I have no doubts about the artistic merit of this poem... i.e. not very much. But it does present an interesting thought which I'm currently exploring.
The Circle of Infinity
by Mayank Daswani
Searching thro' infinity for
An Answer.
I stop in my path for
I see it,
The Answer, the end.
But it is not my Answer,
So I start searching again.
Then I reach the starting point.
I am the observer.
I am the observed.
I am the wanderer.
I am the wandered.
Infinity is Circular.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Dreams and Consequences
Hey,
Hope this isn't too deep for a first post.
Listening to the album 'Favorite Worst Nightmare' -Arctic Monkeys, got me wondering about stuff. This isn't the usual feeling you get when listening to the Monkeys but then, it's me.
Read the book 'Dust' (Frank Herbert) the other day. Can't believe I missed reading that earlier. Best book I've read in a while. That got me thinking of dreams and consequences.
Dreams can be dangerous. The old paradox, "if you die in a dream, will you die in real life ?" comes up here. I've never died in a dream, I always wake up sweating just before I'm killed. Fallen of a cliff, woke up before reaching the bottom. Friend stabbed me in the stomach, woke up before I finally croaked.
This got me thinking about the nature of thoughts. Is it possible, I thought, to even think about the nature of thoughts? Apparently yes, although these could be pseudo-thoughts and not really thoughts at all. Where do these thoughts come from anyway?
The answer it seems, is the mind. But then what is this mind? The brain shows chemical responses to tiny electrical sparks, are these somehow creating drug-like symptoms we interpret as thoughts? Clearly not, as if it were so I wouldn't be coherent enough to speak about them.
Research into quantum mechanics shows some promise in answering this question, meta-physicists say that the mind is in a quantum state and thoughts and 'consciousness' in general can be explained through quantum entanglement and superposition (Wikipedia). Of course the argument against this is that these properties are not valid at the (comparatively) macroscopic level of neurons in the brain.
Another interesting consequence of quantum physics is the fact that nothing exists until we look at it. More concisely, by Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle we cannot determine the position and momentum of a particle simultaneously. Both these properties exist as probability waves, and the act of measuring one of them seems to collapse the wave into a point on the wave which is defined in (our?) reality. Therefore it is only possible to observe a point, one wave at a time. At least this is my understanding of the basics of quantum mechanics and should in no way be taken as authoritative.
The generalization "nothing exists until we look at it" is probably not true (due to it being on the macroscopic level) although I don't see how a property can just disappear like that since the macroscopic objects (?) are made up of microscopic particles that possess this property. So consider it true for now. This means that when we are not observing an object, it is in the state of a probability wave (defined by Schroedinger's Equation). When we observe the object the wave collapses and becomes a point at the highest probability in the wave.
Therefore, the act of observing must be of supreme importance. And this process is carried out by none other than our minds. This conclusion has been reached by many people, physicists, disputed authors of famous books (which I've heard of, haven't yet read) like 'The Tao of Life' by Fritjof Capra (a famous physicist with mystical leanings) which I've been meaning to read for some time now, and now me.
But what makes the mind so special? Is it really special?
One theory I had, but dismissed because it was too cynical, was the possibility that we were merely complex mechanisms designed by aliens and our thinking was merely the software running through us (the hardware). This removes the possibility of free will though and therefore I ignore it (it also sounds like something out of the Hitchhikers' Guide or a sci-fi flick)
Another theory, and this is more likely, is that we are just looking at it the wrong way, and that quantum physics is in no way connected to consciousness and the mind. I have my doubts about quantum physics and if it wasn't so useful in predicting things, I would eagerly jump to this theory and search for another explanation. However the current situation begs to differ.
The most common theory of course, is that of a benevolent Creator who gives us some sort of 'Life Spark' that enables us to think. This theory would explain everything in the Universe, and thus stretches credulity, for it expects us to believe in something for which there is no proof, at least this is my belief... :)
According to "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy", the answer to Life,the Universe and Everything is 42. I wish it were that simple.
