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Sunday, May 17, 2009
Rasad Khaneh Radio Program, Zahedan, Balochistan
Radio Rasad Khaneh Interview with Ahmad Reza Taheri
An Introduction of the prominent local academic & cultural faces of Sistan & Balochistan Province, Iran
Jamileh Khajeh: Mr. Taheri, if possible, let us begin with a brief introduction of your life from childhood till now.
Ahmad Reza Taheri: I was born in Saravan, Balochistan of Iran, and I finished my education of kindergarten, primary school, Guidance school, and Industrial school, in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Balochistan of Iran. For my graduation and post graduation I studied Commerce at the Sindh University in Pakistan. I finished my second post graduation in Political Science and Public Administration at the Pune University, India. And, now I 'm at the final year of PhD at the same University.
Jamileh Khajeh: What made you following your father's educational discipline i.e. Political Science?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: To be frank, my father did not agree with me to change my discipline rather he advised me to continue my first discipline i.e. Commerce, and indeed he insisted on it. However, my interest in political science began when I translated a few of my father's articles into English, and in fact, that was a starting point for my interest in this course of study.
Jamileh Khajeh: Just tell us in a few words, from political point of view, how do you see the world and the relations between nations and states?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: For the emancipation of the nations, nations enter into negotiations with their respective states to reach a form of socio-political contract. Such a contract is formed to preserve the security of the people. Thus, relation between a nation and its state is based on national interest of the country or society.
Jamileh Khajeh: In your view, what kind of relation exists between religion and politics?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Throughout the history, there have been always two blocks, one based on politics, and the other based on religion. Both have dominated the human society. Politics was in the hands of kings, and religious issues were decided by the church-holders or clerics. Based on this practice, none of these blocks could control society alone, in other words, power used to be shared between king and cleric. Such a trend was to balance each other's power and preserve each other's interest.
Jamileh Khajeh: In order to achieve a "global village" based on humanitarian grounds what is the mission of politicians?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: They must try to solve problems e.g. issues such as Western propaganda against Islam or vice versa. After all, it is the business of politicians, and a positive and efficient politician in the true sense of the term must be able to play such a role.
Jamileh Khajeh: How a politician leads a life different from others?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: A politician is flexible, however, a politician must have flexibility in a positive sense, and not in a negative sense. I mean a politician's doctrine must be constructive for his/her society, and not destructive.
Jamileh Khajeh: What is the relationship between politics and economics?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Both can be regarded as disciplines of humanities or social sciences. A politician must have the knowledge of economics otherwise he/she cannot be a successful politician. In fact, all disciplines of social sciences are interrelated to each other.
Jamileh Khajeh: Tell us about your family, their role in your education, and how they act and consider your activities?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Parents certainly play a vital role in bringing up their kids. So, my parents too, provided a favorable situation for me to continue my studies, of course, without their support I could find it very difficult to continue my education. Fortunately, concerning my academic activities, there are no problems.
Jamileh Khajeh: How you have served your society?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Well, I have done nothing useful for my society so far. I would like to serve my Iranian society especially in the Sistan & Balochistan province.
Jamileh Khajeh: Well, how would you like to serve your society?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Whatever I have got or will get in the future, I would like to transfer them to my society in a systematic and useful way.
Jamileh Khajeh: Tell us about your studies and academic works?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: At present, temporarily I 'm teaching at different universities in Saravan such as Azad University, Payamnoor University, and Agriculture faculty of Sistan & Balochistan University. My field of specialty is political philosophy. I have authored three books and my fourth book is a translation work from English to Persian. I have started to translate the book "PRINCESS" a world-wide known real story of an Arab princess.
Jamileh Khajeh: How would you see the color of life?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Black, red, blue, green, yellow, white, etc. J
Jamileh Khajeh: No, no… name one color only. Which color? Generally, how do you see the life and how you deal with it?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Well, if I have no other choice, then, I would select green color. Although, I deal with life with caution, I'm optimistic.
Jamileh Khajeh: How old are you? And how long you would like to live? J
Ahmad Reza Taheri: 32 years old and would like to lead an unlimited life.
Jamileh Khajeh: Why…?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: J In principle, human being is a greedy creature and whatever man gets cannot satisfy him J
Jamileh Khajeh: Mr. Taheri, I'm very thankful to you and wish you all the best.
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Thanks a lot for the time given to me.
Rasad Khaneh Radio Program; An Introduction of the prominent local academic and cultural faces of Sistan & Balochistan Province; Prepared by Jamileh Khajeh; Zahedan; Iran; Monday; 2008; Translated by Baloch Academist: www.balochacademy.org
An Introduction of the prominent local academic & cultural faces of Sistan & Balochistan Province, Iran
Jamileh Khajeh: Mr. Taheri, if possible, let us begin with a brief introduction of your life from childhood till now.
