The Life Electronic

I have briefly discussed the concepts of advanced anthropomorphic androids, living cyborgs, biologically and mechanically augmented humans and animals, as well as artificial biological entities (ABE's.) I would like to introduce another unique concept to the current stream of dialog, electronic or software based life forms and electro-biological systems. It may seem that these entities are just advanced computers or AI infused androids, but the differentiation can be significant. Imagine if you will a system of life forms that exist within a framework (an electronic infrastructure) and is made up entirely of living code - electronic DNA. This electrobiomechanical system could start out being designed by humans for specific tasks (like maintaining the electrical grid of a metropolis.) This electronic system of beings would be fully functional and interactive, performing complex operations like communication, procreation, evolving and adapting to optimize their environment. Does this sound like the SF novel "Prey" by author Michael Crichton or SF cult-classic "The Lawnmower Man"? I think all too often we view emergent technologies with a "Frankenstinian" mentality. We should note that there might be those real life examples of rogue inventions and unforeseen effects, but that those effects and isolated agents would be mitigated by numerous limiting factors and would eventually be subdued and reformed. Even the worst serial killer always meets his or her end. The man-eating animals that we encounter often find their way onto the dinner table of some hunter. In short, it is the system itself (or the limiting factors within) that eliminates the more destructive or chaotic elements of that system. These artificial systems would branch out and become natural after some time - given that the software system was able to evolve and adapt as any other life form and biological system does. I know that this seems like a stretch, but it is absolutely possible. That being said, I'm not looking for the next version of Linux to procreate and re-route our power grid through the ionosphere. God knows it'll come close though!

Beware the Jabberwock

"Jabberwocky"

" 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird,
and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!
"He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
"He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe. "
- Lewis Carroll

"Jabberwocky" arguably the most famous nonsense poem ever published, was written by Lewis Carroll in 1871. Was Carroll simply musing about beasts from other worlds, or had he seen it himself? Either way its a great poem!

Bandersnatch – A swift moving creature with snapping jaws, capable of extending its neck.
Beamish - Radiantly beaming, happy, cheerful.
Borogove – A thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round, "something like a live mop". The initial syllable of borogove is pronounced as in boring rather than as in burrow.
Brillig – Four o'clock in the afternoon: the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.
Burbled – Possibly a mixture of "bleat", "murmur", and "warble". Burble is also a pre-existing word, circa 1303, meaning to form bubbles as in boiling water.
Chortled - Combination of chuckle and snort.
Frabjous - Possibly a blend of fair, fabulous, and joyous.
Frumious – Combination of "fuming" and "furious."
Galumphing - Perhaps a blend of "gallop" and "triumphant". Used to describe a way of "trotting" down hill, while keeping one foot further back than the other. This enables the Galumpher to stop quickly.
Gimble – To make holes as does a gimlet.
Gyre – To go round and round like a gyroscope. However, Carroll also wrote in Mischmasch that it meant to scratch like a dog. The g is pronounced like the /g/ in gold, not like gem.
Jubjub – A desperate bird that lives in perpetual passion.
Manxome – Fearsome; the word is of unknown origin.
Mimsy – Combination of "miserable" and "flimsy".
Mome – Possibly short for "from home," meaning that the raths had lost their way.
Outgrabe (past tense; present tense outgribe) – Something between bellowing and whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle.
Rath – A sort of green pig. (See Origin and structure for further details.)
Snicker-snack: An onomatopoeia of unclear meaning, possibly referring to sharpness

Slithy – Combination of "slimy" and "lithe." The i is long, as in writhe.
Tove – A combination of a badger, a lizard, and a corkscrew. They are very curious looking creatures which make their nests under sundials and eat only cheese. Pronounced so as to rhyme with groves. Note that "gyre and gimble," i.e. rotate and bore, is in reference to the toves being partly corkscrew by Humpty Dumpty's definitions.
Tulgey - Thick, dense, dark.
Uffish – A state of mind when the voice is gruffish, the manner roughish, and the temper huffish.
Vorpal - See vorpal sword.
Wabe – The grass plot around a sundial. It is called a "wabe" because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it, and a long way beyond it on each side.

Above is a list of definitions for the many odd words used in this poem, many from the author himself. * Wikipedia

Inner Space

Have you ever stopped to think about the way our world is set up, on an atomic or structural level? There's quite a bit more empty space than one might expect. As we peer down into the atomic and subatomic levels (the quantum scale) we find tiny particles whirling at nearly the speed of light in a big empty space. This space contains (as far as we know) absolutly nothing. It might seem a little childish to ask what this space is made of, to question its very nature, but I have done so on several occasions. If we consider the space to be purely "nothing" we have misunderstood its usefulness. The best analogy to describe the nature of space and the matter that is contained within it, would be music. Music is (at least in a physical sense) vibrational energy patterns within a background of silence. It is the silence that makes the sound of the music recognizable as a unique pattern. If behind a performing orchestra blared the continuous buzz of high-decibel white noise, it would be impossible to hear any distinguishable pattern to the music. If the white noise reached a certain level, all sound of the music would become drowned out in a deafening roar of fuzz and static. Just as shadow draws out visual form with the play of light, silence and sound can produce an audible form. Its the space between that allows our three dimensional world to manifest as it does. This space is anything but empty, (just like The Great Tao) it contains limitless possibility. If you were to look closer into this space with the right kind of vision you would find not just electrons whirling and protons and neutrons floating, but entire universes. The more you explore the spectrum the more you understand that it is infinite (there is no limit to the Omniverse, only our understanding.)

CERN (LHC) Update

CERN (from CERN press release)
Geneva, 30 April 2009. The 53^rd and final replacement magnet for CERN's¹ Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was lowered into the accelerator's tunnel today, marking the end of repair work above ground following the incident in September last year that brought LHC operations to a halt. Underground, the magnets are being interconnected, and new systems installed to prevent similar incidents happening again. The LHC is scheduled to restart in the autumn, and to run continuously until sufficient data have been accumulated for the LHC experiments to announce their first results.

