I present my readers with three files in order for them to make up their own minds about the answer to this question
It can be shown that we do not live in isolated systems
It can be mathematically and (significantly) organically demonstrated that we exist as a unified whole. Mathematically it can be shown that this holistic unity is as a result of the existence of unknowable energy type formations that ontologically manifest themselves in nature as objects. Fractals are objects in which the same patterns occur again and again at different scales and sizes. These objects include flowers, trees, mountain range formation, cloud patterns and body parts and object shapes such as human faces.
They manifest themselves in organic structures in the visual form of self similarity in such objects. This “self-similarity” goes infinitely deep: each pattern is made up of smaller copies of itself, and those smaller copies are made up of smaller copies again, forever in a perfect mathematical fractal set. In mathematics this is known as the Mandelbrot set. A video demonstration of this self-similarity going infinitely deep (forever) can be seen here.
I suggest that fractal theory provides a pointer to what many people might see as the shortcomings of contemporary main stream physics theories. However, one of the eighteen versions of quantum mechanics probably does. This means that one day [it was in 2021]* could conceivably be linked to a suitable mechanical physics model such as the Bohm implicate order model.
*P.S. [6/Mar/22] If the words in this presentation seem to you to have a degree of validity I introduce you to this David Bohm documentary trailer to the full Infinite Potential video. In doing this try to understand the philosophical commentary thereto rather than the physics debate therein. Some of the science is complicated and not designed to be fully understood by lay persons, including me. The information herein can also be linked to this Infinite Potential post.
Einstein believed in his later life that the past, present and future all exist simultaneously
He talks about the concept of ‘now’ in his new modelling
Unlike in his earlier life in his 1952 book ‘Relativity’ Einstein tells his readers that he had changed his mind and that the past, the present and the future all existed simultaneously. He believes that there is a single existence along the lines I suggest in this blog*. In this sense Einstein is debating that physical reality is a four dimensional existence. He extends these words by saying:
“What nature demands from us is not a quantum theory or a wave theory; rather, nature demands from us a synthesis of these two views which thus far has exceeded the mental powers of physicists. Do not be troubled by your difficulties with Mathematics, I can assure you mine are much greater..”
In material contained in the links below Einstein reminds us that “…it is an illusion to think otherwise…” about simultaneity as being the dominant property of the universe. The late distinguished physicist Richard Feynman talks about this possibility in his book ‘Sum Over Histories’ and seems to summarise his point with these few words (as quoted by another author):-
Quote:
“…Events in nature are probabilistic with predictable probabilities P.
The probability P for an event to occur is given by the square of the complex magnitude of a quantum amplitude for the event, Q. The quantum amplitude Q associated with an event is the sum of the amplitudes associated with every history leading to the event.
The quantum amplitude associated with a given history is the product of the amplitudes associated with each fundamental process in the history...” *
*A belated complimentary quote from this article:-
“… Yet even the great Einstein despaired of understanding the flow of time and the meaning of now. Einstein’s quandary was described by Rudolf Carnap:
“….”Einstein said the problem of the Now worried him seriously. He explained that the experience of the Now means something special for man, something essentially different from the past and the future, but that this important difference does not and cannot occur within physics. That this experience cannot be grasped by science seemed to him a matter of painful but inevitable resignation. So he concluded ‘that there is something essential about the Now which is just outside the realm of science.’ “…” (I emboldened the text)
In another blog (also cited above) I talk about this topic in relationship to Bohm’s Holomovement theory and predeterminism. This blog also includes a link to a BBC video on the same subject. I feel that this video is compelling viewing.
*I believe that the Planck line in physics is a field of symbolic ‘nows’. Now’s are without time. Temporal fields (with time) exist on one side of the Planck line and ontological fields (relating to the rules of quantum mechanics) exist on the other. Both the temporal and ontological fields are in a concurrent relationship with each other as well as the Planck field of now’s. I think that this is what Bohm might be saying with his Holomovement theory (also known in other works as the implicate order).
Click here to view a copy of the original quoted text that I gleaned ideas and quotes from.
Also see my earlier complimentary post here. You might also find what Carlo Rovelli has to say in Nature magazine of interest as well. Also see this physics explanation.
How things might work
I recently wrote this item for the benefit of my sixteen year old grandson. I wrote it to encourage him to be not afraid to think about what the “big picture” might be in the wider universe around us. I have made no serious attempt to prove anything and kept the references to a minimum.
Quote:
“All ‘things’ are somehow related to quantum fields (fields)*. There are relative (temporal) and non- relative (ontological) fields and both can be seen as influences relating to some sort of universal ‘whole’. Whereas temporal fields relate to observable and measurable ‘things’ and events related thereto, this is not the case with ontological fields that include intuition and awareness. This means that there are two different types of causation with respect to the workings of the ‘whole’.
