THE NATURE OF REALITY—PHYSICS OR METAPHYSICS?
PHYSICS OR METAPHYSICS?
We live in strange times. I’m sure every generation since the beginning of the human race has heard this said often, but for us today, it is truer than ever before. Why is this so? Well, besides the obvious things, such as the Earth having such a huge population now, and our seemingly almost runaway technologies, something else is happening, as well. Moreover, this strange something else has to do with science and religion. Furthermore, it is “something” that I never thought I’d see.
Since the earliest days of science and the invention of the scientific method, the two have always been at odds. They have been and still often are diametrically opposed in many ways when it comes to what constitutes our universe, how it was created, and not only our place in it, but that of the existence of a creator of it all, as well.
Right from the beginning, it seemed science diverged from religion, challenged fundamental religious beliefs, redefining them, or even sweeping them away altogether. Religion wouldn't take this change in circumstances well. As just a couple of well-known examples of this, in the late Renaissance, astronomer and scientist, Galileo Galilei, was placed under house arrest for his claims concerning the Earth revolving around the Sun. He spent years this way and ultimately died while still under house arrest.
The famous monk, Giordano Bruno, also of the late Italian Renaissance, stated there could well be other worlds with people on them, and that the universe was most likely infinite and therefore, no one planet such as Earth could be the center of the universe. He ended up burning at the stake for those and other so-called “heretical” beliefs. He was hardly the only one, as we all know.
Since the earliest days of science and the invention of the scientific method, the two have always been at odds. They have been and still often are diametrically opposed in many ways when it comes to what constitutes our universe, how it was created, and not only our place in it, but that of the existence of a creator of it all, as well.
Right from the beginning, it seemed science diverged from religion, challenged fundamental religious beliefs, redefining them, or even sweeping them away altogether. Religion wouldn't take this change in circumstances well. As just a couple of well-known examples of this, in the late Renaissance, astronomer and scientist, Galileo Galilei, was placed under house arrest for his claims concerning the Earth revolving around the Sun. He spent years this way and ultimately died while still under house arrest.
The famous monk, Giordano Bruno, also of the late Italian Renaissance, stated there could well be other worlds with people on them, and that the universe was most likely infinite and therefore, no one planet such as Earth could be the center of the universe. He ended up burning at the stake for those and other so-called “heretical” beliefs. He was hardly the only one, as we all know.
Still, for all that horror, those centuries of science and religion doing battle, there now seems to have been a sea change in the last few decades. Physics, in particular quantum physics (the study of the very small, such as subatomic particles), now actually seems to becoming rather metaphysical in nature. Year by year, quantum physics sounds more and more like some types of religions, at least in certain aspects with regard to the behavior of reality and now, even possibly with regard to an afterlife!
What is the underlying cause of this phenomenon of the rapprochement of two such very different outlooks on how to understand our world and our place in the universe? Well there are a number of them.
For instance, many New Age adherents believe the human consciousness or soul can transcend if it reaches a high enough state of “vibrations” or vibratory resonance level. References to such beliefs are found everywhere, including even in the fictional book, The Celestine Prophecy, by James Redfield. Again, although fiction, many New Age devotees view this book as a set of “guiding principles” for attaining a higher level of being.
Other books, including many nonfiction ones, also speak of this need to attune to a higher vibrational level to achieve what is often described as a “more perfect state of being.” This higher state is said to include amazing capabilities as the human consciousness expands, becomes ever more enlightened, and begins to transcend this physical reality.
Many others scoff at these ideas. However, should they? Perhaps not, because it seems of late, science is lending some real support to such ideas. For instance:
A Quantum Drum
Something only very recently invented is a certain type of quantum drum. Without going into too much detail, this tiny device resonates, or vibrates, hence the name, quantum drum. Physicists found this device can exist in two states at once, or as quantum physicists put it, it demonstrates “superposition.” Now, this is not an uncommon thing for subatomic particles to demonstrate, but we on the “macro” level, that is our world of trees, stars, planets, houses, and people, do not demonstrate this strange phenomenon.
