Mysteries of Physics
Mysteries of Physics
I just read We Have No Idea by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson, a book about all the things we don’t know about the physical universe. These include: dark matter, dark energy, the basic elements of matter, the nature of mass, why gravity is so different from other forces, the nature of space and time, how many dimensions there are, why light has the speed it has, the origin of cosmic rays, the puzzles of anti-matter, what happened before and during the big bang, whether there can a theory of everything, how big the universe is. It appears that physics is rife with mystery. I wrote to one of the authors, Professor Whiteson, and asked if he knew about the work of philosophers and others on the mysteries of mind, notably Chomsky and McGinn. He replied that he did but admitted he didn’t know much philosophy. It seems to me that this is a welcome convergence for the mysterians among us: evidently matter is as mysterious as mind. True, the authors fight shy of declaring irresoluble mystery, but they clearly accept that some mysteries of physics look pretty formidable—especially where dark matter and dark energy are concerned. (This made me wonder if Dark Materialism might be true of consciousness, i.e. the mind is material but the matter involved is of the dark variety; but this is not a theory just a wild speculation.) Most authors who write popular physics books seek to wow us with how much physicists know; this one refreshingly owns up to the depth of our ignorance. I recommend it: it’s probably the best popular physics book I’ve ever read.
Eloise
Eloise
She was just a bright young thing
Not yet fully grown
But she caught my eye across the room
She cleverly made herself known
So I took her home with me
And introduced her to her new friends
It was tense at first
But soon they were happy as larks
Oh Eloise, you are such a tease
Please please me Eloise!
At first I offered my hand
Hoping she wouldn’t panic and fly
She seemed okay with my touch
And she let me stroke her by and by
I was hoping for more from this child of mine
I longed for her weight on my hand
And before too long she perched herself there
As if I had a magic wand
Eloise, you didn’t freeze
You were perfectly happy to please!
Soon you were hopping aboard
As I whisked you through the air
You liked to jump on and off
Obviously enjoying the game
I wanted to set you free
To let you spread your wings
It took awhile to coax you out
But eventually we had our flings
Eloise, girl of my dreams
So soft and sleek with your feathery gleams!
Together we dance and sing
You have no fear of my giant self
You like to nibble at my fingers
We love across the gulf
Eloise, oh Eloise
Every day you please
And every day I please you too
It’s the perfect union of beauty and beast
Eloise, my little yellow bird
Eloise, Eloise…
I Know a Girl
I Know a Girl
I know a girl likes to dance and sing
This girl is up for most anything
I took her dancing on a Saturday night
And wouldn’t you know I got into a fight
Too many guys just hanging round
She got her red dress on her feet don’t touch the ground
Guy comes up he’s way over the top
It’s left up to me to make it stop
I know a girl and she’s so fine
I would love to make her mine all mine
But it’s just so hard to keep this girl in line
I know a girl likes to drive around town
Window open she’s putting it down
She’s so cute traffic grinds to halt
But she won’t admit it’s all her fault
I know a girl yeah and she’s so fine
I would love to make her mine all mine
But it’s such hard work to keep this girl in line
I know a girl likes to act so bad
She’ll give you the best time you ever had
She makes me dizzy with her crazy ways
Being with her ain’t no lazy days
She’s so much fun you laugh and scream
But you better watch out or she’ll end your dream
She’ll make you run and beg and more
But then turn around and show you the door
She’s so damn fine I can’t make her mine
She dances along to her own sweet time
No one could ever own this girl so fine
But it’s just so hard to keep this girl in line
I wanna make her mine
I wanna keep her in line
But she slips away
She slips clean away
Away, Away, Away
(The first-person perspective needs to be read with a critical eye.)
Earth Song
Earth Song
Earth is that your voice I hear?
Are you whispering to me?
Do I feel your soul in mine?
Is your mind in my mind?
I sense your wide expanse
Your molten heart
Your halo of air
Your oceans, mountains and life
You sing to me of ancient times
You revolve in giddy joy
But you know you are fading fast
You know things have to change
You gave birth to us
You nurtured us on our way
But now we’re a rash on your face
We are slowly taking your life
You don’t want to die I know
You don’t want to be a barren place
You want to stay green and blue
You want to enjoy what you made
But now we have turned on you
We have fouled our only home
We have poisoned the sky
We have left you to wither and die
Earth is that your voice I hear?
Do I feel your soft touch on my face?
You speak to me of hope and fear
You want me to know my place
(Musical break)
Oh Earth I think I love you!
You twirling bright orb in space
At last I’ve found my love for you
I only hope it’s not too late
I hope I can ease your pain
I want to make bright your days
I don’t want to see you curl up and die
And leave a void in your place
Earth can you ever forgive me?
I know I have done you wrong
Please come back to help me
I promise I won’t destroy you again
Hazy Babies (lyrics)
Hazy Babies
I was driving alone along route 95
Lights were flashing and I started to dive
I told you I loved you and you said you loved me
And the hazy babies were nausea clothed
Oh-oh-oh don’t go-oh-oh
Don’t go oh please don’t go!
I was reading a book that made no sense
That’s when I saw a bird-cat jump the fence
I kissed you and held you and said your name
And the lazy babies were nausea clothed
Oh-oh-oh don’t go-oh-oh
Don’t go oh please don’t go!
I was taking a shower in a blizzard of dust
Everything was quiet in a town made of rust
You told me to wait till you returned to me
And the crazy babies were nausea clothed
Oh-oh-oh don’t go-oh-oh
Don’t go oh please don’t go!
I was swimming in gold on a rapier day
The sky was screaming to stay away
I couldn’t find you as I searched the streets
And the blazing babies were nausea clothed
Oh-oh-oh don’t go-oh-oh
Don’t go oh please don’t go!
I was falling through time on a flaming beach
I’d lost my way and had no more to teach
I saw you floating on a corner at noon
And the fading babies were nausea clothed
Oh-oh-oh don’t go-oh-oh
Don’t go oh please don’t go!
Song
Song
I have just stopped taking voice lessons with my esteemed teacher Nicole, after two and a half years. She took me from lamentable singer to not-too-bad performer, even if I say so myself. After a year of intense coaching and practice I achieved my goals, rather to my surprise. We then formed a duo named The Duetones and together have recorded about 200 videos (about 150 different songs—there are repeats of some). They range from ballads to blues to rock to pop and everything in between—all my favorite songs basically. That means I had to learn all those songs, from top to bottom. I could expatiate on each of them at some length. In addition, at Nicole’s prompting, I began writing songs and now have about 60 of my own compositions. Let me tell you, this isn’t easy: it’s a completely different way of writing. This is an object lesson in what you can do if you try, even at the age of 70.
No More Philosophy
No More Philosophy
Readers may have noticed a cessation in the philosophical essays I have been posting on this blog. The reason for this is that I have nothing further to say. For the past several years I have been writing down my philosophical thoughts and publishing them here. I never intended to do this indefinitely, but the thoughts kept coming. On a number of occasions I felt the well was drying up, but I was wrong; now I think I have reached the end of the line. I am quite happy about this, because writing philosophy is a burden that interferes with other things. I just finished reading Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle and The Origin of Species, both immensely worth reading, and writing philosophy would have interfered with this. I now feel I have said all that I want and need to say about philosophical subjects, so I am perfectly content to write no more philosophy (I have been doing it for nearly fifty years). I think I have said enough, and more than most people can handle.