I N T H E B E G I N N I N G
“Force never moves in a straight line, but always in a curve vast as the universe, and therefore eventually returns whence it issued forth, but upon a higher arc, for the universe has progressed since it started.”
KABBALAH
KABBALAH
We live in exciting times. And those times got a lot more exciting this morning (23.09.2011) with the discovery of particle that exceeds the speed of light. Today could be a day for the history books in the order of Einstein's Theory of relativity or Newton's discovery of gravity. If these results stand up to peer scrutiny the whole of physics will have to be re written. Quantum physicists This is just one more vivid illustration of But to my main point. A time of reconvergence of .... science and philosophy and magic. And this isn't just a combination of occult pseudo-science and wishful thinking. There are the sentiments of some f the greatest minds in science. In fact, they have not only been thinking it they have need saying it but such is the grip of the Newtonian, 'Classical' world view that the man in the street has carried on regardless. He knows that a brick dropped on your foot hurts he doesn't care whether it's made up of waves or particles; that's just much, much to much information. He hasn't made the leap to the fact that his PC works on the principles of QM. All he requires of science and scientists is that they minimise the amount of bricks that get dropped on his foot. From our 21st century perspective with the coming of the Age of Enlightenment the complex strands of the metaphysical DNA separated. In the light of the new mechanistic world view empirical proof was everything and hardnosed experimental results ruled the day. No room for argument; black was black, white was white, and no shades of grey allowed. Finally science, and by extension the rest of society, had a grip on what was happening in the universe and, importantly, why and dismissed all previous knowledge as mere superstition. The truth, as truth usually is, was different to what the history books would have us believe. Boyal
Pre-Enlightenment if you wanted a doctor, a chemist, a metallurgist, a botanist, astrologer, astronomer, cartographer, navigator, geologist, philosopher, psychologist, spiritual guide you went to the person whose knowledge encompassed all of these disciplines, someone like Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, or John Dee. Alchemists. Natural philosophers. Metaphysicians. That's if you could afford it; if not then there was the local wise man/woman. (Both, of course, suffered horribly according to the prevailing religious whims but nevertheless such was the need for these services that these roles persisted throughout the persecutions.)
These courageous polymaths treated what we now (we still think like 'Newtonians' regardless of residing for 100 years in a quantum world) separate disciplines but as different manifestations of the same root cause. They would have told you that man was a reflection of the universe which was a reflection of the divine. Alchemy was dismissed as a primitive proto-chemistry, astrology a superstitious forerunner of astronomy,
With the dawning of the age of enlightenment this was regarded as just so much nonsense by the new guard and bathwater and baby went out the window. This was regarded In the 17th century the process of separating the core strands of the metaphysical DNA began. The so called 'Age of Enlightenment' was birthed as the influence of the Inquisition waned with the advent of Protestantism. In this vastly revised and entirely logic-based world concept of the universe was seen as a vast mechanism operating by laws of which were, but for a few untidy elements (no pun), known and completely understood to science. Indeed, Lord was known to have said.... Newton was lauded as one of the prime originators along with such figures as...........and became the figurehead of the revolutionary Newtonian science. Now termed 'Classical Science' or 'Newtonian Science'. Prior to the advent of this new world view it is amazing how history can be selectively amended to suite a particular argument. The picture that is painted of Newton is of a man who devoted his life to the discovery and application of the laws of gravity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Newton was only a part time scientist. His real obsession was alchemy. When offered the appointment of Astronomer Royal, Newton chose instead to be head of the Royal Mint (so nothing suspicious there then).
No wonder all those Victorians looked a bit bored. Compare that to the exuberance of the '60s. In a relatively brief period of time Newtonianism became the new orthodoxy albeit with less emphatic penalties than the Inquisition.
Newton, portrayed as the father of this new mechanistic world view had a few inconvenient aspects to his life which until recently was swept under the carpet of the 20th century. Principal amongst these was that he was an alchemist in the full meaning of the term. Why else place an astronomer in charge of the Royal Mint.
Pre-Enlightenment if you wanted a doctor, a chemist, a metallurgist, a botanist, astrologer, astronomer, cartographer, navigator, geologist, philosopher, psychologist, spiritual guide you went to the person whose knowledge encompassed all of these disciplines, someone like Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, or John Dee. Alchemists. Natural philosophers. Metaphysicians. That's if you could afford it; if not then there was the local wise man/woman. (Both, of course, suffered horribly according to the prevailing religious whims but nevertheless such was the need for these services that these roles persisted throughout the persecutions.)
These courageous polymaths treated what we now (we still think like 'Newtonians' regardless of residing for 100 years in a quantum world) separate disciplines but as different manifestations of the same root cause. They would have told you that man was a reflection of the universe which was a reflection of the divine. Alchemy was dismissed as a primitive proto-chemistry, astrology a superstitious forerunner of astronomy,
With the dawning of the age of enlightenment this was regarded as just so much nonsense by the new guard and bathwater and baby went out the window. This was regarded In the 17th century the process of separating the core strands of the metaphysical DNA began. The so called 'Age of Enlightenment' was birthed as the influence of the Inquisition waned with the advent of Protestantism. In this vastly revised and entirely logic-based world concept of the universe was seen as a vast mechanism operating by laws of which were, but for a few untidy elements (no pun), known and completely understood to science. Indeed, Lord was known to have said.... Newton was lauded as one of the prime originators along with such figures as...........and became the figurehead of the revolutionary Newtonian science. Now termed 'Classical Science' or 'Newtonian Science'. Prior to the advent of this new world view it is amazing how history can be selectively amended to suite a particular argument. The picture that is painted of Newton is of a man who devoted his life to the discovery and application of the laws of gravity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Newton was only a part time scientist. His real obsession was alchemy. When offered the appointment of Astronomer Royal, Newton chose instead to be head of the Royal Mint (so nothing suspicious there then).