Or do we? You see, scientists used to think there was a definite line or barrier between our two worlds, the macro-cosmic world (us), and the microscopic world of subatomic particles, atoms, and such. There was the “quantum world,” and there was our “classic physics” world, one that was safe and solid.
Not so! The quantum drum created was not on the microscopic level. Although still very small, it is actually visible to the naked eye without the aid of an electron microscope or even a standard microscope. In other words, we can actually see, unaided by instruments, an object that demonstrates superposition, two states at one time and on the macro level! This shook up the world of physics, because it seems that safe barrier between us and the quirky quantum world of the very small doesn't really seem to exist! Something in our macro world actually shows it can behave in a quantum way!
Of course, the possible ramifications and consequences of this discovery are incredible. If something visible to the naked eye can have superposition, why not other things, larger, things, as well—like us? Can we have two states of being at once, as well? There is some intriguing evidence this just might be so. Now, scientists are working on experiments to see if they can cause living things to exist in such a superimposed state, as with bacteria.
Quantum physics already has long thought that even we, living on our normal, big, macro level in this physical world can exhibit to a tiny, tiny degree, superimposition, but on such a tiny scale, as to be virtually meaningless with regard to how we and everything on our scale around us exists. This is different. The quantum drum demonstrates that things on our level of existence can actually exhibit superposition, or be in two states at once! Again, this is an incredible and bizarre idea.
This idea is even more curious because of the “process of collapse.” Quantum physics has long stated that when observed, a subatomic particle behaves like a particle, but when not observed, it behaves like a wave. This is referred to as the “wave/particle duality” principle. Furthermore, many physicists think this observation must be made by a “conscious” entity in order for this collapse from a wave state to a particle state to occur.
Some physicists even wonder if the conscious mind doesn't exhibit quantum behavior, and that the human mind can exist in two superposed states at the same time. To put it simply, it might really be that our minds, our consciousness, at least, could “vibrate” between different states of being.
Furthermore, researchers also have discovered tiny “micro tubules” in the brain, and some researchers say that this may be how the human brain can function on a quantum level. A couple of researchers have even said the human mind or consciousness might actually “drain” out of the micro tubules at death, and thus the consciousness can escape the physical body in this state. Where exactly it would go is a matter of total conjecture. One scientist said it could simply go out into the universe, become a part of the universe itself. Others simply have no idea where the consciousness might go.
String Theory
String theory says that as one looks down into the quantum world, the things of the very small, and even moves down past atoms to subatomic particles, that ultimately one discovers something truly bizarre. Theorists claim that all such things, such as those tiny particles are ultimately merely strings, vibrating strings of energy that simply “manifest” themselves as one type of particle or another by how much or how little they vibrate. So all strings of energy are really the same and it is simply how they vibrate that determines if they are one type of particle or another, whether a quark, muon, baryon, or whatever.
In turn, all things, including us, are ultimately made up of these particles composed of strings, all of which vibrate in different ways to create the illusion of particles that then create atoms, which in turn create the molecules that form us. Therefore, we are just, ultimately, collections of countless vibrating strings!
This means the idea of our possibly being able to move to higher states of being; by using our consciousness to achieve this, is no longer nearly the supposed fantasy, as some people put it, as once thought. In fact, it could very well be that the true nature of our universe and ourselves is really all about vibrations! If we are just vibrations of strings of energy, then the idea we can change our vibratory state and achieve a higher level of consciousness in doing so, is hardly an absurd notion! In fact, it may just be how things work.
We Are Ghosts
There is something else to consider. It is a matter of common knowledge among scientists and many laypersons now that the atoms that compose us are almost entirely made of vacuum! In fact, an atom is 99.9999999999996% empty space. That means that we humans, and the entire physical world around us is 99.9999999999996% empty space, as well.