Ahmad Reza Taheri: I was born in Saravan, Balochistan of Iran, and I finished my education of kindergarten, primary school, Guidance school, and Industrial school, in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Balochistan of Iran. For my graduation and post graduation I studied Commerce at the Sindh University in Pakistan. I finished my second post graduation in Political Science and Public Administration at the Pune University, India. And, now I 'm at the final year of PhD at the same University.
Jamileh Khajeh: What made you following your father's educational discipline i.e. Political Science?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: To be frank, my father did not agree with me to change my discipline rather he advised me to continue my first discipline i.e. Commerce, and indeed he insisted on it. However, my interest in political science began when I translated a few of my father's articles into English, and in fact, that was a starting point for my interest in this course of study.
Jamileh Khajeh: Just tell us in a few words, from political point of view, how do you see the world and the relations between nations and states?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: For the emancipation of the nations, nations enter into negotiations with their respective states to reach a form of socio-political contract. Such a contract is formed to preserve the security of the people. Thus, relation between a nation and its state is based on national interest of the country or society.
Jamileh Khajeh: In your view, what kind of relation exists between religion and politics?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Throughout the history, there have been always two blocks, one based on politics, and the other based on religion. Both have dominated the human society. Politics was in the hands of kings, and religious issues were decided by the church-holders or clerics. Based on this practice, none of these blocks could control society alone, in other words, power used to be shared between king and cleric. Such a trend was to balance each other's power and preserve each other's interest.
Jamileh Khajeh: In order to achieve a "global village" based on humanitarian grounds what is the mission of politicians?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: They must try to solve problems e.g. issues such as Western propaganda against Islam or vice versa. After all, it is the business of politicians, and a positive and efficient politician in the true sense of the term must be able to play such a role.
Jamileh Khajeh: How a politician leads a life different from others?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: A politician is flexible, however, a politician must have flexibility in a positive sense, and not in a negative sense. I mean a politician's doctrine must be constructive for his/her society, and not destructive.
Jamileh Khajeh: What is the relationship between politics and economics?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Both can be regarded as disciplines of humanities or social sciences. A politician must have the knowledge of economics otherwise he/she cannot be a successful politician. In fact, all disciplines of social sciences are interrelated to each other.
Jamileh Khajeh: Tell us about your family, their role in your education, and how they act and consider your activities?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Parents certainly play a vital role in bringing up their kids. So, my parents too, provided a favorable situation for me to continue my studies, of course, without their support I could find it very difficult to continue my education. Fortunately, concerning my academic activities, there are no problems.
Jamileh Khajeh: How you have served your society?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Well, I have done nothing useful for my society so far. I would like to serve my Iranian society especially in the Sistan & Balochistan province.
Jamileh Khajeh: Well, how would you like to serve your society?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Whatever I have got or will get in the future, I would like to transfer them to my society in a systematic and useful way.
Jamileh Khajeh: Tell us about your studies and academic works?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: At present, temporarily I 'm teaching at different universities in Saravan such as Azad University, Payamnoor University, and Agriculture faculty of Sistan & Balochistan University. My field of specialty is political philosophy. I have authored three books and my fourth book is a translation work from English to Persian. I have started to translate the book "PRINCESS" a world-wide known real story of an Arab princess.
Jamileh Khajeh: How would you see the color of life?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Black, red, blue, green, yellow, white, etc. J
Jamileh Khajeh: No, no… name one color only. Which color? Generally, how do you see the life and how you deal with it?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Well, if I have no other choice, then, I would select green color. Although, I deal with life with caution, I'm optimistic.
Jamileh Khajeh: How old are you? And how long you would like to live? J
Ahmad Reza Taheri: 32 years old and would like to lead an unlimited life.
Jamileh Khajeh: Why…?
Ahmad Reza Taheri: J In principle, human being is a greedy creature and whatever man gets cannot satisfy him J
Jamileh Khajeh: Mr. Taheri, I'm very thankful to you and wish you all the best.
Ahmad Reza Taheri: Thanks a lot for the time given to me.
Rasad Khaneh Radio Program; An Introduction of the prominent local academic and cultural faces of Sistan & Balochistan Province; Prepared by Jamileh Khajeh; Zahedan; Iran; Monday; 2008; Translated by Baloch Academist: www.balochacademy.org
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Global Shift: New Perceptions for a New World
A global shift is happening around the world. As the established economic, political and cultural institutions of our planet meet increasing upheaval, humanity is moving toward the next stage in its history. This new stage is as different from what went before as the Renaissance was from the Middle Ages. It involves many new ways of seeing ourselves, our world, and each other.
