Existence

[Officer Dibble]

I was intrigued by Sam and Warren chewing the cud over the issue of ?self-existence? in another thread. Here?s my two penneth on both that issue and bigger, associated, issues.

An idea cannot exist independently of man or any other conscious entity. It cannot 'self exist'. An idea can only exist or have any meaning so long as man is here to both contemplate and validate it. The concept of God is no more than an idea - a comforting delusion that men cling to in order to avoid the existential angst of facing up to their own responsibility and the terrifying fact that in their darkest hour there is no higher authority for them to petition and beg for salivation. Concepts and ideas only have meaning so long as man is here to validate them. If (God forbid) a cosmic cataclysm were to befall the Earth next week and our species were to be snuffed out, then all our concepts, ideas, delusions of morality and grandeur would evaporate into the ether, along with the molecules and atoms that make up our physical bodies. The universe would not bat an eyelid.

This line of thought put me in mind of the ?Schr?dinger?s cat? paradox, where quantum mechanics suggests that a cat in a box can be both alive an dead at the same time ? it?s ?wave function? only collapses into an alive or dead state when someone opens the box to observe it. Some physicists and cosmologists have gone further to speculate that the universe itself only exists in any meaningful way simply because we are here to observe it. If there was no one here to see it and ponder it, how could it be said to exist ? and, furthermore, who could say it?

This is fascinating territory, a huge uncharted territory. A place where religion, philosophy, relativity and quantum mechanics collide. The issues are both enormous and profound ? Why are we (the universe) here? What came before? What will come after? What is the true nature of existence and indeed why does existence itself exist? The answers are, at this time, probably beyond our ken, beyond our intellects. I see humanity as analogous to a goldfish swimming round it?s bowl ? as far as the goldfish is concerned the bowl is the extent of the whole universe, it cannot comprehend of anything beyond that. Yet we know that the universe beyond the fish?s bowl is almost incomprehensively vast, and we are just beginning to realize that it may just be one of an infinity of alternative universes - alternative, multi-dimensional, realities. But as more is revealed to us the more it suggests that what we perceive may be little more than the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what lies beyond?

When I ponder these questions I?m beset by an intense vertiginous feeling ? like I?m teetering on the edge of infinity, terrified that I might have a eureka moment, terrified that the veil might be fleetingly drawn back and I would then have to bear the terrible weight of knowing.




Officer Dibble ? in philosophical mood

[Steve R]

Officer Dibble wrote:
>higher authority for them to petition and beg
> for salivation.


Indeed, how we crave the Lord's spittle to give meaning to the sojourn on Death Row that is the actuality we find ourselves in.

[planeterotica]

Indeed we are earh likened to mere grains of sand in a desert when you compare the few years that we exist on this earch to the millions of years that the universe has existed, so when i hear authoritarian types laying down the law i think you arsehole, when you was born onto this earth for your short space of time who gave you the right to tell me what to do. !annoyed!

[DanG]

Cogito Ergo Sum, Dibble....

[Deano!]

Well, never forget that while science and logic make sense to us in our own minds, that isn't an absolute guarentee that its 100% right.

I hate people like me. Still, its amazing how many people go through life without ever trying or wanting to know more than the footy results.

[eroticartist]

Dibble,

This is a simplistic statement as it is obvious that if no human beings existed, and you believe that humans are the only beings who have a cognitive ability, then their would be no-one around to think!

However who is to say that there are not other non-human species in the Universe who do not think? In the Torah it talks of the Nephilim a non-human race that came down to the Earth and found the female human so attractive that they lay with them and produced half human half Nephilim beings.

Is consciousness and logic necessarily an element of a higher being? What about beings whose central nervous system is based on imagery?

Mike Freeman.

[Officer Dibble]

?Well I doubt that matter itself would be destroyed in the cataclysm you describe?

I wasn?t aware that I had described a cataclysm. I simply said ?a cataclysm? - that being one of an unspecified nature. However, it may be interesting to speculate what kind of cosmic calamity might befall the earth?

Well, first off, asteroid, comet, or even planetary impacts are very real (though thankfully rare) possibilities. Events of this nature have happened many times in pre-history and were they to do so again would have the gravest consequences for humanity and it?s survival (as indeed it did for the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago). There's also the (remote) possibility that our sun might one day start ?playing up?. Even the smallest changes in the sun?s state would have negative implications for life on earth. It is inevitable that one day, millions of yours hence, the sun, in it?s death throws, will expand to all but encompass the orbit of earth and all will be consumed. Then there?s the possibility of a star in our sector of the galaxy going ?Super-Nova?. The resulting gamma ray burst would sterilize the earth.