In short, we are by far and away mostly, in fact, almost entirely, composed of NOTHING! Moreover, the tiny, truly minuscule bit of us that could be considered solid isn't really solid at all, either, since in reality it is composed of those vibrating strings of energy.
In other words, we are as ghosts. The only thing that stops us from passing through other objects in reality, as ghosts would, is the repulsive nuclear force. This force is what keeps your hand from passing through the surface of your desk, for example. So if you ever wondered if ghosts can walk through other ghosts, it seems they cannot.
What does all this mean? Well, in reality, our world is a spectral one, a world with the illusion of solidarity, but a world in which nothing is really solid at all! We are, to put it simply, nothing more than conscious phantoms living in a phantom world, a phantom universe. In addition, if nothing is really solid, is just an illusion, than the age-old idea that we are just living in someone else’s dream, as the Hindus have said, isn't nearly so far fetched an idea anymore. Is it?
There is more. In addition, yes, it is just as mind boggling as what I've discussed so far. For example, there is the idea of us all living in a simulation. We've probably all seen or at least heard of the Matrix movies by now. There have been countless discussions on the idea that we might be living in such a thing, but these have been more a fantasy-style discussion than one of any real likelihood. That is, until now. Could our universe actually be a simulation? If so, what is its purpose, to be some elaborate game for “others” to play in, to assume control of characters in the game that is our universe?
If this sounds unlikely, consider this quotation by author, William S. Burroughs:
“This is a war universe. War all the time. That is its nature. There may be other universes based on all sorts of other principles, but ours seems to be based on war and games.”
A rather chilling commentary on our universe, is it not? Still, it does seem to be the nature of our universe. After all, life may abound on our world, but it only survives by killing and eating other life! This is true from the smallest forms of living things, such as viruses and bacteria, clear up to the current top of the food chain, meaning us.
Nothing seems exempt. The next time you look out at your garden, just remember, you aren't seeing a piece of earthly paradise, a place of green serenity and peace. What you are really looking at, if only you could see it up close, is a place of constant murder and kill-or-be-killed survival. That garden really is a “jungle out there” and in every sense of the term, even the darkest one. Insects eat plants and other insects. Birds and small animals eat plants and insects. Other animals, larger ones, eat the birds and small animals. So it goes and continues to go. Some call this the cycle of life. Perhaps a more apt expression might be “the cycle of death.”
Furthermore, our universe is a violent place, as well, so it mirrors life and death on our world in the same way. Death and destruction rules the sky, what with explosive novae, incomprehensibly huge supernovas, titanic hyper novas, deadly cosmic ray bursts that span hundreds of light years, planets crashing into each other (even ancient Earth experienced this), black holes, colliding black holes, galaxies smashing together, colliding neutron stars, asteroid and comet impacts…well, the list goes on and on.
Our galaxy, our universe even, is rife with incomprehensibly massive explosions and eruptions occurring all the time. These catastrophes repeat throughout all the billions of galaxies in the cosmos, as we know it. Whole solar systems literally are put to the sword every day. Even entire galaxies disintegrate, casting their myriad suns and worlds in every direction, many into the outer darkness of the cold and eternal void of intergalactic space. The fate of any life on any of those worlds is a terrible one, to be sure.
Therefore, nobody can rationally argue against Mr. Burroughs quotation, for our world, our very universe is really as a place of “war and games.”
When one thinks about how the vast majority of video games we produce on this planet along with many of our films, as well, all have to do with fighting battles, wars, and violence, then perhaps the idea of someone else doing the same isn't so strange. Those “others” may have produced an elaborate simulation, our universe, just for the same purpose, as an elaborate game and form of entertainment, and so this isn't quite so “out there,” or improbable an idea after all.
Still is there evidence for this actually being a simulation and we might be just characters in it? Is the idea that someone else controls what we think of as our universe and that maybe, we’re just NPC’s, Non-Playing Characters to populate the backdrop, as it were, albeit as conscious ones?
