The ease with which = organic=20 molecules are created by "simple" lab experiments has contributed to = this point=20 of view.

Davies looks at all of this data carefully. He points out that life = is not=20 only molecular hardware but also is a complex information-processing = software=20 system. While it is easy to examine the hardware, it is a huge leap from = that=20 into the software: "Whatever remarkable chemistry may have occurred on = the=20 primeval Earth or some other planet, life was sparked not by a molecular = maelstrom as such, but - somehow! - by the organization of = information"=20 (Davies 1999: 19).

The oldest true animal fossils known (Ediacara) date to about 560 = million=20 years. There were probably one-celled organisms around long before. Some = people=20 think life in some form is perhaps 3.8 billion years old, or older. This = is=20 based on carbon-isotope ratios in rocks.

"Biological complexity is instructed complexity or, to use = modern=20 parlance, it is information-based complexity.... I shall argue that it = is not=20 enough to know how life's immense structural complexity arose; we must = also=20 account for the origin of biological information" (Davies 1999: 31).

Davies lists the following attributes: autonomy; reproduction; = metabolism;=20 nutrition; complexity; organization; growth and development; information = content; hardware/software entanglement; permanence and change as key = variables=20 in defining life.

"Inside each and every one of us lies a message. it is inscribed in = an=20 ancient code, its beginnings lost in the mists of time. Decrypted, the = message=20 contains instructions on how to make a human being. Nobody wrote the = message;=20 nobody invented the code. they came into existence spontaneously. Their = designer=20 was Mother Nature herself, working only within the scope of her = immutable laws=20 and capitalizing on the vagaries of chance. the message isn't written in = ink or=20 type, but in atoms, strung together in an elaborately arranged sequence = to form=20 DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid. It is the most extraordinary = molecule on=20 Earth" (Davies 1999: 40-41).

"DNA is incredibly, unimaginably ancient. It most certainly existed = three and=20 a half billion years ago. It makes nonsense of the phrase "old as the = hills":=20 DNA was there long before any surviving hills on Earth. Nobody knows how = or=20 where the first DNA molecule formed" (Davies 1999: 41).

In essence, all life is a thermodynamic machine. All living things = obey the=20 second law of thermodynamics. Life makes order, but at the expense of = the=20 greater environment. As long as there is any source of free energy, life = is=20 possible. What is probably is a much smaller set. Life also taps into = metastable=20 states, using enzymes to catalyze reactions that would otherwise be slow = or not=20 happen at all. As Shannon has shown, information is the opposite of = entropy.=20 Living systems exploit both energy and information from the environment. = As=20 Davies noted "This is essentially what Schr=F6dinger meant when he said = that an=20 organism makes a living by "drinking orderliness""(Davies 1999: 57).

"The error catastrophe is crucially important for the problem of = biogenesis.=20 In modern organisms, sophisticated proofreading and error-correction = mechanisms=20 are employed to keep the error rate down. Cells can call upon a suite of = enzymes, evolved over billions of years, to finesse the copying process. = No such=20 enzymes would have been available to the first organisms. Their = replication must=20 have been extremely error-prone. according to Eigen's rule, this means = that the=20 genomes of the first organisms (or the prebiotic replicators) must have = been=20 very short in length if they were to evade this error catastrophe. But = here we=20 hit a paradox. if a genome is too short, it can't store enough = information to=20 build the copying machinery itself. Eigen believes that the simplest = replication=20 equipment requires much more information than could ever have been = accommodated=20 in a primitive nucleic-acid sequence. To reach the sort of length needed = for the=20 necessary copying enzymes, the genome risks falling foul of the very = error=20 catastrophe it is trying to combat. To put it simply: complex genomes = demand=20 reliable copying, and reliable copying demands complex genomes" (Davies = 1999:=20 59-60).

Davies makes a key point that connects us back to the universe... DNA = stores=20 the instructions to build a functional organism: it contains information = - where=20 did the information content of the universe come from? The universe = after the=20 big bang had essentially no information. Gravity acted to concentrate = mass and=20 create stars, solar systems, galaxies, etc.

"Just as life seems to go 'the wrong way" thermodynamically, so too = does=20 gravitation go "the wrong way". A smooth gas grows into something clumpy = and=20 complex. Order appears spontaneously. In informational terms, this seems = all=20 back to front. A uniform gas, by its very simplicity, can be described = with a=20 very little information, whereas a star cluster or a galaxy requires a = lot of=20 information to describe it. In some yet ill-understood way, a huge = amount of=20 information evidently lies secreted in the smooth gravitational field of = a=20 featureless, uniform gas. As the system evolves, the gas comes out of=20 equilibrium, and information flows form the gravitational field to the = matter.=20 Part of this information ends up in the genomes of organisms, as = biological=20 information" (Davies 1999: 64).

"The upshot of these gravitational processes was that an entropy gap = opened=20 up in the universe, a gap between the actual entropy and the maximum = possible=20 entropy. The flow of starlight is one process that is attempting to = close the=20 gap, but in fact all sources of free energy, including the chemical and = thermal=20 energy inside the Earth, can be attributed to that gap. Thus all life = feeds off=20 the energy gap that gravitation has created. The ultimate source of = biological=20 information and order is gravitation" (Davies 1999: 64).

Thus there is a deep connection between life and the origin and = development=20 of the universe (page 66) and that information is a global quantity = (page 67).=20 Davies also believes the meaningful information is closely tied to = complexity,=20 another aspect of life: non-linear feedback systems and that "It = suggests that=20 we will not be able to trace the origin of biological evolution to the = operation=20 of local physical forces and laws" (page 67).

Lab experiments have shown that, under specific conditions, complex = organic=20 chemicals can be produced. Davies (page 86-87) explains how the famous=20 Urey/Miller experiment with methane, ammonia, hydrogen, water and a = spark to=20 produce amino acids is misleading. the gas mixture was wrong. The best = guess for=20 earths early atmosphere is carbon dioxide and nitrogen, which does not = yield=20 amino acids. In addition the water base is a problem:

"The second step on the road to life , or at least the road to = proteins, is=20 for amino acids to link together to form molecules known as peptides. A = protein=20 is a long peptide chain, or a polypeptide. Whereas the spontaneous = formation of=20 amino acids from an inorganic chemical mixture is an allowed downhill = process,=20 coupling amino acids together to form peptides is an uphill process. It=20 therefore heads in the wrong direction, thermo-dynamically speaking. = Each=20 peptide bond that is forged requires a water molecule to be plucked from = the=20 chain. In a watery medium like a primordial soup, this is = thermo-dynamically=20 unfavorable. Consequently, it will not happen spontaneously: work has to = be done=20 to force the newly extracted water molecule into the water-saturated = medium...=20 So a watery soup is a recipe for molecular disassembly, not = self-assembly"=20 (Davies 1999: 89).

