Truth’s Trek (part 4)

The Riddle of the Ray

How can the length of each of two collinear rays be the same as the line they create when joined together at an angle of 180 degrees as shown in the image provided?

There is a ‘caveat’ to this riddle. Infinity is not a comparable value, and most mathematicians would say you cannot measure a line or a ray. However it does allow us to perform an interesting step-wise comparison which I believe leads to an interesting mental paradox.

Lets start by examining the length of one of the rays by counting the points in that ray and list this tally in a column labeled Ray BA. Then lets count the points in the line (both rays), and list this tally in a second column called Line AC. The table displayed below tallies these counts.

The results are as we expect. We always tally about twice as many points for the line as compared to the ray. For example where the Ray BA = 1000 points, the Line AC = 1999, approximately double. But, herein lies the paradox – we can plainly see from the table that the line tally is always twice the ray tally. So come on mathematicians – clearly we should just say – a line is twice as long as a ray. Let’s face it – no matter how far you extrapolate the table (above) – the line always has twice as many points as the ray!

But this is not how they (mathematicians) compare lines and rays. Mathematicians either say they are both immeasurable, or they are both equally long having infinite points. So again I ask:

Why does each ray in a pair of collinear rays contain the same number of points as a single continuous line?

I propose that the solution to this riddle provides us with a construct for visualizing what is happening at the quantum horizon.

The answer will be provided in the next post – I promise…

Truth’s Trek (part 2)

Hydrogen Atom viewed by a Quantum Microscope (Courtesy: Stodolna et al. Phys. Rev. Lett.)

As I stated in the previous post:

The path exists – it just comes into our awareness when we are able to observe it.

Let us begin our examination of Truth’s Trek at the point where  ‘the path’ meets our observation. The image above is our best picture of this actual point in time. This is as close as we can get to the truth or what actually happens just as a cloud of uncertainty starts taking over. It is the point at which the events we experience fall prey to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Physicists call this boundary the Classical Limit because it is where the classical laws of physics cease to exist. Beyond the classical limit – we cannot be absolutely certain about what is really happening. Did you read this blog? Did you NOT read this blog? According to the uncertainty principle – both events exist up until the point that you observe the event. However, my theory posits that a single truth does exist – the fact that you DID read the blog is written in the uncertainty cloud. I contend that – beyond the classical limit – the fact that you read the blog merely takes on a form undetectable from our vantage point. So where is truth beyond this classical limit? We shall get to that a bit later but for purposes of this theory – let’s assume that as truth treks towards us, it does indeed exist prior to its transition across the quantum-classical boundary.

From our vantage point, truth as it exists on one side of the boundary is described using a language called quantum mechanics. On the other side of this boundary truth is described using a language called classical mechanics. The image I included in this post (above) is said to be the first direct observation of this uncertainty cloud! It is a picture of what a hydrogen atom looks like when your camera’s shutter speed is faster than the pixels size of Einstein’s space-time fabric. Incredibly – it is our first picture of quantum uncertainty. This image was made using a newly developed quantum microscope. The scientists who ‘took this picture’ claim that it reveals the famous wavefunction, which is the solution to the Schrödinger equation. You might know Schrödinger from his cat-in-the-box thought experiment, where the cat is both dead and alive up until the time that you open the box. As we know from chemistry class – the hydrogen atom has one proton and one electron. We can see in the image that there does seem to be a central red spot which could be the theoretical location of the proton encircled by bright rings, which represent the probable locations (or orbitals) of its electron. In physics class we learned that the square of the wavefunction describes the probability of where the electron might be found. The brighter the ring, the more likely it is that the electron exists at that location. Put plainly – this is the smallest slice of time and matter we have observed to date. And this slice of matter, viewed by the quantum microscope, allows us to lay eyes on the fabled, electron cloud. Wow!

When we observe things at levels larger than the Planck constant, we are able to locate them in three dimensions of space and one dimension of time (Einstein’s space-time fabric). When we observe things at levels smaller than the Planck constant, we can no longer use Einstein’s space-time fabric to describe and locate them. The image above is physical evidence of this space-time collapse. This is where a hydrogen atom’s electron transitions from a particle to a probability.

So what is happening here? Well – I propose that we can make sense of this breakdown by following matter (or truth) back to its origin using a thought exercise I call – The Riddle of the Ray.