This global shift is happening on many levels. It consists of:
* New ways of perceiving the world and the nature of reality
* New ways of seeing ourselves
* New ways of seeing each other, with major consequences on how we treat one other
* Practices and actions we can undertake to heal ourselves and help the planet
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD: Perceiving the universe as a multidimensional system organized by consciousness.
The Universe is Conscious on All Levels
Consciousness is not confined to the minds of humans and animals. Anything that maintains itself as an organized whole is conscious. Organs and cells within the body are conscious. Even atoms and molecules are conscious. So are solar systems and galaxies. Does that mean they have minds and thoughts like we do? Probably not. Consciousness is understood as an intrinsic property of the universe capable of being self-organizing, self-maintaining, and resistant to entropy (entropy is a general tendency in the universe for things to move from order to disorder).
There are not two worlds--an objective world of science and a subjective, personal world grasped by religion, art, and the humanities.
There is one world or universe that can only be fully grasped by both science and spirituality--both the physical senses and intuition. One universe with both outer aspects revealed by the senses and inner aspects revealed by intuition. To separate these two aspects is an artificial distinction we humans make based on the dubious assumption that only empirical knowledge of the senses (scientific knowledge) is valid.
IMPLICATION: If there is only one universe that has both an outer, objective and an inner, spiritual aspect- and if it's conscious on all levels- then we come to see it as much more than a neutral, purposeless object for scientific investigation. We come to view our earth and the universe at large as a conscious, living being, something we regard with reverence and awe. We treat the environment as a matrix that supports and nurtures us -- not as a commodity to be exploited for profit.
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT OURSELVES
Each of us is connected -- deep within our being - with the consciousness of collective humanity and the Cosmos at large. "To thine own self be true" means to align yourself with these larger fields of consciousness.
Being true to your deepest, innermost self is to align with intentions that lie beyond your personal ego. These intentions reside in your soul. Your soul, in turn, connects with the collective consciousness of humanity and ultimately the universe at large. The more you act from your soul (instead of your ego), the more you begin to express purposes and intentions larger than yourself. Although this idea may seem radical, it is not a new idea. The old way of saying it is "to do the Will of God."
IMPLICATION: There is more to life than ego. If the deepest intentions of our soul reflect the intelligence of collective humanity and the cosmos at large, then each of us will - sooner or later - feel "called" to do something more than just fulfill our personal ego needs. Each of us has a personal mission or "calling"--perhaps several--where we give back and contribute to something or someone beyond ourselves. It doesn't matter how large or small this is. Doing a menial job well could be what we have to contribute. It is the quality of consciousness, the spirit of giving, that we bring to our mission that counts.
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT EACH OTHER
All minds are ultimately One. This is reflected in the saying, popular since the sixties: "We are all one."
At depth, our seemingly separate minds are simply different aspects of the same universal consciousness. Thus we are deeply interdependent, more than our conscious egos recognize. So much so that our consciousness is influenced by the consciousness of those we care about and love, no matter how far apart we are in space. When a loved one far away feels joy or sorrow, we register it somewhere in our psyches, even if we do not recognize it consciously. Everyday happenings illustrate our interconnectedness. We may find ourselves thinking about a friend, and then suddenly they call us. We may feel sad for no obvious reason, and then find out later that someone dear to us had a bad experience around the time we felt sad. In short, we are not isolated, autonomous units. Each of our minds is a node in an interdependent network of many other minds, some of which we may not even know, and perhaps some of which may not even be embodied.
IMPLICATION: The realization that we are, in truth, all one as a common humanity helps to erode the barriers our egos create to separate ourselves from others: racial, religious, ethnic, national, gender, age, and so on. Beneath the surface we are ultimately the same in our basic needs and aspirations. The Golden Rule: "Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto Yourself" is not just a lofty moral injunction, it reflects the actual structure of reality ( all seemingly separate minds are aspects of a common consciousness). To grasp this idea fully means you begin to recognize that whatever you do to another, you ultimately do to yourself.
PRACTICES TO HELP ALIGN WITH THE GLOBAL SHIFT
A global shift in consciousness takes place one person at a time. Ultimately it begins with each of us cultivating healing and peace in our personal lives. Each of us is a microcosm of the planet as a whole. The planet's current travails are suffered in an endless variety of ways by each of us individually. The "body" of humanity begins to heal as each "cell" in that body heals. If we are all deeply interconnected, then working on our personal peace and healing is a gift to the whole of humanity. Our own healing can have a ripple effect that we can't even imagine. As each of us develops more harmony in our life, we become an example for others to follow the same path. Then, from that centered place in ourselves, we have the clarity and inspiration to lend our help to healing the planet, whether it's a simple act like recycling paper or getting involved with a local community organization that helps feed the homeless. Beyond personal healing, there are numerous practices and actions each of us can engage in to support the global shift. Just a few examples might include buying our food locally and eating a more vegetarian diet, recycling and using recycled goods, driving less and buying a fuel-efficient vehicle, learning to listen to others and respect their differences, contributing to organizations dealing with climate change or global poverty, socially responsible investing, or learning to think outside the bounds of our ethnic and national identities--becoming a "global citizens."