How I go from dreams to quantum physics I don't know, but it seems that everything is related, "our fates are entwined", if you will.
The mysteries remain, and nothing is solved.
May the force be with you.
References: Wikepedia
Hope this isn't too deep for a first post.
Listening to the album 'Favorite Worst Nightmare' -Arctic Monkeys, got me wondering about stuff. This isn't the usual feeling you get when listening to the Monkeys but then, it's me.
Read the book 'Dust' (Frank Herbert) the other day. Can't believe I missed reading that earlier. Best book I've read in a while. That got me thinking of dreams and consequences.
Dreams can be dangerous. The old paradox, "if you die in a dream, will you die in real life ?" comes up here. I've never died in a dream, I always wake up sweating just before I'm killed. Fallen of a cliff, woke up before reaching the bottom. Friend stabbed me in the stomach, woke up before I finally croaked.
This got me thinking about the nature of thoughts. Is it possible, I thought, to even think about the nature of thoughts? Apparently yes, although these could be pseudo-thoughts and not really thoughts at all. Where do these thoughts come from anyway?
The answer it seems, is the mind. But then what is this mind? The brain shows chemical responses to tiny electrical sparks, are these somehow creating drug-like symptoms we interpret as thoughts? Clearly not, as if it were so I wouldn't be coherent enough to speak about them.
Research into quantum mechanics shows some promise in answering this question, meta-physicists say that the mind is in a quantum state and thoughts and 'consciousness' in general can be explained through quantum entanglement and superposition (Wikipedia). Of course the argument against this is that these properties are not valid at the (comparatively) macroscopic level of neurons in the brain.
Another interesting consequence of quantum physics is the fact that nothing exists until we look at it. More concisely, by Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle we cannot determine the position and momentum of a particle simultaneously. Both these properties exist as probability waves, and the act of measuring one of them seems to collapse the wave into a point on the wave which is defined in (our?) reality. Therefore it is only possible to observe a point, one wave at a time. At least this is my understanding of the basics of quantum mechanics and should in no way be taken as authoritative.
The generalization "nothing exists until we look at it" is probably not true (due to it being on the macroscopic level) although I don't see how a property can just disappear like that since the macroscopic objects (?) are made up of microscopic particles that possess this property. So consider it true for now. This means that when we are not observing an object, it is in the state of a probability wave (defined by Schroedinger's Equation). When we observe the object the wave collapses and becomes a point at the highest probability in the wave.
Therefore, the act of observing must be of supreme importance. And this process is carried out by none other than our minds. This conclusion has been reached by many people, physicists, disputed authors of famous books (which I've heard of, haven't yet read) like 'The Tao of Life' by Fritjof Capra (a famous physicist with mystical leanings) which I've been meaning to read for some time now, and now me.
But what makes the mind so special? Is it really special?
One theory I had, but dismissed because it was too cynical, was the possibility that we were merely complex mechanisms designed by aliens and our thinking was merely the software running through us (the hardware). This removes the possibility of free will though and therefore I ignore it (it also sounds like something out of the Hitchhikers' Guide or a sci-fi flick)
Another theory, and this is more likely, is that we are just looking at it the wrong way, and that quantum physics is in no way connected to consciousness and the mind. I have my doubts about quantum physics and if it wasn't so useful in predicting things, I would eagerly jump to this theory and search for another explanation. However the current situation begs to differ.
The most common theory of course, is that of a benevolent Creator who gives us some sort of 'Life Spark' that enables us to think. This theory would explain everything in the Universe, and thus stretches credulity, for it expects us to believe in something for which there is no proof, at least this is my belief... :)
According to "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy", the answer to Life,the Universe and Everything is 42. I wish it were that simple.
How I go from dreams to quantum physics I don't know, but it seems that everything is related, "our fates are entwined", if you will.
The mysteries remain, and nothing is solved.
May the force be with you.
References: Wikepedia
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