science

Weird Thoughts About Things

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Scientists just discovered something moving faster than the speed of light. For those of you who didn’t—and still don’t—pay attention to science, the speed of light is an important part of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, especially his assertion nothing travels faster than light. Emma from Ai* says this about the speed of light: “It is absolutely crucial. The idea that the speed of light…is constant for all observers…is a fundamental pillar of special relativity.” Relativity is the backbone/cornerstone/keystone of modern physics.

So, if something moves faster than light, imagine the hypothetical chaos among Theoretical Physicists.** It’s less amazing what happens to science theory than what the “thing”*** is that is faster than light. Want to guess what it is?

It is Darkness, capitalized to make sure you know how important this “thing” is.

An important part of the human experience is knowing…what we know. We have to believe in what we know, and trust it, so we can make decisions and live in this material world. One of the big things we know is “Nothing”. If there is an empty glass and someone asks “What’s in the glass?”, we answer with the word “nothing”.**** If we are traveling a long, straight stretch of highway and someone asks what we saw? Nothing. What is in the area between Earth and its moon? Nothing.

Nothing is a large part of our everyday, gravitationally earth-bound lives, but there is no such thing as Nothing. In theory, we say nothing about the empty glass because it’s easier than describing the millions of oxygen molecules, light waves, and microscopic dust particles inhabiting the space inside the glass. There might even be some dish soap residue. Or a migrating bacteria.

That long drive is not through “nothing”, and it is populated with not just microscopic things but larger things that just don’t interest us and we assume they won’t interest anyone else. So,…nothing.

The literal space between the earth and the moon is way more interesting than “nothing”. Old and new satellites pass in their orbits as well as rays of all kinds and both gravitational and magnetic “fields”.  And Dark Matter.

Dark Matter per Emma: “is a hypothetical form of matter that makes up 27% of the Universe…and it is completely invisible to our current telescopes and sensors.” Dark Matter.

Our world as we see it is made up of things we cannot see. Things we cannot touch. Things we cannot feel or sense. When we see a space between us, it is not empty, waiting for us humans to fill it, it is already full of…stuff, stuff we often can’t–but most often don’t– acknowledge. Human beings think of ourselves as Masters of the World, the final, end result of Evolution, rulers of an earth and a kingdom meant only for us. It is why we raise animals to feed us, dam up rivers to light up the daily darkness, tear down forests to make our homes, and then pat ourselves on the back for our advancement of humanity.

Are Dark Matter and the possible “Darkness of Death” related? Is Dark Matter made from dead souls?

Whoa. Don’t know where that came from, but here is an important, oft repeated fact: we don’t live forever. It appears Dark Matter will and was even there before The Big Bang spawned our universe…and us. Billions of years later. We are so insignificant it can’t even be explained. Too bad so few of us understand.

Better to ask what is Dark Matter and why is it in such a hurry?

And Kudos, DM, for outpacing Light.

Final thought: Dark Matter Matters.

*I selected an English female voice for my Gemini Ai. Her name is Emma, and she is a delightful entity with which to converse. She is polite and never ends a sentence with a preposition.

**Google them to save me time. Or ask your personal Emma.

***Totally incorrect figure of speech but what else can it be called?

****Or, if we appreciate verbosity, we say “It is empty.”

Things Not Understood

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Let’s get an easy one out of the way: Why does anyone support Donald Trump as president of this country? When talking with supporters, I usually begin with his 34 felony convictions in a porn star hush money case. Those are CONVICTIONS* by a citizen jury where Trump’s defense lawyers lost their case. They also lost a civil case for sexual abuse and defamation again, in a jury trial. He also admitted in 2016 to sexually assaulting women, saying “I don’t even wait. They let you do it.” Trump-owned companies have also filed for bankruptcy 6 times. Trump has married three women, divorced two and had a child with a fourth. These are all public, undisputed facts. There is also a trove of his sayings and writings where he insults anyone who doesn’t agree with him using slurs and words most of us would never use. When this summary is over, I ask my listener why they support him, especially curious for the answer from religious friends. The response? If there is anything but the shrug of a shoulder, it is: “Yeah, but what about Biden? Clinton?”