There are givens (meaning simply how things are) in the universe. These include gravitation of at least two different types, that relate to either the effects of the Big Bang or to the rules of nature, such as those between objects such as galaxies and other types of universal systems. These might also include other universes and dimensions. Light, electricity, magnetism and the hidden laws of random and geometric nature are also givens. All of these givens have effects of some kind on each other.
They, and their inherent individual properties seem to be influenced and ‘carried’ by a ‘hidden’ (in physics called hidden variables)** ontological neural network. One example of a property is speed as it relates to light, and another is electrical charge as it relates to the properties of the electrons and photons in atoms. Science does not know how it is that particles (like gluons and quarks that ‘hold’ the universe together) have the mysterious ontological properties that they do, nor for what reason they act in manner that they do.
Temporal objects and their relationship to other temporal objects are related to clocks and/or the speed of light as per the rules of relativity physics, that is, between smaller or larger objects. Motion of objects is also temporal. The effects (influences between objects not touching each other) of these diverse temporal relationships can be linked to standard causation scientific theory.
They are knowable, observable and measurable. On the other hand, ontological effects between objects are knowable and can be experientially detected (like psychokinesis and telepathy), but they cannot be observed and measured in accordance with the normal rules of physics. Both of these ‘types’ of temporal and ontological effects are relational to a separate holistic ontological field that is related to the external ‘perimeter’ of an ever expanding universe (as it relates to the speed of light).
This three-way concurrent relationship can be seen as being in different temporal and ontological ‘averages, densities and ratios’ with each other. All fields can be seen as containing patterns of information that mean something. These concurrent relationships between each of these three ‘fields’ is in turn related to the ontological sub-quantum rules of quantum mechanics. This is a field of indeterminate randomness. The rules of temporal relativity physics is determinate. It is the indeterminate effects of the universal ontological whole that are causal to the wider universe as being random. This theory can also be applied to the ontological and temporal human condition as well as its ‘connection’ with the wider field of nature.
All things and events operate within their own temporal or ontological field reference frames. These reference frames might be seen as being like continuums that exist in a parallel concurrent relationship with each other until the speed of the expanding universe exceeds that of the speed of light. It is this ontological relationship that gives ‘meaning and purpose’ to universal reality. This is through continuously changing morphic resonance and fields (ontological sub-quantum telepathy-like influences between organisms that is the cause of the formation of matter as discussed in item two).
We, as ‘complete’ persons, together with our thoughts, decisions and behaviour are representations of this universal process, the oneness of the universe.
There are seven demonstrable and describable ontological (sub-quantum) keys that help to explain this dual relationship as well as how it might work in the manner that it does. One of them is non local entanglement theory as demonstrated in this cited animated video).
If you are confused about this type of complex quantum field physics debate the following quote is linked to a statement that the late distinguished physics Richard Feynman made to students before one of his lectures.
Quote:”…Will you understand what I’m going to tell you?… No, you’re not going to be able to understand it-You see, my physics students don’t understand it either. That is because I don’t understand it. Nobody does.”
As a concept scientist I fall into this bracket too.
- Quote from Forbes magazine Nov 7th 2018:
“…Reality is fundamentally different from our classical picture of a smooth, continuous, well-defined Universe. Although it’s true that these quantum fields began as a mathematical construct, they describe our physical, observable reality more accurately than any other theory we’ve concocted…”
** An example of a hidden variable is…
“Consider elementary school students’ shoe sizes and scores on a standard reading exam. They are correlated, but assert that larger shoe size causes higher reading scores is as ridiculous as saying that high reading scores cause larger shoe size. In this example, there is a clear hidden variable, namely, age”
I suspect that the distinguished physicist Dr Adam Becker might also be echoing some of these points in his 2018 Harvard University lecture as well.***
***If the words in this presentation seem to you to have a degree of validity I introduce you to this David Bohm documentary trailer to the full Infinite Potential video. In doing this try to understand the philosophical commentary thereto rather than the physics debate therein. Some of the science is complicated and not designed to be fully understood by lay persons, including me. The information herein can also be linked to this Infinite Potential post.
Geo-political round up and akin
In this new blog I introduce you to important news stories that you may never have heard about or seriously considered before. You will notice that I put emphasis on subjects relating to international politics and the potential for war. This includes the politics behind the development of new highly destructive international weaponry. You will find a few of these links are a little dated but I do not feel that this is detracts from their potential reader interest. I intend to update this list from time to time.
Begin your reading experience here:
1] Does Australia need a nuclear arsenal? And what would be the cost?