"This is an important milestone in the repair process," said CERN's Director for Accelerators and Technology, Steve Myers. "It gets us close to where we were before the incident, and allows us to concentrate our efforts on installing the systems that will ensure a similar incident won't happen again."

The final magnet, a quadrupole designed to focus the beam, was lowered this afternoon and has started its journey to Sector 3-4, scene of the September incident. With all the magnets now underground, work in the tunnel will focus on connecting the magnets together and installing new safety systems, while on the surface, teams will shift their attention to replenishing the LHC's supply of spare magnets.

In total 53 magnets were removed from Sector 3-4. Sixteen that sustained minimal damage were refurbished and put back into the tunnel. The remaining 37 were replaced by spares and will themselves be refurbished to provide spares for the future.

"Now we will split our team into two parts," explained Lucio Rossi, Deputy head of CERN's Technology Department. "The main group will carry out interconnection work in the tunnel while a second will rebuild our stock of spare magnets."

The LHC repair process can be divided into three parts. Firstly, the repair itself, which is nearing completion with the installation of the last magnet today. Secondly, systems are being installed to monitor the LHC closely and ensure that similar incidents to that of last September cannot happen again. This work will continue into the summer. Finally, extra pressure relief valves are being installed to release helium in a safe and controlled manner should there be leaks inside the LHC's cryostat at any time in the machine's projected 15-20 year operational lifetime.

CERN is publishing regular updates on the LHC in its internal Bulletin, available at www.cern.ch/bulletin, as well as via twitter and YouTube at www.twitter.com/cern and www.youtube.com/cern

An Ordinary World

Ordinary - having no special characteristics, pertaining to the mundane and common.
We can scarcely call the lives we live ordinary, but what about the world we live in? It is ridiculous to ask the question from quantitative analysis perspective (and expect a real numerical answer.) The Omniverse is infinite, the universes it contains are infinite in quantity and in quality. Instead we should ask the question, "How orderly is our universe? or How chaotic is our universe?" It has been estimated that ~96% of our material universe is unaccounted for and ~96% of our DNA is also unaccounted for. We know so little about the world we live in today. The answers we search for are profound, however when we arrive at a sound conclusion, we may not understand its implications. Often we lack the correct questions to ask. It is my understanding (best guess) that the universe we live in is currently in a state which could be described as having a less than average degree of order. I do not think that our universe is overwhelmingly chaotic in nature, although the balance is tilted slightly in that direction. Our universe has a high degree of functionality - thus we exist! There are many "worlds" (universes) where the laws of physics are such that life cannot maintain itself as physical beings. Life or consciousness (I use them interchangeably) is always present in some form. Inside of a chaotic whirlwind of a universe consciousness may drift here and there as a disencorporate mind, engaged in an eternal dream. That floating mind may ask the same question, "How ordinary is my universe?" They may dream of strange objects, strange beings, strange universes where minds inhabit bodies and walk upon green grass. In the end it is a matter of perspective. One thing does seem astoundingly clear, this universe is not the most orderly universe that exists! I will leave you with a few questions: If you went to the most orderly universe, what do you think it would be like? Would it be more like a paradise or would it be more like a hell?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

A.I. update [Willow Garage PR2]

The Latest from Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

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Willow Garage robot continues to advance

Posted: 17 Jun 2009 03:46 AM PDT

Earlier this month, Willow Garage's Personal Robot 2 (PR2) robot successfully passed the second project milestone navigating an office environment, opening doors, and plugging in the electrical supply to recharge its batteries. The first milestone the robot successfully passed last December (if my memory serves me well) was about navigating around an office environment but without the requirement of opening doors.

According to the company, the robot navigated autonomously for nearly one hour passing through half open doors and locating power sockets while realizing a locked door was not passable and moving on to another one. Apparently, the robot's batteries allow it 3 to 6 hours of autonomous operation. PR2 has two compliant arms with 7 DOF each.

Willow Garage was founded only in 2006 and the robot they have constructed so far has some very impressive capabilities. Sure, it is no ASIMO but the team has much less money to work with that the Honda team. Let us also not forget that the same group is developing an open source operating system for robotics, support the open source player/stage robot control architecture, and continues to update the open source computer vision library OpenCV.

The video below shows PR2 navigating the Willow Garage offices and doing its thing.



PS: I wonder what the 3rd milestone for the project is supposed to be.

Ammonia Avenue

"Some seek to fix the world that we have polluted,
Some search the heavens to find another home,
Some blame and quarrel, as they always do,
Some dream of a new day, and new ways,
Some escape it all, building a new world with their own hands."

In this age we seek so many ways to find comfort, we employ countless technologies, we consult the charts, crunch the numbers. We believe our experts all too quickly and consent to their visions and their dreams, from health and medicine to computing, religion, psychology, biology, physics, chemistry and every facet of wisdom that can be explored. There will come a day when mankind will chose to act responsibly with wisdom and benevolence, and create his own world. In the past we have seen visionaries discuss the ideas of terraforming existing barren worlds, engineering enormous sustainable spaceships or space stations and even combine the two concepts (a planet-craft.) What we haven't heard much about is the act of creation. I know this is a taboo subject to many of you out there. Creating has always been left to the realm of the divine. Mary Shelley knew the outrage of her society as she published her work about a mad scientist who dared to steal thunder from the sky and breath life into a tattered corpse. Even today this theme runs chills up our spines, as we face the real possibility of its everyday occurrence. We can know that it is only so long before humanity's definition is widened, as cyborgs and androids walk among us. We stand to gain so much wisdom, so much ability and so much value as this new age dawns! Must we continue to harvest, to cannibalize, to manipulate that which is already manifest? Might we seek instead to create a new world, a world where there was nothing? Might we use the science of the quantum scale, scalar resonance field technology and manipulation of sound and light to produce a new reality*, a new universe? Might we dare write the laws of this brave new world with the patterns of our home world - all the more perfect for the translation? Might we instill in its very fabric the compassion and wisdom of the Christ, the Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi? I would have only one more wish for humanity living in such a world, such a paradise. I would wish for them to endow each subsequent being (born into the place) with the worth, the honor, the wisdom and freedom that allowed for its very creation. Its our own patterns that we struggle against all too often (those which we perceive to be external and those which are internal - even our own DNA.) We humans have seen one empire after the next plant flags on beach after beach, dominate, destroy and deform the native civilization. This destructive tendency has permeated our entire recorded history with very few exceptions. It is inevitable that this tendency be left behind, that mankind put away his preference for consuming and take up a new found sense of value and responsibility. This world is what we make of it, and the next one may be ours to forge.