This global shift is happening on many levels. It consists of:
* New ways of perceiving the world and the nature of reality
* New ways of seeing ourselves
* New ways of seeing each other, with major consequences on how we treat one other
* Practices and actions we can undertake to heal ourselves and help the planet
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD: Perceiving the universe as a multidimensional system organized by consciousness.
The Universe is Conscious on All Levels
Consciousness is not confined to the minds of humans and animals. Anything that maintains itself as an organized whole is conscious. Organs and cells within the body are conscious. Even atoms and molecules are conscious. So are solar systems and galaxies. Does that mean they have minds and thoughts like we do? Probably not. Consciousness is understood as an intrinsic property of the universe capable of being self-organizing, self-maintaining, and resistant to entropy (entropy is a general tendency in the universe for things to move from order to disorder).
There are not two worlds--an objective world of science and a subjective, personal world grasped by religion, art, and the humanities.
There is one world or universe that can only be fully grasped by both science and spirituality--both the physical senses and intuition. One universe with both outer aspects revealed by the senses and inner aspects revealed by intuition. To separate these two aspects is an artificial distinction we humans make based on the dubious assumption that only empirical knowledge of the senses (scientific knowledge) is valid.
IMPLICATION: If there is only one universe that has both an outer, objective and an inner, spiritual aspect- and if it's conscious on all levels- then we come to see it as much more than a neutral, purposeless object for scientific investigation. We come to view our earth and the universe at large as a conscious, living being, something we regard with reverence and awe. We treat the environment as a matrix that supports and nurtures us -- not as a commodity to be exploited for profit.
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT OURSELVES
Each of us is connected -- deep within our being - with the consciousness of collective humanity and the Cosmos at large. "To thine own self be true" means to align yourself with these larger fields of consciousness.
Being true to your deepest, innermost self is to align with intentions that lie beyond your personal ego. These intentions reside in your soul. Your soul, in turn, connects with the collective consciousness of humanity and ultimately the universe at large. The more you act from your soul (instead of your ego), the more you begin to express purposes and intentions larger than yourself. Although this idea may seem radical, it is not a new idea. The old way of saying it is "to do the Will of God."
IMPLICATION: There is more to life than ego. If the deepest intentions of our soul reflect the intelligence of collective humanity and the cosmos at large, then each of us will - sooner or later - feel "called" to do something more than just fulfill our personal ego needs. Each of us has a personal mission or "calling"--perhaps several--where we give back and contribute to something or someone beyond ourselves. It doesn't matter how large or small this is. Doing a menial job well could be what we have to contribute. It is the quality of consciousness, the spirit of giving, that we bring to our mission that counts.
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT EACH OTHER
All minds are ultimately One. This is reflected in the saying, popular since the sixties: "We are all one."
At depth, our seemingly separate minds are simply different aspects of the same universal consciousness. Thus we are deeply interdependent, more than our conscious egos recognize. So much so that our consciousness is influenced by the consciousness of those we care about and love, no matter how far apart we are in space. When a loved one far away feels joy or sorrow, we register it somewhere in our psyches, even if we do not recognize it consciously. Everyday happenings illustrate our interconnectedness. We may find ourselves thinking about a friend, and then suddenly they call us. We may feel sad for no obvious reason, and then find out later that someone dear to us had a bad experience around the time we felt sad. In short, we are not isolated, autonomous units. Each of our minds is a node in an interdependent network of many other minds, some of which we may not even know, and perhaps some of which may not even be embodied.
IMPLICATION: The realization that we are, in truth, all one as a common humanity helps to erode the barriers our egos create to separate ourselves from others: racial, religious, ethnic, national, gender, age, and so on. Beneath the surface we are ultimately the same in our basic needs and aspirations. The Golden Rule: "Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto Yourself" is not just a lofty moral injunction, it reflects the actual structure of reality ( all seemingly separate minds are aspects of a common consciousness). To grasp this idea fully means you begin to recognize that whatever you do to another, you ultimately do to yourself.
