Mankind 'shortening the universe's life'

Source: UK Telegraph

Forget about the threat that mankind poses to the Earth: our activities may be shortening the life of the universe too.

The startling claim is made by a pair of American cosmologists investigating the consequences for the cosmos of quantum theory, the most successful theory we have. Over the past few years, cosmologists have taken this powerful theory of what happens at the level of subatomic particles and tried to extend it to understand the universe, since it began in the subatomic realm during the Big Bang.

But there is an odd feature of the theory that philosophers and scientists still argue about. In a nutshell, the theory suggests that we change things simply by looking at them and theorists have puzzled over the implications for years.
...
New Scientist reports a worrying new variant as the cosmologists claim that astronomers may have accidentally nudged the universe closer to its death by observing dark energy, a mysterious anti gravity force which is thought to be speeding up the expansion of the cosmos.


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/21/scicosmos121.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

---

Is there anything that humans can't fuck up?

the more I watch my TV the sooner it will wear out, but this is like saying the ants in the ant farm wear out the house by looking out of the ant farm.

:D

Or so suggests Diane Duane in her "Young Wizards" series.

So maybe it's not just a job for wizards.

heh heh.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Down with entropy !!

Down with corrupt republicon homelander sex-deviant cronies !

Up with exergy !!! Or Whatever !!!

So repeatedly sayeth Dr. Who.

I mean, he's The Doctor.

Brilliant!

FAN-TASTIC!

So far as we can determine.... no.

- Maybe if we all just shut our eyes...

Anyone interested in this topic would greatly benefit from reading the work of Walter Russell-He was a 20th century American genius that has been exorcised from history-He was an incredible man who was responsible for debunking many scientific theories that he showed to be incorrect-He posits that The Big Bang was not the start of the Universe, and that the Universe has always been here and will always be here-he showed the relationship of science and God and the fact that we are all immortal-He never attended school past the age of 9, yet was a master in the srts and sciences, created a new expanded periodic table and gave us the formulas to use Hydrogen as a cheap, clean, and plentiful source of energy, as well as how to produce water-He was a true Renaissance Man who said he derived his knowledge from God-a fascinating man who deserves to be studied, especially as he has answers for our most pressing problems.

jeanruss, welcome to DU! :hi:

I shall look up Walter Russell, thank you for sharing.

This kind of thing intrigues me no end - really gets my brain going, as well as my intuition.

Yes, but did he think of the idea of persuading everyone who lives in a desert to install a large swimming pool in the backyard? Such swimming pools could be a cheap and plentiful source of clean water. All you would need is the water.

what with explaining away the big bang. Never mind that everything in the universe is moving away from some central point, and never mind the existence of radiation remnants from the big bang. Also, lets not think about the other thousands of pieces of circumstancial evidence that scientists have found pointing to the correctness of the big bang theory and the lack of disproof of that evidence.

After all, what has the scientific method (the same method leading to the adoption of quantum theory and the big bang theory) wrought for us? Not a thing (if you discount, among other things, atomic theory which has lead to the atomic bomb, and nuclear power, electrical theory which has lead us to smaller and smaller electronic devices). Oh yeah, like the creationists that live around me I'll take the ramblings of a long dead man over the scientific method any day.

:sarcasm:

If you are going to negate a comment, it would be a good idea to get your facts straight-Walter russell didn't just explain away that theory, he showed why it was incorrect-he discovered plutonium-he wasn't against scientific theory, he just showed why it was WRONG-He wasn't some obscure inventor-he was very close to some of the giants of our era-Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Mark Twain, Nicola Tesla and others were his friends-he devised a machine that ran on Hydrogen and demonstrated it to NORAD-Tesla told him to shelve his work for a thousand years, until we were ready to accept it-Despite the fact that he never attended school after the age of nine, he was a paid consultant of IBM-he started the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center, the stables at Central Park and created the condominium concept-He was known as the Leonardo DaVinci of the modern era-It is tragic that humanity has been deprived the work of this genius-His legacy is a one year course that explains his work and his knowledge of the Universe and the purpose of man.