I had originally discussed some of these concepts in a blog entitled "Simulism: The Science Of Holodecks" this concept ventures further out into obscurity, envisioning the capability to generate a solid, functional world complete with all the complexity of life on earth (minus the really frustrating attributes.) Think of it as a Utopia made up into the space between the matter we see right here around us. It could be as close as we wanted it. It could be as real as we wanted it. It would be of our own making.

Transdimensional Synchronicity II.

(Ok Police fans - you knew there had to be two of them.) I wanted to discuss this subject a little further as well as introduce some related QM issues. Synchronicity is seen as a phenomenon related closely to the anthropic principle. Events which are said to be synchronous are linked by their meaning and seem to occur in a meaningful way together, but lack any solid causal relationship. Without a sentient observer or a consciousness, there can be no synchronicity, no synchronous relationship to observe. The anthropic principle (often maligned by mainstream science) asserts that is only logical to assume that there is a given bias in this universe for conditions which produce life and consciousness (i.e. human beings.) This is a very logical argument, in fact its very hard to refute it in any logical way. To insist that the universe just so happens to be one tiny bubble floating in absolute nothingness (or FedEx packing-peanuts) that just so happens to grow people, is a ridiculous assertion. I am not saying that there might not be universes where people do not exist, for I am certain that those places do exist. Logic and MWI cosmology tell us that there should be an infinite number of universes (many with different outcomes*) I do believe that each universe holds within it a sort of intrinsic tendency toward producing sentient life and that it cannot exist as a functional universe without the element of consciousness. Consciousness comes in many flavors, even more than Baskin Robins could dream of! Below is a real-life example of synchronicity taken from Wikipedia:
"The French writer Émile Deschamps claims in his memoirs that in 1805, he was treated to some plum pudding by a stranger named Monsieur de Fortgibu. Ten years later, the writer encountered plum pudding on the menu of a Paris restaurant and wanted to order some, but the waiter told him that the last dish had already been served to another customer, who turned out to be de Fortgibu. Many years later, in 1832, Émile Deschamps was at a diner and was once again offered plum pudding. He recalled the earlier incident and told his friends that only de Fortgibu was missing to make the setting complete—and in the same instant, the now senile de Fortgibu entered the room."
* Please read the entry entitled "What Is And What Should Never Be" for a more lengthy explanation of this concept. If there should be an infinite number of universes, then any attempt to catalog or categorize them all is simply an exercise in futility, and each universe is in its own way both "real" and "unreal." It all boils down to the fact that reality is always a local concept, and any given reality is only as real as it needs to be. Reality has one core theme, "functionality." A person is said to be sane if they are able to function within a society and its many modes of action. Sanity and insanity are legal terms.

Deja Vu - Je Mais Vu (A Quantum Link)

The French term Deja Vu describes a common (albeit strange) experience of remembering stimuli that has not been experienced before by that observer (to their knowledge.) The Greek term paramnesia is a much more accurate term for the same condition, "para" [near] or [like] "mnene" [memory.] This condition does occur during certain mental disorders, notably: temporal lobe epilepsy, schizophrenia, anxiety and dissociative identity disorder. Modern neurology and psychology embrace a theory which explains these mirror-iamge illusions as a "slip-up" in the memory formation process. It claims to attribute the cause of deja vu as a mistake in the filing of sensory stimuli into the long term storage centers and not into the short-term ones - even as the data is being processed it is being remembered. Je mais vu is explained in much the same way - an error in memory processing. This solution to a common cognitive anomaly seems logical enough. But I would like to offer to you another solution which would take into account MWI and MMT, understanding that there is a society of mind interacting on an infinite scale. It could be that the error in processing is caused by an interference pattern forming in the mind(s) of the observer(s). We may remember a merged portion of memory from multiple parallel sources, each coming from a very similar version of our mind - from another universe within our multiverse. These concepts drive analytical thinkers crazy sometimes, for it is very difficult to understand that two or more opposing concepts can be correct at the same time. I have mentioned this before, but its worth repeating. It is most logical when we view a clear and concise version of MWI Cosmology to understand alternate states of consciousness and even mental illness as an illness of dimensional warping. It is not the physical matter which causes the mental perception, but the reverse. It is not the world which corrupts man, but his own mind from within and throughout an infinite scale of consciousness and being.

Simulism: The Science Of Holodecks

"Simulism," the brain-child of Dr. Nick Bostrom (Oxford University) is the concept that argues that we may be part of a living simulation, Bostrum refers to this as an "ancestor simulation." At first glance this theory seems about as outlandish as the Loch Ness Monster, (my apologies to any real monster hunters out there reading my blog.) This theory has some solid points to make, it begins by categorizing kinds of simulation (currently in existence.) Third degree simulations are the kind in which a person is placed into a controlled environment and watched and manipulated (possibly unaware) like the famous TV reality show "Candid Camera" or the film "The Trueman Show." Second degree simulations would be the kind in which a user is aware of the simulation and does not entirely "buy into it," as his or her ultimate reality concept. The "user" or "player" within a second degree simulation would engage the construct of the simulation with a dual mind, half in the game, half aware of the reality around them (like role playing games A.K.A. RPG's) Heavy users of RPG's often admit to temporarily losing their grip on reality and taking on the artificial persona of their choosing. This kind of artificial world can be addictive, relaxing, entertaining, educational or all together mindless. First degree simulation is the most spooky, for it involves the manipulation of matter and energy (as in the film The Matrix) to form a full-scale simulation of real life objects and beings. First degree simulation is only possible with significant amounts of computing power and energy, (currently in excess of that which is available to us now.) One could argue that the life we live now is a highly complex first degree simulation, broadcast by a quantum computer cluster somewhere in the cosmos.* An example of a modified form of first degree simulation could be the concept of a holodeck on the SF series "Star Trek The Next Generation." As a holodeck manipulates matter and energy in a matrix to form a 3D computer driven simulation in real-time. It is entirely possible that we may be able to project our own full-scale simulation when we reach a certain level of technology. It is possible that we may understand the ultimate nature of our own creation only when we reach out our own hands and do it ourselves.*

* First degree simulism should be possible by the manipulation of photons of light into subatomic particles (in the quantum scale) then manipulating the subatomic particles into the larger-scale structures of physical matter. This process could also be possible by manipulation of existing matter and ambient energy via scalar wave technology, however this could destroy the original source of that matter, it would be lost in the translation.

