Time and space
December 05, 2010
Being able to contemplate our own existence is probably man's greatest ability. Recent discoveries in quantum mechanics and astrophysics probably our greatest achievements, at least since we landed on the moon, or sent voyager off into the stars. I say 'we' in the same way as I say 'we' had a good win last night if Liverpool have managed to win for a change. These discoveries have had bugger all to do with me, and never will. Instead I am quite happy to hang onto the coat-tails of the great and the good in the name of mankind.
Descartes was way before his time when he said 'I think therefore I am' this simple statement could be the ultimate definition of what it means to be human. Philosophy died between 50 and 100 years ago overtaken by physics, rendering philosophy's 'ultimate' questions irrelevant and redundant. 'Who am I? Why am I here?' are still questions that remain unanswered, but the questions seem obsolete and unnecessary. Obviously the answers are personal, there for the individual to define for themselves, may it be father, mother, millionaire, to serve god....etc
Yet our understanding of our physical world and our origins and the origins of everything has increased so far, within our lifetimes that it is incomprehensible. At the time of Plato and the ancient thinkers, mankind took a small hop forward by using logic to examine our surroundings, a thousand years later we took a skip at the time of Copernicus with our understanding of the planets, and a jump with Darwin's Theory of gravity. We took another jump last century thanks to Einstein's Theory of relativity and have continued making huge strides ever since, but it is the last 10 years that we have made that great leap forward.
Over the last ten years we have confirmed how the universe was formed, The Big Bang theory has been around for a lot longer, but it is only now that we have been able to fully explain it.
The universe began as a single point, outside the confines of space and time. A miniscule point 15 billions years ago, a singularity, where the accepted rules of physics did not apply. That point created the conditions for it to spontaneously come into existence. All this talk of being outside the confines of space and time and outside the accepted rules of physics have until recently sounded more like sci fi than real science, but it has been the huge step forward in Quantum mechanics that have enabled us to understand this paradox.
I do not pretend to fully comprehend all of this, but the gist is clear. Deep within each atom, and deep is the operative word we eventually reach the level of quarks, the strangeness of which is mind blowing. Under a microscope we cannot see quarks, we cannot capture them, not in the conventional sense anyway. It's a little like knowing something is there, but each time you look it disappears! But we can predict where they will be, and are able to trace their path. Quarks don't follow our usual understanding of physics, they behave in ways which are physically impossible , yet everything in the universe is comprised of quarks contained within neutrons, atoms, etc.
It has been the ability to match quantum theory and Einstein's theory of relativity, and a few other theories which eluded scientists, but no longer-'M' Theory is the closest we have come to the Holy Grail of 'The Theory of Everything'. Simply put, each of these theories has now come together separately and at times overlapping to produce a 'map' of the universe and space and time itself. This theory leaves open the existence of other universes apart from our own universe, and that thought is truly staggering.
It is that understanding of our universe, from the quantum level through to the beginnings of our universe and beyond that is surely our greatest achievement. The idea that our puny, miniscule selves are now able to comprehend our place in the whole scheme of things is remarkable for an ape like being. We still have much to learn, and in time we may have a better understanding of other facets of the universe that may at the moment be just too beyond our capabilities. As a monkey may not understand the concept of calculus(neither do I, but I know it involves maths!), there will obviously still be concepts alien to ourselves. I think these may involve space and time, and maybe even our own existence.
All of this doesn't preclude the existence of god or gods. No matter how far we go back scientists may never answer the final question-Why? God could be a small child playing with his chemistry set, and our universe his experiment. A nun once said to me 25 years ago, 'Faith is all you need to believe in God, to prove his existence is not necessary if you have faith that he is there'. Faith is a personal choice.
I have recently begun to question Richard Dawkins' motives, his only role seems to be to prove that God doesn't exist, and in that sense he is missing the point. His questioning the bible's authenticity is meaningless, those that take it literally will always take it literally, no matter what is proved. Richard Dawkins has become what he has fought against-a zealot! The control of religion is a political question, and has no place in science.
Do these findings affect us in our everyday lives? In reality, no! But the knowledge and understanding that we now have about matter, particles, atoms etc may well have practical uses in the coming years.
I find it comforting to think that I have billions and trillions of unpredictable quarks that make up my physical being. In some ways, knowing that these same parts of me will continue into eternity is comforting, and who knows may retain some impression of me beyond my understanding.
Knowing that I am an infinitesimally small part of the universe(s) makes me worry less about my rent!