Attempting to expand quantum physics into the macro universe is of little value, given that quantum physics is, at best, a lot of guesswork that, ala Newton, merely describes an observation-incompletely-rather than explicating a process.

If this were not being treated by a gullible press as news, it would belong in the lounge rather than latest breaking news.

and this conjecture relies on exactly one of them.

I wish science reporters understood some of the science they work on. Then we wouldn't get articles like this.

a physicist, Hugh Everett, I think, did a paper treating the macro universe in quantum mechanical fashion, kicking off a dazzling array of science fiction stories concerning parallel universes.
The trick that he allowed for, that these "science writers" miss, is that "mankind" must also follow the same logic. Mankind and our observations also must be quantum functions, just as would be the stuff we are observing.

So, if we are quantum functions, doing what quantum functions do, observing other q-functions, there can be nothing special about our relationship to dark energy, dark matter, or anything else in the universe.

There ain't nobody here but all us quantum functions!

Thus the balance is restored and there is no problem.

(blues riff)

we are quantum functions,
doing what quantum functions do,
observing other q-functions

...

(chorus)There ain't nobody here but all us quantum functions!

That's right up their alley.

:hi:

About interuniverse communication? It uses a trick of entanglement and a long time scale decoherence (relative to the rest of the system) to allow a universe that's split off from you to send you a message.

It's actually an experiment that could be done for less than a hundred grand.

I presume you recommend it, so I shall make it a point to do so. Thanks!
:hi:

They're not trying.

suggest that no "entity" has observed dark energy before 1998 in the entire universe

Nevermind that it's based on an idiot's understanding of quantum physics. I agree with EST in post#5, someone's playing a joke and the moronic press is falling for it.

First: I'm a student of physics and I had a seminary and several lectures in cosmology (because I'm interested in this topic).

Now, where should I start?

1. Quantum theory consists basically of states and operators, that work on these states. The state can be written in different bases (space, momentum, eigenstates... whatever you need right now). Let's say you choose the space-base. That means, you have a function with one three-dimensional variable for the location of every particle that is described by this multi-particle-state.
In your hand fits about 1 mol (= 6.022 * 10^23) particles. And now imagine how much variables you would need to describe a whole universe.

2. The example of Schroedinger's cat comes up in the article. This is a thought-experiment, that is often misunderstood.
Basically: You have a box with a cat in it. You don't know whether it's dead or alive. Quantum mechanics say, she's 50% dead AND 50% alive. Now look at the cat and you will find that she is EITHER 100% dead OR 100% alive. Repeat the experiment with an infinite number of cats and you get a 50:50 chance, what the state of the cat might be.
This example is used to illustrate the superposition principle of wave mechanics.

3. Observing quantum mechanical states does NOT create them. They exist, whether they are observed or not. It's a matter of statistics, whether you observe them. (States mix/interact, when e.g. the atom is subjected to a magnetic or electric field.)

4. You can't reset exponential decay! It's mathematically impossible. Choose a point in time, where to start. Zoom in (or out), so the amplitude fits and you will receive exactly the same shape of the function.

5. Have you heard somewhere that the speed of light is finite? How could we change a whole universe simultaneously?
So far the Dark Energy is a theoretical solution to the problem, that the universe seems to accelerate it's expansion.
Do think, coming up with an idea several years ago, is enough to instantly change a universe that is at least 40 billion lightyears wide?

6. Applying quantum mechanics to a whole universe is complicated. That means, we would have to unite space and time, like in relativity. That would mean, we need a quantum-mechanical time-operator (to calculate at what point in time an event happened/a state occurred). And the existence of a time-operator in a system means, that negative energy-values are possible. And that means, that there is no vacuum (no ground state) and that the universe is unstable by definition and could create infinite amounts of positive energy by decaying to a lower state and lower and lower...
(Not speaking of the mathematical problems of describing a time-independent state with the variables of a curved space.)

