Complex Reality
Most enquiries into reality, rather expositions of such, suffer from a common flaw. The thoroughly esoteric garb in which these expositions are ensconced make them unintelligible to most, ironically the class which these expositions seeks to elevate. By expositions are referred not only philosophic treatises, but tomes on science as well - the expressions in advanced texts of science are so Hebrew like in their first appearance that this important field of human endeavour is confined to a few brave hearted. The religious texts have developed over the centuries, a certain distinct style of communicating to the masses - through analogies. But the drawback, in fact the most damning result of this development is that all religious texts in common circulation have now been reduced to a body of analogies. Analogies were developed initially, as a bridge; the bridge before the mind is ready to receive more complex precepts. Yet over time, the bridge became the destination. On the other hand, science still retains a certain core, yet too esoteric for common apprehension. Our only brush with this science is through technology or rather the applications of technology. Thus, just as religion has reduced to customs and blind beliefs, science has reduced to technology and applications of technology. The core of both science and religion remains beyond the reach of uninitiated majority.
The immediate pertinent enquiry which follows is that why is science or religion so complex, so as to defy ordinary comprehension. It this question that shall be briefly dealt with in this article.
Firstly, there is unanimous affirmation that the world we live in is complex beyond ordinary comprehension; modern society's labyrinthine growth defies easy understanding. Now what in its basic core is science or religion - an attempt to explain, in simplified form, this complex rebus in which we find ourselves. And this sentence succinctly summarises the entire problem.
Any simplification is necessarily an approximation. But the more we try to eliminate approximation - the endeavour of modern science - the closer the theory is to complex reality. The ultimate or final theory is reality itself. The entire movement of science is analogous to the following example.
Suppose I want to comprehend the working of a tree. The first step might be to draw a pencil figure. But this is the brutest of models; most predictions on this model are bound to fail. So, the movement to the next sophisticated model, say a computer-simulated model of the tree. Notice that the model is much closer to reality, consequently it is much more complex involves features beyond ordinary comprehension. Let this progression continue...where does it end? At the real tree itself, the final theory is no model or simulation, it is reality itself. The entire movement is like in a circle which begins and ends at the real object. Consequently the entire movement of science is from incomprehensible complexity to extreme simplicity and gradually back to that same complexity. It is a circle.
Scientists will argue that once a principle or law is known - the rest are only manifestations of that law. Our goal, they say, is to discover this corpus of laws, no doubt within the limits permissible under the Principle of Uncertainty. But here again is another basic flaw, I believe, in the approach of the men of science, a flaw which science itself is realising through the discovery of the theory of chaos. Within the broadest approximations exist the most general laws.....the more the approximations are eliminated, the more specific become the laws.....the law which explains everything is reality. An example would help clarify this proposition. Suppose our currency were only rupees and paisas did not exist. In such a case, 1.1 would be the same as 1.2 which would be the same as 1.112 and so on. All goods priced within 1 and 2 would be either 1 or 2. This is an approximation, but when I'm dealing with millions of rupees these trifles (paisas) hardly matter. So my satisfactory theory would deal with only rupees. Now suppose, I deal in goods in the price range of 1 to 2. It becomes necessary to introduce paisas. Again in the next stage, if I deal in goods between 1 to 1.01, it becomes necessary to introduce a further denomination........this process goes on. To get the actual price of the good, I need a system that incorporates infinite divisions, that is reality.
In the early mechanical world we were dealing in rupees, Newton's theories was the denomination. The discovery of light was like the move to deal with goods between rupees 1 and 2. And Einstein's theory was the next progression and after nearly a century of relativity, we have started dealing with goods in the range of 1 to 1.1 and we have the beginnings of the chaos theory. This progression shall go on till the ultimate theory - reality.
The immediate pertinent enquiry which follows is that why is science or religion so complex, so as to defy ordinary comprehension. It this question that shall be briefly dealt with in this article.
Firstly, there is unanimous affirmation that the world we live in is complex beyond ordinary comprehension; modern society's labyrinthine growth defies easy understanding. Now what in its basic core is science or religion - an attempt to explain, in simplified form, this complex rebus in which we find ourselves. And this sentence succinctly summarises the entire problem.
Any simplification is necessarily an approximation. But the more we try to eliminate approximation - the endeavour of modern science - the closer the theory is to complex reality. The ultimate or final theory is reality itself. The entire movement of science is analogous to the following example.
Suppose I want to comprehend the working of a tree. The first step might be to draw a pencil figure. But this is the brutest of models; most predictions on this model are bound to fail. So, the movement to the next sophisticated model, say a computer-simulated model of the tree. Notice that the model is much closer to reality, consequently it is much more complex involves features beyond ordinary comprehension. Let this progression continue...where does it end? At the real tree itself, the final theory is no model or simulation, it is reality itself. The entire movement is like in a circle which begins and ends at the real object. Consequently the entire movement of science is from incomprehensible complexity to extreme simplicity and gradually back to that same complexity. It is a circle.
Scientists will argue that once a principle or law is known - the rest are only manifestations of that law. Our goal, they say, is to discover this corpus of laws, no doubt within the limits permissible under the Principle of Uncertainty. But here again is another basic flaw, I believe, in the approach of the men of science, a flaw which science itself is realising through the discovery of the theory of chaos. Within the broadest approximations exist the most general laws.....the more the approximations are eliminated, the more specific become the laws.....the law which explains everything is reality. An example would help clarify this proposition. Suppose our currency were only rupees and paisas did not exist. In such a case, 1.1 would be the same as 1.2 which would be the same as 1.112 and so on. All goods priced within 1 and 2 would be either 1 or 2. This is an approximation, but when I'm dealing with millions of rupees these trifles (paisas) hardly matter. So my satisfactory theory would deal with only rupees. Now suppose, I deal in goods in the price range of 1 to 2. It becomes necessary to introduce paisas. Again in the next stage, if I deal in goods between 1 to 1.01, it becomes necessary to introduce a further denomination........this process goes on. To get the actual price of the good, I need a system that incorporates infinite divisions, that is reality.
In the early mechanical world we were dealing in rupees, Newton's theories was the denomination. The discovery of light was like the move to deal with goods between rupees 1 and 2. And Einstein's theory was the next progression and after nearly a century of relativity, we have started dealing with goods in the range of 1 to 1.1 and we have the beginnings of the chaos theory. This progression shall go on till the ultimate theory - reality.
posted by Ayan Bhattacharya @ 14:38
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