3] Trump is Forcing China to Reassess its Strategy
4] Trump spoils Xi’s Belt and Road Forum, without even attending
5] US Submarines to Field Hypersonic Weapons in 2025
6] How China fooled Donald Trump
7] South China Sea: Deterring a Fait Accompli
8] In Korean War Commemoration, Xi Warns That China Will ‘Use War to Prevent War’
9] Your 5G Phone Won’t Hurt You. But Russia Wants You to Think Otherwise
10] India’s First Indigenous Air-Launched Radar-Killing Missile Is Headed For Service
11] Blasting The Air In Front Of Hypersonic Vehicles With Lasers Could Unlock Unprecedented Speeds
12] The Real Strategic End Game in Decoupling From China
13] You Can’t Imagine World War III Between America and China
14] America’s Startling Short Range Air Defense Gap And How To Close It Fast
15] U.S. won’t ‘tiptoe’ around China with Asia stability at threat: defense chief
16] China and U.S. clash again on trade and regional security
17] Twitter-post garbage the clearest sign yet of desperation in Beijing
18] Just like Trump’s tariffs, China’s trade attack will backfire
19] Tightening the Chain: Implementing a Strategy of Maritime Pressure in the Western Pacific
20] An India-Australia-France Trilateral Dialogue Is Overdue
21] China’s Hong Kong security laws could lead to ‘complete decoupling’ from US
22] China and Iran: Joining Forces to Beat U.S. Stealth Fighters?
23] Pentagon secretly struck back against Iranian cyberspies targeting U.S. ships
24] Russia and China Go War Against America. Here’s What Could Happen Next
25] Australia may need to consider nuclear weapons to counter China’s dominance, defence analyst says
27] Chinese Nuclear Armed Submarines in Russian Arctic Ports? It Could Happen
28] Sanctions: the new economic battlefield
29] America vs. Russia and China: Welcome to Cold War II
30] The Army’s ‘Big Six’: America Plan to Wipe Out Russia or China In a War
31] The Ultimate Way to Deter China: Why Island-Chain Defense Can Work
32] China vs. Japan: Is the East China Sea Showdown Back on?
33] Is Russia Having Second Thoughts About Integration With China?
34] Why the China-Russia Alliance Won’t Last
35] Baoshang Bank collapse threatens China’s economy and may trigger central bank response
36] Nuclear Holocaust: If an Israel vs. Russia War Broke Out in the Middle East
37] As China and the United States fight for global dominance, is Australia’s safety at risk?
38] The Limits of the Alliance Between China and Russia
39] NATO needs to address China’s rise, says Stoltenberg
40] Indo-Pacific security should also be a European affair
42] The bitter reality is the Morrison Government doesn’t know how to deal with China
43] Why China’s Premature Bid for Hegemony Is More Fragile Than You Imagine
44] The Kremlin Hierarchy Is Fast Decaying
45] So Much for Suez: What Britain’s Tanker Crisis with Iran in the Gulf Really Means
46] Chinese construction boom in Cambodian town raises fears of secret military pact
My relationship with the motor vessel Merle during the 1956 Murray river flood
My teenage hopes and dreams for an adventurous adult life were quashed in a short lived fire. Merle was a cruise ship riverboat that caught fire and sank at Murray Bridge in 1958.
This video shows the Merle on it’s maiden voyage as a passenger vessel in 1941.
When I was around 12 years of age I met the owner of a Murray river passenger boat. The boat’s name was The Merle. The owner of this boat was Ro. Ro and my mother were unmarried partners. Merle carried up to 19 fare paying passengers and made one trip per week, over four nights. This was from Murray Bridge in South Australia to Blanchetown and then returned to Murray Bridge via Lake Alexandrina, which includes the township of Goolwa.
During the great Murray river floods of 1956, when I was aged 13, the flood greatly interfered with Merle’s weekly trips, and unknown to me, Ro was becoming financially stressed. His regular trips with Merle began to falter. It was during this time that Ro periodically asked me to steer Merle along the river. During such trips, mostly with less than 19 passengers, I played 78 r.p.m. records in order to entertain them. My mother continued with her hostess activities. Ro did most of the cooking (as an interim measure until he could find another suitable cook in lieu of one that had resigned) as well as maintaining necessary functions within the engine room.
Few people today know about the Merle. I will tell you a little bit about her. Merle had twin 6 cylinder Buick engines, and her electrical power system was 110 volts but there was one 240 volts power outlet which was linked to a power converter. The power generator was an English four cylinder Ford Prefect motor. Merle had two bathrooms and two toilets and raw sewerage discharged directly into the river. The six inch jarrah hull of the Merle was built in around 1904 and for a time Merle was a barge. In later times she became a steam powered, rear paddle wheel river trading vessel, (see photo below) like a traveling shop. Merle’s conversion into a passenger vessel was completed in late 1940 and her inaugural trip as a passenger boat took place from Murray Bridge in 1941.