New Scientist and the Telegraph. NS just loves to tout any wacky idea that they can turn into an attention-grabbing tag line on their cover, and the Telegraph falls right into lock-step behind them. In any case, humans will be lucky to come out of the current century in decent shape, so worrying about the fate of the universe billions of years hence shouldn't be high on anyone's list of priorities. If you're really worried, stop looking up!

This stuff reminds of the NYT article circa 1920's about Goddard's rocket experiments. The writer allowed that manned rockets to the moon wouldn't work because in the vacuum of space a rocket has nothing to push against.

I rather assumed that was the case.
If they really wanted to do something to advance human understanding past the "gee whiz" or the "god musta done it" stage, they--meaning particularly publishers, writers and popularizers--should start using terms to mean what they actually represent.

Consider the oft-bandied about term, "quantum leap" or "quantum jump," which is often used to represent some huge departure in thinking or some dramatic change in direction.
A "quantum leap" is actually the smallest detectable change that could actually be a difference--a planck length, for example.

There are so many adaptations of scientific languaging that are really designed to impress the innocent that it's a wonder there's much understanding at all in the general community.

This assumes that the instruments made by humans are the only ones capable of observing dark matter.

Given the scale of the universe, that's a highly dubious assumption.

On so many levels.

Laugh, people. Especially those who have some understanding of physics and/or cosmology. It is of the caliber of The Onion, and thus quite funny.

And to those who do understand, remember that dark matter is a proposition of the explanation of gravitational behavior on very large scales that can be explained without changing General Relativity by simply including additional mass (dark matter). Thus, it is "observed" already and directly by all the other "visible" matter, and has been since soon after the big bang.

Now Laugh.

Guys, quit looking at your wives.

An 'Appeal to Ignorance' fallacy ....

Just because one might speculate that a specific event might occur, you cannot presume it's true without empirical evidence to support the assertion .... Being ignorant of a fact leaves us with no foundation to assert that fact.

One might just as well speculate we LENGTHEN the 'lifespan' of the universe .....

I can't wait for the Big Rip. Gonna get Riptured!

I can't believe they found someone gullible enough to print this.

or at least take total blame.

WE're not the only beings in this Universe, and if we've been looking at dark energies, millions of other intergalactic species have too. They are as much to blame as well.

It is the way of the natural universe.

http://hobbes.ncsa.uiuc.edu/desiderata.html

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.


Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.


Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.


Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.


You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.


Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.


With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.


Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

Deteriorata

Go placidly amid the noise and the waste and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.

Avoid quiet and passive persons unless you are in need of sleep. Rotate your tires. Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself and heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys; know what to kiss and when.

Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do. Wherever possible, put people on hold. Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment and despite the changing fortunes of time, there is always a big future in computer maintenance. Remember the Pueblo. Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle and mutilate.

Know yourself; if you need help, call the FBI. Exercise caution in your daily affairs, especially with those persons closest to you -- that lemon on your left, for instance. Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet. Fall not in love therefore; it will stick to your face.

Gracefully surrender the things of youth, birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan; and let not the sands of time get in your lunch. Hire people with hooks. For a good time, call 555-4311; ask for Ken. Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting enough cheese; and reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be worse in Milwaukee.

You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here, and whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back.

Therefore make peace with your God whatever you conceive Him to be -- Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin.

With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate. Give up.

by Tony Hendra
performed by National Lampoon
on National Lampoon Radio Dinner LP
(1972 Blue Thumb Records)


:patriot:

this is laughable bullllllshit

what a complete and utter load of total horseshit.