No wonder all those Victorians looked a bit bored. Compare that to the exuberance of the '60s. In a relatively brief period of time Newtonianism became the new orthodoxy albeit with less emphatic penalties than the Inquisition.
Newton, portrayed as the father of this new mechanistic world view had a few inconvenient aspects to his life which until recently was swept under the carpet of the 20th century. Principal amongst these was that he was an alchemist in the full meaning of the term. Why else place an astronomer in charge of the Royal Mint.
"Although Alchemy has now fallen into contempt, and is even considered a thing of the past, the physicain [sic] should not be influenced by such judgements."
PARACELSUS (1493 - 1592)
PARACELSUS (1493 - 1592)
Pre Enlightenment if you wanted a doctor, a chemist, a metallurgist, a botanist, astrologer, astronomer, cartographer, navigator, geologist, philosopher, psychologist, spiritual guide you went to one person whose knowledge encompassed all of these disciplines, someone like Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, or John Dee. That's if you could afford it, if not then there was the local wise man/woman.
"Many arts there are which beautify the mind of man; but of all none do more garnish and beautify it than those arts which are called mathematical, unto the knowledge of which no man can attain, without perfect knowledge and instruction of the principles, grounds, and Elements of Geometry."
JOHN DEE (1527 - 1608/9)
JOHN DEE (1527 - 1608/9)
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
GALILEO GALILEI (1564 - 1642)
GALILEO GALILEI (1564 - 1642)
(Both suffered horribly according to the prevailing religious whims but nevertheless such was the need for these services that these roles persisted throughout the persecutions. The unwelcome attentions of the Inquisition extended to all those who, by dint of an inquiring mind and intelligence, unearthed discoveries which contradicted the Roman world view.
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
ISAAC NEWTON (1642 - 1727)
ISAAC NEWTON (1642 - 1727)
These prodigious polymaths treated what we now (we still think like 'Nerwtonians' regardless of residing for 100 years in a quantum world) separate disciplines but as different manifestations of the same root cause. They would have told you that man was a reflection of the universe which was a reflection of the divine. With the dawning of the age of enlightenment this was regarded as just so much nonsense by the new guard and bathwater and baby went out the window.
"There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement."
LORD KELVIN (1824 - 1907)
LORD KELVIN (1824 - 1907)
"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."
ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879 - 1955) - 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879 - 1955) - 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
"Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real."
NEILS BOHR (1885 - 1962) - 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics
NEILS BOHR (1885 - 1962) - 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics
"It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves."
CARL JUNG (1875 - 1961)
CARL JUNG (1875 - 1961)
"In itself, the insight [Oneness of Mind] is not new. The earliest records, to my knowledge, date back some 2500 years or more... the recognition ATMAN = BRAHMAN (the personal self equals the omnipresent, all-comprehending eternal self) was in Indian thought considered, far from being blasphemous, to represent the quintessence of deepest insight into the happenings of the world."
ERWIN SCHRODINGER (1887 - 1961)- 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics
ERWIN SCHRODINGER (1887 - 1961)- 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics
“I think that modern physics has definitely decided in favor of Plato. In fact the smallest units of matter are not physical objects in the ordinary sense; they are forms, ideas which can be expressed unambiguously only in mathematical language.”
WERNER HEISENBERG (1901 - 1976) - 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics
WERNER HEISENBERG (1901 - 1976) - 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics
"If we do discover a complete theory, it should be in time understandable in broad principle by everyone. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people be able to take part in the discussion of why we and the universe exist."
STEPHEN HAWKING
STEPHEN HAWKING
"It would have been very embarrassing for supersymmetry and the properties of the particles we know about if the Higgs had been discovered in the range of masses that have [now] been explored."
FRANK WILCZEK - 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics
There's another explanation for the Higgs's absence: it decays into particles we don't know how to detect, such as dark matter or as yet unknown particles. In that case, the only way to detect the Higgs would be by looking for tiny amounts of missing energy. Professorship of Physics at MIT Center for Theoretical Physics
FRANK WILCZEK - 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics
There's another explanation for the Higgs's absence: it decays into particles we don't know how to detect, such as dark matter or as yet unknown particles. In that case, the only way to detect the Higgs would be by looking for tiny amounts of missing energy. Professorship of Physics at MIT Center for Theoretical Physics
"The feeling that most people have is this can't be right, this can't be real."
JAMES GILLIES - Head of Communication CERN
JAMES GILLIES - Head of Communication CERN
The OPERA experiment, which observes a neutrino beam from CERN 730 km away at Italy’s INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory, will present new results in a seminar at CERN today. The OPERA result is based on the observation of over 15000 neutrino events measured at Gran Sasso, and appears to indicate that the neutrinos travel at a velocity 20 parts per million above the speed of light, nature’s cosmic speed limit. Given the potential far-reaching consequences of such a result, independent measurements are needed before the effect can either be refuted or firmly established. This is why the OPERA collaboration has decided to open the result to broader scrutiny.
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