Davies says that it has been calculated that if the entire universe = were the=20 watery soup, perhaps once in its history a peptide bond would be made... = but if=20 it is strongly heated, driving out the water as steam... such linkages = are much=20 more possible (page 90).

"So far I have just been talking about making proteins by linking = amino acids=20 into peptides. But proteins are only a small part of the intricate = fabric of=20 life. There are lipids and nucleic acids and ribosomes, and so on. And = we hit=20 yet another snag. It is possible that scientists using complicated and = delicate=20 laboratory procedures may be able to synthesize piecemeal the basic = ingredients=20 of life. What is far less likely is that the same set of procedures = would yield=20 all the required pieces at the same time. Thus, not only is there a = mystery=20 about the self-assembly of large, delicate, and very specifically = structured=20 molecules from an incoherent m=EAl=E9e of bits, there is also the = problem of=20 producing, simultaneously, a collection on many different types of = molecules....=20

No single molecule carries the spark of life, no chain of atoms alone = constitutes an organism. Even DNA, the biological supermolecule, is not = alive.=20 Pluck DNA from a living cell and it would be stranded, unable to carry = out its=20 familiar role. Only within the context of a highly specific molecular = milieu=20 will a given molecule play its role in life. To function properly, DNA = must be=20 part of a large team, with each molecule executing its assigned task = alongside=20 the others in a cooperative manner" (Davies 1999: 92).

He goes on to say "If everything needs everything else, how = did the=20 community of molecules ever arise in the first place?" Good = question.=20 It is obvious that the earliest "living" things were simple and "far = sloppier"=20 than any living organism today, with their billions of years of = evolutionary=20 history (experience and selection). "Crude machines are more robust than = sophisticated ones" (page 93).

"In the previous section, I presented the fantastic odds against = shuffling=20 amino acids at random into the right sequence to form a protein molecule = by=20 accident. That was a single protein. Life as we know it requires = hundreds of=20 thousands of specialists proteins, not to mention nucleic acids. The = odds=20 against producing just the proteins by pure chance are something like = 1040=20 000 to 1. This is one followed by forty thousand zeros, which = would take=20 up an entire chapter of this book if I wanted to write it out in full. = Dealing a=20 perfect suit of cards a thousand times in a row is easy by comparison. = In a=20 famous remark, the British astronomer Fred Hoyle likened the odds = against the=20 spontaneous assembly of life to those for a whirlwind sweeping through a = junkyard and producing a fully functioning Boeing 747" (Davies 1999: = 95).

"On a recent trip to Europe to attend a conference on = extraterrestrial life,=20 I flipped through the airline's in-flight entertainment guide, only to = find that=20 the search for life beyond Earth was on offer as part of their program. = The=20 promotional description said "With a half-trillion stars wheeling = through the=20 spiral patterns of the Milky Way Galaxy, it seems illogical to assume = that among=20 them only one world supports intelligent life". The use of the word = "illogical"=20 was unfortunate, because the logic is perfectly clear. there are indeed = a lot of=20 stars - at least ten billion billion in the observable universe. But = this=20 number, gigantic as it may appear to us, is nevertheless = trivially=20 small compared with the gigantic odds against the random assembly of = even a=20 single protein molecule. Though the universe is big, if life formed = solely by=20 random agitation in a molecular junkyard, there is scant chance it has = happened=20 twice" (Davies 1999: 95).

Davies explores DNA and its four base-code (A, G, C and T). Perhaps = the best=20 line in his book is found in this description: "DNA contains the total=20 information needed to build and operate the organism to which it = belongs. Viewed=20 like this, life is just a string of four-letter words" (page 104). DNA, = he=20 notes, is helpless without its proteins that build things like cell = walls and=20 act as enzymes to supervise and accelerate chemical reactions required = to fuel=20 life. RNA uses four bases as well (A, G, C and U) and one form serves as = a=20 messenger between the DNA and the places where proteins are made. RNA = may be the=20 key candidate for the earliest replicating molecule from which life = originated.=20 RNA does may tasks and is itself a weak enzyme. Ion an experiment, Sol=20 Spiegelman used a small RNA virus called Q=DF in a medium = with its own=20 replication enzyme plus a supply of salts and raw materials. He decanted = some=20 into a new medium, and then did this a number of times. The RNA dropped = parts of=20 its genome, going from 4,500 bases to 220 so it could replicate as fast = as=20 possible. It was called Spiegelman's monster (Davies 1999: 126-127). In = a later=20 experiment by Manfred Eigen, the same medium and enzymes produced = spontaneous=20 RNA strands that reproduced.,, but this only worked with a specially = prepared=20 replication enzyme extracted from a living organism... so life was not = created=20 from non-life. (Davies 1999: 127-128).

Because DNA uses an intermediary for many purposes, a single code = change in=20 the messenger is lethal in that it changes not one, but many dependent=20 proteins... so normal Darwinian error/selection is questionable.

"A possible resolution has been suggested by Carl Woese. He thinks = the code=20 assignments and he translation mechanism evolved together. Initially = there was=20 only a rough-and-ready code, and the translation process was very = sloppy. At=20 this early stage, which is likely to have involved less than the present = complement of twenty amino acids, organisms had to make do with very = inefficient=20 enzymes: the highly specific and refined enzymes life uses today had not = yet=20 evolved. Obviously some coding assignments would prove better than = others, and=20 any organism that employed them would prove better than others, and = organism=20 that employed the least error-prone assignments to code for its = most-important=20 enzymes would be on to a winner" (Davies 1999: 111).

Here is the kernel of it all: "The striking utility of encoded = genetic=20 information stems from the fact that amino acids "understand" it. The=20 information distributed along a strand of DNA is biologically = relevant.=20 In computerspeak, genetic data are semantic data."

"Another way of expressing this is to say that genes and proteins = require=20 exceedingly high degrees of specificity in their structure. As I stated = in my=20 list of properties in chapter 1, living organisms are mysterious not for = their=20 complexity per se, but for their tightly specified complexity. = To=20 comprehend fully how life arose from nonlife, we need to know not only = how=20 biological information was concentrated, but also how biologically = useful=20 information came to be specified, given that the milieu from = which the=20 first organism emerged was presumably just a random mix of molecular = building=20 blocks. In short, how did meaningful information emerge spontaneously = from=20 incoherent junk" (Davies 1999: 112-113)?

