The Physically Unknowable

“The universe is keeping secrets from us….”

People say that no one has all the answers. In fact, no one can have all the answers, even if they have some place to store all that information. Some things are simply unknowable. This isn’t just my opinion – this is according to accepted theory. Strangely, some unknowable information occurs in physics, which is contrary to the idea that we can learn as much as we want about something, as long as we have adequate technology. Continue reading “The Physically Unknowable”

Mythology And Data Compression

“…it’s interesting to see a connection between something so old and something as modern as computer technology.”

While in school (years ago), I heard mythology described as an attempt by some cultures to explain various natural phenomena. That gave me the impression that a member of such a culture would believe in what a myth from his culture told him. I thought this made cultures with myths seem naive. Did people really believe that the sky is carried on the shoulders of a giant god named Atlas?[1] Continue reading “Mythology And Data Compression”

The Spirit of the Forest

“Can a forest really behave as a whole in a way that seems intelligent and also protect itself and its contents?”

I rarely get to visit a large forest, but I have noticed even a small forest of a few acres seems to have a “presence” about it, like a hint of consciousness. Being in a forest can even give me the feeling of being watched. I don’t think this watchful presence feeling is from specific plants or animals in the forest, but maybe all of them together, possibly in combination with the land features as well. Or maybe it’s something else in the forest, something not visible.

Continue reading “The Spirit of the Forest”

Conspiracy and More

“Is there by chance an agenda?”

Rewards and penalties have guided individuals and society throughout human history. As generalizations of pleasure and pain, rewards and penalties can be very strong motivators. In fact, rewards alone are enough to help teach dogs some sophisticated tricks. Rewards and penalties together are of course useful for raising children as well as shaping commerce and other dealings in human society. After all, most people like rewards such as ice cream or money, and few people like punishment such as being grounded or spending time in jail.

But there can be too much of a good thing. Continue reading “Conspiracy and More”

Space Pilgrims

“Nomenclature aside, how much energy is required to get every living human off the Earth and relocated elsewhere?”

When we Americans talk about “the Pilgrims,” we usually are talking about the group of English settlers who came to North America in 1620 in search of religious freedom. They celebrated a good fall harvest the following year, which became the first Thanksgiving.[1] In general, a pilgrim is someone who makes a journey for religious purposes.

What then is a space pilgrim?  Suppose the entire population of the Earth needed to evacuate the planet and relocate elsewhere. Continue reading “Space Pilgrims”

Coming Back From the Dead

“Nature can of course surprise us.”

We find stories of people coming back from the dead in fiction as well as legends, myths, and religions. Coming back from the dead tends to mean becoming alive again, after being dead long enough to remove doubt about being dead. At the more real end of the spectrum, common sense suggests it’s not a safe bet if we’re talking about being dead for a long time, at least outside of religious contexts. Fiction, on the other hand, has no problem with having people walking and talking again after being dead for years or even decades or centuries. How possible is it for someone to come back from being dead for years, without preparation like cryogenics? Continue reading “Coming Back From the Dead”

Ghosts, Luck, And Curses

“While alive, we all have effects on our environment that have varying degrees of permanence.”

Yes, I’m discussing ghosts, luck, and curses – and just in time for Halloween.  Utter nonsense, you say?  We’ll see.  These things are more related – and possible – than you think.  What exactly is a ghost?  The Merriam-Webster web site defines a ghost as a disembodied soul.[1]  I’m going to use the term spirit instead of soul and focus on the consciousness aspect of it in this discussion.  So I would expect a spirit to contain a person’s thoughts, feelings, and memories but without physical sensations or requirements such as hunger or tiredness.  In my opinion, a spirit is what we generally interact with when we interact with someone on a psychological or intellectual level. Continue reading “Ghosts, Luck, And Curses”

The Hidden Circle in a Simple Harmonic Oscillator

“Yes, there is definitely a circle there.”

When I was in college, it didn’t make sense to me that the position of an object on the end of a spring should be described by a function like sine or cosine, as in:

Circle SHO_html_25de8e68

It’s just a simple harmonic oscillator. All the thing does is move back and forth. Why is there a function from trigonometry when I don’t see any circles or angles involved? Continue reading “The Hidden Circle in a Simple Harmonic Oscillator”

Should You Run In the Rain

“The results are telling….”

Suppose it’s raining outside and you need to go some short distance on foot, maybe to a building 50 feet away. Should you run or should you walk, in order to stay drier? Opinions can vary and may include “always run,” “always walk,” “it doesn’t matter,” or “it depends.” Of course the choice of the better approach always depends at least a little on the specific situation, but maybe we can arrive at some kind of general answer for the question.

Continue reading “Should You Run In the Rain”

Could Unicorns Exist in Nature?

“My question is not whether they do exist today, but whether unicorns have had enough time to evolve as such and breed that way consistently….”

With the help of fairy tales and entertainment companies like Disney, many people have some idea what a unicorn is. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary says that a unicorn generally looks like a horse with a single horn on its forehead.[1] This agrees with popular fictional media, except this popular fiction tends to depict unicorns only as horses with single horns, instead of also allowing (e.g.) cloven hooves. In my definition, I’m siding with popular fiction and including only members of the genus Equus, whose only known living members are horses, zebras, and donkey relatives. None of these happen to have cloven hooves. (A genus is a level of taxonomy, a means of classifying living things. The traditional taxonomy levels – taxons – from top to bottom are: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.) Let nature genetically put a single horn on the head of any species of the genus Equus, and I would call it a unicorn. Continue reading “Could Unicorns Exist in Nature?”