To be continued…

Truth’s Trek (part 1)

Denver International Airport (Notice the tent peaks are sliced off, revealing the tent poles inside…)

We always experience a delayed, degraded version of reality. Whether this delay is due to the time it takes for the sound of thunder to reach our ears after a lightning strike or whether it’s due to the time it takes information to travel from our eardrum to our brain – we are always registering a delayed, degraded version of what is actually happening – or truth. I call this series Truth’s Trek because it chronicles the journey that this Truth takes on its way from its origin to the place where we experience it.

I am not a physicist so I have neither the skill nor the time to mathematically work out this theory – however given I have some time to kill right now – while on jury duty – I will lay out my theory in these short blog posts.

Let me begin where I left off in the Truth Posts. In those posts I examined the concept of Truth. I started by postulating that while moral truth is a difficult topic to analyze scientifically, there is a form of truth that lends itself to this type of examination – spacial-temporal truth. I define spacial-temporal truth simply as: “what actually happens in a specific place at a specific time”. A spacial-temporal truth is that you are reading this blog right now. You are fairly certain about this truth because you are here as it is happening.

In the Truth Posts, I examined spacial-temporal truth and concluded that certainty about this type of truth increases the closer we get to it – in space and time. You are more ‘certain’ about the ‘blog reading’ event than you are about the conclusion that a lone gunman was responsible for the JFK shooting. This is because you are much closer in space and time to the first event than you are to the second one. OK, so how close can we get in space and time to an event? Well it turns out that there is a physical limit to how close we can get to any event. When we slice space-time into small enough chunks – things get ‘uncertain’. You can imagine that space-time looks like the decapitated tent tops of the Denver International Airport (image provided). Part of our space-time fabric is missing – hidden behind a cloud of uncertainty described by quantum mechanics. This missing ‘truth’ is represented by the missing tent tops. We can imagine what the tent tops should look like but from our vantage point – they are un-viewable. Heisenberg put it this way:

The “path” comes into existence only when we observe it.

My theory re-writes the principle this way:

The path exists – it just comes into our awareness when we are able to observe it.

I write it like this because I believe that the path (truth) does indeed exists prior to observation! (That sound was Heisenberg turning over in his grave – sorry). Yes, metaphorically speaking, this theory operates under the assumption that the tent tops, as we imagine what they should look like, are actually there. OK – let us begin our examination of Truth’s Trek at the point where  ‘the path’ meets our observation.

To be continued…

Truth? (final post)

It all began with this question:

If there is only Truth – not good or evil – then What is Truth?

By tracking truth back to its source we noticed that:

Truth peaks at Now

Finally by looking closer and closer at Truth we came to this conclusion:

There is one and only one Truth and the only place where we can experience and affect Truth is Now.

This is an extremely important property of Truth. Truth can be accessed only through this special portal called Now. I have just one more result I would like to share:

Truth is our only source of Good, so getting closer to Now is Good.

I realize I already said that there is no good or evil. But I also observed that deep down, there does seem to be an ultimate truth. An ultimate source of good, a warmth and light that we rationalize as our god. And if this is correct, the closer we get to this ultimate truth, the happier, more peaceful, more joyful we become. And since Truth peaks at Now – getting closer to Now brings us closer to this ultimate truth. Here are my observations regarding this fact:

• Road Trips are fun. This is a strange observation that I made on a recent road trip with my family and now I think I understand it. We spent the better part of four hours in the car and I noticed something strange. Each of us seemed happy. I thought to myself, what if we spent the same four hours in the same car – while the car sat in the garage – would we still be happy? Obviously not. We probably couldn’t spend ten minutes together in a parked car without going bananas. What’s the difference? I believe that travel brings us closer to now. Einstein showed this to be true mathematically – as we increase our velocity – time slows down. Also, when we travel, the scenery is continuously changing and in order to observe it we have to be in the moment.
• Reading and Writing is satisfying. When we read, even though we are transported to another world, we have to be present. The act of interpreting symbols on a page requires actively taking in and translating new information. Writing (as I am doing now) requires even more effort. We are creating the words and thoughts actively. We have to be in the moment to read and write.
• Competing is Exhilarating. When we compete in sports or games we must be present and in the moment.
• Dancing is joyful (image provided). When people are dancing they are happy. They smile. They laugh. I don’t think they even know why. If you ask them they will say it’s because they like to dance. But that is not a reason – it’s an observation. I believe dancing makes us happy because it requires us to be in the moment. In order to dance, we have to follow the beat of the music. We have to focus on Now. Dancing brings us very very close to Now. And the closer we get – the happier we get. Next time you see people dancing – notice how happy they are. There is definitely something good there.
• Art comes from Now. Artists have been muse driven from the beginning of human civilization. Art seems to be our interpretation of truth and beauty which – as this post series proposes – comes through to us from now. This is another reason dancing is joyful – music is probably our interpretation of what lies on the other side of that portal.
• Being together is joyful. When we pay attention to each other, focus on each other, we are happy. Wow – this is another reason dancing is joyful – I gotta dance more! Again the reason is because in order to communicate we need to be in the moment. Individually we are isolated, separate beings. Alone, we can escape from the moment but in order to really be with someone else – we have to be in the moment. We have to communicate with and react to another separate being. The more we focus on each other – the happier we get. There is something good there.
• Worry and Regret are Harmful. As we move away from Now we not only seem to be less happy – we can even damage our health. Worry moves us into the future. There is anxiety and fear associated with wandering away from Now. Regret is also detrimental to our health. When we dwell on the past we seem to be less happy. Even remembering good times can make us sad. Moving away from the portal seems to be a bad thing.
• Now is the best drug. My thoughts on drugs will require its own post – but in a nutshell – everything we put into our bloodstream that affects our dopamine release process is a drug and this includes food – so I’m not against drugs per se – I am just careful about connecting habits to feelings. I believe getting close to now, staying in the moment can help in this regard. Here is one example. When I can’t sleep I have found that counting sheep activities help because it move me into the present. It makes sense, relaxation techniques, reading, and staring into the starry night are all activities that snuggle us up to now. When we wander from there in regret and worry – sleep is out of reach. Now is better than Ambien – that’s for sure!
• Good Deeds Wilt as they move away from Now. Finally – I have noticed this strange phenomenon – and now I think I understand it. Good deeds are only good when they are fresh. When we look back at good deeds or tell someone about a good deed we performed – it stales. It can even turn into a bad thing because we seem to be bragging about it. Planning to do good deeds can also be strangely negative. We even call these people do gooders or goodie two shoes. The same good deed removed from Now seems to wilt. Strange but in light of our results – it makes sense.

I feel I have a new understanding of good and evil and truth. I am glad that I took this journey. I hope you are too. I am going to spend as much time as possible in the now and I am going to try not to wander away from now. No worries. No regrets. Less planning. More doing. More dancing. Also, I will look for inspiration there. I will try not to plan good deeds – I will just try to be more aware of how I can help out when the moment presents itself. I may even look for my god there. I do know that there is something warm and bright there – and I want to be near it.

The end – or is it?…

Truth? (part 8)

In this series of Truth Posts we tracked the concept of truth back to its origin. We can view a version of the Truth (our Reality) up to a certain point where quantum mechanical principles take over. I have concluded that this quantum state is just the place where our vision gets blurred as we track reality back to its origin. This is the place where our dimensions of length and time break down. It’s similar to how you cannot detect spatial dimensions at the edge of the horizon. As you look at a landscape you can see length, width and height. However the further up you look towards the horizon, these dimensions diminish to a point where they are imperceptible and meaningless. Notice how the path looses dimension and eventually disappears in Van Gogh’s painting Wheat Field with Crows (image provided). [By the way – here is a link to my Van Gogh app on iTunes]

Heisenberg claims that the path comes into existence only when we observe it. I propose that this is not entirely accurate. I believe that the path does indeed exist – it just exists in a form we cannot perceive. It exists in a dimension, imperceptible to us. I would rewrite Heisenberg’s statement this way:

The path exists – it just comes into our awareness when we are able to observe it.

This result is significant. It means that we have free will. It means that the future is not predetermined. There is just one reality and we interact with it, determine it, control it. This is why Truth peaks at Now and this is why Now is a special place. The ultimate conclusion is:

There is one and only one Truth and the only place where we can experience and affect Truth is Now.

In the next post I will wrap the journey up. To be continued, one more time…

Truth? (part 7)

In the previous post I asked:

Does the Truth exist beyond the point at which we are able to perceive it – and if so – how does it exist and why can’t we see it?

I have spent quite a bit of time wrestling with this query and here is what I have concluded:

Truth exists prior to our ability to perceive it, and it exists in an imperceptible state – outside of our three dimensions of space and one dimension of time.

Put another way – our observation of an event is similar to tracking an animal in the snow. As we follow the foot prints we know the animal exists and we know its direction of travel. And if we loose the trail as the tracks disappear into a stream – lets say – we do not conclude that the animal ceased to exist prior to which we lost its trail. We conclude instead that the animal existed when it stepped into the stream – we are just unable to track its steps beyond this point due to our sensory limitations. Just because the trail stops being detectable by our five senses doesn’t mean the animal ceased to exist prior to that point.