* It should be noted that it might be necessary for a continuous "feed" of the simulation to be generated for the object to exist over time. In other words, if the generative system or device were to be shut off, then the object could vanish, just like on a holodeck.

What Is A Quantum Psychonaut? A Basic Definition

A cosmonaut* is a space explorer, a psychonaut is an explorer of consciousness or mind, a quantum psychonaut is a psychonaut that explores the Omniverse* (using his mind.) Some definitions of psychonaut include a component of mind altering consciousness by way of pharmaceuticals. I do not encourage this! Instead I encourage the use of natural practices, sweat lodges, meditation, quiet contemplation, walks in nature, dream recall, lucid dreaming, sensory deprivation (float tank usage,) whatever is natural and healthy. Above all I would suggest that you open your mind and allow for the transmission of information from your higher self.

* For more on the Omniverse (and why there is only just one of them) please read the entry named MWI Diagram.

* Picture at upper right corner of Blog is entitled "The Cosmonaut" used by permission of artist Eugene Smith.

Transdimensional Synchronicity I.

This one is for all you Police fans out there with your own tribute bands that ruin weddings,(watch the Office.) A friend and I discussed a dream he had the other night in which certain strange events played themselves out in his waking-life that very next afternoon. Prophetic dreams are not all together an uncommon occurrence in the history of dream analysis. People claim to have them more or less infrequently and unreliably, but the dream experience tends to closely resemble its waking-life counterpart (to some degree.) My friend had explained a dream involving several elements that took place with the same themes, tasks with specific outcomes and resulting additional tasks. His dream sequence played out remarkably similarly to his waking-life sequence of events, including matching elements and even outcomes. This got us talking about synchronicity. It stands to reason that other "worldlines" should see similar patterns of events played out. If my suspicions are correct, then the seemingly disparate elements which we "view" in our dreams are connected through many dimensions or worlds by a kind of "transdimensional synchronicity." We view such a small portion of the greater reality which should be possible within an infinite Omniverse, it's a humbling thought, isn't it?

This New Blog!!!

This blog has been transferred (nearly in entirety) and in the order it was posted, from the blog "Quantum Perspectives" by it's owner and author.
The Quantum Perspectives blog will remain online for sometime, but all new blogs after today will be posted only on this blog and not Quantum Perspectives. A Website will soon be in production for "Quantum Psychonautics"

I hope you enjoy my new blog!

The Perils of Quantum Travel (or "Quantum Viewing")

I am continually struck by the profound lack of understanding we tend to exhibit toward an entire spectrum of experience. That spectrum is of course the hidden nature of "non-existence." We might pass the entire idea off as being childish or impractical, but the fact remains that half of the world is simply "not there" and yet it affects us, all the same. We are constantly touched by an unseen presence of a "non-real" and yet valid portion of the universe, a portion that is physically contained within other universes and bleeds through into our own. Imagine that you are flying through the Omniverse with a special kind of perspective, (Physicist, Dr. Fred Alan Wolf would undoubtedly invoke his famous Dr. Quantum's "quantum goggles" if he were writing this blog.) This perspective allows you to see the omniverse as an infinite sea of mirror-like bubbles. Each time you peer into a bubble, you see that universe. If however you simply observe the bubble from any distance without peering inside, it reflects all the other bubbles around it in a blinding display of light. To the inhabitants of each bubble-universe, its limited reality is the only one that is considered to be "real." After all, reality is always a local concept! So you peer into bubbles all day long until you are sick and tired of looking. What do you suppose you would think about the things that you saw? Well, for one thing, you would have done something quite dangerous (without knowing it) you would have infected yourself with the foreign logic of other realities. This infection would be a difficult one to treat, if one really wanted to treat it anyway. The rub here is that you can't effectively unlearn something, especially something so important and so vital to the life process, it becomes hard-wired in after so long. The more "foreign" the logic*, the longer the exposure and the more profound the impact of that experience upon the observer, the greater the reduction in the observer's mind's ability to function (at least to a valuable degree) in their own universe. The end result of too much exposure is inevitable, insanity. It should be noted that the observer would not clearly understand the effects until the changes had already been made.

* It is important to understand that the term "foreign," as I have used above, is intended to describe the degree to which the (newly) observed universe's initial conditions deviate from those of the observer's universe of origin. Any other effects that have occurred due to chance (or since the formation of the observed universe) should not and will not affect the observer's reality concept or their ability to function within any given universe. It would affect the observer's specific experience with that universe. Imagine a world where planet Earth was ruled by telepathic spiders, alterations in evolution of a worldline from that of our own worldline's history should significantly change one's viewing experience.

I Sing The Universe Electric!