I especially remember on one occasion I was at the helm of the Merle when it was sailing between Wellington and Goolwa. To do this the Merle had to cross Lake Alexandrina. On that particular day there was a slight swirl and the Merle was moving up and down in relationship to the trough and peak of each wave. The river and the lake were in a state of flood. There are markers on the lake that were in place to guide ships like the Merle as to where the safe traveling channel is. Ro had earlier told me what the correct protocol was in navigating the Merle to the left and right of the markers. A little way into the lake some passengers asked me what was the slight thump they they could feel as we were traveling. Ro was having a sleep at the time. It soon dawned on me that the Merle was periodically hitting the bottom of the lake. I phoned Ro in his cabin and let him know what I thought was happening. He had already heard and felt the mild thumps anyway. The Merle’s propellers were turning near to high speed. Ro hurriedly came forward and took the helm in hand and quickly maneuvered the Merle to a nearby marker. He was obviously as distressed as I was. However, soon after this event Ro calmly told me the reason why the Merle was hitting the bottom of the lake was because I was incorrectly steering the Merle in relation to the markers. The Merle was not traveling in the appropriate channel. He said it was only because of the flood that the Merle did not become stuck in the lake and we would have had to have been rescued. When I returned to boarding school at the end of the term I wrote a short story about this event. I belatedly note the “romanticism” in the style that I created it [like the spinning helm].
The story is copied and pasted as follows:
As you may gather from these words my experiences with Ro and the Merle were not only highly adventurous ones, but also a most happy and relaxed ones. My most memorable recollection with Ro and the Merle was at the time when we jointly navigated Merle up the flooded main street of Mannum in South Australia. Merle was 87 feet long and she had a four foot draft. I steered Merle on that day. She had a large helm [steering wheel] situated in the saloon [lounge] at the front of the boat. Ro employed the twin motors in an expeditious way. This helped facilitate Merle’s successful movement up the main street of Mannum. Ro used forward and reverse thrust with each engine in order to help steer Merle. This was whilst I was guiding the rudder via the helm. There were around one hundred people in the main street who were witnessing these activities.
On this particular occasion we turned Merle around in the main street, this was broadside to the sandbags that had been placed across the road. Via an unroped gang plank we then discharged the passengers onto these sandbags so that they could enter the unflooded section of an adjacent hotel. Merle was then tethered to the veranda posts of this hotel.
I was deeply saddened and depressed when Merle burnt and sank at her moorings in Murray Bridge on March the 1st in 1958. Those early days in my life were a huge adventure for a young guy. Below are various photographs of the Merle below that fortunately I retained over the years. I remain deeply saddened by the events at that time.
Pictures related to the Merle:
Merle as a rear wheeler paddle steamer circa 1910
A passenger postcard available for sale on the Merle. This was exactly as the Merle appeared prior to its burning and sinking on March 1st 1958
Firefighters flooded the Merle in order to extinguish the flames. This is a rare picture of the vessel just prior to its sinking
The wreck of the Merle adjacent to the wharf at Murray Bridge prior to its remains being dragged out to the center of the Murray River at Murray Bridge. Mc Lawrie Boat Builders and Salvagers from Port Adelaide conducted the removal
This is a cutting I made from the Adelaide Advertiser story in early March 1958 relating to the sinking of the Merle [I pasted it into my scrapbook at the time]. The Adevertiser story provides a very useful insight into the Merle’s colourful history
Some readers may like to know how devastating the 1956 Murray River flood was. The picture below was taken near Mannum in South Australia
We are all interested in the devastating Australian fires but how about us also seriously thinking about the massive melting of harmful permafrost in Canada and Russia too?
I hope that you do not mind me sharing this issue with you at this time. Even if you disagree with my position I think that we all should at least be seriously thinking and talking about it and certainly not play politics with the subject.
If you read the literature carefully you will find that this melting permafrost in Canada [also including Russia and elsewhere] is far more likely to adversely impact on the planet than widespread forest fires in various nations as has been happening in recent times. With global warming both disasters go hand in hand! Also see my blog Omnicide who is responsible for the greatest of all crimes generally relating to this same subject.
I will leave it to the following story about this subject to talk for itself:
Quote:
” ‘It scares me’: Permafrost thaw in Canadian Arctic sign of global trend
…”It scares me,” said Kumari Karunaratne, a permafrost expert who works for the Northwest Territories Geological Survey. “This methane that’s being released is being released over huge areas across the north. And it’s continually seeping out.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. So, as climate change speeds up the permafrost melt, the permafrost melt will exacerbate climate change. By exactly how much, it’s impossible to say. Karunaratne won’t even try to guess, because measuring it is difficult and imprecise. The area where it’s happening is vast and much of it remains uninhabited and unexplored. But there are dramatic examples that show just how much methane is bubbling up from underground. Some lakes in the Arctic are so full of it, if you punch a hole in the ice you can light the escaping gas on fire. YouTube has videos of researchers and others doing it in Alaska and Siberia. But the same thing is happening in the Northwest Territories.
There are other problems, too.