"Viewed this way, the problem of the origin of life reduces to one of = understanding how encoded software emerged spontaneously from hardware. = How did=20 it happen? How did nature "go digital"? We are dealing here not with a = simple=20 matter of refinement and adaptation, an amplification of complexity, or = even the=20 husbanding of information, but a fundamental change of concept" = (Davies=20 1999: 115).

Here is a tough thing to understand... using the algorithmic = definition of=20 randomness, already discussed earlier, a DNA sequence is more = information rich=20 as it appears to be more random as a sequence.... because the content = cannot be=20 reduced by any simple formulas! So an information rich DNA sequence must = look=20 "random" ... and genomes must incorporate this randomness. Thus, a = functioning=20 genome is a random sequence, but a sequence that encodes biologically = relevant=20 information!

"The conclusion we have reached is clear and it is profound. A = functional=20 genome is bothrandom and highly specific - properties = that=20 seem almost contradictory. It must be random to contain substantial = amounts of=20 information, and it must be specific for that information to be = biologically=20 relevant. The puzzle we are then faced with is how such a structure came = into=20 existence. We know that chance can produce randomness and we know that = law can=20 produce a specific, predictable end-product. But how can both properties = be=20 combined into one process? How can a blend of chance and law cooperate = to yield=20 a specific random structure" (Davies 1999: 119-120)?

Davies reports that "Recently Reza Ghadri of the Scripps Institute in = San=20 Diego, discovered that some small peptide chains can indeed = self-replicate.=20 Moreover, they can apparently correct replication errors "as if they had = a mind=20 of their own"" (page 133). He also talks about Freeman Dyson's view that = life is=20 a fusion or symbiosis of two separate organic processes: a protein with=20 metabolism and a replicative molecule that had no metabolism (page 134). = Others=20 have suggested that chaotic complexity in feedback was part of this = process,=20 where self-organization was a critical bifurcation: "That life is a = consequence,=20 not of special organic chemistry, but of universal mathematical rules = that=20 govern the behavior of all complex systems regardless of what they are = made of"=20 But then he goes on to point out that life is not just = self-organization, but=20 specified internal organization (Davies 1999: 140-141).

Davies is certain that the abundant life found deep inside the = Earth's rocks,=20 is the basis for understanding biogenesis. Life probably evolved and = survived=20 the massive bombardment early in planetary evolution by living deep = inside rock.=20 The large impacts 3-4 billion years ago would have created surface = temperatures=20 up to 3000 degrees Celsius, melting rock to a depth of a kilometer. The = finding=20 of "superbugs", life that survives on sulfur, in salt, on hydrogen gas = (making=20 methane), or at low or high temperatures... is revolutionizing our view = of life=20 and its origins. Pyrodictium occultum, for example, was still = alive=20 after an hour in an autoclave at 121 degrees Celsius. At three = kilometers down,=20 the Taylorsville borehole found ten million bacteria per gram of rock. = Seabed=20 drills have found up to ten million bacteria at 750 feet, with the = numbers=20 rising with depth (page 168-173). There is increasing evidence that the = oldest=20 life forms were hyperthermalphiles that oxidized sulphur or hydrogen = sulfide and=20 did not need or want light... and many were oxygen haters... so as = Davies notes,=20 "Eden" was "Hell" (hot and sulphurous) (page 180).

"In claiming that water means life, NASA scientists are not merely = being=20 upbeat about their project. They are making - tacitly - a huge = and=20 profound assumption about the nature of nature. They are saying, in = effect, that=20 the laws of the universe are cunningly contrived to coax life into being = against=20 the raw odds; that the mathematical principles of physics, in their = elegant=20 simplicity, somehow know in advance about life and its vast complexity. = If life=20 follows from soup with causal dependability, the laws of nature encode a = hidden=20 subtext, a cosmic imperative, which tells them: "Make life!" And, = through life,=20 its by-products: mind, knowledge, understanding. It means that the laws = of the=20 universe have engineered their own comprehension. This is a breathtaking = vision=20 of nature, magnificent and uplifting in its majestic sweep. I hope it is = correct. It would be wonderful if it were correct. But if it is, it = represents a=20 shift in the scientific world-view as profound as that initiated by = Copernicus=20 and Darwin put together. It should nor be glossed over with glib = statements that=20 water plus organics equals life, obviously, for it is far from obvious" = (Davies=20 1999: 246).

Finding uncontaminated life of truly different origins will transform = our=20 basic metaphysical understanding of the universe. Given that matter was = tossed=20 from Mars to Earth means matter was tossed from Earth to Mars... so life = on Mars=20 can be contamination error. Totally foreign life on Mars, that shares no = biological heritage with Earth would be the most important discovery of = our=20 time. It will shake our metaphysical universe.

From what I know about general systems theory and thermodynamics, = life, by=20 necessity maps its environment in its thermodynamic requirements. Life = must seek=20 the raw materials (resources) required for self-maintenance, growth and=20 replication. This mapping is the informational content of the = organism... is the=20 mind, knowledge and understanding of the organisms context (ultimately = the=20 entire universe). Thus mind, knowledge and understanding are an = outgrowth of all=20 life, no matter how simple.

That life is an informational machine appears to be a given. That = the=20 universe contains information is also a given. That only variety can = modulate or=20 constrain variety is a rule. That chaos creates information appears to = be=20 true.... that strangely enough... chaos is information (bad pun?). Oddly = enough,=20 therefore if "god" is information then god is chaos.... and "god" is the = universe... if you believe in "god". The universe does exist, is a = given.=20 Therefore, does "god" exist? If so, then not in the "form" most people = think of=20 a "god"... but simply as a process based in physics... impersonal... = uncaring...=20 as a complex open ended non-linear mutual-causal feedback system with = unlimited=20 possibilities within the contextual and historic constraints of our = universe...=20 therefore, you are "god" in the sense that everything you do, or do not = do,=20 changes the history and context of the universe.

The oldest know life on Earth has been dated to over 3,465,000,000 = years from=20 the Apex basalt formation in Australia. This is a complex ecosystem = consisting=20 of bacteria colonies.

"If I am right about these relations, the presence of cyanobacteria = in this=20 early 3,500-Ma-old community tells us that early evolution proceeded = very far=20 very fast" (Schopf 1999: 97).