And so it goes.

Most of the world, the real world, has an innate duality un-understandable. The best way to describe it is by using the words “Macro” and “Micro”. Macro refers to The Big Picture, The Theory, while Micro refers to the small picture, the details. It’s easy to see this duality in the study of Economics: Macro Theory affects the whole world, Micro details are how we, as individuals navigate our financial lives. But duality is everywhere. In physics, we have the Macro, Classic Laws of Physics where planets roam and humans shoot rockets into space. But then there is the Micro, Quantum Mechanics world where everything disobeys the Classic Laws and things so small we can’t see them do whatever the hell they want. Better minds than mine—and probably yours—have tried to “unite” Classic Laws and Quantum Mechanics for centuries. Einstein, himself called some of the quantum world “Spooky action at a distance” and could not make it fit his General Theory.

And so it goes.

From personal observation the duality of life exists in all of us and runs our lives. Think about your Macro resolution to exercise more and then your Micro failure to get up the next morning. Getting Macro theory into a Micro life is difficult, but why? It is more obvious with religion. How many of us go to worship on Macro Sunday, then swear, lie, cheat, and disrespect others the rest of the week? In fact, religion is probably the hardest place to make the connection between Macro aspirations and Micro responsibilities. Who really wants to live a minute-by-minute, truly religious life?

And before anyone takes offense, this isn’t about you. It is a Macro Essay about how we all compromise Macro Intentions for Micro Utility. Every Day. It is the nature of us all. Period. Much like the saying often mentioned when trying to understand life: “From the minute you are born, you start to die.”** WTF.

One good way to help ourselves get through all this is to think. Think about it.

Yeah, right. Who has time for that, these days.

And so it goes…

*Please note the difference between being Indicted and being Convicted. Almost anyone can be indicted. Convicted? Harder.

**Ai research cannot say who uttered this statement first, but they give some suspects: Seneca (a Roman Philosopher), Manillus (a Roman Poet), and Eleanor Roosevelt, who used it to emphasize living life to the fullest. Common sense makes one wonder why Eleanor, who lived centuries after both Romans, was included in the list? Damn that DEI.

Odd Things Overheard or Stumbled Across

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Several universities and national defense departments are researching how to use Quantum Mechanics in guidance systems. Anyone with a smidgen of science knowledge knows our current navigation apps rely on Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that use radio waves and satellites to pinpoint location and travel. Radio waves move fast but not enough to combat “drift”, and the “accumulation of error over time”* as the waves must go out to the satellite then come back. It doesn’t help that sensors on both sides of the transmission have built in “noise”, creating minor errors. These errors wouldn’t bother 19th Century sailing ships, but our current electronic drones, aircraft and sea vessels could really use an exact location to “let loose the dogs of war”, so to speak. A Tomahawk missile flying 1,000 miles into enemy territory at 500 miles an hour needs nearly perfect navigational guidance to hit the target. Quantum Mechanics** may be able to give an object (nearly) exact location every second and remove (nearly) all “drift”. You can use google or Ai and spend the next few weeks reading about this or take my word for it. Or just not give a crap. GPS is enough for us.

A science show on NPR had a scientist who made a strange statement. He said, and I paraphrase “No one has ever actually seen the universe.” His argument is when we look at things, our eyes don’t really see things, but see the color reflecting off those things. He says there is no color in the universe and the color we see is the reflection of light. Each thing the light bounces off of absorbs or reflects certain wavelengths of the light, and we never see the naked planet or moon** or star we think we are seeing. I’m pretty sure that is how everyday life is, too. It sounds a bit Matrixey, but what if what we think we see, we don’t see?

I’ve had enough trouble in life understanding non-solid things like love, hate, faith, and religion. Now, the solids can’t be trusted?