Last summer in Siberia, the unusually intense summer heat melted the permafrost, exposing a reindeer carcass that had been embedded in it. That carcass was infected with anthrax, a deadly bacteria that had been locked in the ice. A 12-year-old boy died after being infected and at least eight others were sickened. It opens up the possibility that other dangers could be unleashed. Siberian researchers say a gravesite in one town contains bodies of people who died of smallpox in the 1890s. They were buried in the soil just above the permafrost, which is now melting. That’s raising fears that smallpox, which was eradicated globally in 1977, could make a comeback. A woman stands with reindeer in the Yamal-Nenets region of Siberia, Russia, where a 12-year-old boy died and 20 people were infected in 2016 after an anthrax outbreak. An unusually intense summer had melted the permafrost, exposing a reindeer carcass containing anthrax.
Sergey Netesov, chief of the virology laboratory at Novosibirsk State University, told the Siberian Times newspaper that there are thousands of graves in the region — some human, some cattle. The recent anthrax outbreak, he said, is “reason enough to finance research into the diagnostics and prevention of exceptionally dangerous infections.” Whether that happens or not, people in the Northwest Territories know they have no power to stop climate change. Global temperatures are already at record levels and the polar regions are feeling the effects more dramatically than anywhere else. “There are really remarkable changes that are happening in a short amount of time,” said Karunaratne.
And there’s likely more to come.”…”
Also see the story that respected Skeptic allowed to be published in it magazine in 2008 entitled “How We Know Global Warming is Real. The Science Behind Human-induced Climate Change”
(In this instance I do not see that the age of this document is relevant)
Important update from The Diplomat August 1st 2020
…as well as this BBC Science article and this one too.
…as well as this one too
Reality as I believe it to be
I wrote the following article in 2014. Ontological ideas were plucked from it by an internationally respected environmentalist for a slide show presentation to an international environment conference in Brussels in the same year
Quote:
“I believe that every aspect of reality, including nature and our role within it, are simply experiences and groups of experiences that mean something. This includes whether we understand what is going on around us or not. I believe that collective intelligence and collective awareness are different experiences. I also believe that we have allowed these two different types of experiences to evolve in a manner that they are not mutually complimentary to each other. I feel that within this process we have failed to take notice of the well organised hierarchy structures that ants, bees, bats and similar have effectively built their lives around. We have ignored the over arching rules of nature.
It is my opinion that we have encouraged our cultures to become ones that are driven almost solely by cultural intelligence as distinct from them being a working blend of both cultural awareness (an experience unto itself) and cultural intelligence (another experience unto itself).
It seems to me that this wide spread repression of collective awareness has led to individual awareness becoming similarly repressed.
I feel that the problem with the complex arrangements that we have allowed to evolve around ourselves within culture is that we have inadvertently created too many intersections of communication relating to both our individual and collective environment. All these communication junctions are experiences from which we make decisions of one form or another which in turn become another cog in the wider realm of competing collective intelligence. I believe it is because of this process human beings have effectively become confused and perplexed, perplexed on multiple levels according to individual interpretation of what is most likely to be good or bad in life. This means that the successful integration of ideas emanating from both the experiences of collective intelligence and collective awareness becomes problematic, and as such, so does the nature of the experiences that we are having, or expecting to have at any given time.
It follows from these words that individuals are compelled to decide between similarly valued alternatives or mutually exclusive alternatives. I believe that the integration of both collective intelligence as well as collective awareness is critical in terms of how we see and relate to each other and this includes the environment.
I believe that our ineffective melding of cultural intelligence and collective awareness should be replaced by a mutually complimentary model of science* that seeks to connect to the wider momentum of nature with as few explanations along the way that is possible. I believe that we should be relating back to the role of individual and collective thoughts (experiences). Nature is an experience. The universe is an experience. Reality is an experience. We are an experience that is derivative of the experience of reality.”
If the words in this presentation seem to you to have a degree of validity I introduce you to this David Bohm documentary trailer to the full Infinite Potential video. In doing this try to understand the philosophical commentary thereto rather than the physics debate therein. Some of the science is complicated and not designed to be fully understood by lay persons, including me. The information herein can also be linked to this Infinite Potential post.
Is the separation point between life and death so definitive as the medical profession tells us that it is?
This important medical study seems to be suggesting that this is not the case.
Quote:
“… The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study is the first launched by the Human Consciousness Project, a multidisciplinary collaboration of international scientists and physicians who have joined forces to study the relationship between mind and brain during clinical death, and is led by Dr. Sam Parnia, a world-renowned expert on the study of the human mind and consciousness during clinical death, together with Dr Peter Fenwick and Professors Stephen Holgate and Robert Peveler of the University of Southampton. The team will be working in collaboration with more than 25 major medical centers throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Although the study of death has traditionally been considered a subject for theology or philosophy, recent advances in medicine have finally enabled a scientific approach to understanding the ultimate mystery facing humankind. “Contrary to popular perception,” Dr. Parnia explains, “death is not a specific moment. It is actually a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working, and the brain ceases functioning – a medical condition termed cardiac arrest, which from a biological viewpoint is synonymous with clinical death.”