Yes, there does seem to be some actual evidence for this, as well. For instance:
Many physicists are also convinced that mathematics don’t just describe the universe, but ARE the universe. As one renowned scientist and cosmologist, Max Tegmark, put it in 2014; all particles that make up our reality have qualities attached to them. These qualities or properties include such things as “charge and spin.”
Yet, these are not real, but rather are just mathematical concepts in their nature. Therefore, it is Max Tegmark’s contention that the entire universe and everything in it is just one vast mathematical concept, an elaborate house of cards built out of information and mathematics only and nothing more, and just as any computer game is ultimately the same thing, just so much programming, or mathematics!
What’s more, the universe seems to have actual binary code embedded in the very formulas that make it up! The same type of binary code as several major Internet search engines use, including Google’s search engine, are “built in” to the formulas for String Theory, which as mentioned earlier, forms the current popular “theory of everything” of our universe. A scientist discovered this fact about binary code being in there not long ago and it has caused immense interest and not just a little trepidation and anxiety, as well. Moreover, again, it isn’t just binary code, but the actual finished code for the exact same type of algorithms as used in search engines, such as Yahoo!
Why would our universe need self-correcting, block linear code built into the very mathematics that describes it, if in reality it is not just all really mathematics and a simulation? . As Robert Lanza, a noted author on life and consciousness, as well as being a scientist and doctor, said:
“Sometime in the future, science will be able to create realities that we can't even begin to imagine. As we evolve, we'll be able to construct other information systems that correspond to other realities...”
Moreover, it is highly unlikely such simulation creators would be restricted to just observing the simulations, any more than our game players are restricted to just watching a game unfold without them being an active participant in it. Like game players here on Earth today, those “other” game players in the future would have the power to observe, but also even to interact with us in multiple ways, and to change things, the setup of the game, if you will.
Besides this, Nick Bostrom, a resident professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford, no less, came up with a reliable formula for examining the whole question of the possibility of our universe just being a simulation. The formula, after some simple mathematical massaging, shows that, as a PBS article, among others, put it:
Now, how does this affect the probability we are a simulation and nothing more? What does the formula stated above actually show us? Well, that depends on certain factors, and they are:
- If there are no or at least very few descendant civilizations of species (remember, there may be more than just “us” in this universe, or may not be),
- Very few of those civilizations care to run such simulations, or,
- There are such civilizations and they do like to run simulations.
In fact, it is more likely by far that we are a simulation than not! This is especially so, since simulated civilizations in computers could also become capable of running their own simulations, as well. Again, you could have “nested” simulations within simulations, within simulations, ad infinitum.
How could we know if this is true, if we are such a simulation? Well, just as with the Matrix movie series, we might expect small “glitches” in the matrix at times. These would be in the makeup of our universe, and would manifest themselves in ways that would show us the universe has such strange glitches.
John D. Barrow, a scientist and cosmologist of great repute, came up with this idea. He argued that since our descendants’ understanding of the universe would probably never be total, their programed simulations, meaning our universe for one, would then have some inherent flaws in their makeup because of this. So does our universe have these? Well, there is the Mandela Effect, and this could well be the glitches of which Mr. Barrow speaks.
Mandela Effect
The term, Mandela Effect, was first used by MS Fiona Broome to describe a strange phenomenon. Specifically, it concerned the bizarre memory of many people that Nelson Mandela, while still a prisoner of the Apartheid regime in South Africa, passed away. He did so while still imprisoned. This, many people remember as having occurred in the late 1980’s.Now, the number of people we’re talking about here is not a paltry figure, but a lot! In addition, this phenomenon of them remembering Nelson Mandela as having expired several decades ago is a worldwide one. A few textbooks even exist that say this; that he died in the 1980’s while in prison! Nor does the Mandela Effect stop there. Countless people remember things differently than they seem to have actually happened, and the truly odd thing is that most of those who get it wrong, get it wrong in the same exact way!
