Niels Bohr (1885-1962), one of the twentieth century's most distinguished
scientific thinkers, once offered the following opinion:
Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be
regarded as real.
Reality. What is real?
Many years ago I had a friend - quite firm in this materialist
and atheistic opinion - who would surprise me from time to time with his
outburst that "we and the universe may all be contained inside the pus in a zit
on an old woman's nose." His version of open-mindedness.
Not that he seriously entertained such a thought, I truly don't
believe, but he was deeply into quantum theory and helped introduce me to this
strange attempt to determine what may or may not be real. We used to get
together on weekends and drink and discuss such things and life in general. At
the time I was in my Deistic phase, having abandoned my Christian
fundamentalism. Our conversations were lively and mostly fruitless. In the end
we agreed that reality was a bit more complex that our puny minds. Still, we had
fun.
But what if "all this" is only a dream (some might suggest a
nightmare) and all of us are sleeping in this same dream?
Like a dream, sometimes life makes sense and other times not so much.
Thinkers have come up with all kinds of models for understanding reality, and
none without its share of weaknesses. The more committed we become to one model
or another, the more we tend to dismiss alternative views as delusions and those
who hold these alternate views as deluded.
I clearly see organization when I look at the cosmos, but the telos (end
purpose) seems unclear, perhaps even bizarre and pointless. I get frustrated. I
doubt myself and doubt others. I wonder if anyone of us can be trusted in our
attempts to make sense of things. Does it matter in the end whether we figure it
all out?
Taking part seems to be more important that figuring it all out. Still,
I wonder. I still have some definite opinions about things, but I sure do hold
them less tightly than ever before.
It's at these times when I'm low in spirit that the nonsensical or hard to
understand bothers me most. I guess I crave simple things. And I wish life was
simple enough to be understood. (Sigh.)
4 comments:
Ah yes. The earnest desire to know. The inability to do so.
Wellsprings of both faith and science, one of which typically considers doubt anathema, the other saying essentially 'take no one's word for it' - the motto of the Royal Society.
I would become bored, I fear.
@ Exrelayman,
How I wish I knew the answer. At least I think I do. Perhaps if I did there would be no sense of wonder and I would be truly depressed for certain.
I think even in the "faithiest" religions there is doubt and questioning - "faith" is not only something to gain but also to hold on to. And with apologies to the Royal Society, I believe scientists, too, often fall prey to authoritarianism, and the maverick thinkers are quite frowned upon.
@ Diane,
I would get bored, I think, if I didn't have at least a glimmer of hope that all this is more than pointless.
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