Something From Nothing

I find that debating people is hopeless because everyone has their mind made up on their positions and rather than being openminded, people just defend their viewpoint. To save society at this critical time we all need to listen to the other side and use critical thinking skills.

When in a debate I usually don't think of a good response until after the fact, which at least makes me sharper for the next debate. But it's no use because if I get a few "zingers" in that only makes the other person more defensive and angry. PEOPLE DON'T WANT THEIR MINDS CHANGED. They like holding on to their stories, whatever they may be.

So, I don't really know what to do other than to listen and make a few points in the hopes that I am at least putting cracks in their walls. People don't like it when I disagree with them. They are frustrated when I don't swallow the dogma and regurgitate the script of southern white America. Please forgive me when I question, it's just that we are facing so much social and environmental peril right now that I feel like I must stick my neck out a little.

Before the Big Bang

Last week I talked about our evolution leading up to the Big Bang, which cosmologists are now able to date to 13.8 billions years ago. Just a few million years after this event the chemical building blocks of life started to form, which eventually led to us.

Now, to review from my past posts, we are mostly made up of hydrogen, which is the basic element of the Universe. In the super-heated furnaces of dying stars more complex elements are formed and when those stars explode they blast their dust everywhere. So, anything in our body more complex than hydrogen was made by a star. We are, indeed, stardust and no magician made us from a handful of dirt.

Until recently the belief was that before the singularity, where the Big Bang happened, there was simply no time or space. However, newer theories suggest otherwise. A more recent theory states that there is no such thing as nothingness, but rather, between the protons, and even between the quarks, there is open space where particles come and go out of existence. So, there never was nothing and at the time of the Big Bang that "something" apparently just changed form.

The point being is that there is no need for a creator or fairy tales to explain our creation. Physicists and cosmologists are slowly unraveling the mysteries of the Universe. To prove that a God triggered the Big Bang there is no way to create an experiment or apply math. If you really want to prove a mystery, capture some dark matter because no one really has. Getting some in a box would take us to the next level in understanding the Universe.

To learn more on this topic I recommend you study the works of theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss. His book, A Universe From Nothing, goes into more detail about the Big Bang or you can catch some of his lectures on YouTube.

Who Am I

As I try to figure out the mysteries of life and the Universe, I've also been trying to figure myself out more. In the human brain there are places that are similar to the deepest parts of the ocean — they are areas that hold great mysteries and remain unexplored. Even at age 59 I'm still trying to understand myself. For instance, sometimes I think I subconsciously sabotage my romantic relationships and I'm not sure why. The biggest problem I see is that people are unwilling to acknowledge their flaws. Their behaviors are always "right" and it's always the other person who does things "wrong." It would be helpful if we all did some serious introspection and learned to acknowledge the parts of us we don't like. Self-improvement and understanding needs to be an ongoing part of our life journey.

Rouge Leaders

On another topic I can't express enough my loathing and disdain for the current president. The man is a walking train wreck. But then I see the rise of these near-autocrat, right-wing politicians around the world. What's going on?

As I mentioned a few blog posts ago, race has been a main driver in American politics for 150 years. Now, we have immigration, and the fear it creates, to shape politics.

The irony is that there is a perpetual loop in place where citizens in wealthier nations panic when they see all the "different" people flooding their country. That's when they elect extremist leaders who promise to take action against immigrants. These wealthy countries produce more than their fair share of carbon, which affects the weather and causes droughts, famines, and natural disasters. These events, in turn, trigger human emigration as desperate people, who may have lost their farm or home, struggle to survive. It's a really screwed up situation and will only get worse as sea levels rise and more neighborhoods simply go underwater. Evangelicals will scream that God is punishing us for gay marriage and abortion, but the only thing that matters is physics. More carbon in the atmosphere means a greater greenhouse effect. So you can bitch about Al Gore flying around in a private jet but the real problem begins with the millions of American cars that are spewing out CO2 every day. Pray about that all you want.

But, anyway, to quote Mr. Krauss:

Unfortunately, the politics of fear that is promoting the rise of autocratic politicians is producing policies that are likely making [environmental] problems far worse. It is hard to see how this vicious cycle will easily end.  

Over the years I've come to view both religion and metaphysics as not only escapism but a serious danger to the world. In addition to serving as a distraction from the serious problems we face, religion also promotes fantasy thinking in other parts of life as well. The end result is that we have a society disconnected from reality. Where I live in the Atlanta, Georgia suburbs there are churches EVERYWHERE. Now, if people actually followed the teachings of Jesus we'd easily have a sustainable world. Jesus lived a simple lifestyle, spoke against the evils of wealth, and promoted nonviolence. The American Christian is NOTHING like the Jesus presented in the four Gospels. It's all a charade, a sham, and a joke. It's weird that religion and greedy corporations are speeding up the end of humanity, but, if you study cosmology you will find that the Universe is full of weirdness. So, I guess it's no big deal. But it is a big deal because of all the other lifeforms we are killing along with us. If I sound a little angry at religion, well, yeah, I am.


Additional Reading: Nuclear Synthesis (written in easy-to-understand English)

Photo: A. L.

