i've been following the phoenix mission on mars, and read a funny line from one of the news websites:
"After trying to crack further into it, the arm became immobilized, which is the expected programmed reaction for when it hits a hard surface."
:)
i've always felt that given enough time, physics will one day show itself to be linked to christianity. it's a sneaking suspicion that has shaped a lot of my personal decisions.
i've known since very early on that there is definitely something beyond the material world. i've seen far too much - from the possibly mundane, like events too coincidental to be true, to the possibly explainable, like prophets who literally saw into my life, to the shocking, like demonic manifestations.
all the evidence i've seen has kept me stuck to christianity because it is the only supernatural belief system that is, as far as i know, coherent and makes sense within itself. that's just my opinion... but opinions are the basis of faith.
but while i believe strongly in the supernatural, i also have a great interest in the natural world, especially physics. to me, physics is the most fundamental of the sciences because it explores the smallest (photons and such), the largest (the universe as a whole), the earliest (the birth of time), and the latest (the end of the universe). and all the study is guided by scientific principles, where theories and laws are built on concrete proof and experiment.
many people feel that god and science cannot be reconciled. i understand that view. it's easy to notice that so far, god has not "appeared" out of the equations, not to mention the fact that biology as we know it does not require a divine being. but if you ask me, i'm completely fine with the fact that physics has not proven god exists even though some think we are extremely close to a complete understanding of the universe.
no one said that science has to "prove" god! i don't believe that god is so messy that he would interfere with the universe, change stuff around, or put the phrase "BELIEVE IN ME" in some equation, just to prove to us humans that he is real. i believe that god is not someone who needs to prove himself. he told us in the bible, why show miracles? why give a sign?
i believe that by the mere nature of science and the laws he created for our universe, god has already revealed himself. one of the most "miraculous" things about physics, to me, is that it is even understand, and that it is neat (or elegant). when you see that the fundamental particles in the universe can be categorized into neat groups that are related with equally-neat mathematical equations, you wonder why, ask yourself is there more to discover, and wonder what the big picture is.
our understanding of the universe is now that of a few understandable and implausibly elegant theories. each theory explains a large range of observation. for example one simple equation (the einstein equation - not e=mc2, the other one) governs gravity, the expansion of the universe, and etc.
one great thing about physics is that the theories can be unified. in other words, as scientists get better at understanding the world, they often realize that the equations of 2 or 3 or 4 theories are actually the same thing, expressed differently in different circumstances. so physicists are slowly cutting down the number of theories.
today, we are left with two basic theories that no one has managed to combine - general relativity (governs the very big) and quantum theory (governs the very small), and scientists believe that we are very closely to coming up with one single theory that explains everything in the universe.
what does this have to do with god? why does it matter since science is already showing god? it matters because physics categorises our understanding of nature. with a final theory, we shall find out how the universe as a whole is organized, maybe even how the universe began. with that, we shall see the hand the made the initial push to begin the universe, and we shall see a complete picture of the heart and mind that went into creation.
so if physics is allowed to advance far enough, we will see the hand, heart and mind of god. yes, it is possible for me to return to a path towards physics research. it may be a difficult journey should i leave the beaten road and head down that path, but i'm keeping that option open. *wink*
ok i've been itching to get spore. what's spore? if you haven't heard of it you must be uninterested in astronomy, cosmology, and strategy games :)
imagine a function 3-D model of a whole galaxy, complete with stars, black holes, nebulae, planets and quasars, right in your desktop, and being able to explore every one of the 5 million solar systems modeled in the galaxy. and throw in the ability to create content, all the way from microscopic bugs to creatures to buildings to spaceships. and imagine that millions' of people's creations are all stored on a central server ready to the downloaded into your galaxy, for you the explore.
to me, that's not a game. that's a tool for teaching creativity, astronomy, cosmology, biology, and well the list goes on.
so if you play the game some day, and see a herd of bright orange, big-bellied, button-nosed creatures in the distance, give them a hug and check out their orange houses.