Schopf defined the universals of life: 1) water as the medium; and 2) = CHON=20 (SP) (Carbon, Hydrogen; Oxygen, Oxygen, Nitrogen as well as Phosphorus = and=20 Sulphur). Water consists of H and O, protein consists of C, H, O, N and = S, fat=20 and carbohydrates consist of C, H and O, and DNA, RNA and ATP consist of = C, H, O=20 , N and P.

"Life is made of CHON because these elements are plentiful, four of = the five=20 most common in the Universe. (The fifth abundant element, helium, = doesn't count.=20 Helium is inert, nonreactive - a great gas for balloons, but an element = unable=20 to join with others to form robust chemical compounds.) There was plenty = of CHON=20 around when life got started. Moreover, all these elements are able to = combine=20 with one another to form small sturdy molecules such as methane=20 (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and ammonia = (NH3),=20 compounds that because they dissolve in water (H2O, another = linked=20 pair of the prime elements) can play an active role in the workings of = life"=20 (Schopf 1999: 108).

"All life is made from CHON(SP) and is composed of the same three = dozen kinds=20 of fundamental CHON(SP)-containing building block molecules. These small = compounds, such as amino acids, sugars, and the purines and pyrimidines = of DNA=20 and RNA, are called monomers, and in all are linked together to form the = same=20 few kinds of large polymer molecules (such as proteins, carbohydrates, = and=20 nucleic acids) so important to life" (Schopf 1999: 108).

"We do know that organic compounds are widespread in the Cosmos. = Diverse=20 organic molecules in the gigantic dust clouds swirling through = interstellar=20 space have shown their telltale signatures in the microwave region of = the=20 electromagnetic spectrum. Discovered at a rate of about four compounds = each=20 year, more that eighty-five different kinds have been identified, the = largest=20 consisting of thirteen atoms (the hydrogen cyanidelike compound=20 HC11N)" (Schopf 1999: 133).

"All constituents of Urey's primitive atmosphere (CH4,=20 NH3, H2O, H2) have been identified in = these=20 enormous clouds, as have many of the organic compounds pivotal in = Miller-type=20 early-Earth experiments: hydrogen cyanide (HCN), key for synthesis of = amino=20 acids and nucleic acid purine bases (adenine and guanine); = thioformaldehyde=20 (CH2S), for sulfur-containing amino acids (cysteine and = methionine);=20 cyanoacethylene (HC3N), for nucleic acid pyrimidine bases = (cytosine,=20 uracil, and thymine); formaldehyde (H2CO), for = monosaccharides,=20 including the ribose sugar of RNA; acetaldehyde (CH3CHO), for = the=20 deoxyribose sugar of DNA; and cyanogen (C2N2) and=20 cyanamide (H2NCN), for forming the monomer-to-monomer = linkages of=20 polypeptides, polysaccharides, and polynucleotides; even methanol=20 (CH3OH, antifreeze) and ethanol = (C2H5OH, the=20 active agent of beer and liquor). All have been detected in prodigious=20 quantities, in some interstellar clouds, they have a total mass greater = then the=20 Earth" (Schopf 1999: 133-134).

"Cells build polymers by adding monomers one at a time to the end of = a=20 growing polymeric chain. To make the strong chemical bridge (covalent = bond) that=20 attaches each monomer to the lengthening chain, organisms use a process = known as=20 dehydration condensation. Consider, for instance, how amino acids = polymerize to=20 form a protein. All amino acids-even the simplest, glycine=20 (H2N-CH2-COOH)-are short linear molecules, at one = end=20 having a cluster of three atoms, the amino group H2N, and at = the=20 other a four-atom combination, COOH, the carboxylic acid group. Cells = order=20 amino acids head-to-tail in protein polymers by connecting the carbon of = the=20 COOH end of the growing polymer to the nitrogen of the H2N = end of=20 each new amino acid added. But before the connecting bridge can be fit = in place,=20 space has to be freed on the carbon and nitrogen atoms. With the help of = a=20 bridge-building enzyme and powered by cellular energy, this is done by = cutting=20 away OH (hydroxyl) from the COOH of the polymer and excising one of the=20 hydrogens from the H2N of the amino acid, liberated chemical=20 fragments that unite to form a molecule of water (OH + H = H2O). This=20 water-forming bridge-building process is repeated over and over as amino = acids=20 are added until the protein is completed" (Schopf 1999: 147-138).

Schopf notes that trying to do this in water is like trying to dry = your hands=20 with a wet cloth... but more on this later. What about the = chicken-and-the-egg=20 problem of nucleic acids that build enzymes but enzymes are needed to = make=20 nucleic acids? This may be solved by RNA.

"Like enzymatic proteins, ribozymes can cut molecules apart or paste = them=20 together, and a number of them can do both. Some are self-splicers, able = to snip=20 away one part of their own length and glue the leftovers back together. = Others=20 can cut out a section of themselves and move it to another spot in the = molecule.=20 Still others can engineer assembly of fresh RNA strands" (Schopf 1999: = 141).

He feels that cells are like bubbles of soap. That because like = dissolves=20 like and because water caries a positive charge, oil-like organic = compounds will=20 ball up. He believes the primordial soup was a bit soapy and soaps = bridge the=20 chemistry between water and oil.

"Cells originated by soaplike chemistry. The primordial soup was a = dilute=20 consomm=E9 in which hydrophobic organic compounds clumped together = naturally=20 because of their chemical makeup. Among these were chains of hydrogen = and=20 carbon, hydrocarbons like the tails of soap molecules, some of which had = charged=20 atoms at one end. Like soaps, these packed together to make up = thin-skinned=20 bubbles in which the charged hydrophilic atoms formed the outer surface = and the=20 hydrocarbon tails pointed inward, mixing with the organics clumped = inside"=20 (Schopf 1999: 142).

Schopf believes the bubbles contained organic chemicals such as = primitive=20 RNA. The process of snipping and adding in most bubbles lead to nothing, = but in=20 at least one... it lead to a double film wall, later strengthened by = proteins to=20 become a primitive cell wall. He feels that the structure and = replication=20 process evolved together, but that metabolism evolved over time and that = the=20 heterotrophs evolved before the photoautotrophs for the following = reasons.

