Notes
[Notebook: DB 57 Language]
[Sunday 6 March 2005 - Saturday 12 March 2005]
[page 93]
Sunday 6 March 2005
The class of spaces defined by the mathematical formalism of
quantum mechanics is isomorphic to a subset of the spiritual world,
as conceived since time immemorial. This thought (in less qualified
form) motivated me to climb out of the pit in which I was working on
the tail shaft of my car and (as I tediously undid them) meditating
on the design of the connection between the gearbox and the tail
shaft. Engineering depends
[page 94]
on the stability of the world. This stability arises from
constraints that can be expressed mathematically in the platonic,
spiritual world, the world of disembodies forms and interactions. Can
angels communicate with one another?
We line up the properties of quantum mechanics (no-cloning,
superposition, non-locality etc) with the properties of spirit.
The world as we know it is ultimately kinematic, since we do not
know the fundamental dynamic principle. Why does it do this: maybe
the Cantor force toward complexification [which arises from some
force toward consistency, ie consistency is an attractor,
inconsistency a repeller]
Spiritually, a network exists all a once, but in terms of
observation, [the only nodes which] exist for any particular node are
those with which it is communicating. But what is communicating?
Because communication needs discrete symbols, there are inevitably
times of non-communication between communication, as the blackout
period in kinematographic projection while the film moves to the next
frame. From the kinematic illusion, we can construct hypotheses about
how it all works - the world as form and will.
Technology exists in the countable world, inspired by scientific
harvests from the spiritual world.
A computer is a kinematic object. Its clock hides the transition
as the contents of
[page 95]
binary digital memory are changed from 1 to 0, or 0 to one, or
merely refreshed in their current state,. So we cannot see the inner
motivations of people, just observe the history of their actions and
construct hypotheses about their actions. Even when someone tries to
communication their state of mind, we are still reduced to forming
hypotheses about the meaning of spoken, written and body language,
even though, as the bandwidth of communication is increased, stronger
constraints can be placed on the meaning to be communicated [as the
television image constrains the visual imagination left free by
radio]
The new incarnation of [the] Lonergan's metaphysics and quantum
theory [paper]:
Is the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics isomorphic to
that world called since ancient times spiritual?
Chapter 1 A brief history
The history of human thought has thrown up a lot of dichotomies
like matter/spirit, world/god, visible reality/invisible reality,
now/dreamtime, heaven/hell and so on.
These dichotomies are elements of hypotheses about the nature of
the world in which we live, attempts to explain the mysteries of
life, since understanding yields power (fitness) to survive.
The fundamental dichotomy [between being and non-being], mooted by
Parmenides
[page 96]
then [developed] through Plato, Aristotle, Jesus,. the Churches ad
the modern sciences to us - Galileo, Newton Hamilton, Cantor, Hilbert
etc to QM,
Quantum mechanics is as complex as theology and has a fearful
reputation. We reveal this reputation as a paper tiger by sticking to
Heisenberg's idea: we have no preconceptions about how the world
works, we merely want to explain the observations.
Chapter 2 Quantum mechanics
Here we recall the principle laid down by Heisenberg
. . . it seems more reasonable to try to establish a
theoretical quantum mechanics analogous to classical mechanics, but
in which only relations between observable quantities occur.
Substitute theology for mechanics and we have immediately
democratized prophecy: we all have eyes to see gods and innards to
feel it. [soul?]
Heavenly pleasures - visits from people I love = glimpses of the
human aspect of divinity.
Freedom is tradable. I mind your children while you do something
and vice versa.
ie freedom is valuable = entropy.
Our two fundamental values are energy and entropy. Energy =
ability to move; entropy = space to move.
[page 97]
As in quantum field theory, we see an ever growing transfinite
pyramid of states and transformations lying behind every observable
point in the Universe. it is this system, which we will name nous
(Greek for mind) which gives meaning (dynamics) to the particle
kinematics which we observe. This is how we model spiritual control
of the material world.