Yes, I'm a card-carrying Ray Bradbury fan! I thought I'd take a moment to plug one of my favorite SF authors while propounding the profound. Classical Newtonian physics as well as the "modern" physics being taught in millions of classrooms today has got about as many holes in its logic as the night sky has stars. The particular "hole," I would like to discuss in this blog concerns the four basic forces of physics. Physics accepts the four forces: gravity, electricity, and the "strong" and "weak" nuclear forces. Modern physics has spent the last 100 years believing (and I mean believing, just like church doctrine) that the predominant force in the universe is that of gravity. Gravity along with its two "nuclear" children, have all but stolen the stage for the past century. The Electric Universe Theory holds another view, and its definitely one worth considering. It goes something like this. Gravity is many times weaker than the electric force, and its job is to help create order by pulling the universe together (pulling everything together.) Electricity is responsible for repelling and stretching the universe apart. These two forces as well as the nuclear forces, act to create a net balance (a zero-sum state of equilibrium.) Nikola Tesla (1846-1943) understood this simple concept and did his best to explain it and its effects to everyone that would listen. Its also worth noting that without the works of Nikola Tesla, you would not be able to read this blog, or even have electricity in your home. Tesla has proven to be the single greatest scientist and inventor that the world has ever seen! As we set forth on our quest to understand life, the universe, and everything around us, we must understand that it is sometimes necessary to throw away incorrect theories, suppositions or superstitions. The idea of an mindbogglingly complex universe, being run by nuclear and gravitational forces (with the electric force simply applying to the microcosm) is one such idea, IT NEEDS TO GO! When you plug this new theory into the current data and related fields what remains is a new fresh science that no longer suffers from being peppered by rationalizations and ridiculous guesses. I might be willing to take a few stabs into the ether about large-scale cosmological order quantum theory and MWI effects, but I'm not willing to go blindly into the universe believing that "up" is "down" and "black" is "white", after all, the lines have to be drawn somewhere, don't they? For more on this subject may I suggest the book "The Electric Universe" and for further reading, the works of Nikola Tesla. Above in the text, the first time I mention Tesla, there is a link in his name to Tesla.org this is a wonderful resource for all things Tesla.

"Have the courage to open your mind and to see the world through new eyes, and what will unfurl before you will surely change your life!"

Artificial You

The potential for robotic and even cyborg versions of our self, as well as variations on those themes may soon be possible. Advancements in A.I. (artificial intelligence) as well as nanotechnology, robotics, and genetics will make artificial life just another spectrum of our everyday reality. But something that has not even been whispered is the possibility of beings which are artificially created as chemical and biological variants based on our very own DNA. This would make it possible for us to create a version of ourself out of Silicon, or Boron or some other inorganic chemical base. Genetic engineers will eventually be able to take the subtle information patterns within your DNA and translate it into another kind of physical living being. Imagine talking a walk across the face of a barren planet, breathing poisonous gases, in a thin wisp of an atmosphere, at temperatures nearing that of space itself. The famous techno-prophet Ray Kurzweil, quoted in the RollingStone article "When Man & Machine Merge," that what we would call a "person" can be eventually reduced to a computer file, a beautifully complex pattern of intelligent software that just so happens to be self aware. If Kurzweil is correct than the transition from carbon based life to that of silicon and other comparable elements may be even easier. DNA is not much more than a computer file arranged in an electrochemical pattern using A,C,G, and T[*1] instead of 1 and 0, with the exception that DNA functions as both software and hardware. [For all you naysayers out there thinking that translation of DNA into an alternate chemical compound structure would never be possible, consider the following: we convert computer files all the time, it would simply a matter of chemical translation, instead of electronic.] I will admit, we currently know next to nothing about inorganic life,[*2] but you can bet that it will be a challenge that we will see within the next 50 to 100 years. And even if we don't remake ourselves out of some exotic chemical stew, you can be sure that we will uploading the contents of our digital memory chip into 23rd century carbon nanocircuit brains. If our bodies fail us we will simply grow new ones in labs, or manufacture them with the use of bacteria driven nano-machinery. If that prospect bothers you, then there will always be androids, which will pass in almost every way for natural biological humans, which could be infused with an artificial brain containing all your memories and your thought patterns, the very essence of your life. Need I point out (for those who wish to opt out of this whole venture) that the time is quickly running out, there will soon be the technology and the need for humanity to begin its catalog of genetic variance. It can only be so long before each man, woman and child are cataloged by genetic sequence as part of a standard protocol at birth. A small sample of blood, taken at birth, could be sequenced and stored on a secure server for future use. Once that sample is taken, sequenced and the data stored, one would not be able to "opt" out of this kind of world. A sample taken tomorrow could yield a being that would live 10,000,000 years from now in a galaxy at the other end of the known universe. So it is that the future begins.... silently, with a single drop of blood.

[*1] [A,C,G, and T are the four nucleic-acid bases that make up our DNA. The A stands for Adenine and pairs with the T, which stands for Thymine. The C stands for Cytosine and pairs with the G, Guanine. These four nucleic acids are the building blocks of our genetic code, or DNA. ACGU are the four amino acids that make up our RNA. RNA pairs up like DNA, except Thymine is replaced by the nucleic acid Uracil.]

[*2] [We do know that there is the possibility for inorganic life. Consider the strange but true case of The Gold Bug, 'no not the story by Edgar Alan Poe' but the gold eating microbial space-worm found by a NASA engineer known to eat thermal sensors on space-station equipment. There have been countless wires and components replaced because of this strange microscopic metal eater, that lives in the vacuum of space.]

Dreamer - Your Name Is Man

I have given great consideration over the passed few weeks to the ultimate nature of mankind, both as a force of creativity and as a living being upon this planet. The thing that keeps forcing its way through to the surface of my thoughts, is that mankind's ultimate nature is that of the "dreamer." We (as individuals) are here for a short time, living our unbelievably "small" lives as we might, scraping out a living in some fashion, growing old and returning from whence we came. Our desires scarcely seem to make a difference. Or do they? I believe that ultimately they do make a difference, maybe just not in the way that we might intend or expect. The dreams of mankind echo, a lonely song amongst the endless sea of stars, perhaps to be heard by an alien mind forever changing, forever growing, forever living as a message. I believe that mankind shares its dreams with itself, silent whispers in the night. I believe that these dreams enrich us with larger thoughts, larger perspectives and larger truths. What difference can one man make? What difference can one dream make? These questions are not different, it is the same question from a different perspective. Man is the dream and the dreamer all in one. So dream a new dream tonight, for it is your heritage to do so, your birthright, your purpose and your function. You are a dreamer and a dream.