PRACTICES TO HELP ALIGN WITH THE GLOBAL SHIFT
A global shift in consciousness takes place one person at a time. Ultimately it begins with each of us cultivating healing and peace in our personal lives. Each of us is a microcosm of the planet as a whole. The planet's current travails are suffered in an endless variety of ways by each of us individually. The "body" of humanity begins to heal as each "cell" in that body heals. If we are all deeply interconnected, then working on our personal peace and healing is a gift to the whole of humanity. Our own healing can have a ripple effect that we can't even imagine. As each of us develops more harmony in our life, we become an example for others to follow the same path. Then, from that centered place in ourselves, we have the clarity and inspiration to lend our help to healing the planet, whether it's a simple act like recycling paper or getting involved with a local community organization that helps feed the homeless. Beyond personal healing, there are numerous practices and actions each of us can engage in to support the global shift. Just a few examples might include buying our food locally and eating a more vegetarian diet, recycling and using recycled goods, driving less and buying a fuel-efficient vehicle, learning to listen to others and respect their differences, contributing to organizations dealing with climate change or global poverty, socially responsible investing, or learning to think outside the bounds of our ethnic and national identities--becoming a "global citizens."
Where science and art meet
When I was a school teacher a pair of evangelical Christians gave an assembly the to pupils in which they stated that the sun came out of the earth. I raised my concerns at the weekly staff meeting, suggesting that the school ought not let people 'teach' its students who have such a flimsy grasp of basic science. The headteacher seemed perplexed that me, a mere physical education teacher, had complained whilst members of the science department voiced no objection. Other teachers took issue with me for trying to 'impose' my views. After all, it's just a matter of opinion.
It is not just a matter of opinion. The guitar-wielding Christians were mistaken, plain and simple. It seemed to me that their religious persuasion was irrelevant. Truth is truth, whether one wears a cross and has a bad haircut or not.
Things become a bit more complicated when art enters the conversation. In his 1959 Reith Lecture C.P. Snow famously distinguished between 'the two cultures' of the sciences and the humanities. I've never understood the vitriolic reaction to his thesis that there was a breakdown of communication between the two camps. This seems almost self-evidently true, even today. But perhaps that is because I work in Universities, where there is not just a chasm between the arts and sciences, but between different arts and different sciences, and between academics within what might superficially appear to be the same discipline (a sociologist friend once sneeringly dismissed the work of another as "just figurational sociology". I didn't let on that I had no idea what he was talking about, nor did I ask what flavour of sociologist he would be).
Critics might object that there are many examples of artists and scientists working together. As I write this, London's Science Museum is hosting a major art exhibition, and similar events take place around the world. You can barely turn on BBC2 without seeing a programme in which dancers try to represent the movement of electrons around the nucleus, or a painter recreates the structure of the brain with cardboard and pig sperm.
Presumably, a primary motivation for the BBC is its desire to offer at least a few programmes about science without actually talking about science:
"Next, as part of our funding commitment, we have a programme in which the Milton Keynes Light Opera performs a new show 'Lives of a Plant. But, before you all turn over to 'Strictly Come Dancing', we'd like to assure you that there won't be any facts or other boring stuff."
I'm not persuaded: why would people need to go to such lengths to bring art and science together if they were already united? Just as it is a good policy to doubt the veracity of someone who describes themselves as 'a real laugh', it seems sensible to question an organisation that, over and over and over again, tries to persuade us that the arts and sciences really are best friends.
Maybe this is not a problem. After all, artists and scientists usually work on fundamentally different questions. And even when people talk about 'artistic truth' (or more commonly and incomprehensibly 'truths'), we secretly know that they don't really mean truth in the sense usually understood. They are not claiming that their creation offers some sort of objective representation of reality. Rather, they mean that it seems true for them, which of course means not true at all.
Every now and then, though, an artist has the temerity to engage more fully with science in their creative work. Sometimes this works; more often it doesn't.
Whatever other pleasures might be gained from watching Rachel Welch running away from Dinosaurs in a fur bikini "One Million Years BC", the plot is somewhat undermined by the fact that anatomically modern humans would not appear on the earth for another nine hundred and fifty thousand years, by which time most dinosaurs would have been extinct for more than sixty million years.
Creative folk might respond, as Ray Harryhausen did, that he did not make the film for "professors" who in his opinion "probably don't go to the cinema anyway." But this is an empirically inaccurate statement: I know of at least three of my colleagues who have seen a film; and one Professor of Physics who is an avid fan of the works of Miss Pamela Anderson.
Art is never an excuse for sloppiness.
Sometimes artists get things pretty much spot on. I'm sure physicists and astronomers can list hundreds of factual errors in the popular America sitcom 'The Big Bang Theory', but overall the writers of the show have managed to avoid the lure of 'artistic license', aka, error. Even better is the show's theme tune by the Canadian band 'Barenaked Ladies'.
How is this for a palatable introduction to the cosmos?
Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait...