"Among the earliest forms of life were some that lived by glycolysis, = a form=20 of fermentation (anaerobic metabolism) in which a molecule of the = six-carbon=20 sugar glucose (C6H12O6) is split in = half to=20 make two molecules of a three-carbon compound called pyruvate. This = produces=20 energy, given off when the chemical bonds of glucose are broken apart, = some of=20 which is stored for later use in a chemical known as ATP (adenosine=20 triphosphate). Two units of energy (two energy-rich molecules of ATP) = are made=20 every time a molecule of glucose is broken down"

"Glycolysis dates from near life's beginnings. It is fundamental to = life,=20 present in all organisms, a package of ten enzyme-speeded steps = too=20 large to have been originated more than once. Moreover, it is chemically = the=20 simplest energy-making process in biology, takes place in the watery = cytosol of=20 cells (rather than needing membranes or organelles like later-evolved = systems),=20 yields much less energy than more advanced mechanisms, and is anaerobic = like the=20 early environment"

Glycolysis requires glucose fuel. But Miller-type early-Earth = experiments=20 show that many other sugars were present also in the primordial soup. = Why was=20 glucose pegged as the universal fuel of life? Probably because it is = especially=20 sturdy, the least susceptible of all six-carbon sugars to break down by = changes=20 in temperature, acidity, and the like. In the harsh early environment, = glucose=20 was the sugar most likely to be available to life" (Schopf 1999: 150). =

But such primitive life would quickly run out of sugar made by random = chance.=20 "Manufacture of glucose (technically, "glucose biosynthesis") involves = eleven=20 enzyme-aided steps. Seven of these use the same enzymes as glycolysis = but=20 operate in the opposite direction. Without changing glycolysis in any = way, genes=20 for seven of its enzymes were duplicated and their enzymes used along = with four=20 new ones to construct the glucose-making system. Rather than inventing a = brand-new set of genes and enzymes, evolution was conservative and=20 economical" (Schopf 1999: 151).

Ammonia was also in short supply needed for its nitrogen:

"The agent that evolved to harvest nitrogen (to combine it with = hydrogen and=20 "fix" it in the form of ammonia) is called the nitrogenase of = Nif=20 complex, and its driving force is a protein called ferredoxin. Because=20 N2-fixation costs cells much energy, the Nif complex = kicks=20 in as a last resort, used only after supples of ammonia and nitrate are=20 exhausted. A system so costly would never have evolved had it not been = crucial=20 to life's survival.

The ferredoxin-driven Nif complex dates from early in Earth = history=20 when the environment was all but oxygen-free. Most early evolved = bacteria and=20 archaeans can fix atmospheric nitrogen, whereas eukaryotes - all = later-evolved -=20 cannot, and like other especially ancient enzyme systems, the = Nif=20 complex is brought to a standstill by trace amounts of molecular oxygen. = N2-fixation happens only if O2 is shut out, even = in=20 oxygen-producing cyanobacteria, where special cells and chemical = mechanisms have=20 evolved to protect its workings"

"How did ferredoxin originate? The fifty-five amino acids that make = up the=20 ferredoxin of a typical bacterium (Clostridium) are ordered in a way = that=20 reveals the history of the molecule. The protein started out as a = snippet only=20 four amino acids long. The gene for this quartet was copied repeatedly = to make=20 up a longer gene for a proto-ferredoxin composed of twenty-eight amino = acids,=20 seven of the quartets linked in a chain. Mutations then added an amino = acid and=20 switched several, and the mutated gene for the twenty-nine amino = acid-long=20 protein was duplicated to make a new gene for a primitive ferredoxin = fifty-eight=20 amino acids in length. After a few more mutations, three amino acids = were cut=20 away at one end of the molecule to give the ferredoxin of modern = Clostridium....=20

=20

"Gene xeroxing seems to have been especially common during life's = early=20 development, when CHON and energy were in short supply. Laboratory = studies on=20 experimentally starved bacteria show that almost all survivors are = mutants that=20 have extra copies of metabolic enzymes" (Schopf 1999: 153-155).


The next step above aerobic heterotrophs were autotrophs capable of=20 photosynthesis, but were anoxygenic, based on the H2S +=20 CO2 CH2O + S process. Hydrogen sulfide was = probably=20 locally abundant around hot springs, fumaroles. Then came aerobic = systems:

"First glycolysis breaks down glucose to make pyruvate and = two ATPs=20 (and water) for every molecule of glucose used. Second, the pyruvate is = split=20 apart by a cyclic system (the citric acid cycle) to form two = more ATPs,=20 electrons, and carbon dioxide. Third, molecular oxygen is pumped in and=20 electrons from the citric acid cycle are conveyed along a string of=20 enzyme-driven electron carriers to produce thirty-two more = ATPs.=20 Overall, thirty-six ATPs are made from each molecule of glucose broken = down"=20 (Schopf 1999: 159).

"What are the evolutionary roots of this life-sustaining, notably=20 cost-effective process? The first part, glycolysis, is already familiar. = Inherited from primitive anaerobic heterotrophs, it long predates the = appearance=20 of oxygen-breathing forms of life. The second, the citric acid cycle, is = also a=20 hand-me-down, the borrowed but reversed version of the cyclic "dark = reactions"=20 of bacterial photosynthesis. And the third, the oxygen-consuming part of = the=20 system, is a revamped form of the chemistry that links two = light-sensitive=20 photosystems in oxygen-producing photosynthesis. By remodeling and = reusing=20 inventions perfected earlier, evolution once again was conservative = and=20 economical" (Schopf 1999: 159).

The process of creating free oxygen was slowed up by the rusting of = the earth=20 as reflected in the iron oxide layers abundant in rocks older than = 2,000,000,000=20 years ago. Oxygen did not accumulate in significant quantities in the = atmosphere=20 until this rusting was completed. Single cell algae are found around = this time=20 and sexual reproduction not until later.

"Whether large or small, living or fossil, life comes in just two = varieties:=20 (1) prokaryotes, nonnucleated microbes of the Bacterial and Archaeal = domains.=20 The only life on earth for most of the planet's history; and (2) = eukaryotes,=20 members of the Eucaryal domain earmarked by cells like ours that have=20 chromosomes packaged in a saclike nucleus" (Schopf 1999: 237).

This latter group includes the nucleus for DNA; ribosomes where = proteins and=20 other compounds are made; chloroplasts where sunlight is used to make = food; and=20 mitochondria where food is broken down for energy. Chloroplasts are = absent in=20 protozoans, fungi and animals and mitochondria are absent diplomonads = and=20 microspordia (both parasites). This suggests that the earliest = eukaryotes could=20 neither photosynthesize nor breathe oxygen (Schopf 1999: 237-238).

