Saturday, July 3, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
back to religion
I do have a kind of faith. A faith in the greater good, perhaps, in some kind of emergent whole. I wonder, is this a proof of God’s existence:
When we look at any system, any system at all, we discover that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. Emergent properties are everywhere. A car is so much more than the parts that constitute it. And a cell, well, a cell is certainly much more than the molecules it contains. And we see this emergent design principle at all levels: the colony is more than the ants; the human is more than her cells; the corporation more than it’s employees. And on and on. At every level there are emergent properties that the constituent parts cannot perceive: the ant can’t see the colony; the organelle can’t ‘see’ the cell; the individual cannot see the behaviour of the crowd. So, by induction, so to speak, there must be properties emerging from the sum of all the perceivable parts of the universe: every other system has emergent properties, so it seems certain that the system we call a universe (or, if we want to start more modestly, we could take it one galaxy at a time, but ultimately we’ll reach the same point) must also have emergent properties that the constituent parts of that universe cannot perceive.
That means us. There must be properties of our universe that are not perceptible form our level, but only emerge from a viewpoint of a level up. And perhaps, just perhaps, we can call the system as a whole, complete with its emergent properties, God. And even if we don’t give it that name, it exists as something greater than we can know. It must do. Every system is greater than the sum of its parts – that is the lesson of complexity and emergent design.
When we look at any system, any system at all, we discover that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. Emergent properties are everywhere. A car is so much more than the parts that constitute it. And a cell, well, a cell is certainly much more than the molecules it contains. And we see this emergent design principle at all levels: the colony is more than the ants; the human is more than her cells; the corporation more than it’s employees. And on and on. At every level there are emergent properties that the constituent parts cannot perceive: the ant can’t see the colony; the organelle can’t ‘see’ the cell; the individual cannot see the behaviour of the crowd. So, by induction, so to speak, there must be properties emerging from the sum of all the perceivable parts of the universe: every other system has emergent properties, so it seems certain that the system we call a universe (or, if we want to start more modestly, we could take it one galaxy at a time, but ultimately we’ll reach the same point) must also have emergent properties that the constituent parts of that universe cannot perceive.
That means us. There must be properties of our universe that are not perceptible form our level, but only emerge from a viewpoint of a level up. And perhaps, just perhaps, we can call the system as a whole, complete with its emergent properties, God. And even if we don’t give it that name, it exists as something greater than we can know. It must do. Every system is greater than the sum of its parts – that is the lesson of complexity and emergent design.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Football (one way 3)
I was, in the last installment, describing my fall out with religion, but digressed into a fashion diatribe, of sorts.
Well, the departure from religion was further fuelled by shiksas and football. Football is the topic for now, the shiksas are a long and involved story, and will have to wait.
Always loved football. Hours and hours playing keepie-up in the back garden; and I recall the time when the ball flew straight through the kitchen window (which was not open), and landed right in the cooking pot. No dinner for one night, no pocket money for weeks. But football has always been a great draw. And the team, the team, the QPR team of the seventies, Stanley Bowles, Gerry Francis, El Tel, Dave Thomas, wonderful team.
And how, you might ask, does this clash with religion? Well, the cub scout's team always played on Saturday afternoons. Long walks along the brook to Gainsbrough recreation ground, footie footie footie. And when I got picked for the Chalkwell Juniors school team, left back, and eventually vice captain, it was Saturday mornings. Tough choice - go to shul or play football. No, easy choice. And, basically, one transgression leads to another. Season ticket for the Rs, even a trip to Wembley, twice, a draw and a lost replay, to a penalty, so close, so close....
And was this the start of the travel bug... fortnightly trips to London as a teenager, mostly alone, independent, calm, and lost in the motion of motion...
And now, nearly thirty years on, I still love to watch the games from afar, Saturday premier league, live, great stuff...
Well, the departure from religion was further fuelled by shiksas and football. Football is the topic for now, the shiksas are a long and involved story, and will have to wait.
Always loved football. Hours and hours playing keepie-up in the back garden; and I recall the time when the ball flew straight through the kitchen window (which was not open), and landed right in the cooking pot. No dinner for one night, no pocket money for weeks. But football has always been a great draw. And the team, the team, the QPR team of the seventies, Stanley Bowles, Gerry Francis, El Tel, Dave Thomas, wonderful team.
And how, you might ask, does this clash with religion? Well, the cub scout's team always played on Saturday afternoons. Long walks along the brook to Gainsbrough recreation ground, footie footie footie. And when I got picked for the Chalkwell Juniors school team, left back, and eventually vice captain, it was Saturday mornings. Tough choice - go to shul or play football. No, easy choice. And, basically, one transgression leads to another. Season ticket for the Rs, even a trip to Wembley, twice, a draw and a lost replay, to a penalty, so close, so close....
And was this the start of the travel bug... fortnightly trips to London as a teenager, mostly alone, independent, calm, and lost in the motion of motion...
And now, nearly thirty years on, I still love to watch the games from afar, Saturday premier league, live, great stuff...
Race Race
US election fever, come and almost gone. Throughout, so many claims that it's not about race, yet afterwards, race seems to be the main thing worthy of "news". Very strange. Obama to change the world? To stop American posturing? to stop bombing of sovereign countries? to single-handedly fix the world's economy? He's a man, and a sworn subscriber to the American dream. Even a charming, intelligent man of mixed race can't work miracles.
People can hope that the symbolism will somehow become real, and maybe the dynamic optimism dominoes can really ripple out to real change....dream on, world....
People can hope that the symbolism will somehow become real, and maybe the dynamic optimism dominoes can really ripple out to real change....dream on, world....
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
RossWiki
Set up a wiki for first semester med students at Ross.
Currently, very low participation, and it looks like it might need several cohorts to get the thing really going. But, the contributions are begining to come in, so, hopefully....
Will report again, periodically.
http://rosswikijan2008.pbwiki.com/
Currently, very low participation, and it looks like it might need several cohorts to get the thing really going. But, the contributions are begining to come in, so, hopefully....
Will report again, periodically.
http://rosswikijan2008.pbwiki.com/
Sunday, December 16, 2007
climate change
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/12/11/rigged/ for some wonderful comments on the lack of will to change anything...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)