The White Queen's Strange Memory

Have you ever read any Lewis Carroll? Well, you really should! He is and always will be known primarily for the twin works "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland," and "Through The Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There." I would like to call the reader's attention to the following passage, to be found within "Through The Looking-Glass..." Chapter V, entitled "Wool and Water ~40th page in. The White Queen (who is precisely one-hundred and one years, five months and one day old) explains to Alice that people that live there (on the other side of the mirror) live their lives backwards. They remember events on both sides of the time continuum as well as experiencing the present. Alice asks the Queen which events she remembers best, to which she replies, events that take place about a week and a half from now. Alice remarks that her memory only works in one direction, backwards into the past. The Queen finds this to be a curious malady, and tells Alice that her memory is certainly flawed!

I find this section of "Through The Looking-Glass" to be particularly telling. Carroll was clearly pointing to the limitations of mankind's most trusted mental resource, his memory. In order for one to remember the future one must first have the means to do so. Given the practical means to do so and the opportunity, one would "recall" events from one of their possible futures. The act of seeing initiates the shift into that set of future events. That previous passage (as well as the whole of the Alice-Looking-glass saga) has widely been judged to be deterministic. It's concept of free will being severely stunted and warped, gives it a dreamlike quality. Time is strangely reversed, at least in some ways. The events and outcomes (many times occurring prior to their own causes) are not really under personal control, so much as that they are being acted out as a preexisting "play." (Remember that "hard determinism" has close ties with the concept of "fate," as it connects every event with an unbroken chain of past events, reducing or eliminating the possibility of the emergence of free will.) I didn't take away this same reaction to the logic of the Wonderland saga, rather that certain chaotic logic "wonderland logic" as well as different initial conditions could be in play. It would be possible that the concept of free will dominates this kind of system, in as much as it appears in several instances that the actors are envisioning the events into reality. They appear to be manifesting their destiny, albeit from a rather detached or unconscious means. You may recall that metaphysics regards this phenomenon as natural and inherent in all complex living systems, like the one we live one. It would see this kind of action as being part of "The Law of Attraction." (This is an odd little Law which explains that all actions and conditions arise out of the innate functions of consciousness and conscious thought or movement.) Thus things, events and actions are attracted into being by the "thinker" who then experiences them as a reality. This theory would say that the act of prediction or forecasting is also the act of intentional manifesting.

So what would the act of remembering the future really entail? Would you be in the act of manifesting from an imagined future? Would you be realizing a predetermined path through a strictly deterministic system? If the latter and not the former were true, then the most logical conclusion as to why we do not remember the future would be that it would drive us all mad! If the future were "solid" and strictly deterministic in nature, one could argue that the system had (at least on some levels) already been "played out." To know what would happen, to play your part, and to not have any volition, no personal control of that system or your role in that play, would certainly prove to be unbareable! (Maybe thats why we cant remember our future - because we need to forget it, in order to function as we should, to play our part as we should, as we will.)

Of course MWI cosmology should not support the previous set of options. It should dictate that the knower of future events would simply be privy to the events within other universes (which held a time-positive value to that of their own) so that looking into them, would be very much like looking into the future of their own world. We can add in the concept of strict determinism if we like, achieving a set of universes each with its own unique "play script" and with its own predetermined outcomes. (We could call the outcomes of such a universe its empty set, as it describes the end state of equilibrium for that system.) We can also add in an element of the Law of Attraction by saying that in that universe's events would arise out of the act of viewing events of other universes and focusing on them, thus shifting into that new reality. The previous reality would really describe an entire reality system housed within a multiverse, and not one finite universe. It should also be held that a strictly deterministic system could not be compatible with one that is infused with The Law of Attraction.

Some questions to consider?

1.) Why do we not remember the future?

2.) Why do we remember the past?

3.) How do we remember the past, what functions allow us to store and access these events? (The same kind of automatic process should allow us to remember the future, should it not?)

Illustration by: John Tenniel (1863)
Literature by: CL Dodgeson, A.K.A. Lewis Carroll (1863)

Multiverses - Useful Categorization Tools

I have chosen to adopt the term "Multiverse" to define a large set of universes which can or should be grouped together. It should be mentioned that many people use this term interchangeably with the term "Omniverse." (Please see blog entries titled "Our House" and "MWI Diagram" for further explanation.) The term Multiverse applies to certain universes that share certain traits, allowing for a logical and reasonable grouping to form. All universes with the same initial conditions and corresponding laws would group nicely together.

[Some people will disagree with the use of terms like Omniverse and multiverse, saying that the term "universe" "uni" meaning one and "verse" meaning word, implies that that "one-word" is as all inclusive a term as we need to use. This view and terminology is fine, unless you want to explain the larger concepts of MWI. An infinite universe would work just fine as long as it was truly infinite "enough" so that all possible outcomes and all possible interactions could take place somewhere or somewhen within that one universe.]

These similar universes need not appear so much the same (at least considering their appearance) some planets might be missing or out of place, some might be unusual additions. The laws, and the way that everything functioned would be very much the same. It can be said (with more than a little certainty) that the initial conditions and the act of the universe's creation should contribute that universe's laws and the way that it functions all at the same time. A twin or sibling universe to our own might look like our universe down to even the species of grass growing on (what might be your "twin's" front lawn,) but subtle and not so subtle changes would inevitably occur as random outcomes gave way to alternate historical time-lines. Hitler might have teamed up with Mexico and South American forces, winning the second world war, or maybe WWII never even occurred! I have noted before that some universes should not hold our same initial conditions, and would thus be grouped into a different set of universes outside of our Multiverse. It is important to remember though, that this designation is purely one of categorization. There is no reason why these universes (with different initial conditions and laws) could not exist right next to or even right on top of one another, possibly sharing the same physical space or containing gateways in and out of one another. Many current cosmologists view the MWI model to suggest that each universe is contained within some kind of cosmic "soap bubble." Since we have not even the means to suggest how we can leave our own universe, or manage to see it from a greater vantage point, this "bubble concept" will have to remain a logical supposition. In the blog entitled "...world without end..." I discussed the idea that whatever the state of the greater cosmos may be, the end result must logically be an infinite in time and space larger "whole." This all inclusive, all containing "whole" I refer to as the Omniverse, a staggering concept that contains (as the picture in MWI diagram shows) all worlds in all universes, across all time and space. This Omniverse is infinite in every way. Logic tells us that beyond the boundary of the larger container lies something, that something must be contained by something else, and so on and so on, ad infinitum. An ancient philosopher once asked, if a man threw a spear, and were able to continue to do so on and on, where would the end be? If that spear were a spaceship traveling in hyperspace (far faster than the speed of light) where should it end? The answer is the same. There can be no end, for the Omniverse is infinite in both every quality and every quantity, it is the sum total of all existence and all non-existence!

