Physics Week Nine: Synthesis

My E-Prime Day - describe your day, only using English Prime

I woke up and wondered what time it was. My room seemed cool and dark enough that I did not think it was late yet in the day. I saw Hollybear, the dog laying next to me, wag her tail slightly, a movement I took to mean "good morning." Slowly I stumbled upstairs into the house and said "good morning" to my roommate. We talked as I chopped vegetables. I finished preparing my meal and sat down to eat. I felt a sense of gratitude for the abundance of food I have access to. I washed my dishes and grabbed Hollybear's leash. She jumped with what I assume to be joy and wagged her tail, a movement I took to mean "I approve, human." We walked our usual route, saying hello to a woman I used to work with and then to a neighbor. The neighbor has a pit bull who seems very sweet and well taken care of to me. Hollybear and Taya, the pit bull, wrestled around in the yard for a little bit as the neighbor and I talked. I then took Hollybear home, pet the other dog that is staying with us for the week, and got my things together. My bike ride to the coffee shop was relatively short, but enjoyable. The breeze seemed just right to me, just cool enough. The coffee tasted good and strong and left my cup quicker than I would have liked. And here I sit, listening to music, typing, enjoying some coffee, occasionally getting distracted by the comings and goings of other people in the coffee shop.

How might you synthesize eastern and western ideas in Physics?

"As above, so below"

Whether you turn to science, religion, or spirituality, we are all trying to describe the same thing. We use different languages and systems, and some approaches to description may be more "accurate" than others, but essentially we each use our own cultural/idealogical framework to describe the structures and mechanisms of the world around us. I say "accurate" with respect to traditions I disagree with, but aware that some descriptions of the structures of the universe are more verifiable than others. This class has given us a basic foundation in natural philosophy to articulate the structures of our reality in a way that aligns with eastern traditions such as Taoism and Hinduism, and vice versa. I have had the opportunity to learn from a professor and classmates who have a deeper connection to their spiritual path then I, and to interweave their insight to a better understanding of physics. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I often feel pressured to deny the interconnectedness of this world, ideas that Taoism and Sufism have bolstered in me, but that I did not have empirical evidence for. I see now that quantum physics does present scientific evidence for a deeply interconnected universe (and that sometimes you have to live with uncertainty to get closer to the Truth). I look forward to continuing to learn about those connections, from both a physics perspective and from the Taoism and TCM perspectives.