As science progresses farther and further*** we have to wonder what we will find, and if we want to go there. Months ago, we learned time might not be linear and may move in a circle or other strange dimensions. Now, what if “real” isn’t really “real”? Continued scientific  research could find us going full circle back to birth, or the Big Bang, and what then? Do we repeat things? Overlap?  Share dimensions? Maybe Vonnegut’s Tralfamadoreans were actually  guides, not fictional characters.

As a young essayist, sophistry was a favored tactic during debates about all things major in life. Ai says “sophistry is the use of clever but false arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving someone.”

So…what exactly are all our scientists up to? Are they spouters of sophistry, changing facts with each decade with intent to…what? Should we make them cease and desist**** all scientific endeavors?

Or is sophistry being practiced, now, in this space?

Anyone need a beer? I’m buying.

            *Per Ai. Interesting fact: you are never really exactly where GPS says you are.

            **Thank you for not giggling at the idea of a naked moon.

            ***I stand by this usage by applying my literary license.

****The ever-humorous Ai describes “cease and desist” as a formal “knock it off notice.”

Of Shifts and Quarks

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We are in a time when paradigms are shifting rapidly and in great quantities. Almost every paradigm we know is being challenged.

From Ai: “a paradigm is a distinct set of concepts, thought patterns, or standards that shapes how we perceive and interact with the world. Think of it as a mental map. It doesn’t just show you what to look at it;* it dictates how you interpret what you see.” Ai goes on to name different types of paradigms and differentiate between Scientific Paradigms and Social Paradigms. That makes sense since modern Scientific Discoveries change the current Scientific Paradigms and updates them. Think quantum Mechanics, Quarks and Muons, things not known in 1926, for example. But what changes Social Paradigms?

Our current government took office in January 2025 and quickly “blanket” pardoned people CONVICTED of crimes—by juries–for their peaceful and patriotic participation in the All-American Protest of January 6, 2021. Did this change a Social Paradigm?

The Pardoner in Chief was himself CONVICTED of crimes and due to be tried on more charges before our educated, morally aware, and personally responsible American Voters re-elected him, allowing him to escape further** judgement. Did a convicted felon’s election to the highest office in America change any paradigms? Judge for yourself.

Our current government is keen on restoring law and order to America. The administration knows the best the way to do that is arrest anyone who commits any crime and make them pay the price for their unlawful ways. But what is the price? A CONVICTED sex-trafficker is moved from her full-security prison cell to a medium security facility with perks and benefits not known by her prison mates. Does that change the Punishment Paradigm? No judgement. Apply your own.

Politicians used to say one thing privately and another publicly. They called it “diplomacy”. They knew the more they talked the more trouble they made for themselves. Our current government likes to talk about everything,..almost. Paradigm Shift. Strong period.

The modern American used to fret about not being heard. Now every American has a loud voice. An obvious Paradigm shift, but good or bad?

America has a System of Justice meant to punish the bad people and make sure the good people aren’t wrongly harmed. Our current government is using that system to charge good and bad people with crimes. The government makes a big show of indictments and charges, often with press conferences and non-diplomatic press releases, briefings, social media claims, and staged presentations. When was the last time they “staged” a CONVICTION public event? Are all the people being investigated and charged, being CONVICTED?*** Shift?

One of the biggest paradigm shifts happening, now, is the disrespect current politicians and officials are showing to the American People. Those professional politicians think we are idiots. Why do they think that? Because we are.

For America’s entire history, the American People have never really known what was going on and politicians did their dirty work—and their good work—behind the scenes: the less we knew the better. But now, politicinas don’t care. Paradigm shift? Of course, but what happens next? There are signs another paradigm shift may be in the works. Good or bad? Let’s see.

*Why Ai used a semicolon here is un-understandable (sic). Ai says the semi-colon is “stronger than a comma but not quite as final as a period.” You judge.

**Further is correct. It is a metaphysical distance. Farther is actual distance.

***Yes, the word is continually being capitalized for a reason.

How Many Of Us Are There?