Schopf believes sexual reproduction did not evolve until about = 1,000,000,000=20 years ago, demonstrated by the explosion of stromatolites, cyanobacteria = and=20 acritarchs about this time. About 800,000,000 to 700,000,000 years ago,=20 multi-celled life evolved.

Combining Davies and Schopf one gets a basic understanding of the = process and=20 how simple yet complex it was. Depending on ones outlook, life is either = rare or=20 common.

"Life remained almost exclusively unicellular for the first five = sixths of=20 its history - from the first recorded fossils at 3.5 billion years to = the first=20 well-documented multicellular animals less than 600 million years = ago.... This=20 long period of unicellular life does include, to be sure, the vitally = important=20 transition from simple prokaryotic cells without organelles to = eukaryotic cells=20 with nuclei, mitochondria and other complexities of intracellular = architecture -=20 but no recorded attainment of multicellular organization for a full = three=20 billion years" Gould 2000: 277).

"More curiously, all major stages in organizing animal life's = multicellular=20 architecture then occurred in a short period beginning less than 600 = million=20 years ago and ending by about 530 million years ago - and the steps = within this=20 sequence are also discontinuous and episodic, not gradually = accumulative" (Gould=20 2000: 278).

"Three billion years of unicellularity, followed by five million = years of=20 intense creativity and then capped by more than 500 million years of = variation=20 on set anatomical themes can hardly be read as a predictable, inexorable = or=20 continuous trend towards progress or increasing complexity" (Gould 2000: = 278).=20

But multicellular life is dependent on a basic change in the = atmosphere,=20 surviving on a poison: oxygen! And computer simulations suggest that = basic=20 anatomical themes based on simple rules of competition and reproduction, = lead to=20 an explosion of variety that quickly osculates and converges on set = themes.=20 There is nothing surprising in this process. In fact, that this did not = happen=20 would be the more surprising.

"We now know that the Ediacaran radiation was indeed abrupt and that = the=20 geologic floor to the animal fossil record is both real and sharp. More=20 important, we have reason to believe that the emergence of animals was = closely=20 linked to unprecedented changes in the Earth's physical environment, = including a=20 significant increase in atmospheric oxygen that may have made the = evolution of=20 large animals possible" (Knoll 2000: 321).

Spitsbergen rocks contain multicellular seaweed at 800 million years. = The=20 sediments were so finely laminated, that is there were any browsers = (tracks,=20 trails, burrows), they would have shown up. Other rocks at 1.4 billion = years=20 also show multicellular seaweeds. But oxygen levels never rose about 1 = percent=20 until the end of the Proterozoic era. The sudden rise was what powered=20 multicellular animal life.

ECONOMIC REALITY 1

Culture, like life, is a thermodynamic machine.

The best way to create models for economics lies in an=20 energy-information-economic paradigm based on general systems theory and = an=20 understanding of the "thermodynamics" of ecology. Thermodynamics in = terms of the=20 demands on all living systems to exploit matter and energy (and to some = extent -=20 information) for self-maintenance and growth through replication. The=20 environment consists of three more or less separate but interdependent = sub-sets:=20

1) The physical environment consisting of geomorphic = surfaces and their hydrologic structure within a climatic regime. It = includes a=20 mosaic of minerals valued by human groups. The physical environment = tends to be=20 the slowest to change, fluctuate and the tends to be the most = predictable for=20 modeling.

2) The biotic environment consisting of plants and = animals=20 and their ecological relationships to the physical and cultural = environments.=20 This sub-system is more likely to change, fluctuate, and is more = difficult to=20 predict and model.

3) The cultural environment consisting of = cooperating and=20 non-cooperating other human beings and their relationship to the = physical and=20 ecological environments. This sub-system is the most likely to change, = fluctuate=20 and is the least predictable for modeling. Culture is an idiom that = expresses in=20 symbolic forms how human groups map access to, and control over, valued=20 resources.

A thermodynamic characteristic (in fact, requirement) of all living = things is=20 their ability to map out matter and energy as information about = resources, their=20 relative distribution, relative abundance, relative activity, and = relative=20 predictability. There is an isomorphic correlation between the form = (demands) of=20 general living systems and economics as a model.

The following drawings illustrate the model of the interrelationship = between=20 the demands of systems frameworks and economic terms. The general = systems terms=20 are on the left and their economic parallels are on the right.

All systems consist of sub-systems that are = isolated from=20 other sub-systems as "firms" by a set of constraints (i.e. - they have = limited=20 material, energy and information flows at some boundary) as well as a = primary=20 means of material, energy and information input (constraint). The = sub-system is=20 a "firm", an internally related group of variables more or less isolated = (never=20 completely) from external factors. The correlation between systems = variables and=20 economic variables is clear from the illustration: input =3D production; = throughput =3D distribution; feedback =3D capital or investment; output = =3D=20 consumption; storage is "feedback" kept on hand more or less in stasis = until=20 needed =3D storage. The basic constraint is a set of variables that = control input=20 =3D the economic and political strategy (adaptive framework) of the = social group=20 or "firm". Just as feedback (material, energy or information) is used to = modify=20 input, throughput or output ... capital/investment (material, energy or=20 information) is used to modify production, distribution and consumption. =

Social groups or firms, use exploitive technology and strategies to = maintain=20 access to and control over valued environmental resources: physical, = biotic and=20 cultural. They gather resources directly or store information about = resources=20 and their relative abundance, predictability and activity. They also = create a=20 complex cultural idiom to store or invest matter, energy or information = as=20 information by manipulation of cooperating other human beings. If = kinship,=20 marriage, economics, politics, law, warfare and religion are examined = within=20 this paradigm, they show up as complex "maps" of control systems. They = are a=20 form of cultural contract between parties expressed in complex = symbolism. Since=20 circumstances change, since living systems are dynamic, and since = individuals=20 are born, grow through stages, and die, the contractual idiom is kept in = symbols=20 that can be interpreted in many ways (deliberate vagueness). In small = scale=20 societies, their re-interpretation is the subject of almost constant = public=20 consensus debate. In large scale societies, re-interpretation keeps = lawyers=20 employed.

Small scale societies are tied more directly to their biotic and = physical=20 environments than complex ones. The agents of production, distribution = and=20 consumption tend to be limited to family or other kin groups. Social = groups tend=20 to be homogenous, each pretty much a mirror image of all others. The = more=20 complex and larger the society, the more diverse social firms become. = They can=20 also become specialized sub-firms, with little to do with primary food, = material=20 or energy production.

