When we go to the edge of science, things get blurry and unsure.
Some of us were discussing the subject line yesterday. If 'time' as a scientific quantity is not absolute and morphs with 'space' as we know it today, then past, present and future all must exist concurrently as a continuum and must have happened already in the phase-space with space and time coordinates. We are simply sliding through the current scene of "now" (a unique point in the phase-space) to the next scene (another point in the phase-space) in somewhat like in a DVD movie. As characters in the movie playing the scene, we don't know the next scene. Nor do we know if the movie has a beginning or an end? Is there a story, meaning? is there a maker of the DVD we don't know anything about those questions.
But individually we "feel", we have 'free will' to choose and decide our path! If 'free will' is also rolled up into the scene, is that also an illusion? Reminds me of the Hindu Professor's quote in the E.M. Foster's book, 'A passage to India'. "You do whatever you want, whatever will happen will happen!" That quote was uttered in the book to safeguard the personal interest of a selfish man. That sort of thought failed in the medieval times because every criminal can then blame the destiny for his action and thus claim unaccountable for the crime! All the laws, morals or rules to live by would be unnecessary which only leads to chaos and quick destruction. Quantum theory states that if you look things change. If you are not looking they happen in some way, if you look it may happen differently. That indicates we have the power to determine the path in the phase-space. So the paradox only grows.
Guess it is better to govern life for betterment of humanity as we perceive it rather than give it all up to the destiny. Feynman believed that it is better to live with doubt and 'not knowing' rather than believe in something wrong.
I watched the sci-fi movie "langoliers" recently. It is an attempt to move through time and return to 'now'. Langoliers are sort of 'garbage collector' of 'time' that is past. Pretty spooky concept.
Some of us were discussing the subject line yesterday. If 'time' as a scientific quantity is not absolute and morphs with 'space' as we know it today, then past, present and future all must exist concurrently as a continuum and must have happened already in the phase-space with space and time coordinates. We are simply sliding through the current scene of "now" (a unique point in the phase-space) to the next scene (another point in the phase-space) in somewhat like in a DVD movie. As characters in the movie playing the scene, we don't know the next scene. Nor do we know if the movie has a beginning or an end? Is there a story, meaning? is there a maker of the DVD we don't know anything about those questions.
But individually we "feel", we have 'free will' to choose and decide our path! If 'free will' is also rolled up into the scene, is that also an illusion? Reminds me of the Hindu Professor's quote in the E.M. Foster's book, 'A passage to India'. "You do whatever you want, whatever will happen will happen!" That quote was uttered in the book to safeguard the personal interest of a selfish man. That sort of thought failed in the medieval times because every criminal can then blame the destiny for his action and thus claim unaccountable for the crime! All the laws, morals or rules to live by would be unnecessary which only leads to chaos and quick destruction. Quantum theory states that if you look things change. If you are not looking they happen in some way, if you look it may happen differently. That indicates we have the power to determine the path in the phase-space. So the paradox only grows.
Guess it is better to govern life for betterment of humanity as we perceive it rather than give it all up to the destiny. Feynman believed that it is better to live with doubt and 'not knowing' rather than believe in something wrong.
I watched the sci-fi movie "langoliers" recently. It is an attempt to move through time and return to 'now'. Langoliers are sort of 'garbage collector' of 'time' that is past. Pretty spooky concept.
Posts