:eyes:

But the bad is that quantum theory says that whenever we observe or measure something, we could stop it decaying due what is what is called the "quantum Zeno effect," which suggests that if an "observer" makes repeated, quick observations of a microscopic object undergoing change, the object can stop changing - just as a watched kettle never boils.

ummm....someone ought to tell those quantum physicists that watched kettles DO boil- and at EXACTLY the same rate as an unwatched one.

and then tell them to get a frickin' life and/or a fucking clue.

:rofl:

If only we didn't have lights and could see the stars again, perhaps we would realize our insignificance and appreciate life and love a little more.

Life is hard enough without seeing the stars, and personally I think it is the beings from the planet XXeelaput that started the quantuum problems for us.

:P

:nuke:

Ahh, the irony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schroedinger's_cat

I can understand that by observing something we have interacted with it. Our energy is much greater than subatomic particles and I can see how we change them by shooting energy at them, ect. Somehow, thinking our puny attention has the power to influence huge celestial events is a stretch. Interesting to see that quantum physics here is sort of agreeing with some spiritual assumptions that we make our own reality....hmmmm.

do we encourage them?

:evilgrin:

I am sorry for the loss of any keyboards.

The universe is limitless. The scope of our perception is indeed quite limited. There may have been millions of big bangs. Furthermore, a "void" than contains energy is not a void at all. There never was a beginning temporally to the universe, nor will there be an end. Matter simply changes form, limitlessly, forever.

in the darkest part of the Dark Zone, no less.

I suggest we leave immediately.

Makes me ask the question, is our reporters learning?

If dark matter is 20 million lightyears away, then it would have to take 20 million years for the "information" that you have observed the dark matter to reach the particles in question.

Also, you don't actually "observe" dark matter (or dark energy) anyway. What you observe are the gravitational effects of dark matter that allow you to infer its existence and properties.

This is obviously a hoax, and a pretty funny one. It must have been INTENED to be funny, as opposed to the crap Richard Hoagland spews.

But let's just hope we don't discover a Babel Fish that causes God to wink out of existence.

Hubble finds dark matter smoke ring



Posted at 9:01 am in Pretty pictures, NASA, Astronomy, Science, Cool stuff

I won’t waste your time by first writing a lot of words. Let’s get right to the way cool picture:




That image is of the galaxy cluster CL0024+1652 (go look at the higher resolution version — it’s very pretty!), a galactic city located a whopping 5 billion light years away! That means the light we see from this cluster left it five billion years ago, so we’re seeing this structure as it was when the Universe was just 2/3 its present age. Almost every small object in that image is a galaxy, and all of them are held sway by the cluster’s gravity, orbiting the center like bees flying around a beehive.

It has long been thought that every large object in the Universe is surrounded by a halo of dark matter — unseen, mysterious, yet profoundly influential in the life of normal matter. Dark matter (or just DM for short) gives off no light, and does not interact with normal matter directly– a cloud of it could pass right through you and you’d never know. But, like regular old matter, it has gravity, and that can betray its presence.

I’ve gone over this before — Einstein postulated that gravity from matter bends space, like a bowling ball on a bed bends the mattress. Light will follow that bend in space the same way a marble rolled across the bed will curve from the bowling ball’s dip. If there is some massive object out there in space, and some galaxy beyond it, the light from the more distant galaxy will bend as it passes by the intervening material. We see that as a distortion in the shape of the galaxy. This is called gravitational lensing, and can be used to map out the location of dark matter. So even though we cannot see DM directly, we can see its effects.

<snip>

This ring will prove important to astronomers for many reasons. For one, it gives us insight on how dark matter can be shaped by normal matter. We don’t understand the nature of DM very well at all, so anything like this can only be helpful in honing the theories. For another, this is a bright, dense, well-observed cluster, so we can learn quite a bit about it. The more we understand the cluster, the less we have to guess about its DM halo. For a third, this is the first time a halo of DM has been seen to be so differently shaped from the gas and other mass in the cluster. It can be studied separately from the normal matter, making that task in some ways easier.