Cultures change because of changes in the physical, biotic or = cultural=20 environments. Social groups also grow in population over time. = Technologies for=20 production, distribution, storage, and consumption can be changed to = increase=20 carrying capacity. In addition, cultural systems can change to increase = access=20 to, and control over, valued resources in all three environments. The=20 adaptive/economic strategy can be modified to change carrying capacity. = This=20 results in changes called "evolution" in anthropology. There is nothing = linear=20 about the changes or which element (variable) or combination of=20 elements(variables) will change. Change in one variable does tend to = create the=20 possibility of more change in the same variable (within limits). There = can be=20 gradual changes in existing variables or a change in degree so great as = to be a=20 change in "kind" of the variable. For example, gathering can intensify = within a=20 natural biotic system. Groups can shift to fire to modify a biotic = system (low=20 level plant/animal management) to increase valued biota, but still = gather.=20 Groups can then begin to manipulate the plants and/or animals such that = they are=20 no longer natural species, and are now dependent on humans. Groups are = no longer=20 gatherers, they are plant/animal managers (i.e.- = agriculturalists/herders).

Politics is control over, and access to, valued resources of the = society of=20 cooperating human beings as a whole as opposed to non-cooperating other = human=20 beings. No social group operates in a vacuum. All resources are = irregular in=20 distribution and density. All groups impinge on the resource territories = of=20 other groups. This interleaving of resources and resource needs creates = a demand=20 for access and control systems expressed either as economics (mostly = internal)=20 or politics (mostly external). They blur together at many levels and = within the=20 idiom (symbolism) of the culture.

All human beings operate within a social framework defined in the = cultural=20 idiom. All human beings exploit matter, energy and information in a = social=20 matrix of cooperating and non-cooperating other human beings. = Cooperative=20 economic and political action reduces variation in access and control = over=20 valued resources and changing conditions. Cooperative sharing of = information=20 within a cultural framework increases the range of information about the = three=20 environments, increases alternatives for dealing with fluctuations in = the=20 distribution of valued resources. It also increases alternatives in the = face of=20 random chance disorder as well as increases access and control in the = face of=20 non-cooperating other human beings. There is always some point where = human=20 beings are in a position of competition, active or passive, for valued=20 resources. This can arise from internal or external expansion in = numbers.=20 Cooperative (political) action reinforces mutual rights and smooth out=20 differential distribution of resources within the environments. Group=20 cooperation creates a tightrope of zones and relationships that express = this=20 active and passive cooperation and passive and active competition. Human = beings=20 manipulate each other through symbols (the cultural idiom).

The network of interrelated and intercommunicating human beings = creates=20 social groupings. Shared needs and values decrease to competitive needs = and=20 values through a continuum. The fundamental social "firm" is found = repeating=20 throughout the social system within variations. Each person is born into = an=20 existing cultural milieu. Each person learns the network of demands and = supports=20 from nearby other human beings. Not all learn the same information, and = the=20 information is always "loose" to allow manipulation. This shared learned = information is the cultural idiom. Some members are better at the = process than=20 others. The symbolic idiom sometimes seems superficially remote from = human-land,=20 human-biota, and human-human relations. The very active human side of = the=20 equation often masks the more passive biotic and land relationships. = Symbols can=20 represent an action, or class of actions, with its/their associated = demands and=20 supports.

Other human beings, whether cooperative, or non-cooperative, are the = patent=20 manipulators and are the most active variables in changing relationships = to=20 resources. People manipulate people to reach a real energy, matter or=20 informational end. Manipulation of people through complex symbols is the = means=20 to and end. There is never one solution, but a complex and very rich = cultural=20 idiom that defines access to, and control over, valued resources in all = three=20 environments.

Culture is thus a dependent phenomenon, related to the demands of = living=20 systems and thermodynamic process. It operates as a filter between human = beings=20 and human groups. It contains latent values associated with matter, = energy and=20 information related to access and control.

All resources are patchy to some extent. There are seasonal and long = term=20 cyclical and linear patterns of changes in the physical environment. The = biotic=20 sub-system fluctuates more strongly seasonally and also exhibit climax = trends=20 and long term cyclical and linear changes as well. The cultural = sub-system is=20 the most active in change and fluctuations (fission-fusion-flux). All = resources=20 can be placed into a scale that defines their them as relatively = predictable,=20 relatively abundant and relatively active or sessile. Physical resources = are the=20 most predictable and the most sessile, and abundance is patchy but = fairly=20 universal regionally. For those resources that are valued and very = patchy, trade=20 networks arise for their distribution.

Although the model is matter/energy/information dependent, there is = no one to=20 one correlation between social firms and their complex of environments. = All=20 social firms have an exploitive strategy that is a mix of all three=20 environments. Every strategy is a compromise reflecting all three.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH RELIGION, you must be screaming by = now. Well,=20 some people worship money. That is why the dollar is sometimes called = The=20 Almighty Dollar ... as in God Almighty (see omnipotence).

The key religious aspect to this cultural overview is its symbolic = milieu. As=20 cultural animals, human create rich symbolic systems that attempt to = understand=20 "Life, the Universe, and Everything" (with apologies to Douglas Adams = for=20 stealing the title of one of his books.... but that may result in the = sale of a=20 few more books? See, religion and economics do have something to do with = each=20 other).

To un-digress, at one time, there were many different religious = theories=20 about life, the universe and everything (which I will call LUE from now = on).=20 LUE's are as varied as the cultures of the past and present. Over time, = larger=20 and larger socio-economic groups formed into political entities and the=20 religious variability was preempted by mega-religions. Here on earth, = the=20 biggies are Buddhism (with all of its variations), Christianity (ditto), = Judaism=20 (double ditto) and Islam (triple ditto).

Human culture is a symbolic milieu for operation of a thermodynamic = machine=20 filled with non-linear mutual causal feedback loops. It is designed to = be loose,=20 to be subject to differential consensus or interpretation. But it is = also=20 inherently systemic and thermodynamic in its interaction with the = physical,=20 biotic and cultural sub-systems. Religion is the symbolizing of the = symbols and=20 processes. It validates access to, and control over, valued resources in = the=20 physical, biotic and cultural environments.