See the full article here
Entertaining stories
Unbelievable type stories
Mountains of pushbikes
There are many multiple hectares of these piles of pushbikes
Surprise cat in a barn
Treat this blog as a surprise (like Christmas) item. Many of you may feel a little aghast when you open this link. I know I did.
Stunning snow flake images
You may find this a brilliant and artistic presentation
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm
The consequences of the 1665 Black Death that ravaged humanity
I think that you will find this item very interesting
Would this be a similar malady to us having to face the consequences of global radiation pollution following a nuclear war?
Is this really the eighth wonder of the world?
This seems that it might be. In any terms it is demonstrably an incredible feat:
This is the 1300 km Karakoram highway passing from Pakistan to China – now recognized as 8th wonder of the world
Quote from above url reference:
“The Karakoram Highway (known informally as the KKH) is said to be the highest paved international road in the world, but at its peak at the China-Pakistan border it is only paved on the Chinese side. It’s the road to paradise – if you like exploring the mountains, that is. It’s regarded as one of the world’s hardest alpine climbs.
It’s the road to paradise – if you like exploring the mountains, that is. It’s regarded as one of the world’s hardest alpine climbs. Drive with care as this is a mountain road with hairpin curves and dangerous dropoffs. You might want to take this into consideration if you have passengers that don’t like heights.
The Karakorum Highway connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an elevation of 4,693 metres (15,397 ft) above the sea level. The road is one of the scariest and hair raising jeep trip in the world. 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers lost their lives, mostly in landslides and falls, while building the highway. The route of the KKH traces one of the many paths of the ancient Silk Road. The road has a length of 1,300 km (800 mi): Pakistan: 887 km (551 mi) and China: 413 km (257 mi). It was started in 1959 and was completed in 1986 after 27 years of construction.
The road is mostly asphalted. It’s a real challenging road and a true test of your vehicle and your stamina because the road abounds in twists and turns with wheels sometimes hanging above the precipice. The highest paved international road on the planet doesn’t come without its dangers. The road is extremely treacherous and requires a vehicle that can hold its own against some of the most unforgiving terrain in the world. Avalanches, heavy snowfalls and landslides can occur anytime and can sometimes block some sections of the road. While the incredible views of K2 you see along the way make it a popular tourist route, the 800-mile highway is a nightmare for people who are prone to altitude sickness. With absolutely no barrier on one side, and shear rock wall on the other, the margin of driver error is fairly slim. To make matters worse, the area is prone to floods and landslides.”
This is a fascinating video to watch with respect to this engineering feat.
Social and cultural interest stories
Driverless hearses concept cars
Is this the manner in which funerals be conducted in the future? lol. A story:
Professionally taken photographs of less fortunate Londoners in the 1870s
I can imagine people wanting to emigrate away from such conditions. Here is a small range of (17) professionally taken photographs
Do you see yourself as being garbage?
It seems almost certain that at least some funeral directors might see you as being such someday
I share an interesting true story:
A number of years ago I met an ex-R.A.F. bomber crew member. He had many tales to tell about not only his wartime career in England, but his Australian experiences as well. He was married and had one daughter. He had not seen either wife or daughter for many years and had lived somewhat of a hermit’s life in a small country town in South Australia, writing his memoirs. Towards the end of his life, he requested me to be the trustee of his modest estate when he died. Because I did not really know the man very well I declined; however, I kept in touch with him from time to time. This included phoning him when he was in hospital during the last days of his life. It was during this period that he requested me to take care of his funeral arrangements, despite the fact I was not his trustee. He stated that he had a prepaid funeral plan.
This man, Tom, duly died. The hospital phoned me to say that the funeral business of XXX had agreed to take custody of Tom’s remains and arrange for him to be cremated in Gawler, South Australia. I confirmed this arrangement with the undertaker, and arranged to meet him, with Tom’s remains; at the Gawler crematorium at such and such a time on such and such a date. As far as I knew, Tom had only three close friends and he saw me as being one of them. The three of us agreed to meet at my home in the Adelaide Hills and then travel to Gawler together, to attend a simple pre-cremation service at the time I had arranged with the undertaker.
The day before the scheduled cremation I had cause to phone the undertaker. He was not available. He was attending another funeral and his son informed me that his father had bought forward Tom’s cremation by one day. This effectively meant that Tom’s three friends in life were to be cut off from the cremation process completely. I was extremely angry and verbally protested. The son suggested I phone his dad on his mobile at the cemetery where he was attending another person’s funeral. I did this. He confirmed that what his son had told me was correct. I became even further outraged because he had broken his agreement with me, and furthermore Tom’s three friends were being denied the opportunity to grieve appropriately. I stated that I was a professional counsellor and for this reason as well I felt my request to delay the cremation until we could all attend was fair and proper. The undertaker became similarly angry with me. He said: “Mr. Raymond, if you are a professional counsellor, you should know that I am in the garbage disposal business and as Mr. [Tom] did not appoint you as his trustee I can handle the deceased’s remains in any manner I see fit.” This made me even more furious and I told him so.