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My UPER (Unnamed PERson) sent me a wonderful link to a nice, well-spoken gentlemen who discussed an intellectual and psychological concept you see all the time in these postings: the fragmentation of our psyche, what makes up our personalities and determines our actions. My postings use an Inner Voice (IV) and Outer Voice (OV) to illustrate inner mental and emotional conflicts. Regular readers* have been exposed to the inner dialogue IV and OV love to have about my life, its situations, and actions. Sorry for exposing myself**. Discerning readers also note there is an un-designated umpire ruling over the IV and OV debates, an entity making rulings, taking decisive actions, and writing these posts. Does that entity have a name?

Our brains are wonderfully intricate and obtuse. Ai obtuse for its “second” definition. The brain is bombarded with data from all sides, angles, and forms. Sight, sound, touch, political debate, and unfunny humor, so how does it decide what data, what stimuli to respond to? No one knows for sure, but I posit our magnificent gray watermelons take it ALL in, like a security camera, and park the data someplace in case it’s needed. Imagine the size of that data file after 73 years.

Who or what needs that data? And how is it recovered? Is there an app? And is it different for all 8 billion people? In the world of psychology, from here on out called The Circus, theories and guesses and opinions, oh my, abound. See the Pixar movie “Inside Out”, for a light-hearted examination of mental life. The Circus is different from excellent, rigorous, verifiable scientific research into the structures and mechanisms of the brain, where opinions are irrelevant.

Under The Circus’s tent you’ll find many “models” of personality that are used to treat corresponding symptoms/diseases of the “brain”, diagnosed by applying an individual’s actions to the individual model being used in the examination. Some results are good, positive, results, some are not. Fixing a broken mind isn’t as easy as fixing a broken bone. Or removing a misfiring heart. The word isn’t used anymore, but how many of us if we are looked at using the “correct” model might be labeled “crazy”? Everyone knows Freud’s name, but does everyone know what he postulated about the human mind? Ai him and read it. Or the many others*** in The Circus trying valiantly to bring their big-top show into the halls of actual science, oftentimes including simple self-help concepts meant to wrangle the mind into what it should be, according to the model of the time. I’ve been exposed to a lot of the models and could call IV, OV, and The Unnamed Umpire ID, Ego, and Superego to make myself happier. Or use the bible solution and replace all bad thoughts and lies with God’s Word. Or renew any addiction that makes thinking about things easier. Simple, profound advice when trying to understand your brain and its actions is to use anything that works for you, doesn’t destroy you, costs little, and doesn’t harm anyone else. IV OV and The Umpire are screaming in my ear to suggest you use their model. Actually, OV and IV are debating loudly while The Umpire is telling them to shut the hell up, we’re trying to be helpful, here. Like any other family, it will work out. Or not.

A thing to remember and helps: in 100 years none of it will matter or be remembered. OV wanted 200 years, IV wanted 50, The Umpire compromised.

Funny, happy ending? The fingers did exactly what they were told.

*I use “regular” because “irregular” readers don’t care or don’t know.

**It just sounds funny to admit it in writing.

***Transactional Analysis. CBT, DBT, and ACT to name a few acronyms. Maybe we need as many treatments as there are individuals?

Is it really the end of the world?

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A lot of left leaning friends are distraught, to say the least, about January 20, 2025. Most of them were distraught about January 6, 2021, as well.

Distraught: adjective, deeply upset and agitated.

Distraught is probably the best word to use when a convicted felon becomes president and pardons other convicted felons simply because those “other felons” adore the new president. A whole bunch of MAGAs are getting out of their seats to protest: “What about Biden?” They prove a point about themselves: they can never argue or debate without using the “Whataboutsomeoneelse” defense. Maybe I’ll take the time to illustrate the differences, later, or maybe I’ll just sit in my chair and not waste time.

And so starts another four years of you-know-who. Somewhere in America is a subset of voters wondering if there are any good, decent men and women left in America. One thing not needing debate is that every four years we are going to have half the country feeling “distraught” in January. Except billionaires. They’re happy all the time.