Happy delusion or happy truth? Insofar as my speculations are
private, there is little impact on the world and if it makes me feel
good, so be it. Once it enters the public arena, however (through
actions by me and others inspired by these thoughts) questions of
product liability arise. traditionally, church organisations have
been exempt from any responsibility for their product, except in
extreme cases where they are judged to be a cult brainwashing
innocent victims. How do we draw the line between legitimate religion
and such a cult? It is not easy, given some of the lunatic things
taught by established religions like Christianity.
I feel now that the Roman Catholic Church stole my soul and willed
it with their own seed, psychical rape we may call it, analogous to
physical rape. Many church as state and other education systems have
a similar violent and arrogant edge - the conviction that they know
what is right and by that same conviction assume the right to force
that conviction on others by stealth, reward or threat.
As in many thefts (like the theft of Australia) justice
[page 98]
may take a long time to deal with the
thieves, if ever. Thus we learn from Job. Job But it is worth pursuing
nevertheless, so that such crimes of power will be stifled and
perhaps eventually eliminated.
Every crime requires the power to harm another.
The physical realities of life mean that we cannot afford to work
in a completely abstract and hypothetical way, as methodological
purists might like. Nevertheless, once one has leisure (ie free
time/free energy) one can pursue studies in such a way. This is
traditionally called pure science, pure mathematics, etc, as
distinguished from the applied. Where we may say pure applies to the
soul and applied applies to the body, there has been an historical
tendency to value soul more highly than body. This is only possible
because soul is postulated to exist independently of body. Since in
reality they are inseparably intertwined (and so really just one
thing) their values must be equal. In time division multiplexing
terms, one might do best by distributing one's energy equally between
pure and applied pursuits. My life seems to have evolved to roughly
this position, perhaps first formalized by the monastic life of work
and prayer. Unfortunately the prevailing overvaluation of soul meant
that the monastic system completely avoided a large subset of real
work, the establishment and maintenance
[page 99]
of relationships, particularly all the relationships surrounding
getting and spending, reproduction and collective decision making.
The monasteries avoided all this by the vows of poverty, chastity and
obedience, and this more deeply entrenched the distortion in value
between soul and body.
It all comes back to the idea that we are so special that wee, of
all creatures in the Universe, alone possess a purely spiritual
incorruptible soul. We have been seen as angels trapped in bodies,
longing to release but this is not so. Unlike the monks who refused
to face birth, our position is that we must face birth and death, so
liberating ourselves by discovering that we share birth and death
with every other entity except perhaps the whole.
Should I make an effort to write, or let it just flow? Depends on
whether it is pure or applied writing. Up till now I have supported
pure writing by building with occasional minor items of income (long
past) from writing. The time has come to phase out the building and
ramp up the applied writing. Hence The Theology Company. Insofar as
The Theology Company can generate a surplus by applied writing, it
can devote resources to pure writing. Although, I call it pure, the
hope is that like pure science and mathematics, it will turn out
after all to be valuable in applied problems. Applied theology is
religion, the management of the human planet.
[page 100]
Politicians often expect their slaves (officials) to do the
impossible in order to show that their impossible promises are
feasible.
. . .
Monday 7 March 2005
Tuesday 8 March 2005
Wednesday 9 March
2005
Natural religion: 3(?) submissions, birth, death, mystery.
The dark night of the soul: realizing that everything you have
been taught and relied upon is in need of revision (Physics
1900-1925). John of the
Cross
Thursday 10 March 2005
Now 4 submission: birth, death, mystery and process. Magic,
miracles, fairy tales etc are accounts of results obtained without
process, something that may not be possible. To travel from a to b,
one must submit to the events of the journey.
Friday 11 March 2005
Saturday 12 March 2005
|
Related sites
Concordat Watch Revealing Vatican attempts to propagate its religion by international treaty
Copyright:
You may copy this material freely provided only that you quote fairly and provide a link (or reference) to your source.