The Earth began to cool,
The autotrophs began to drool,
Neanderthals developed tools,
We built a wall (we built the pyramids),
Math, science, history, unravelling the mysteries,
That all started with the big bang!
"Since the dawn of man" is really not that long,
As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song.
A fraction of a second and the elements were made.
The bipeds stood up straight,
The dinosaurs all met their fate,
They tried to leap but they were late
And they all died (they froze their asses off)
The oceans and pangea
See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya
Set in motion by the same big bang!
It all started with the big BANG!
It's expanding ever outward but one day
It will cause the stars to go the other way,
Collapsing ever inward, we won't be here, it wont be hurt
Our best and brightest figure that it'll make an even bigger bang!
Australopithecus would really have been sick of us
Debating out while here they're catching deer (we're catching viruses)
Religion or astronomy, Encarta, Deuteronomy
It all started with the big bang!
Music and mythology, Einstein and astrology
It all started with the big bang!
It all started with the big BANG!
Aside from one minor spelling error (it is 'maths', not 'math'), this seems to achieve two admirable goals: it is both good poetry (i.e., it rhymes) and good science.
___________
So perhaps the arts and sciences can live harmoniously together.
Artists can be creative; and scientists can tell them when they make mistakes.
There was a wonderful example of such synergy in action a few years ago. The fragrant pop star Katie Melua had a hit with a song entitled 'Nine Million Bicycles'. To a pleasant back beat, Ms Melua sang:
"There are nine million bicycles in Beijing,
That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny,
Like the fact that I will love you till I die.
We are 12 billion light-years from the edge,
That's a guess,
No one can ever say it's true,
But I know that I will always be with you."
What is wrong with these lyrics? Sino-cycle experts might spot that the song radically under-estimates the number of bikes in Beijing. But it gets worse: we are not '12 billion light-years from the edge' of the Universe. Admittedly, Ms Melua's estimate is much better than those numerous folk (mainly Americans) who think we are six thousand light years away. But relatively not-wrong is still wrong.
The science writer Simon Singh spotted the mistake and helpfully pointed it out in the Guardian newspaper: "there are thousands of astronomers working day and (of course) night to measure the age of the universe, and the latest observations imply a universe that is almost 14 billion years old, not 12 billion". Worse, for Singh, was the unforgiveable use of the word "guess": "to say that the age of the universe is 'a guess' is an insult to a century of astronomical progress. The age of the universe is not just 'a guess', but rather it is a carefully measured number that is now known to a high degree of accuracy".
Mr Singh did not stop there. He graciously offered to re-write the erroneous lyrics, informed by modern science. Ms Melua took the criticism in the spirit in which it was intended, although she felt that ""it was quite hard to get all the syllables in".
Nevertheless, science is science, and she agreed to sing her song with the revised verse:
"We are 13.7 billion light-years from the edge of the observable universe,
That's a good estimate with well-defined error bars,
Scientists say it's true, but acknowledge that it may be refined,
And with the available information, I predict that I will always be with you."
Proof, if any was needed, that art and science can live in perfect harmony.
(You can hear the 'correct' lyrics, sung by Katie Melua, at http://tinyurl.com/pns3tk)
It is not just a matter of opinion. The guitar-wielding Christians were mistaken, plain and simple. It seemed to me that their religious persuasion was irrelevant. Truth is truth, whether one wears a cross and has a bad haircut or not.
Things become a bit more complicated when art enters the conversation. In his 1959 Reith Lecture C.P. Snow famously distinguished between 'the two cultures' of the sciences and the humanities. I've never understood the vitriolic reaction to his thesis that there was a breakdown of communication between the two camps. This seems almost self-evidently true, even today. But perhaps that is because I work in Universities, where there is not just a chasm between the arts and sciences, but between different arts and different sciences, and between academics within what might superficially appear to be the same discipline (a sociologist friend once sneeringly dismissed the work of another as "just figurational sociology". I didn't let on that I had no idea what he was talking about, nor did I ask what flavour of sociologist he would be).
Critics might object that there are many examples of artists and scientists working together. As I write this, London's Science Museum is hosting a major art exhibition, and similar events take place around the world. You can barely turn on BBC2 without seeing a programme in which dancers try to represent the movement of electrons around the nucleus, or a painter recreates the structure of the brain with cardboard and pig sperm.
Presumably, a primary motivation for the BBC is its desire to offer at least a few programmes about science without actually talking about science:
"Next, as part of our funding commitment, we have a programme in which the Milton Keynes Light Opera performs a new show 'Lives of a Plant. But, before you all turn over to 'Strictly Come Dancing', we'd like to assure you that there won't be any facts or other boring stuff."
