Archive for Philosophy

The Great Galactic “Rip” – My Take

March 3, 2009 at 10:40 pm · Filed under Philosophy ·Tagged , , , , ,

I was reading an article today, about the current scientific theories of the expansion of the universe–and the fact that that expansion is apparently accelerating.  I have a theory of my own about that….

According to one theory, the so-called “Dark Energy” may actually be more powerful than the effect of the force of gravity.  If so, then the most distant galaxies will eventually be too far away to be seen from the earth…and in about a 50-100 billion years, or so, even the stars in our own galaxy will seemingly be flung away into the void, and finally the earth will explode, and the subatomic particles will fall apart completely.  Ouch!

But I think a far more simple explanation may be in order for what may be pushing the most distant galaxies away faster than Gravity can pull ‘em back towards the center.

Pressure.

That’s right…I believe that simple gas pressure, like the force that expands a Helium balloon, may be what’s pushing the galaxies apart.

Physicists have already proved in laboratory experiments that what we think of as ‘vacuum’ is not really empty.  In fact, the empty reaches of space are filled with a veritable sea of “virtual” particles.  In any given location, energy fluctuations may give rise to the spontaneous creation of particle-anti-particle pairs, such as electrons and positrons, or protons and anti-protons, etc.  Now, we have seen that there really is something in the universe akin to Einstein’s “Cosmological Constant”; and in particle accelerators, Positrons and Anti-protons decay into other particles, while electrons and protons, seemingly, are stable.  (At least, the matter in our bodies are not spontaneously flashing into pure energy, so it sure feels stable, anyway…).

Given this disparity between matter and anti-matter, and given the evidence of virtual particle-antiparticle pairs in the vacuum of space, it stands to reason that somehow, matter is being created in the empty space between the galaxies.

Let’s say, for example, that an electron and a positron come into existence somewhere between the local group and the next cluster of galaxies.  There is a chance that either one of those particles may decay into another form before both are consumed in a reaction with another positron or electron from another spontaneous reaction.  But the chance of the positron disintegrating is much higher than the chance for the electron.  That means that, nine times out of ten, there is going to be a loose electron that has no antiparticle to “level out” its existence.  Given millions, billions, or even trillions of such odd-particles-out, that distant void will gradually fill up with gas–mostly hydrogen–which begins to rain down on the galaxies.   And with that gas is coming momentum–as each virtual pair emerges from the background, the energy which spawned the pair is imparted on the particles as well!  Momentum and Mass are constantly being ADDED to the universe, simply because of the lifespan of antimatter!

If I am correct, then the “Big Rip” predicted by Physicists will not happen.  Instead, over billions of years, we will be able to observe the formation of new galaxies, the rebirth of star-formation in existing galaxies, and the eternal expansion of a universe that, in fact, can NEVER die, because its birth and rebirth have never actually ended!

And, in fact, there is some evidence that this is occurring.  astronomers have detected Hydrogen gas falling into the Milky Way from ouside, from the void over what they consider the “top” of our great galaxy.  Hydrogen gas, pouring in from the void, where the decay of antimatter from virtual particle-antiparticle pairs would leave behind the protons and electrons that make it up, and imparted with the momentum resulting from the spontaneous creation of virtual particle pairs, would collectively have just enough energy to give the galaxies that minute “kick” that our physicists are observing as “Dark Energy.”  The gas itself would represent the “missing mass” that we see in the observable universe, and the momentum of creation should be just about enough to account for “dark energy.”

Thus, I suggest, we have found the true secret of the expanding universe:  The Creation has never ended.  Our universe continues to be created all around us…and therefore, maybe there IS no end.

Who knows?  It’s just my thoughts…from One who Watches.

SASS has Spoken.

– the SASS Man

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Watch for the Garbage Carriers!

April 2, 2008 at 9:16 pm · Filed under Philosophy

I got an email today. It’s one that’s been circulating a while … you probably know someone who sends emails with cute photographs or inspirational sayings. These things get passed virally from one person to twenty, and some of them go around the world multiple times.

Well, this was one that I think everyone ought to read, so I’m posting it here:

Beware of Garbage Trucks
by David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss,or an insensitive employee ruin your
day?

Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what’s important. Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.

”Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.’ So this was it: The ‘Law of the Garbage Truck.’

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, ‘I’m not going to do it anymore.’ I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie ‘The Sixth Sense,’ the little boy said,’I see Dead People.’ Well, now ‘I see Garbage Trucks.’ I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here’s my bet. You’ll be happier. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t. Believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, TAKE IT! If it changes your life, LET IT! Nobody said it would be easy…They just promised it would be worth it!

I know I’ll never think about people who dump on me the same way again.

What about you?

If you want to learn more, you can visit David J. Pollay’s site, The Law of the Garbage Truck™.

SASS has Spoken.

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Moral Objectivism – A Realistic Nightmare

November 15, 2007 at 11:07 am · Filed under Philosophy, Religion

I came across a piece of information today that struck my philosophical side. It’s a Wikipedia entry on “Moral Objectivism.” And it started me thinking.