This, in itself, is incredible. In addition, although most psychologists put all this down as people just having false memories, defining the Mandela Effect as such, even they can’t understand why so many millions of people, worldwide, from different backgrounds, races, and cultures, all do this, and get it wrong in the same way.
Moreover, the Mandela Effect isn't just with regard to memories, but also shows up in maps being wrong, globes with islands and other landmasses on them that shouldn't be there, and even different versions of physical objects existing that just shouldn't. Since our space here is limited in this article, I can’t go into further detail on the subject, but suffice it to say, one can find a virtual myriad of examples of the Mandela Effect on-line and elsewhere, if one just does a little searching.
So what does the Mandela Effect have to do with glitches in our universe if it is, indeed, a simulation? Well, they are exactly the sorts of things one would expect if someone were “tinkering” with our simulation, our universe, and us. They could be the result of errors in the programming. For instance, in our world, when a program has a problem, programmers fix the “glitch” often with a patch. Sometimes, although these patches correct the immediate problem, they have other unintended consequences elsewhere in the program; cause other glitches to manifest themselves. Are Mandela Effects these sorts of glitches? They could well be.
The Holographic Universe
The idea programmers in the future might have created our simulation for gaming purposes, or simply to study is not the only such idea. Just as those future programmers of our simulation would not have a complete and perfect understanding of the universe, and therefore might have glitches or problems in any simulation they create, in his book, The Holographic Universe, Author Michael Talbot, suggests much the same thing!
Mr. Talbot pursues this idea by citing various examples, such as the principles of holography, how they mirror many of the facts we know about the universe, and other pieces of evidence, as well. As just one example of this, scientists conjecture that our universe may be very like a black hole, with all the information contained in it “smeared” on the event horizon (the outer surface of the black hole, so to speak), and that we are just an interior “projection” of that information. Moreover, it is an imperfect projection because a three-dimensional projection from a two-dimensional surface cannot be perfect, since a two-dimensional surface can’t contain enough data to make a perfect three-dimensional representation of that data.
Again, just as future programmers might not be able perfectly to simulate the universe because they don’t have all the data they need to do that, so, too, in a holographic universe, the projection of “us” is not perfect for the very same sort of reason, not enough data available to make it truly complete or perfect.
Conclusion
What does all this mean for us and our concepts of reality? Well, reality as we know it may not exist at all, but be either just a simulation, projection, or illusion. If the “stuff” that makes us isn’t real, then perhaps, “we” aren’t real, either, and perhaps only our consciousness is. Even some scientists think the universe could not exist without a conscious presence to observe it.Therefore, as Shakespeare once put it in his play, The Tempest, perhaps:
“…As I foretold you, we’re all spirits, andAre melted into air, into thin air:And like the baseless fabric of this vision,The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,The solemn temples, the great globe itself,Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuffAs dreams are made on; and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep.”
Reality, as we know it, might just all be the result of own conscious minds, or perhaps even of our collective subconscious. In fact, some theorize the collective subconscious, if it exists, may be the universe awakening, trying to understand and comprehend itself. And just maybe, this is how God, or a god, just might be born. Just a speculation on their part, but food for thought.
So when it comes to questioning or even ridiculing those who profess New Age ideas and/or ideals, be very careful, for it seems more and more these days, science seems to be agreeing with them. In fact, science seems to be even going further, into the very reality of the “stuff of dreams.” However, as far as dreams go, and what they might really be, well that’s a subject for a completely different article. As for this one, just keep in mind that science and religion now seem to be both coming together in a very metaphysical sort of way. Where that will lead us…who can say?
Links: www.robshelsky.blogspot.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rob-Shel
sky/e/B002BO9RIE
Rob Shelsky, Author
Interview with Rob Shelsky The Mandela Effect
If you enjoyed my site or this article please consider making a donation your help is much appreciated.
https://paypal.me/pools/c/7ZWkzY5F0l
Comments
Post a Comment