Seven Billion Billion Billion Atoms and the XR Movement

I am in awe of the opportunity to briefly be alive and experience the Universe. I can't believe how anyone can NOT be in amazement, yet most people simply go through their lives in pre-recorded patterns and only focus on their immediate gratification. But a few us are sentient, and whether we like it or not, we are given an awareness of the overall world.

Nearly 14 billion years ago the mysterious Big Bang occurred, sending zillions of hydrogen atoms everywhere. Through fusion and heat, eventually atoms fused into more complex elements. At one miraculous point the complex atoms formed into living cells and those cells grew into spectacularly complex lifeforms. So, wow, here I am, alive, for a brief period of time. The cool thing is that of the trillions of atoms in our body, two-thirds of them are still basic hydrogen, and a quarter of our atoms are a slightly more complex atom — oxygen. So, the point being is that we are not very different from the Universe itself.

I know a lot of people brush off the miracle of life with a religious story, and in my opinion that's an insult to our Universe. There was no magician who made us out of dirt — that was just a story that ancient people created to "fill the gap" until we could figure things out more.

Sentient Beings

All my life my brain has been in constant overdrive and I think way too much. As a child I grew up in a super religious household and I remember trying to figure out how "Jesus came into your heart." At age 8 I pictured a bunch of little scientists in my brain pushing buttons, and when I became a Christian they were all thrown out, and Jesus sat in the middle of my brain with a glowing light behind him.

I'm a firm believer in the 80-20 rule which is roughly the same composition of air — 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, and the other 1% is argon, carbon dioxide, and other trace gases. I believe that human awareness is the same composition. Eighty percent of humanity eats, poops, and screws without ever questioning their existence -- they just continue on with the recordings that their parents put in their heads. The other 20% of humanity is aware of their existence and are usually sympathetic to the environmental issues that affect us. But it's that wonderful 1% of humanity who are the activists and organizers, and who make things happen in the world. These are the people who are humanitarians, environmental leaders, and politicians. They are the ones who chart the course for the future and even protect and guide us. I love these special people and they are the ones who give me hope.

Extinction Rebellion & Climate Change

I am just now learning about a new movement called the Extinction Rebellion, which conducts demonstrations around the world to raise awareness to climate change. These activists have my deepest respect. While millions of people are in church this morning, singing a few octaves off key, there are other people on hunger strikes and risking arrest to try and save our planet.

For 100 years we've been sucking oil out of the ground and burning it for transportation, warmth, electricity, and to run our factories. We've learned how to make thousands of products out of the black goop, which are all aimed at making our lives better and more comfortable. For this convenience we are paying a horrible price — we are sacrificing the future of our planet and children for the sake of convenience and comfort now. Well, golly, isn't that what we humans always do?

As a crotchety old environmentalist, I must admit I dig all the rhetoric of the Extinction Movement. But even if we plant millions of trees a day the best we can hope for is a carbon neutral society, and reversing the damage from the last few decades will be an uphill struggle.

I am perplexed as to why conservatives are so dead-set against recognizing the climate fiasco. The favorite line they tell me is, "Well, scientists don't really know. In the 70s they predicted the Earth would become a giant ice ball." Hey, okay, as a kid I remember seeing those pictures. Okay, I give you credit for that. But now the science is concrete and the symptoms of climate change are real and all around us. We are the frog in the slowly boiling water

Allow me to share some of the text from the Extinction Rebellion website (also known as the XR Movement):

The symbol above represents extinction. The circle signifies the planet, while the hourglass inside serves as a warning that time is rapidly running out for many species. The world is currently undergoing a mass extinction event, and this symbol is intended to help raise awareness of the urgent need for change in order to address this crisis. Estimates are that somewhere between 30,000 and 140,000 species are becoming extinct every year in what scientists have named the Holocene, or Sixth Mass Extinction. This ongoing process of destruction is being caused by the impact of human activity. Such a catastrophic loss of biodiversity is highly likely to cause widespread ecosystem collapse and consequently render the planet uninhabitable for humans.

It's a given that industry will resist climate action because they fear it will hit their pocketbook. Politicians will resist because they are owned by industry. Religionists will resist because climate action doesn't fit into their story line. But the 1 percenters, the real activists of our time, will take take action, and the 20 percenters will at least support them, even if it's just to vote or writing a check. I have no ill will toward the 80 percent of the population who doesn't care and will do nothing. I'm quite sure humanity has always been this way and I accept that. So, go to your church, go to the mall, go to your NASCAR race, and indulge yourself in comforts created by oil. Live your fantasy life! Watch your reruns of the Batchelor on TV, smoke your weed, pop your antidepressants, shoot your gun at militia rallies, buy your MAGA hats, do whatever you want. Those individuals who are driven to make a positive change will carry on, in spite of you.

Summary

One of my epiphanies lately is that the people who are seen as the greatest Christians are simply passionate humanitarians. These individuals would be helping their fellow humans whether a "Christian" label is slapped on them or not. It's built into them. And most of who we are is already determined by a very young age. As I spend time with my granddaughter and see her outgoing personality I can assure you that she will be an extrovert throughout her life.

So, maybe the secret to saving humanity is to, well, I don't know. I don't know how much of our personality is influenced by early childhood or what is simply built into us. But if there's a way to influence children to be more environmentally conscious then that might be the key to saving our planet. One thing I do know and that is bombarding them with religious ideology is NOT the answer.


Photo: Hal Gatewood