These events, though possibly terminal for humanity, would not of course annihilate matter itself ? but there are more exotic possibilities that would. The mathematics suggest that when the all the matter in the universe was created during the ?big bang? an equal amount of ?anti-matter? must have been created as well. But we cannot detect it, and where it may be remains a mystery to us. Anyhow, anti-matter has the very interesting property of when it is brought into contact with regular matter (the kind we are made of) both types of matter immediately annihilate each other in a massive burst of energy. So if there are any stray chunks of anti-matter meandering through the galaxy and they came into contact with the earth (or the sun) it would be goodnight Vienna. There wouldn?t even be a residue. Another possibility is a marauding black hole. Even one the size of a grapefruit might ultimately devour the earth or even the sun. In fact, in future, we must be very wary of producing an experimental black hole on earth, for if it escaped from the lab it would immediately sink to the centre of the earth from where it would devour the whole planet and everyone on it. Once matter has been sucked into a black hole it is not just destroyed it leaves our space-time continuum, and, as far as we are concerned, ceases to exist. You can?t get more ?destroyed? than that.


?the Shrodinger's cat experiment if you read into it is meant to express something serious?

And pray, Sir. What might that be?


?Quantum physics is actually very well understood?

REALLY? By whom? The greatest minds on the planet are wrestling with the issue of quantum mechanics and it?s mind-boggling implications. So if you know someone who has got it sussed I?m sure Stephen Hawking and all that mob at Cambridge would love to have a chat with them. American Physicist, Richard Feynman, who worked on the Manhattan project with Opphenhimer, and later went on the win a Nobel Prize for his work on quantum electrodynamics once said ? ?I think that I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.?

And speaking at a lecture in London ? ?What I am going to tell you about is what we teach our physics students in the third or fourth year of graduate school... It is my task to convince you not to turn away because you don't understand it. Hey, my own physics students don't understand it... That is because I don't understand it. Nobody does.?

Even Albert Einstein could never reconcile himself or his work with quantum mechanics, and famously said ?God does not play dice.? ? referring to the ?uncertainty principle? inherent in quantum mechanics.


?and not quite the sci-fi area you might think.?

What gave you the impression I thought it was sci-fi?


?Every time you look at a street lamp or a neon tube you are seeing a bit of quantum physics in action, same goes for photosynthesis.?

Er, quite. It has been clear for some time that quantum mechanics as well as Einstein?s relativity are the mechanisms (those that we are currently aware of) that underpin the workings of the whole universes.

?The terrible weight of knowing might surprise you.?

I?m intrigued. Knowing what? And how might I be surprised?


Oh, and by the way, if there are any Guardian readers out there that have been inspired by my discourse to look further into the fascinating world of physics I?ve found just the right university to cater for your further studies in an ethical, progressive, and socially aware manner -






Officer Dibble

[Officer Dibble]

What are you on about, Mike? Are you talking about those funky Ra?lian dudes and their founder, Rael? If you are it?s cool, because those dudes came to us in invisible flying saucers from Alpha Centuri (or such like) to spread the message of free love and non-stop knobbing.



You know, Mike, I had you down as a Raelian ever since you?ve been posting here. Yes, you can?t fool Officer Dibbs, I?ve got a nose for these things. Hey, you know, I nearly joined the ?Men In Black? once? Yes, it?s true. They gave me the knock back though ? I didn?t make it past the psychological. Apparently, they?ve turned all PC of late and when I made it clear that I wanted to join up because I was really keen to zap some scummy aliens, they had an attack of the vapors.

So, Mike, where do you park your Flying Saucer? I know some Raelian dudes use extinct volcanoes, but they?re a bit sparse in metropolitan London. Does it fit in the garage? Anyhow, I've been thinking about joining up. I like the look of those Raelian birds. They seem a cut above yer average urban chav slapper. When?s your next communal knobbing session? I don?t want to miss that. And what about exchange visits to Alpha Centuri? Is it true that it?s customary for Realien blokes step out in public with their knobs out and greet members of the opposite sex with a huge throbbing stonka?...



Officer Dibble