More:
http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/05/15/hubble-finds-dark-matter-smoke-ring/


AAS Report #2: Dark matter and large scale structure
Posted at 5:37 pm in Pretty pictures, NASA, Astronomy, Science, Cool stuff

A note: I am attending a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle. I will blog as much as I can from this meeting, as there is a LOT of news coming out, as well as lots of fun and wonderful scientific geekiness. This particular blog entry is a bit long as I have to explain some relatively complex things to get to the point. I think most of my reporting will be somewhat less wordy. But no promises! I love this stuff, and I love to talk about it.

Here’s a (very) small piece of the survey image from Hubble:



<snip>

But a trick of relativity winds up betraying the presence of dark matter, too. As Einstein postulated, matter bends space, the way a heavy weight in a bed will warp the mattress. Light traveling though empty space will move in a straight line, but if matter is warping space, light will travel along the bent space as well. Imagine light from a distant galaxy is on its way to us. But between this galaxy and us is some large mass, like a clump of dark matter. The light from the galaxy will bend around the matter, and when it gets to us it will be slightly distorted, just as if the light has passed through a lens. This process, in fact, is called gravitational lensing (for more about this, see my writeup about the Bullet Cluster, image #4 in my Top 10 Images of 2006).

So astronomers can map out the location of dark matter by very carefully taking observations of large areas of the sky and painstakingly teasing out the distortions in the shapes of background galaxies. The observations need to be done from space because the background objects are faint, small, and very close together. Space-based telescopes can more easily see fainter objects than ground-based ’scopes, and have better resolution– they can separate closely spaced objects better. That’s why Hubble was used for this survey. In fact, the survey was massive: it took 10% of Hubble’s time over two years. It’s the biggest single project ever done by Hubble.

But Hubble has limitations. To get the dark matter location, the distances to many thousands of galaxies had to be found. This was done from the ground, using the Very Large Telescope and the Subaru Observatory, using a technique called photometric redshift. Basically, the galaxies were observed through many different color filters, and the brightness of a given galaxy in each filter can be used to determine its distance.

More:
http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/01/07/aas-report-2-dark-matter-and-large-scale-structure/


A dark hole
Posted at 12:37 pm in Pretty pictures, NASA, Astronomy, Cool stuff

Dark matter is pretty weird stuff. We’ve seen tons of evidence for it: the way galaxies behave in clusters, the way individual galaxies rotate, and just in the past year two monster pieces of evidence supporting it were found (the Bullet Cluster (#4 on that list) and the COSMOS survey).

The deal is, dark matter doesn’t interact with normal matter except through gravity. Two clouds of DM could pass right through each other and not collide like normal matter, but their mutual gravity might distort the shapes of the clouds. Dark matter also appears to hang out in giant clouds surrounding galaxies, and in theory may be the seed which helped cause galaxies and clusters to form in the first place.

The evidence for this has been really good… but then a monkey got thrown in the wrench.



The image above was just released, and shows an optical image of galaxy cluster Abell 520 with an X-ray image from the orbiting Chandra X-ray observatory overlaid on it. The optical image shows stars in our Milky Way and galaxies belonging to the cluster. The red fuzz is hot gas made of normal matter, heated to millions of degrees in the cluster. The blue fuzz is the location of the dark matter in the cluster, inferred by its effect on the light of background galaxies (I describe how this is done in detail here).

The problem is, where there appears to be the most dark matter, near the center of the cluster, there are very few galaxies. And there are areas where there are lots of galaxies, but little dark matter. This is the opposite of what the theory predicts! In general, the DM and the galaxies should stick together, so wherever you see one you should find the other.