I rang around the Funeral Directors’ Association, the State Department of Consumer Affairs as well as the media, to tell them what was happening. Some one hour or so later I had a telephone call from another funeral parlour, this time in Gawler. The undertaker there said Tom’s remains would not go to the crematorium that day, but would be transferred to his parlour and be kept overnight, so we could pay our respects to Tom in the undertaker’s private chapel the next day. In other words the cremation was delayed by twenty-four hours. I expressed appreciation to the Gawler undertaker. I never heard from the original country undertaker again. We three friends of Tom attended the chapel the next day, paid our respects to the coffin allegedly containing Tom’s remains and left. I was tempted to lift a corner of the coffin to check if it was empty or not. I felt it was better not to know and leave it at that. I wanted no more trouble.
Tom’s wife and his daughter were not interested in Tom’s affairs and declined to attend the funeral service. It was not lost on me at the time just what a human tragedy was unfolding. On one hand here was a man who had lived such a rich and colourful life and on the other hand, after his death, was treated as if he had a contagious disease and was a criminal as well. It hit me that once Tom had been cremated there would be little more than Government records to show that he had ever existed in the first place. Furthermore he was not being given the common courtesy of the traditional committal words of “dust to dust”, rather more it was “dust to garbage”. A story that perhaps we should all stop and think about from time to time.
How some people cherish the memories of their deceased pets
A look into pet taxidermy in Melbourne Australia
Philosophy related stories
Einstein talks the relationship between beautiful experiences and the associated mysteries around us in life
I urge you to keep the word spirituality in mind as you read Einstein’s words
Quote:
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery — even if mixed with fear — that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man… I am satisfied with the mystery of life’s eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of existence — as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature.”
http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay.htm
Einstein physics made easy for students
Einstein [being imagined in the eyes of the author] explains the universe to a friend as though they are in a journeying in a spacecraft together. In my opinion the creator of this teaching concept has done a remarkably good job in simplifying many of Einsteins ideas and theories. I see it as a must read for students considering making a career in the sciences, more particularly so in physics.
A reviewer of the book [cited at the end of this story] said as follows:
“If you’re wondering about how Einstein eats and breathes in outer space and other science facts, remember that it’s just a graphic novel and just relax. I’m gonna go ahead and give this the full-frontal, 5-star review! I am not in the sciences, but this one appeals to me because every now and then I want to learn a bit about the rules of physics that run our world. The author was very clear with his real-world analogies.”
The creator of the original blog is the highly respected ophthalmologist and scientist Ian Flitcroft. The blog is both easy to follow and read. The language he employs is very much down to earth as well.
I feel if anyone is seeking to understand the essential nature of the universe this Flitcroft presentation is a must to peruse. In 2013 Ian Flitcroft and his partner Britt Spencer published a book based upon the material contained in the blog. The book is titled: ‘A Time Traveler’s Guide to Life, the Universe, and Everything.’ I have not read this publication.
I quote the publisher’s review:
“Albert Einstein said his first ideas about relativity came from looking in the mirror as a teenager and wondering what it would be like to travel on a beam of light. This is the story of that journey… Journey by Starlight follows Albert Einstein and his traveling companion through space and time as they travel on a beam of light from a star over 3,000 light years away to Earth. Along the way, Einstein explains the science behind everything from the origins of the universe to the meaning of life, relativity, black holes, quantum mechanics (for beginners), climate change, evolution vs. intelligent design, and how the brain works, all delivered in fun, easy-to-understand, bite-sized chunks. Based on the popular blog of the same name, Journey By Starlight has been given the graphic novel treatment, pairing the narrative with fantastic, whimsical artwork to assist in simplifying what can be difficult-to-understand ideas.”
The url below is the web address of the impressive Starlight blog that I cite:
http://journeybystarlight.blogspot.com.au/2007/12/love-lies-and-pupils.html
Book reference:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15036761-journey-by-starlight
Should intuition be taken seriously?
Are these are the sorts of reasons why Albert Einstein became a scientific genius?
Einstein Quotes:
“I believe in intuition and inspiration. … At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason. When the eclipse of 1919 confirmed my intuition, I was not in the least surprised. In fact I would have been astonished had it turned out otherwise.”
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.”
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.”
“Invention is not the product of logical thought, even though the final product is tied to a logical structure.”
“I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am”
“Perhaps we live best and do things best when we are not too conscious of how and why we do them.”
“Indeed, it is not intellect, but intuition which advances humanity. Intuition tells man his purpose in this life.”