Further readingBooks
Carson, Rachael, Silent Spring, Mariner Books 2002 Amazon.com Editorial review: 'Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death. Presented with thorough documentation, the book opened more than a few eyes about the dangers of the modern world and stands today as a landmark work.'
Amazon
back |
Hochschild, Adam, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa, Mariner Books 1999 Amazon book description: 'In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian. Heroic efforts to expose these crimes eventually led to the first great human rights movement of the twentieth century, in which everyone from Mark Twain to the Archbishop of Canterbury participated. King Leopold's Ghost is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great Shakespearean villains. . . . "
Amazon
back |
Job, The Book of Job in The Jerusalem Bible, Darton Longman and Todd 1966 Introduction: 'The Book of Job is the literary masterpiece of the [Biblical] Wisdom movement. . . . The author of the Book of Job . . . is without doubt an Israelite, brought up on the works of the prophets and the teachings of the sages. . . . The writer puts the case of the good man who suffers. This is a paradox for the conservative view then prevalent that a man's actions are rewarded or punished here on earth.' (pp 726, 727)
Amazon
back |
John of the Cross, John, and E Alison Peers (Translator, editor, Intorduction), The Dark Night of the Soul: A Masterpiece in the Literature of Mysticism, Image 1959 'A sixteenth-century mystic who wrote of man's relationship with God, St. John of the Cross was also a Carmelite monk who helped reform the Order and aided St. Teresa of Avila in establishing new convents for women. In this book--his spiritual masterpiece and a classic of Christian literature and mysticism--he addresses several subjects, among them pride, avarice, envy, and other human imperfections. He also provides an extended explanation of Divine love; and describes methods of conversion through prayer, submission, and purification. "...the most faithful [translation] that has appeared in any European language: it is, indeed, much more than a translation for [Peers] added his own valuable historical and [critically interpretive] notes."--London Times.
Amazon
back |
Revised English Bible, Revised English Bible, Oxford University Press, USA 2003 From Library Journal
'From its inception the New English Bible was intended to be revised. This revision, which has taken into account praise and criticism of the New English Bible and advances in biblical scholarship, is the fruit of 15 years' labor. The style has remained dignified but not stuffy, vigorous but not coarse. Many Briticisms and awkward phrases have been reworked ("loose livers" in I Cor. 5:9 is now "those who are sexually immoral"), though some remain ("a rod in pickle" in Prov. 19:29). The removal of "thee" and "thou" from address to God and the cautious, discriminating use of inclusive language reflect current usage. Transposition of words, verses, and whole passages in the name of clarity--carried over from the New English Bible --will cause continued concern and will decrease somewhat this work's value as a study Bible. All things considered, however, this is an excellent translation that will easily find a place in public and private reading. Highly recommended.
- Craig W. Beard, Harding Univ. Lib., Searcy, Ark.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.'
Amazon
back |
Waugh, Evelyn, Brideshead Revisited, Penguin Books 2000 Amazon customer review: An Often Misunderstood Classic of 20th Century Literature
By Gary F. Taylor
"Like most great novels, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED is about a great many things--not the least of which is the decline of English aristocracy. But at center, Evelyn Waugh's greatest novel (and one of his few non-satirical works) is about religious faith, and how that faith continues to operate in the lives of even those who seem to reject it, and how that faith supports even those who falter badly in it. . . . '
Amazon
back |
Papers
Landauer, Rolf, "Irreversibility and Heat Generation in the Computing Process", IBM Journal of Research and Development, 5, 3, 1961, page 183-191. 'Abstract: It is argued that computing machines inevitably involve devices which perform logical functions
that do not have a single-valued inverse. This logical irreversibility is associated with physical irreversibility
and requires a minimal heat generation, per machine cycle, typically of the order of kT for each irreversible
function. This dissipation serves the purpose of standardizing signals and making them independent of their
exact logical history. Two simple, but representative, models of bistable devices are subjected to a more
detailed analysis of switching kinetics to yield the relationship between speed and energy dissipation, and
to estimate the effects of errors induced by thermal fluctuations. '. back |
Links
Anna Fels, Can Nicotine Be Good For You, 'My new patient explained that in her sophomore year at college she had started smoking. The effect, she said, was like “a key that fit perfectly into a lock.” Her brain felt clearer, her thoughts were more coherent, her mood and energy improved. Not wanting to damage her lungs, she soon switched over to nicotine gum and had been taking the same amount of it for well over a decade — a pattern of stable “dosing” that I discovered is typical in long-term nicotine users.' back |
Bible, Bible: King James Version, 'About the Bible, King James Version
The original electronic text for this version of the Bible was provided by the Oxford Text Archive. Original tagging was performed by the New Centre for the Oxford English Dictionary (Waterloo). Subsequent conversion to SGML was performed by the University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative. The HTI is grateful for the permission of the Oxford Text Archive to provide access to the text.' back |
Christopher Lamb, Pope Francis cardinal problem: am exit strategy for George Pell, 'Too many senior people in Vatican positions still don't "get it" when it comes to abuse, often seeing the matter through a strict legal prism or believing the crisis has been whipped up by the media. The needs of victims, meanwhile, seem very low on the priority list.