I'm not persuaded: why would people need to go to such lengths to bring art and science together if they were already united? Just as it is a good policy to doubt the veracity of someone who describes themselves as 'a real laugh', it seems sensible to question an organisation that, over and over and over again, tries to persuade us that the arts and sciences really are best friends.
Maybe this is not a problem. After all, artists and scientists usually work on fundamentally different questions. And even when people talk about 'artistic truth' (or more commonly and incomprehensibly 'truths'), we secretly know that they don't really mean truth in the sense usually understood. They are not claiming that their creation offers some sort of objective representation of reality. Rather, they mean that it seems true for them, which of course means not true at all.
Every now and then, though, an artist has the temerity to engage more fully with science in their creative work. Sometimes this works; more often it doesn't.
Whatever other pleasures might be gained from watching Rachel Welch running away from Dinosaurs in a fur bikini "One Million Years BC", the plot is somewhat undermined by the fact that anatomically modern humans would not appear on the earth for another nine hundred and fifty thousand years, by which time most dinosaurs would have been extinct for more than sixty million years.
Creative folk might respond, as Ray Harryhausen did, that he did not make the film for "professors" who in his opinion "probably don't go to the cinema anyway." But this is an empirically inaccurate statement: I know of at least three of my colleagues who have seen a film; and one Professor of Physics who is an avid fan of the works of Miss Pamela Anderson.
Art is never an excuse for sloppiness.
Sometimes artists get things pretty much spot on. I'm sure physicists and astronomers can list hundreds of factual errors in the popular America sitcom 'The Big Bang Theory', but overall the writers of the show have managed to avoid the lure of 'artistic license', aka, error. Even better is the show's theme tune by the Canadian band 'Barenaked Ladies'.
How is this for a palatable introduction to the cosmos?
Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait...
The Earth began to cool,
The autotrophs began to drool,
Neanderthals developed tools,
We built a wall (we built the pyramids),
Math, science, history, unravelling the mysteries,
That all started with the big bang!
"Since the dawn of man" is really not that long,
As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song.
A fraction of a second and the elements were made.
The bipeds stood up straight,
The dinosaurs all met their fate,
They tried to leap but they were late
And they all died (they froze their asses off)
The oceans and pangea
See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya
Set in motion by the same big bang!
It all started with the big BANG!
It's expanding ever outward but one day
It will cause the stars to go the other way,
Collapsing ever inward, we won't be here, it wont be hurt
Our best and brightest figure that it'll make an even bigger bang!
Australopithecus would really have been sick of us
Debating out while here they're catching deer (we're catching viruses)
Religion or astronomy, Encarta, Deuteronomy
It all started with the big bang!
Music and mythology, Einstein and astrology
It all started with the big bang!
It all started with the big BANG!
Aside from one minor spelling error (it is 'maths', not 'math'), this seems to achieve two admirable goals: it is both good poetry (i.e., it rhymes) and good science.
___________
So perhaps the arts and sciences can live harmoniously together.
Artists can be creative; and scientists can tell them when they make mistakes.
There was a wonderful example of such synergy in action a few years ago. The fragrant pop star Katie Melua had a hit with a song entitled 'Nine Million Bicycles'. To a pleasant back beat, Ms Melua sang:
"There are nine million bicycles in Beijing,
That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny,
Like the fact that I will love you till I die.
We are 12 billion light-years from the edge,
That's a guess,
No one can ever say it's true,
But I know that I will always be with you."
What is wrong with these lyrics? Sino-cycle experts might spot that the song radically under-estimates the number of bikes in Beijing. But it gets worse: we are not '12 billion light-years from the edge' of the Universe. Admittedly, Ms Melua's estimate is much better than those numerous folk (mainly Americans) who think we are six thousand light years away. But relatively not-wrong is still wrong.
The science writer Simon Singh spotted the mistake and helpfully pointed it out in the Guardian newspaper: "there are thousands of astronomers working day and (of course) night to measure the age of the universe, and the latest observations imply a universe that is almost 14 billion years old, not 12 billion". Worse, for Singh, was the unforgiveable use of the word "guess": "to say that the age of the universe is 'a guess' is an insult to a century of astronomical progress. The age of the universe is not just 'a guess', but rather it is a carefully measured number that is now known to a high degree of accuracy".
Mr Singh did not stop there. He graciously offered to re-write the erroneous lyrics, informed by modern science. Ms Melua took the criticism in the spirit in which it was intended, although she felt that ""it was quite hard to get all the syllables in".
Nevertheless, science is science, and she agreed to sing her song with the revised verse:
"We are 13.7 billion light-years from the edge of the observable universe,
That's a good estimate with well-defined error bars,
Scientists say it's true, but acknowledge that it may be refined,
And with the available information, I predict that I will always be with you."
