clark (clark@netsites.net)
Tue, 16 Dec 1997 07:15:04 +0100
----------
From: Dave Thomas <dlt44@ipa.net>
To: Multiple recipients of <lilasqd@mail.hkg.com>
Subject: LS Re: The definition of Quality.
Date: Sunday, December 14, 1997 10:19 AM
Doug
Thanks for your effort to clear my muddled mind, but I'm still not there
yet.
I agree that this is one of the critical issues to be resolved.
> " But quantum theory has destroyed the idea that [ONLY] properties
located
> in external physical objects have reality."
>
> Robert M. Pirsig, page 14 in his paper
> "Subjects, Objects, Data and Values," presented at the Einstein Meets
> Magritte conference, Fall 1995.
But I'm still hung up on the [ONLY],my emphasis, in the above referenced
quote. I infer from this that man's reality always has a "subjective"
component which is I believe is born out by the quantum theory. But not
necessarily that there is no external "objective" component. And that while
SoM maintains that we can isolate that "objective" component MoQ maintains
we
cannot. That our reality is both rather and either and to separate this way
leads to whole catagories of phenomena that fit neither. So maybe you could
answer one or both of the following questions in terms of the quantum
theory
to clear this up for me.
If the phenomena we observe and call "quanta" forever and always disappears
from our universe would our reality markedly change?
Under quantum mechanics if all men die then the does phenomena we observe
and
call "quanta" cease to be? Would the then remaining universe,other than
man
being gone, markedly change? ie would the sun, earth, stars disappear or
change in any way?
I was not aware of Bohr's use of the Tao. The fact that it is both the
dominant Eastern icon in Western culture, to the point of being a cliché,
it's
was an obvious choice. Having a sine wave as the boundary is not something
I
had picked up on but that makes it even more appropriate as a vehicle for a
East/West combine.
Heard a new blurb that somewhere in Europe, Switzerland it think,
scientists
have succeeded in "teleporting" quanta. But that "Beam me up Scotty" is
still
a fur piece in the future. As an architect the dream of eliminating the
auto
from our built world makes me want to live to be a million years old in the
hopes that it someday happens. :-)
Still Seeking
Dave
-- post message - mailto:lilasqd@hkg.com unsubscribe/queries - mailto:diana@asiantravel.com homepage - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4670---------- Dave, Being retired I have time to sit here and mull over the back postings and I can see that you have been struggling with the Quanta questions lately. According to my understanding the world of the electron shell and the world of the atomic nucleus (all of them) are based on quantum effects. The world is discontinuous within the Planck (very,very small) distance and time and also on the level of the electron shell,(much larger) and maybe other places of which I am unaware. The Photon is also quantized as well as some, or maybe all, of the other elementary particles or waves. If all of these disappeared we would certainly disappear, along with the remainder of the universe. If we all died it should have no effect on the Earth or the universe at the physical level. The Earth was here and functioning beautifully before we came along and would again. In fact, the Earth (or Lovelock's Gaia) would be a healthier organism without us. If ALL life died on Earth, the Earth as a living organism would also die since it is life that maintains the distribution of the gases of the atmosphere as well as the film of biotic material that covers the Earth. Without life the Earth would regress to a dead planet as our other planets are now. More likely it would not go all the way since a reservoir of life that can live without oxygen would remain and evolution could start again. The plant life of the earth supplies and maintains the 21% oxygen that is present in the atmosphere of the Earth. Without life this level would be a fraction of 1% and not capable of supporting us. The Earth just happened to be in the correct size range to allow us to happen. Too little and it couldn't hold an atmosphere. Too big and gravity would start the thermonuclear reaction. Aren't we lucky? The quantum discussion on the Lila Squad is purely a human concern which the Earth and the Universe blithely ignores. I don't know the answer to your 'Only' question. I wish I did. The more you look at it the mysterioser and mysterioser it gets. We will still be the dunderheaded human race even if we don't get it figured out. Keep in mind that we are talking about an eye-blink when we talk about the history of the human race. Plenty of time for anything to happen. If we last that long we are probably not the final word in evolution. There may well be millions of other Daves and Kens out there worrying about the same problems. Lets relax and enjoy the ride. Ken
-- post message - mailto:lilasqd@hkg.com unsubscribe/queries - mailto:diana@asiantravel.com homepage - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4670
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