It should be pointed out that not everyone in Rome are dragging their feet. The Pope has set up a commission for the protection of minors and much work has gone on to ensure bishops across the world have guidelines on child safeguarding.
Yet these are small steps in response to what has arguably been the church's greatest crisis since the reformation. Cardinal Pell's appearance before the commission should ratchet up the pressure on the Vatican to do much more.' back |
General covariance - Wikipedia, General covariance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, In theoretical physics, general covariance (also known as diffeomorphism covariance or general invariance) is the invariance of the form of physical laws under arbitrary differentiable coordinate transformations. The essential idea is that coordinates do not exist a priori in nature, but are only artifices used in describing nature, and hence should play no role in the formulation of fundamental physical laws.' back |
Gibbs Paradox - Wikipedia, Gibbs Paradox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In statistical mechanics, a semi-classical derivation of the entropy that doesn't take into account the indistinguishability of particles, yields an expression for the entropy which is not extensive (is not proportional to the amount of substance in question). This leads to an apparent paradox known as the Gibbs paradox, allowing, for instance, the entropy of closed systems to decrease, violating the second law of thermodynamics. It is possible, however, to take the perspective that it is merely the definition of entropy that is changed to ignore particle permutation (and thereby avert the paradox).' back |
Landsat Program - Wikipedia, Landsat Program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The Landsat program is the longest running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. On July 23, 1972 the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat.[1] The most recent, Landsat 8, was launched on February 11, 2013. The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images. The images, archived in the United States and at Landsat receiving stations around the world, are a unique resource for global change research and applications in agriculture, cartography, geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and education, and can be viewed through the USGS 'EarthExplorer' website. Landsat 7 data has eight spectral bands with spatial resolutions ranging from 15 to 60 meters; the temporal resolution is 16 days.' back |
Martk Beeson, Ahould academics be policy-relevant realists or cosmopolitan idealists? , 'Too often, the argument goes, the interests of nations are put before the interests of people. There is no shortage of examples around the world that bear out this claim. The alternative could and should be a focus on “human security” that actually thinks about the lived experience of individual human beings and the factors that do or don’t keep them safe.' back |
Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics - Wikipedia, Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In statistical mechanics, Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics describes the statistical distribution of material particles over various energy states in thermal equilibrium, when the temperature is high enough and density is low enough to render quantum effects negligible.' back |
No cloning theorem - Wikipedia, No cloning theorem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The no cloning theorem is a result of quantum mechanics which forbids the creation of identical copies of an arbitrary unknown quantum state. It was stated by Wootters, Zurek, and Dieks in 1982, and has profound implications in quantum computing and related fields.' back |
Paul Oslington, Pushin back against the politicisation of economic modelling, 'Debate was sparked when BIS Shrapnel declined to reveal who had commissioned its modelling, which showed that reducing negative gearing would drive up rental prices and push down house values.
