Letter 3: What Is It That We Are Looking At

In my previous letter, I stated that I believe that prejudice between science and religion is the main thing that has prevented the truth regarding life’s great questions from being discovered.  It certainly is not because the answers are overly complex. However, it is likely also due to the fact that the truth is all together unbelievable.

 

This brings me to the final topic I want to cover on truth: belief. If you go through the trouble to discover and comprehend the truth, yet for one reason or another choose not to believe it, what good is it? However, this happens all of the time. Consider again the argument between science and religion. People are engaged in an argument that started long before there was enough information to intelligently have the argument in the first place, and yet, both sides dove in anyway and became determined to win. It has only lead to self-imposed blindness, for they won’t see the truth even now when there is finally enough information to do so. People are trapped in the snare that occurs when any argument is entered, the goal quickly transforms from discovering the truth to winning the argument, rendering the would-be truth seeker entirely disabled. I won’t linger too long on this, but I will warn the reader, if you are caught up in the argument on either side, you will likely find no comfort in what is to come in my letters. Let’s find out by testing the water.

 

In the previous letter we considered the classic question, “What is matter made of? The answer is that we do not know. However, what we do know about matter is mind-boggling. For example, the Schwarzschild Radius of a black hole defines the size of the sphere surrounding the actual mass inside the black hole where light cannot escape its gravitational pull, and the Schwarzschild Radius of the Earth is 8.9 mm or a diameter of 17.8 mm.

 

Does that blow anyone away? That means that if you take all the matter that the Earth is made of and collapse it into a black hole, it would be smaller than a ping-pong ball, and probably much smaller. The 17.8 mm sphere is not the size of the matter inside the black hole, but rather the size of the Schwarzschild Radius surrounding it. Science has discovered that the mass of a black hole is very likely consolidated within a single point in space that has no size  (research black holes & infinite density if you want to make your head spin). In other words, discovery has revealed that you can take as much matter as you want, the Moon, the Earth, Jupiter, the sun, a red giant, the entire galaxy, etc. and collapse it into a single point in space smaller than an atom with the only variation being the resulting mass of the black hole and the corresponding size of its Schwarzschild Radius. But how can that be possible?

 

Let’s look at matter again on the atomic level. An atom is made from electrons that occupy the space around the nucleus of the atom (made of protons and neutrons) in a manner that the entire space appears to be solid. An analogy that I once heard for this is that if a basketball represents a hydrogen atom’s nucleus, the electron would be like a small marble moving randomly around the basketball at distances up to 20 miles, and moving so fast that it appears to completely fill the entire sphere, thus  giving the illusion of a solid, 40-mile diameter object. In addition, this principle is true for the proton and the neutron that make up the atom’s nucleus. The quarks that these particles are comprised of also move near the speed of light, making the protons and neutrons appear solid when they are not.

 

Well, this principle could go on and on, could it not? As technology allows us to zoom in on smaller and smaller particles, is it not possible that we continue to find the same principle to be true for each new particle that we find no matter how many times we find something smaller? And using logic together with what we know from black holes, isn’t it logical to assume that such is the case? If not, how could it be possible to take vastly varying amounts of matter and collapse them all the same into points in space that have no size?

 

Can you begin to comprehend what all of this means with respect to you and the world and universe around you? Discovery on these topics is fun and fascinating, but comprehension is scary, which in turn makes belief difficult, but the writing is on the wall. We are not made of anything, at least not in the tangible kind of way that our senses would lead us to believe. In essence, although it is not a 100% accurate comparison, we are hologram-like beings living in a holodeck-like universe. Kind of hard to swallow isn’t it, but such is where the evidence points.

 

So, what do we do with this knowledge? What is to be comprehended from it? I stated earlier that comprehension requires connecting a given truth with the other truths that surround it in order to see a bigger picture.

 

In my next letter, I will dive into the next connecting truth.

 

Until then,

 

Joshua

Reviews

[Meat of Dog]

You know what? You really seem to like and be invested in this concept. You should be the first one to flesh it out and publish it! That’s how most scholarly books come to be: if no one has done it that means you can be the first! I say go for it! I heard a col interview about leadership the other day and one of the key points made was that a true leader seeks no approval from others, meaning they don’t walk around asking ‘is this a good theory, do you like it? If not I’ll try again’. Instead they disregard those who don’t like it and find those who do to follow them; you have that quality I would say for sure.