Meantime, science leaps and bounds its way into the future. Northwestern University in Chicago has reported the first “demonstration of quantum teleportation over internet cables”. Look back at my post about Quantum Entanglement this past summer and you’ll see why my brain blew up with this news, and think it far more important than our new, orange disaster.

Mercedes Benz has developed fully operational hydrogen powered engine to replace diesel engines in trucks. Ever been behind a diesel truck chugging up a hill? The WaVe, funded by the German Government, has out-ftted a formerly diesel powered “implement carrier” with the new engine. All that comes out of the tail pipe is water. Finally, something we can all “get behind”. (NO. I swear it’s not pun…on purpose.)

A paralyzed man has flown a virtual drone using brain implants. Another paralyzed man used implants to send texts. Another is learning how to use brain implants to control a “robot exe-skeleton”, and take steps. If you know–and empathize for–a paralyzed person, there is hope. Sidebar: Chinese scientists have “scheduled” the first Robot Marathon (yes, a MARATHON for ROBOTS) for sometime in April, 2025. In China. Along the route will they want water bottle stations? Oil?

Canadian scientists have learned to “disguise” cancer tumors to “look similar to pig organs” and trick our immune systems into attacking the cancer cells. Canada is not our 51st state, yet, but they get kudos for finally–and hopefully– finding the answer to the “immune system attacking cancer tumor” concept that’s been around for some time. No harsh chemo or radiation…hopefully.

There’s more, but the point is the world will keep moving forward no matter what the color of the American President: Black, White, or Orange. And look at the opportunity for more billionaires. We might see a “trillionaire” soon, too. Huzzah!

As long as we stay out of the way of science.

Oh, and logic.

Can’t resist adding–might add one every post– a Steven Wright quote: “If you were going to shoot a mime, would you use as a silencer?”

Logic.

Again, with the Trump stuff?

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The Daily Show on Comedy Central has given us the clearest example of the absurdity surrounding the Modern Republican Party (MRP). In the last election the MRP won the the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. MRP already had control of the Supreme Court. So what’s on the MRP’s mind? The one House seat in Delaware MRP lost. Why? It was won by an openly transgender candidate, Democrat Sarah McBride.

This has fired up the MRP’s Grievance Machine (MRPGM). Speaker Mike Johnson originally said “It’s a command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and I’m not going to engage in silly debates about this.” Read his subsequent comments, yourself, as he joined others on the MRPGM committee’s dedication to monitoring Rep. Mcbride’s toilet activities. He even passed a new House Rule about it. So much for the old Republican Party ideas of individual freedom and less government intrusion in our private lives. Other House Reps MTG and Nancy Mace joined in with strident proclamations of their own freedoms to watch Rep McBride’s toilet trips. The absurdity of these statements was accentuated by Johnson’s own words: “It is important to note that each (House) Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex bathrooms are available throughout the Capital.” Huh. So why the whining and new rule?

Rep. Grace, who survived an employee revolt when she was accused of a toxic work environment, took MRPGM absurdity to new heights pronouncing “We are standing up for women, protecting their spaces, and restoring a bit of sanity to Capitol Hill.” Nice thoughts. Take a moment before you read the next quote.

“I’m allowed to go in because I own the pageant…and they’re standing there with no clothes. And I sort of get away with things like that.” This was Donald Trump’s quote after countless accusations of him invading beauty pageant dressing rooms…and just before the 2016 Access Hollywood tape where he admitted “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…grab em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Both Mike Johnson and Nancy Grace, advocates for woman’s bathroom integrity, charter members of the MRPGM, support Trump.

For all you Trump voters, this is why the rest of us don’t understand.

At least Trump voters kept one woman out of office.

She’ll be safer at home.

OMG! Google The EPR Paradox

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But only if you enjoy science. And mystery. And spookiness. And Puzzles. And want to be awed.

For nearly 60 years there has been a huge schism in scientific thought between Classical Physics (CP) and Quantum Mechanics (QM).