The modelling was described as “manifestly ridiculous” by the Grattan Institute’s John Daley, and “dodgy” and bringing the economics profession into disrepute , according to Fairfax’s Ross Gittins. The Australia Institute has called for a code of conduct for economic modellers.' back |
Peter FitzSimons, George Pell is finished whatever way you look at it, '"Still," the supporters cry, "what about the Melbourne Response, that Pell pioneered?" Exactly. You only need to know one thing about the Melbourne Response. Beyond putting a cap on damages paid to victims, it did not result in a single call being made to police. Not one! As victims came forward, deals were done, and money paid, but not a call.' back |
Peter Hannan, Grim prospects: the shake-up of Australia's climate science, 'Forty years ago next month Paul Fraser and three other CSIRO scientists towed a hardy NASA-built caravan chock with sensitive detecting equipment to Cape Grim on the pristine windswept tip of north-west Tasmania.
The make-shift facility quickly made its mark, detecting ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere as they blew past in the stiff Roaring Forties. Over the decades since, the site also tracked the relentless rise of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. . . .
That Cape Grim's fate – and much of Australia's climate research – hangs in the balance surprises many just months after the country signed up to a global effort in Paris to limit global warming to 1.5-2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.' back |
Ross Gittins, Time to take a stand against misleading modelling, 'The lesson for relatively new treasurers trying to establish a reputation for economic competence, and the ability to explain complex economic concepts persuasively, is you'll never do it if you act like a political brawler and latch on to whatever third-party modelling seems to be going your way.
A treasurer looking for respect doesn't identify himself with any modelling before his experts – the economists in his department, not the ambitious young politicos in his office – assure him it's kosher.' back |
South by Southwest - Wikipedia, South by Southwest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of film, interactive and music festivals and conferences that take place every spring (usually in March) in Austin, Texas, United States. SXSW first began in 1987 and is centered on the downtown Austin Convention Center. Each of the three parts runs relatively independently, with different start and end dates. In 2011, the conference lasted for ten days, with interactive lasting for five, music for six, and film lasting the longest at nine days.' back |
Tas van Ommen, Chasing ice: how ice cores shape our understanding of ancient climate, 'It is just over 50 years since French scientist Claude Lorius dropped some glacier ice in his whisky and started a quest that continues today. Lorius was studying glaciers in Antarctica and wondered if the air bubbling out of some ice he had drilled that day might carry information from the past.
The answer to that question was “yes”. We now know that ice cores carry a rich archive of past information in the bubbles and the ice itself.' back |
Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake, '"The Swan Lake Teatro alla Scala, Vladimir Bourmeister, Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra back |
Tripitaka - Wikipedia, Tripitaka - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia, 'Tripiṭaka is a traditional term used by various Buddhist sects to describe their various canons of scriptures. As the name suggests, a Tripiṭaka traditionally contains three "baskets" of teachings: a Sūtra Piṭaka (Sanskrit; Pali: Sutta Pitaka), a Vinaya Piṭaka (Sanskrit & Pali) and an Abhidharma Piṭaka (Sanskrit; Pali: Abhidhamma Piṭaka).' back |
Ubirr - Wikipedia, Ubirr - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Ubirr is within the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia, and is known for its rock art. It consists of a group of rock outcrops on the edge of the Nadab floodplain where there are several natural shelters that have a collection of Aboriginal rock paintings, some of which are many thousands of years old. The art depicts certain creation ancestors as well as animals from the area such as barramundi, catfish, mullet, goannas, long-necked turtles, pig-nosed turtles, rock ringtail possums, and wallabies.' back |
University of Oxford, The Oxford Text Archive, 'The Oxford Text Archive develops, collects, catalogues and preserves electronic literary and linguistic resources for use in Higher Education, in research, teaching and learning. We also give advice on the creation and use of these resources, and are involved in the development of standards and infrastructure for electronic language resources.' back |
|