Actually, there is a definition for what ‘matter’ is: “(matter is) physical substance in general, as distinct from mind and spirit; (in physics) that which occupies space and possesses rest mass, especially as distinct from energy.” The definition of mass is something that is matter (I know, that’s pretty tail-chasing). Really matter is observable. Humans for instance are matter, because they are made up of organs, cells, and then eventually lots of dead space surrounding atoms. Also, we have measurable elements like weight, gravity, and density. I agree that everything we perceive we perceive to be solid but is mostly dead space, but I think it’s going a bit too far to say we’re made up of nothing.





Suggestions:

“To self-imposedblindness for they” needs a space. Same here: “small marble movingrandomly around the”.

[Jack Isaac]

The idea that electrons "orbit" in the same sense that the Moon orbits the Earth, has fallen by the wayside. Electrons in motion emit matter waves, and the resulting energy equivalent of an orbiting electron would need to emit more matter than an atom has. Still, this does not dismiss the concept of a hologram universe --which is a theory that I really enjoy. But again your premise will require a rethinking of what we assume are facts. That aside, I really like this write and the flow of the speaker's voice adds a certain ease that most science writing seems to lack. Nice job!

[Victoria PoetryBunny]

" Both Religion and Science appear to be so caught up in age-old arguments"
So true.

Now for this part, this is interesting because I wrote a poem when I was thinking about something like this:
" the best I can come up with is that we are hologram-like beings in a holodeck-like universe."

Again with the science... very interesting. You are certainly creating letters for something for us each to think about, talk about/review, debate, stirring up things, n etc. Though for me, I am going with the flow of your letters, one by one as I read them in order and open to them, and so far, finding it all quite interesting and fascinating as well as nice; how you explain things because then I would just be so so confused all the more.

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree with the logic of this chapter. So many concepts and ideas been tossed around. Hard to see the real answer. Religion and science will never be on the same page. They go into two different directions. Thank you for the entertaining chapter.
Coyote

[Laura Storm]

First off I'm 17 and hate science yet this was not just science there were more important ideas at play here this was incredibly thought provoking and, even if I had to google things, it was fun to read! Great job!

[Livana Lowell]

Dear Joshua Letters,

Wait a minute, if we are holograms, then why do we decay? Why do we die and turn to bones and ash? What about the theory that we are made of water? It has been proven that we have that stuff in us? Especially the brain. Are you going to explore the psychological view point of your theory or not?

I agree with the first paragraph, though. I mean, it takes belief for every religion. Even atheists have to believe that nothing supernatural is real. I don't think you have to believe, I think you have to be open. I might not agree, but reading it gives me good piece of knowledge to add under my belt, ya know?

I also have to say your letters are thought-provoking. My mind has been challenged into new ideas.

Thanks for sharing

Sincerely Livana Lowell (LL)

[Kat ♥]

Very good! You should alot of feeling in the way that you presented this! GOOD JOB :)

[EMMIE]

WOAH BLEW ME AWAY THIS SOUNDS AND LOOKS VERY PRO. GOOD JOB

[Dayran]

In taking a plain scientific approach to the issue of creation and matter, we quite often find the discovery of the temporal natures very difficult to deal with, in the context of a human experience. However, a man of science, who is also a devoted family man will have less difficulty since he has the social support for his identity and is not reliant only by the experience of his thoughts.

In the literature of the world, one encounters the experiences of the impersonal ( Science, Zen, Taoism ) and the personal ( Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity ). They refer to a way in which one may combine both experiences to bring coherence to our experiences in science.

From the periodic table, we notice that the decay of old elements leads to the advent of new ones, referred to as Father and daughter elements. This might be one way in which we combine the two.

[Coffee Vampier]

"we are not really made of anything, at least not in the solid kind of way that our senses would lead us to believe?"

Wow!! right there I don't even know what to say to that other then it is completely mind blowing from your description that is the perfect answer.

This being said have you looked into the God Particle?