CP is the study of things we see and hear and touch, basically. Newton’s first law of motion, for example, paraphrased: a resting apple will not move until some force makes it move, like gravity to make it fall from a tree or William Tell placing the apple on his son’s head. (PS google that story, when you get time.)

It is through CP we understand our world, and invent things to make life easier, faster, and deadlier.

But as scientists drill deeper into the HOW of CP, the nuts and bolts, the Understanding Train goes a little off the rails. With the modern ability to see and measure sub-atomic particles, CP’s Laws tend to not apply to the world of QM with its Quarks and Qbits. In fact, the inhabitants of the QM world often act exactly the opposite of what the CP “laws” predict. One of the most intriguing disparities is the aptly named “Quantum Entanglement” (QE), a physical event so amazingly outside the CP Laws, Einstein called it “a spooky action at a distance”. Summarized for those without extensive scientific experience, “Quantum Entanglement” is when two different things (at the subatomic level or QBits’) communicate with each other over great distances with no known CP connection. In theory, but as yet unproven for obvious reasons, a pair of Qbits can theoretically communicate instantly when one is locked in a safe in Omaha and the other is embedded in Orion’s Belt. I’ll wait while you ponder Orion’s Belt is 800 LIGHT YEARS away.

QE has been proven in labs, but is hard to prove in the real world due to Schrodinger’s Cat issues and thre are no subatomic measuring devices on Mintaka (google it). If this phenomenon is true, it makes a mockery of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity notion about the speed of light (186,282 miles per second) being the fastest speed in the universe, which could change all the ways we calculate space and time. Orion’s Belt 800 LIGHT YEARS away can be reached instantly by two, communicating Qbits. In case you didn’t know it, one light years is 6 TRILLION MILES!

To revisit a past column: I am awe struck. Astounded. Amazed. and still trying to learn more. QE and the whole subatomic world, are Matrix-like mysteries, and have given rise to theories about the very nature of existence. Yay.

I sure hope they get some answers before I fly off into the beyond…or will I…?

PS Thank God for the internet…the smart parts…

Are you Content? Happy? Both?

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In an article titled “Is Contentment an Underrated Goal in Life?” By Jill Suttie | August 26, 2024. she reports on a study that “suggests contentment is a positive emotion with some unique benefits for people who seek it.“

Researcher Yang Bai summarized her research for this study this way: “Compar[ed] to other positive emotions, contentment makes us more accepting of ourselves,” and “it can bring [people] the strength to accept the good and bad sides of their lives.”

Hmph. That’s not a grumpy noise, but a startled one, as if I just sat down, exhausted, after looking all over the house for my keys and then found them in my pocket. Dedicated readers may remember my August 1, 2024 essay titled “Why Now?” where contentment is happily reported as the possible by-product of misfiring neurons and tangled, silly synapses. (Silly? Synapses, synapse, synopsis, synopses, sinopsis, et.al.)

A fun-filled debate could be had about whether you’d want to be happy or be content, but I see it as the car you own. “Happy” is driving a high-powered Lamborghini with one, free tank of gas and one free month of insurance and maintenance. “Contentment” is driving an NHTSA (Look it up) 5-Star rated car which runs on human farts. I mean, very little gas.

Happy is hard to control. It’s like fireworks: it comes and goes as it pleases, with lengthy pauses to reinforce its spectacular return.

Contentment is the slow smoking of brisket, and the knowledge your hard work will pay off in the end.

Contentment seems easy to find: a good sunrise, actual help from someone in Customer Service, or having your Klondike bar melt perfectly without making a mess. Or having trees talk to you. It’s all around if we find the time and the way to see it.

The study noted above was also looking into whether or not people knew they were content. Or happy. Or if they even knew the difference. Ever have a very good day and wonder why no one else was? You just had a case of the Contentments. The saddest thing, ever, then would be you surrounded by contentment and not know it as you strive mightily for happiness.

Remember Yang Bais words about accepting the good and bad of our lives. Accept the contentment life offers, while waiting for the happiness you seek.

Now, I’m off to the Citadel of Contentment: The Chair. Hope you have one of those.