More:
http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/08/16/a-dark-hole/



Further Information on Dark Energy
by Clifford, at 11:26 am, November 16th, 2006 in science, science in the media, astronomy, cosmology, dark energy

So the press conference is over. I did not listen to it, but the gist of it, from the press release, seems to be that they’ve observed several more supernovae to pin down even more accurately what the universe’s expansion rate was at very early times (up to nine or ten billion years ago). Image below from their site:



From the site, we learn (for background):

Astronomers used the supernovae to measure the expansion rate of the universe and determine how the expansion rate is affected by the repulsive push of dark energy, a mysterious energy force that pervades space. Supernovae provide reliable measurements because their intrinsic brightness is well understood. They are therefore reliable distance markers, allowing astronomers to determine how far away they are from Earth.

From the press release (what came before):

Previous Hubble observations of the most distant supernovae known revealed that the early universe was dominated by matter whose gravity was slowing down the universe’s expansion rate, like a ball rolling up a slight incline. The observations also confirmed that the expansion rate of the cosmos began speeding up about five to six billion years ago. That is when astronomers believe that dark energy’s repulsive force overtook gravity’s attractive grip.

The new crop of supernovae tell us about quite a bit earlier…. nine or ten billion years…. From looking at them, they find evidence that Dark Energy was playing a role at that time too, still a repulsive component to the story, which is certainly good to know.

More:
http://asymptotia.com/2006/11/16/further-information-on-dark-energy/

When you take a nap, you're not looking at the Universe, and thus you're not hastening its demise.

So Reagan was our most pro-environmental President.

Meerkats photo report was a hoax

By Sally Peck
Last Updated: 1:37am BST 09/09/2007

News of budding photographic talent amongst the UK's meerkat population has been greatly exaggerated.


All was not exactly as it seemed on Meerkat Mountain

According to reports earlier this week, a mob of meerkats turned their paws to photography when Ian Turner, deputy head warden at Longleat Safari Park, in Wiltshire, accidentally left a camera unattended in their enclosure.

Upon his return, Mr Turner was reportedly "stunned" to discover that the meerkats had used the camera to take photographs of each other, and that they were all stored on the camera's digital memory card.

But, while the media - including the Telegraphhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/07/nmeer107.xml - embraced images of the curious animals, and readers registered their interest (or incredulity) by driving up the articles' clicks online, bloggers and photographers pointed out one small hitch in the story.

<snip>

Keith Harris, head warden at Longleat Safari Park, told the Amateur Photographer magazine, which spotted the incongruity: "It started off as a joke. It was a slight hoax. The meerkats didn't take any pictures at all."

More:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/07/nmeer107.xml


See also:

Meerkats photo report was a hoax
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2334836&mesg_id=2334836

If it was a joke, you really needed a sarcasm smilie.

This is exactly the subject of a sci-book from 1994 called Quarantine by Gerg Egan.

Good book.

http://www.amazon.com/Quarantine-Greg-Egan/dp/0061054232

we change things by looking at them on the QUANTUM SCALE, just like quantum mechanical effects only occur at the quantum scale. Scientists don't fight over the correctness of quantum theory (because one can use it to calculate values that are amazingly close to what experiments show), they just fight about what each mathematical property they see means physically.

It says nothing about human beings changing the age of the universe by looking at it through telescopes, that sounds like the same kind of new age fallacy that makes people think homeopathy is still a good idea.

and War Profiteers contemplate what government is for: In their view, it's for supplying cannon fodder for corporate resource wars, slave labor for corporate sweatshops (with off-shoring as the punishment for anyone who tries to create a union), a massive pile of public money to freely loot, a free ride for the rich as to taxes, and the rich and the corporate writing their own laws. If you look at our government this way, democracy melts away like the "Wicked Witch of the West" and shrinks to nothing, and what little democracy remains is taken care of with voting machines run on 'TRADE SECRET' programming, owned and controlled by rightwing corporations.

Pffsst! Gone! The Ever-Shrinking Democracy! And now it's a new day for Dorothy and her friends, the Cowardly Lion, the Straw Man, and the Man With No Heart.