While I will need to pen another series of posts to describe my thinking behind these conclusions – the conclusion is significant – at least for me. I will go into this further in the next post.

To be continued…

Truth? (part 6)

Each peak is a moment in time,
truth radiating from the mountaintop,
concealed by the mist of uncertainty,
yet somehow,
down here,
we feel its significance,
in our hearts.

To be continued…

Truth? (part 5)

We concluded in earlier posts that truth peaks at now, however given limitations to how close we can get to a specific place and time – we always perceive a degraded version of the truth that I call – Reality.

One way to visualize this concept is by looking at one of my favorite roofs – the fabric tent at the Denver International Airport (image provided).

Take a look at this picture and imagine that each of these tent peaks correlates to one of the tee pees we discussed in a previous post. Remember that the peak of the tee pee represents the moment an event actually occurs, while the downward sloping sides represent the decrease in certainty about what actually happened as we move away in space and time. And furthermore – the fact that the airport tent is made up of multiple tee pees correlates to the way we experience life – as a series of events.

As we discussed in a previous post, we can only get so close to a specific place and time. Beyond this point the intuitive laws of physics break down. Now, imagine that this point of ‘breakdown’ is represented by an imaginary plane slicing off the tent tops of the roof at the Denver International Airport.

As illustrated in the picture – our Reality begins where the tent roof fabric begins – not at the peak – but somewhere below it. Heisenberg put it this way:

The “path” comes into existence only when we observe it.

So the next logical question is:

Does the Truth exist beyond the point at which we are able to perceive it – and if so – how does it exist and why can’t we see it?

To be continued…

Truth? (part 4)

In previous posts I asked what is truth and concluded that:

Truth peaks at Now

We are closest to the ‘truth’ of a situation when we are at the place and time of its happening. As I pointed out – if we graph truth versus space and time – we get something that looks like a tee pee – where tent apex represents ‘maximum truth’ at the place and time an event takes place.

So lets examine this question:

How close we can get to the truth?

Put another way – how close can we get to a particular place and time. We can imagine examining an event under a microscope to get closer to it. And we can imagine using a high speed camera to capture the event in shorter and shorter time intervals. As we get closer in space and time to any event we reach a place where the ‘intuitive’ laws of physics break down. At these dimensions, a different ‘language’ is used to describe events. Scientists call this language – quantum mechanics. For us mere mortals – we feel like Alice descending into the rabbit hole. I will go into the ideas of quantum mechanics in a future post – but suffice it to say – there is a limit to how close we can get to an event. So – while we can get ‘near’ to a specific place and time – we cannot get all the way there. This leads to an interesting conclusion:

The Truth is Unreachable from Here

From this conclusion we must define a new term that I will call – Reality:

Reality is our perception of Truth

To be continued…

Truth? (part 3)

In previous posts I asked what is truth and then I discussed a space-time class of truth. This Spacial-Temporal Truth is defined as what actually happens at a given place and time.

So lets dig deeper into the aforementioned JFK assassination question. As I previously conjectured, if you were behind the fence at Dealy Plaza at the moment of the assassination you would be well equipped to answer the question – was there a second shooter behind that fence.

Now lets move away from that place and time just a little bit and see what happens…

If you were there a few moments after the incident, you would be less certain of the event. Lets say that you arrived just in time to see a person there, behind the fence, putting something under an overcoat and then walking away. You might have a reasonable suspicion that this person was a second shooter – but you wouldn’t be as convinced had you been there at the moment of the assassination. The further removed you are from that ‘time’, the less certain you would be about what actually happened – or – the truth.

OK – now lets examine the spacial component. If you were there at the right time, but removed slightly from that place, what is the effect? Well, from a few hundred feet away, you may be able to see the person at the fence but you would not be certain about what that person was actually doing. Did they shoot a gun or a camera? Was the gunshot pop coming from them or somewhere else? Again – the further removed you are from that ‘place’, the less certain you would be about what actually happened – or – the truth.

So – as you move away in the ‘time’ dimension from an incident, truth decreases. And as you move away in the ‘space’ dimension from an incident, truth decreases. Like the top of a tee pee, truth peaks at the apex and decreases as we move away in all directions – space and time. This leads to the following observation:

Truth peaks at Now

…where – ‘Now’ is defined as this place and this time. To be continued….