Schrodinger's Quantum Menagerie

Erwin Schrodinger helped to pioneer the field of quantum mechanics during the 1920's, when it was still in its proverbial infancy. One of the unique ideas attributed to Schrodinger is his equation concerning the evolution of quantum states within physical systems. (Schrodinger's famous equation) Schrodinger's theories would later become some of the basic building blocks of Quantum Mechanics. At the time Schrodinger probably didn't realize that he would be remembered for a strange little thought experiment he worked out in 1935, (Schrodinger's Cat Paradox.) In which a cat is placed into a sealed box for a given length of time. Inside the box is a device containing a radioactive isotope and a trigger mechanism. If the isotope decays spontaneously (as they sometimes do) then the trigger is tripped and allows a hammer to drop onto a glass vial of poison. Once the poison has been spilled the box will flood with toxic fumes, instantly killing the cat, as seen in the above diagram. His big question: At a given time, without opening or looking into the box, what is the state of the cat? The cat is part of a physical system (essentially a closed system) which is either a lethal or a non-lethal environment depending on the quantum state of the isotope-trigger mechanism and the corresponding poison-release mechanism at that exact time.
The common sense answer is that the cat can only be in one of three states, dead or alive or somewhere in the process of dying (easy enough.) Quantum Mechanics, (notably Schrodinger's equation) says that the answer isn't that simple. As with much of QM, things tend to go from weird to weirder to weirdest - this is no exception. After a given length of time has progressed, the cat is said to be both dead and alive at the same time! It is then the act of opening the box and observing the cat that brings about the observable state of the cat. This same act takes place whenever we peer into the subatomic world of the electron, or view the "Color Phi Phenomenon" or the famous "Double Slit Experiment." We are experiencing the strange yet ordinary world of quantum states within physical systems, as they evolve over time.
It is important to remember that this experiment did not take into consideration Bryce Seligman DeWitt - Hugh Everett's MWI of QM. Instead this experiment sought to describe the events of the system in the terms of a more classical view of QM. MWI was initially rejected by mainstream physics in favor of more classical Newtonian physics and its related theories. It is important to note that the laws of "classical" or "Newtonian physics" do not hold up when applied to systems within the quantum scale. Strangely enough, objects and systems that are this small have their own set of unique laws which govern behavior of particles and systems. It is for this reason that QM emerged in the first place, to explain these new troublesome questions and paradoxes. So what does the MWI (Many Worlds Interpretation) of QM have to say about the Schrodinger's Cat Experiment? MWI would say that 1.) there are more than just the one cat and system involved, 2.) the cats and systems exist within an infinite system (we can call that the "omniverse,") 3.) the cats and their systems exist in an infinite number of states within that infinite super-system - at least one experimental cat per universe or "world-line" exists in one definite state (dead, alive, dying, zombie, mutant, slightly sick, happy, sleepy, confused, enlightened or non-existent.) The previous list is meant to be slightly humorous, but you get the picture right? Sometimes the cat changes color, sometimes it was never there in the first place, sometimes the experimenter becomes the cat, sometimes it vanishes into a puff of smoke and sometimes that little hammer doesn't break the glass vial of poison. Why so many crazy options to choose from? Because this group of cats exists in universes where all those things are possible, even one where the cat mutates, grows to the size of a lion and eats the observer before they can even know what has hit them. Universes where these "novel" effects frequently take place might simply have a different set of physical laws governing the discreet action of particles or Newtonian physics may be completely re-written. It is likely that we in this universe share some degree of these strange effects with all others. It is also likely that the laws which govern our own universe exist (at least in some fashion) within others. This is a thought experiment (largely because a real experiment would be difficult, and probably toxic to cats) but even if it were a "real" experiment, we could expect to see these kinds of results to occur across the infinite omniverse we live in. I'm not usually a betting man, but the universe I live in is only slightly random, with fairly predictable laws (at least on the Newtonian scale.) I don't often witness Tabby cats growing into lions and eating people, but I am not willing to throw out the possibility that somewhere out there it does happen. Because I do not witness it does not make it any less possible. After all, stranger things happen all around us everyday!

The sooner you begin to view the universe around you as a strange and sometimes random environment, the easier it becomes to learn about the very odd world of Quantum Physics and its Many Worlds Interpretation. The sooner you learn about MWI and QM, the sooner you become ready for the dawn of the Quantum Age.

(portion below from Wikipedia free online encyclopedia) of Erwin Schrodinger's Equation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger_equation#General_quantum_system

General quantum system

For a general quantum system:

where

• is the imaginary unit
• is the wave function, which is the probability amplitude for different configurations of the system.
• hbar is the Reduced Planck's constant, (Planck's constant divided by 2π), and it can be set to a value of 1 when using natural units.
• is the Hamiltonian operator.