Sorry, Over the Rainbow lovers! But Dorothy starts off by dropping a house upon a witch, thus bringing the wrath of her Sister Witch down upon the Munchkins, and furthermore subscribes to an ickily sentimental view of American family life--the kind of tearjerky stuff that fascists ooze over, as they torture and slaughter their way through Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia and other distant lands. And her friends are too much like Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld for comfort.

Thus, my analogy of democracy as the "Wicked Witch of the West," who melts away. Also, figure the Wizard of Oz as the hypocritical Democratic Party leadership. Bushites can be expected to steal elections, but who would've ever thunk that the Democrats would HELP them, by VOTING FOR and PROMOTING "trade secret" vote counting? They are "the man behind the curtain."

"He-e-elp! I'm shri-i-inking! I'm shri-i-inking! A-a-aw!" Pffsst! Gone! And all she wanted was justice.

The next time you look at the sky, where politicians have painted a rainbow, run the other way. Democracy and Justice will soon be shrinking, as they blame witches and demons for their perfidy. And the sky and the universe will shrink along with it, cuz you know why? Cuz a healthy democracy, with a strong middle class, was the only society that ever put men on the moon. Fascism shrinks the human mind.

Well, enough of this strange analogy. Interesting theory, that. I've often wondered at the modern scientific habit (virtually a doctrine) of leaving the human mind out of the equation. The Catholic Church may have done the human race a great disservice, by its role in splitting science off from that other great human capacity: the spirit. Science and religion were originally ONE endeavor--a common human effort to understand the earth, the universe and ourselves. Astrology gave birth to astronomy. Herbs and spells (psychological healing) gave birth to medicine and psychiatry. Many gods gave birth to one god. And you could say that mathematics gave birth to all three great western religions, for it was a mathematical view (of the Pythagoreans and later neoplatonists) that led to the concept of One God Indivisible, the Perfect One, the All-Seeing, All-Knowing, All-Just, All-Loving 'Numero Uno.' (It wasn't the Pythagoreans' fault that this later got associated with a wrathful male authority figure, and later still with the addition of his gentle son--and then that peculiar Catholic idea of the self-creating male Trinity. They TRIED to keep their scientific religion away from people like that--they failed.)

Anyway, I have often thought that science and religion (or rather spiritual insight--I don't mean organized religion) should come back together. Science gets too cold--and ends up obliterating cities or creating frankenseeds. And religion (the organized kind) has become ridiculous in its theological rationalizations--and often corrupt in its organization. But what might true spiritual insight bring to the pursuits and uses of science? For one thing, a better understanding of WHO is looking, WHO is hypothesizing, WHO is analyzing evidence, WHO is choosing evidence, WHO is deciding what questions to ask, and WHO is possibly changing the reality outside of itself by the mere act of looking?

Ah, here comes a bunch of messy, muddy, contradictory, baffling human concerns that scientists really don't like--or have been trained to dislike and exclude. Who are we? Who am I? Does my ergo exist because I think? Or do I think because my ergo exists? WHY do I think? And will I think when ergo ceases to exist, or appears to cease existing? And where is my next grant coming from and what would be the best research project to get some cash? And will my peers think it ridiculous, what I'm thinking--that we have misunderstood everything--everything!--by imposing our limited human notion of order upon everything we study, and that this mistake starts when we are helpless infants, and grows into large mistakes of scientific reasoning? Oops, better not think that--it could bring the whole edifice of objectivity crumbling down!

Humans are complex critters. Who knows what we are doing with our science? We've only just recently begun to understand what we've done with our global corporate business organization and our lifestyle. We're killing planet earth. Who knows what deep dark things lie beneath our obsessive drive to control the physical world, and to fend off that dark shadow of our personal, coming death?

And I just hate this narrow debate that the fascists have created: God vs. Evolution. It leaves little or no room for the best kind of human thought, that tries to look at all sides of an issue, and integrates various insights and disciplines, and all the stray facts and conundrums, into the largest, most comprehensive, most useful, most truthful view.