Proof, if any was needed, that art and science can live in perfect harmony.
(You can hear the 'correct' lyrics, sung by Katie Melua, at http://tinyurl.com/pns3tk)
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Psychical Views on Religion
Identifying, classifying, and naming things gives humanity a means to compartmentalize and deal with an anxiety riddled existence. Our minds predilection for disdain towards the unknown provides the driving force for this coping strategy. Compartmentalizing global data locally into small known quantifiable pieces allows our minds to logically sequence this information and form relationships between them.
But, what of the extreme outliers which lie beyond our ability to reason out logically? They fall into the human constructs of organized religion, the supernatural, and the paranormal. These statistical anomalies that reside in the alphas and defy definition must be accommodated by societal values, belief systems, and accepted explanations. Mainly because left unchecked the unrest caused in our minds by these anomalies would lead to neurotic coping strategies resulting in societal decay.
Ethically this would seem to be a poor moral decision. However, I assure you it is not. Implementing control mechanisms in order to increase the uniformity of a populace allowed humanity to reach the apex of existence on this planet. The ability to cope with the unknown not only formed the foundation of modern society but also allowed us to remain a viable species.
From shamanism to deity worship each culture had their unique form of explanation for the unexplainable. More importantly whether gods, spirits, curses, or blessings became the uniform explanation integral psychical relief from fear, stress, and anxiety occurred. In addition, added benefits of providing these belief systems included a hierarchy in societal structure, a purpose for existing, and a value system to maintain order.
However, in knowing that organized religion is a human construct designed to keep the cogs of society running smoothly one must ask several critical questions. What is real? What is the truth? What are my values? What is the purpose of my existence? How do I explain the unexplainable? The answers to these questions depend entirely on who you are. They require you to establish an individual perspective separate from the familiar group consciousness, doctrine, and dogma.
This process requires a deep knowledge of ones self. An ability to see inward past our bias and view with an open mind our true motifs, values, and beliefs. Peering into the core of who we are to glean the jewels of the true person that is hiding inside. This experience may be painful at times. Remember that through pain we grow as individuals. Strength is required to undertake this type of spiritual journey and is not recommended for the feint of heart.
So, whether you choose to subscribe to world doctrine or follow your own personal code of ethics one thing is certain. As human beings we possess a thirst for knowledge and knowing. We possess an innate need to explain the unexplainable. It is a fundamental truth, ingrained in our genetic code, fueling humanities evolution. Our thirst for explanations drives us forward as a species giving us a purpose. Ultimately humanities quest for knowledge adds meaning to what would otherwise seem like a morbid and pointless existence.
But, what of the extreme outliers which lie beyond our ability to reason out logically? They fall into the human constructs of organized religion, the supernatural, and the paranormal. These statistical anomalies that reside in the alphas and defy definition must be accommodated by societal values, belief systems, and accepted explanations. Mainly because left unchecked the unrest caused in our minds by these anomalies would lead to neurotic coping strategies resulting in societal decay.
Ethically this would seem to be a poor moral decision. However, I assure you it is not. Implementing control mechanisms in order to increase the uniformity of a populace allowed humanity to reach the apex of existence on this planet. The ability to cope with the unknown not only formed the foundation of modern society but also allowed us to remain a viable species.
From shamanism to deity worship each culture had their unique form of explanation for the unexplainable. More importantly whether gods, spirits, curses, or blessings became the uniform explanation integral psychical relief from fear, stress, and anxiety occurred. In addition, added benefits of providing these belief systems included a hierarchy in societal structure, a purpose for existing, and a value system to maintain order.
However, in knowing that organized religion is a human construct designed to keep the cogs of society running smoothly one must ask several critical questions. What is real? What is the truth? What are my values? What is the purpose of my existence? How do I explain the unexplainable? The answers to these questions depend entirely on who you are. They require you to establish an individual perspective separate from the familiar group consciousness, doctrine, and dogma.
This process requires a deep knowledge of ones self. An ability to see inward past our bias and view with an open mind our true motifs, values, and beliefs. Peering into the core of who we are to glean the jewels of the true person that is hiding inside. This experience may be painful at times. Remember that through pain we grow as individuals. Strength is required to undertake this type of spiritual journey and is not recommended for the feint of heart.
So, whether you choose to subscribe to world doctrine or follow your own personal code of ethics one thing is certain. As human beings we possess a thirst for knowledge and knowing. We possess an innate need to explain the unexplainable. It is a fundamental truth, ingrained in our genetic code, fueling humanities evolution. Our thirst for explanations drives us forward as a species giving us a purpose. Ultimately humanities quest for knowledge adds meaning to what would otherwise seem like a morbid and pointless existence.
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