“An intuitive child couldn’t accomplish anything without some knowledge. There will come a point in everyone’s life, however, where only intuition can make the leap ahead, without ever knowing precisely how. One can never know why, but one must accept intuition as a fact.”
“Fairy tales and more fairy tales. [in response to a mother who wanted her son to become a scientist and asked Einstein what reading material to give him]. The mother protested that she was really serious about this and she wanted a serious answer; but Dr. Einstein persisted, adding that creative imagination is the essential element in the intellectual equipment of the true scientist, and that fairy tales are the childhood stimulus to this quality.”
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein
Sometimes small things might be much bigger than big
Some people may see my foot injury story as being an example of this. They may also see my foot injury story as being smaller than small in comparison to the wider cultural, moral and medically ethical issues involved with such disputation. This is more especially so as it relates to the discipline of politics. I make no specific statement in respect to these things except to say that I feel that the international recognised precautionary principle might be useful to apply to all government, business and associations like thereto in society. Perhaps this might be more especially so in relationship to the medical profession as it relates to government instrumentalities? Only readers like you can make such decisions as this.
Does imagination come before design?
Philosopher Thomas J Chalko employs the analogy of a house to show us why this is the case
Quote:
“… But WHY cannot a house build itself?
A house cannot build itself, because it takes Intellect and INTELLIGENCE to imagine, design, construct, test and improve a house to make it useful.
We have to conclude that Intellect and Intelligence have to exist BEFORE a house can be built, simply because a house has to be IMAGINED, before it can be even designed”
Health related stories
Diabetes now seems to be rampant. Are we taking the danger seriously enough?
Another stark warning about this insidious health problem
Climate related stories
Chemical pollution is now evident in Antarctica
If this is correct surely this must be a disaster?
Solar Road Panels Offer Asphalt Alternative
Mass production of panels might make it practical
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/solar-road-panels-offer-asphalt-alternative-a-901792.html
Dramatic permafrost story from the Arctic
This is a very important story that I feel the whole world should know about right now!
I will leave this story to talk for itself.
Quote:
“ …”It scares me,” said Kumari Karunaratne, a permafrost expert who works for the Northwest Territories Geological Survey. “This methane that’s being released is being released over huge areas across the north. And it’s continually seeping out.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. So, as climate change speeds up the permafrost melt, the permafrost melt will exacerbate climate change. By exactly how much, it’s impossible to say. Karunaratne won’t even try to guess, because measuring it is difficult and imprecise. The area where it’s happening is vast and much of it remains uninhabited and unexplored. But there are dramatic examples that show just how much methane is bubbling up from underground. Some lakes in the Arctic are so full of it, if you punch a hole in the ice you can light the escaping gas on fire. YouTube has videos of researchers and others doing it in Alaska and Siberia. But the same thing is happening in the Northwest Territories.
There are other problems, too.
Last summer in Siberia, the unusually intense summer heat melted the permafrost, exposing a reindeer carcass that had been embedded in it. That carcass was infected with anthrax, a deadly bacteria that had been locked in the ice. A 12-year-old boy died after being infected and at least eight others were sickened. It opens up the possibility that other dangers could be unleashed. Siberian researchers say a gravesite in one town contains bodies of people who died of smallpox in the 1890s. They were buried in the soil just above the permafrost, which is now melting. That’s raising fears that smallpox, which was eradicated globally in 1977, could make a comeback. A woman stands with reindeer in the Yamal-Nenets region of Siberia, Russia, where a 12-year-old boy died and 20 people were infected in 2016 after an anthrax outbreak. An unusually intense summer had melted the permafrost, exposing a reindeer carcass containing anthrax.
Sergey Netesov, chief of the virology laboratory at Novosibirsk State University, told the Siberian Times newspaper that there are thousands of graves in the region — some human, some cattle. The recent anthrax outbreak, he said, is “reason enough to finance research into the diagnostics and prevention of exceptionally dangerous infections.” Whether that happens or not, people in the Northwest Territories know they have no power to stop climate change. Global temperatures are already at record levels and the polar regions are feeling the effects more dramatically than anywhere else. “There are really remarkable changes that are happening in a short amount of time,” said Karunaratne.
And there’s likely more to come.”…”
Chemical industry scandal in the US
These documents include those of regulatory authorities as well.
The contents of this blog seem to confirm the off-handed approach that businesses and regulatory authorities have taken in the United States since the 1920’s.
I wonder whether we have the same sort of problem in Australia?
Quote:
“The “Poison Papers” represent a vast trove of rediscovered chemical industry and regulatory agency documents and correspondence stretching back to the 1920s. Taken as a whole, the papers show that both industry and regulators understood the extraordinary toxicity of many chemical products and worked together to conceal this information from the public and the press… …the fraudulence of some of the regulatory processes relied upon to protect human health and the environment.”