I follow a religion that is filled with absolutes. I consider myself a Christian–at least, that is the way I was raised. In the Christian Bible, there are ten simple rules which are ABSOLUTE. These, of course, are the “Ten Commandments.” Now, it’s interesting to point out that these laws were given to the Jews as Absolute Commandments … rules which were to be obeyed at all times and in every way throughout a human being’s lifetime. If any one of these rules is broken–EVER–from the time a person’s born until that person dies, his or her eternal spirit is condemned to spend eternity suffering in a place of horrible torment. These laws are absolutely given, absolutely enforced … and absolutely impossible to obey every day for the entirety of a human life! In other words, for the believer in Jesus Christ, “Moral Objectivism” literally means “If you’re born, you are damned to eternity in hellfire” and there’s just no way out of it–at least, not unless you become a Christian and get “Saved” from the flames, etc…. This was my original exposure to “Moral Objectivism.”

Which is part of the reason so many people choose to REJECT Moral Objectivism entirely. The bottom line seems to be, that if, in fact, there are truly any absolutes in Moral reasoning, then the practitioners of some one religion is going to go to some form of Paradise, and everyone else is going to burn. Now, this could be Christianity; or it could be Hinduism, or Paganism, or Buddhism, or Zen, or Mormonism, of the Moonies, or Opus Dei, or even the “First Preslyterian Church of Elvis the Divine” for all we know! And, in fact, this line of reasoning has lead to quite a few wars; even today, there are nut cases who strap on bombs and grenades in order to break my aforementioned Commandments in subservience to a twisted form of somebody else’s Moral Absolutism.

BULLSHIT! There CANNOT be more than one “ABSOLUTE” Right-and-Wrong. If, in fact, there are any absolutes at all, say the Moral Relativists, then there can only be ONE set of “Right-and-Wrong” for EVERYBODY–EVERYWHERE. And there obviously isn’t. (They say.)

What a pickle.

On one hand, we seem to know “just by instinct” that some things are Wrong. And yet, the next thing we know, there’s some [insert your own demeaning slang here] person doing Exactly what we instinctively Know is wrong. How can They know right from wrong, when they don’t even know that [insert your own taboo here] is wrong! (Add lots of exclamations for emphasis….)

Well, I’ll try to explain it all. The truth just got a whole lot more complicated. Point of fact, none of us truly know right from wrong to begin with. And if we did, we’d probably find out to our horror that every damn one of us is WRONG!!! If you happen to follow the Christian doctrine, like I do, you’ll quickly find out that no matter what you think, you’ve already done it wrong, and it’s a serious enough mistake that no other consideration matters. Absolute truth means absolute damnation, and it makes no difference whether I try to be morally wright or turn to the foulest of evil. Damned is damned, end of argument.

Christanity is not alone in this “Bang! You’re damned” approach to winning converts, either. I think most other religions have some similar set of “Absolute” truths that can only be relieved by serving the tenants of the faith obediently until salvation, release, or some sort of “Nirvana” is achieved.

So as human beings, we find ourselves left in a world in which there are indeed “Absolute” right and moral actions; we just can’t achieve them. That forces those who wish to embrace the ideals of all people to reject absolute truths by the very principle of it. Because unless group “A” believes in the same standards of right and wrong as group “B”, we cannot entertain Moral Objectivism without condemning the other group. I disagree. I say you CAN embrace the other group if you are willing to accept that it is your own beliefs that fall outside the “absolute right.” As a Christian, I am well aware how hard it is not to do or say anything that my God told me not to do or say. I CAN’T. But, I CAN try to love my fellow person. I can do that. And I won’t try to reject the idea that some things are just “Right” whether I think they should ought to be or not. We are still responsible for the consequences of our actions, objective, relative or otherwise.

I not only throw out the baby with the bathwater in this case, I throw out the entire concept of this acid wash reasoning. “Morals” can, are, and must be the domain of individual and personal responsibility. Because we are a race of “Sinners” as it were, we have no foundation to hold others accountable for what we ourselves deem to be “Moral”. Collectively, and individually, we are immoral beings, that’s just all there is to it. “For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God” reads a passage in the Christan Bible. Each and every one has sinned, will sin, and our perceptions and morals are twisted by sin for as long as we continue to be human. “Morals” must never be used as a criteria to judge a Human being. The Christian God has already done that … and every last one of us born of human fathers has failed that test forever.

The conflict is absolute. Morals cannot be objectively judged by human beings. What’s more, the idea of morals must never be fully rejected by a human being! We NEED our morals to help guide us to do what is (mostly) right to one another! But for objective, multi-cultural and cross-class relationships, we must use other means to judge the goodness or badness of individual actions. Absolute wrong is absolutely useless. My morals can never be yours or anyone else’s to judge.

And with that, I wash my hands of “Moral Objectivism” versus “Moral Relativism.” These ethics cannot function in a polytheistic or multinational environment. We have reached a threshold in which we must choose an alternative means for building the standards of our society. Moral anything will no longer cut it.

SASS has spoken.

Good night.

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