The Big Blue Invisible Sun

I would like to take a moment to remind myself and everyone who reads this why it is that I write this blog. Imagine that you step outside onto your front lawn (or the equivalent thereof ) and while standing there you look up into the sky. Instead of seeing a normal sunny day you see something very startling. Hanging above you is a brilliant blue sun, burning with all the intensity of a thousand splendid suns! The normal sun seems but a mere speck of pale yellow light. You go inside, call, email, fax and yell to whomever you possibly can that something very strange has happened. Only people just don't seem to see the big blue sun, in fact, they just don't seem interested that one might even exist. They say things like, "A big blue sun? We've already got a sun, and it does a good job as it is." or "Maybe the new blue sun is evil, that's why people cant always see it." or maybe "You can't prove to me that the new big blue sun exists, because I don't see it!" Seeing is believing or so they say, well I say that experiencing is believing. SO what is the big blue sun? To me its a new paradigm, so new that a name has yet to accurately fit it. This new Quantum Age is approaching us at the speed of light, and yet we hold the views and paradigms of 500 years ago. The wisdom of the Renaissance provided the last great push towards a new era of exploration, and modern times (like the industrial revolution) sought to exploit new technology rather than to use them to explore and learn. So it is that we sit on the brink of the largest new age of mankind, the ledge that divides all human experience from a new and brave frontier. The Quantum Age will find man reaching for the stars and landing upon them, reaching for immortality and attaining it (in many ways,) reaching for wisdom, power and experience and finding his only limits to be those which he places upon himself! This new world that is being born, it needs a new paradigm, a new set of ideas to explore! That paradigm IS Quantum Cosmology and its related fields, Quantum Philosophy and even strange new fields like Quantum Psychology. Quantum Mechanics has grown from a desire to reach new frontiers and to explore the world around us (big and small, excluding nothing,) and its reaches can exceed all mankind can think of. I have been asked if this new way of thinking is a cult or a religion. I ask you this... When Copernicus (450 years ago) told his teachers and students about the earth revolving around the sun, what effect did that have on the world? Was Copernicus trying to get us to believe in a new religion of Heliocentrism, or was he trying to help us see a strange new sun?

Time Travel (QM and The Titor Method)

Ever since I was a nerdy little kid (say 2nd grade) I have maintained a steady obsession with the topic of time travel. I had all but relegated it to the kind of topic that belonged on "X-Files," nowadays "Fringe," or late night AM radio shows (like my favorite, "Coast To Coast AM" with host George Noory- formerly the Art Bell Show- heard every night from 12am to 4am on stations like AM 1200 WOAI. ) I was suddenly forced to place it in another category when I read the book, "The Yoga Of Time Travel" by world renowned physicist Dr. Fred Alan Wolf. This book firmly takes hold of the topic of time travel, and brings it into the light of believable scholastic en devours. It may be partially because of the work of scientists like Ronald Mallett (see a 2-part video on YouTube about Ronald Mallett's Time Machine project.) Scientists like Mallett have been working hard to create a laser driven device that would warp or bend space-time into a loop. The device should allow transmissions from the future (all the way up until the moment that the device was first turned on.) The device could not however allow for trans-temporal communication prior to the moment that it was turned on. As we forge the machineries of the first Quantum Computers and Quantum Gate Networks we will be on the cusp of creating a device similar to the Quantum Shell or Sphere discussed in "The Yoga Of Time Travel," that will allow for its driver to navigate the omniverse and time itself by way of super-positional states (a Quantum Computer would use 'q-bits' in superposition to compute and store data, please read "The Yoga Of Time Travel" for more on this topic, I will update as much as possible.) The most outlandish source of information within this topic is without a doubt the website and related sites devoted to John Titor. Titor is supposedly a time travellor from the year 2036 (on another world-line or version of Earth.) But just because its claims are outlandish doesn't mean that it holds no value. The John Titor story is a very unique one, and its worth reading! A short but detailed account can be read on the John Titor website. There is a very expensive and hard to find book also (released by the Titor family after John's departure in 2001, entitled "John Titor A Time Traveler's Tale") There have been several interviews on "Coast to Coast AM" with George Noory and Oliver Williams (founder of http://www.johntitor.com/) The interviews are definatly worth listening to, and reveal much about the accounts of Titor and his family (now believed to be living in Nebraska, previously of Florida.) Titor's device utillizes the gravitational distortion effects of a twin micro-singularity engine system. This engine is essentially a smaller, smarter version of the LHC now in use by the team of scientists at CERN (in europe.) Titor predicted that CERN would create a fully functional device (the LHC) that would eventually give rise to units like the ones within his device by 2034 (in his world-line.) Titor believed that the MWI or Everett-Wheeler model of the universe/omniverse was correct. The original devices would be made by General Electric for the US Army, Model # GE-C204 (possible image of Titor's device shown above in diagram) after a series of disturbing civil wars and unrest. A later version of the device GE-C206 was much more accurate and was able to travel further with more accuracy. Titor claimed to be part of an elite Time Corps unit of the new US Armed Services, Division 177th. (a picture of his division's logo is available under Google Images.)

QCT (Quantum Cell Theory) continued from "A Night in the Life..."

In the following previous posts ("A Day In The Life: An Introduction To MMT," "A Night In The Life : An Introduction to MMT" and "The Meaning Of Life.") I briefly touched on the analogy of the self (individual version) as a cell within a larger body, that being the "real" self or individual. This perspective is not altogether unheard of. Christians refer to themselves "collectively" as "The body of Christ." Hindus view all beings as being part of the great body of Brahma. Each being, each soul is very much like a cell within a body. Each soul has a place, a function to perform, and a way in which to do that intended work. As with the cells in our body, each one part is independently conscious (at least to some extent) this is why muscle testing and biofeedback work. Each part is connected to a network of like parts with like functions. Each part need not know what it is, why it is, or how it is to fulfill its task, just like a cell. Cells perform their tasks by the use of a modified form of consciousness and a plan written into them (DNA.) As conditions change, DNA reveals the needed information and provides the proteins to execute each task. The consciousness of the higher self is not unlike the DNA of our cells. It transmits the necessary information and means by which to carry-out each task. It may transmit it by dreams, random thoughts, automatic behavior, or unconscious thoughts and behaviors. The underlying function of all unconscious thought and behavior is to carry out the complex tasks of the larger entity, the soul! It is less important that we know what the soul is up to from moment to moment and more important that we nurture the sacred and intimate connection between our infinite higher mind or soul and that which we have immediate control over, our conscious mind and physical body (which are really one and the same.) It is this connection which allows mankind to raise himself above the finite human brain and physical body, just as the internet allows this computer to access and manipulate files through a network (a complex system built to perform a specific function by the use of many separate units.) One may view the portion of the unconscious mind (soul) that we interact with (when dreaming, praying or meditating) as a remote interface with that larger system.