There is a lesson
here in how we can create the appearance of something
being planned without planning anything, of there being forceswithout
forcing anything, of their being the appearance of laws with no lawgiver,
of magic without magic. If we can learn how simple and elegant
structures
can efficiently come into being without being centrally controlled,
then maybe
we can begin to see how we might better succeed in creating and
sustaining
our own enterprises. We have lots of labor saving machines, but we
really
haven't learned how to use them to accomplish our goals. Perhaps this
is because our goals
or our methods are at odds with nature. We are pushing against the
grain because we really
don't understand how the wonders of nature (or God or gods) are created
and accomplished.
We tend to make our lives more complicated and difficult than is necessary
for our
well being.
An ordinary insect is a prodigious marvel. How can such a tiny package
come into existence and do so much? How does it really fit in the
larger scheme of things? Can there be an Earth as we know it without
flies? I doubt it. Can a fly's existence be derived from something
simpler than a fly? And then that from something simpler still until
we derive almost everything from what seems like almost nothing?
In the levels ahead we will try to derive almost everything from almost
nothing.
(The new levels have not yet been posted, but they are coming).
We will go to the origin of origins and with the eyes of Blake, “perceive
the whole
in a grain of sand.” There will be some risk of losing sight of the
forest and the beach
because of the trees and the grains of sand. So here's a preview of
the high stakes
and adventure. There is no fixed agenda here for passing on some particular
big picture
concerning reality, God or whatever. However, what is written will
impact most any
big picture that you do have. Learn and live. With the change of millennia
our world
is at a strange emotional state. In 1999, we have had state school
boards in Kansas,
Tennessee and even Colorado declare a remarkable ignorance concerning
Darwin's
theory of evolution. I recently came across a report from a "creationist"
in which he
declares that there isn't remotely enough time for "evolution" to have
occurred.
Unfortunately for his agenda, according to his flawed understanding
of evolution and
blind chance, it would take millions of years for frost to form the
wonderful pattern
I beheld this morning. Does he want me to think that an angel
sat on my sunroof and
doodled? Why not take a closer look at simple water and its interaction
with different
boundaries? The frost pattern probably formed in less than an hour
with blind chance
and no central planning whatsoever. It quietly disappeared and it can
reform again
with slight variations just as surely as clouds briefly grace our skies
every day.
Even if a few simple mathematical rules can describe inanimate matter,
one might well
argue that these rules have no business in guiding human affairs. Science
is for building
machines, religion is for building character, and never shall the twain
meet. So you might
wish, but let's consider for a moment what it really takes to create
an enduring and endearing
village. Communism, with its central government and five year plans,
has failed. When the
USA stood it up and prevented it from plundering, it crumbled under
its own stupidity.
All of the despots, dictators and self appointed priests of the world
have fallen as soon as
their plundering has been put in check. None of these atheists or religious
fanatics understood
how lasting order and wealth is created. They failed to perceive how
the natural world is
ordered. They forced their own rules and plans and quickly wreaked
havoc on their citizens
and their environment. They let science create their war machines and
conveniences, but
refused to let science teach them how they might rule. The invisible
Tao of nature was too
insubstantial for their egos, They instead created rooms full of rules
and regulation, red tape
everywhere, and then asked us to pray for our salvation.
Well, the game is up. In a few more years the scientific basis of democracy,
freedom,
separation of church and state, equal rights, free markets and minimal
government
will be appreciated around the world more than ever before. After the
year 2003,
we will laugh and say, "it never had to be so hard!" For now, we have
to endure
a few more loony years in which people wait for their savior, or yet
another ruling,
or a new alignment of the planets or a new football team! After all
of the big schemes
have exhausted themselves, we will get back to the simple things that
really work,
the magic without magic!
With all of the belief systems that have flourished through the ages,
one might wonder
if it really matters what one believes. What harm can there be in a
little belief in astrology
or in reductionism or in eternal life or in UFO's or in evolution?
The answer is that any
belief can be very dangerous if it is supported with only a little
knowledge. And when
different beliefs collide with no effort at finding a common understanding,
entire
populations can suffer like a body seizing under conflicting drugs.
It was Alexander Pope who wrote in his Essay on Criticism in 1711:
A little learning is a dangerous thing,
drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring.
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
Today, with sound bites, channel surfing and so many opportunities,
demands and distractions, I don't know how anyone manages to drink
deeply,
but drink deep we must the wisdom of the ages if there is to be peace
and
intelligent life on this planet.
The lessons that I'll present have been brewing in my notebooks for
24 years. If you would like to add something to the pot or get an early
taste of what is to come, click on the wizard below and add your thoughts.
Criticism is welcomed!
Take Me Higher!© Text & Structure of Magic without Magic
is Copyrighted 10/7/99.
The phrase "Magic without Magic" is from a book titled
"Magic without Magic"
created in 1971 in honor of John A. Wheeler's 60th
birthday. Wheeler's magic
lies in his ability to learn from others and present
the most baffling areas of physics
to children with its magic intact. Wheeler has coined
many phrases such as
"law without law", "mass without mass", "charge without
charge", "it from bit"
and the noun "black hole". For explicit references
to his magic, see the poetic
lines introducing each section of his masterwork Gravitation
written with
Charles Misner & Kip Thorne.