Anthropology has shown, for example, that burial of the dead is often = used to=20 validate ownership rights over resources. Burial mounds in the Midwest, = are=20 political and economic statements. A mound starts with a burial, As more = burials=20 are added, the mound gets larger. The mound, and its contents, acts as a = visual=20 signal. Burial in the mound is proprietary, so the presence of ancestor = burials=20 validates claims of historical continuity. The bigger the mound, the = longer and=20 greater the claim. Polities can be defined by hierarchies of burial = mound size.=20 In the Mayan area, temple mounds served similar purposes. Temples were = built=20 over at regular calendar intervals. The bigger the temple, the older the = temple.=20 Each temple was a place for blood offering for a political group based = on=20 kinship. The relative measure of temple size was a measure of political=20 longevity of dynastic power. The large stone burial tombs in ancient = Britain had=20 the same purpose, visible statements of kin group history and control of = a=20 region: we are what our ancestors were, we are where our ancestors are = buried=20 ... your ancestors are not buried here... you have no valid claim. The = size of=20 our burial complex relates to the size and longevity of our claim.

Parent Earth

Human groups that lived on small islands have an ecological ethic = learned the=20 hard way. Small islands have limited land areas surrounded by oceans.=20 Populations exploiting island resources grow, like any populations. They = quickly=20 fill up the available land and tend to over exploit their resources = until there=20 is ecological failure. Like all people, successive generations learn. = Island=20 societies donate exploratory populations seeking uninhabited other = islands for=20 their excess populations. Warfare becomes endemic on islands with too = many=20 people.

The following ethics generally apply to island populations (from Kalo = Kanu O=20 Ka'ina - A Cultural Landscape Study of Ke'Anae and Wailuanui, Island of = Maui=20 prepared by Davianna McGregor, 1995:103-104):

1) Take only what you absolutely need;

2) Don't waste resources;

3) Take according to the natural cycle of living things, both plant = and=20 animal. Allow resources to reproduce before harvesting. Do not take fish = during=20 spawning seasons.

4) Alternate places exploited for any type of resource. Do not keep = going=20 back to the same place, allow things to replenish themselves;

5) If a place declines, declare it off limits until it recovers and = help it=20 where possible;

6) Resources are abundant and accessible to those who possess the = knowledge=20 and skills so there is no need to overuse any place or resource;

7) Respect and protect knowledge passed down through the generations; =

8) Respect the rights and resources of others as you respect your = own;

9) Keep focused on what you are exploiting, do not change your plans = without=20 knowledge or understanding;

10) Share what you have with others;

11) Take care of the elderly with the experience and knowledge, = respect the=20 resources and the people who use and know them.

Remember: islands are just very small continents. The rates of = impacts on=20 small islands are shorter, otherwise the same longer term issues apply. = You have=20 been informed (instructed, advised, alerted, and warned).

The EARTH is just one small speck in the observable universe and the=20 observable universe is just one speck in the full universe and our = universe may=20 be just one speck in a fractal mass of false vacuum. While it is = difficult for=20 human beings, try to be humble. Love what you have, enjoy what you have, = but=20 guard carefully what you have! Love in moderation, enjoy in moderation = and guard=20 in moderation.

The universe is in a state of change. Its structure is changing. It = had a=20 beginning ( the big bang), a childhood (the development of matter), an = adulthood=20 (the stelliferous era in which we now live, an old age (when the stars = burn=20 out), a senile era (when black holes evaporate), and a death (when = particles=20 evaporate). The Newtonian concept of an eternal universe is gone. The = idea of=20 absolute and unchanging physical law is also gone. Certainly laws were = nullified=20 by the big bang and will be nullified by the death of the universe. If = this is=20 so, and if the laws break down on both ends, how does on determine the=20 difference between the beginning and the end? Something to think about = on a=20 rainy winter day.

"I believe that we are beginning to see evidence of an alternative = view. In=20 this view it becomes possible to imagine that a great deal of the order = and=20 regularity we find in the physical world might have arisen just as the = beauty of=20 the living world came to be: through a process of self-organization, by = means of=20 which the world has evolved over time to become intricately structured" = (Smolin=20 1997: 15).

I do not have any answers, and neither does anyone else, but if you = do not=20 follow these latter guidelines, may "god" grant your (spirit, soul, = essence,=20 force, vitality) a universe created along your (lines, methods, policy, = values)=20 that you will be unable to escape from, and you and your posterity will = have to=20 (live, endure, persist, abide) with forever! Unfortunately the rest of = use have=20 to live there too.

Sometimes I wonder if the universe is simply the tension between the = intent=20 (purpose, plan, function, role, goal, target, meaning, etc.) of its = physical=20 "laws, principles, or rules" that cannot be achieved (reached, attained, = realized, accomplished) by its expression within that universe? That = something=20 is created out of nothing by the simple fact that the something is not = fully=20 expressed by its own paradigm? Makes my brain twist up in a knot. "Sweet = dreams=20 are made of this, who am I to disagree?" (Eurythmics).=20

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aczel, Amir=20

1999 God's Equation - Einstein, Relativity, and the Expanding = Universe. Four=20 Walls Eight Windows, New York.

Adams, Douglas=20

1997 The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide. Portland House, New York.

Adams, Fred & Greg Laughlin=20

1999 The Five Ages of the Universe - Inside the Physics of Eternity. = The Free=20 Press, New York.

Barrow, John=20

1991 Theories of Everything - The Quest for Ultimate Knowledge. = Clarenedon=20 Press, Oxford.

1994 The Origin of The Universe. Harper Collins Basic Books, New = York.

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2000 The Big Bang and Beyond - A Century of Modern Cosmology. In = The=20 Scientific American Book of the Cosmos, edited by David Levy. St = Martins=20 Press, New York.

Bucher, Martin & David Spergel=20

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Davies, Paul=20

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1987 Chaos - Making a New Science. Penguin Books, New York.

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2000 The Runaway Universe. Perseus Books, Cambridge.

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Greene, Brian=20

1999 The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the = Quest for=20 the Ultimate Theory. W W Norton & Company, New York.

Gribbin, John=20

1995 Schr=F6dinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the = Quantum=20 Mysteries. Little, Brown and Company, Boston.

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Hogan, Craig, Robert Kirshner & Nicholas Suntzeff=20

1999 Surveying Space-time With Supernovae. Scientific American, Jan = 1999:=20 46-51.

Horgan, John=20

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Kaku, Michio=20

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Kraan-Korteweg, Ren=E9e and Ofer Lahav=20

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Krouss, Lawrence=20

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Luminet, Jean-Pierre, Glenn Starkman and Jeffrey Weeks=20

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Return to Table of=20 Contents=20

Last Updated October 16, 2000 by Leland=20 Gilsen
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