Musings from Jay (blog site permanently frozen 11/05/2024 morning)

This is really an article that poses a series of logic assertions. It is an exercise in logic/reasoning but is set in a scientific setting. Only the first statement is a statement about science.  The scientific method is a rigorous approach. It really sounds weird, but I can't spot a logic flaw. Here are the logic assertions.  A consensus science result may get replaced tomorrow with a better and more accurate result as more data comes in.  This is a fact.   A climate or evolution sceptic for example may argue a particular result they don't like should be ignored because of the above - it may get replaced tomorrow.   But then by this logic shouldn't all scientific results be ignored because the exact same argument applies to every single one of them?   Using this argument, when would a scientific result ever not be ignored because there is ALWAYS a tomorrow all the way to infinity?   That means selective rejection of a scientific re...

This is a respectful eulogy to Peter Higgs who passed away on 8th April 2024 at the age of 94  and a celebration of his work. I did not know him but know of his work.  Peter Higgs was born 29th May 1929 in Newcastle on Tyne in England. He was a British theoretical Physics professor at the University of Edinburgh and was awarded the Nobel prize in Physics in 2013 along with Francois Englert. They were the first to explain the origin of mass - a truly fundamental breakthrough. How much more fundamental than that can you get?!!  All known particles, except photons, need some mass in order to bind to each other and form the structures, like atoms, that comprise our physical world. “Without Higgs’ work we wouldn’t understand why there are atoms. Some pretty basic features of our world would not be understandable,” says John Ellis at King’s College London in the UK. Professor Higgs arrived at  the University of Edinburgh  in 1960 to take up the post of ...

In all my science essays, there has always been a spirituality undercurrent and quest present.. Does science provide any evidence of gods existence or gods nature? In this essay I wrap that all up. This is the last essay on spirituality. Any future steps on spirituality will be completely private.  I started this probe in March 2022 and wrote my first essay on the subject. Here is that essay:  first spirituality essay I approached it from 6 angles. What is the world's major religion's core beliefs and how did they impact society and how did it evolve?  What physics can potentially say about "god".  What is consciousness from multiple angles and how does it relate to atman in Advaita Vedanta Philosophy.  What can evolution science potentially say about "god". What does examining life at the molecular core level, which is the end result of evolution, potentially say about "god"? Has mankind evolved into a "god" itself with the ability to cr...

  A key reference is Earth. This is an extract.  In a historic move, the United States has officially expanded its geographical territory by one million square kilometers. The catalyst for this territory expansion lies in the redefinition of the U.S. continental shelf boundaries.    By invoking international law, the US State Department  has outlined new areas under the sea where the continental shelf,  a seabed area surrounding large landmasses with relatively shallow waters, extends further than previously recognized.  This monumental addition is spread across seven distinct ocean regions, with over half of the new territory located in the Arctic. The concept of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) is pivotal in understanding this expansion. Under international law, coastal nations can claim these extended shelves, along with the right to manage and exploit their resources. With this territory expansion move, the U.S. joins over 75 countries tha...

I wrote a set of essays on the key concepts of modern physics with a goal of trying to understand how far physics comes to explaining all reality and creation (Brahman in Indian philosophy) and what it implies about the existence of God. The part I do not cover much is an analysis of self(Atman in Indian Philosophy), but I touch briefly on what evolution and genetics science says and where a theological interpretation may be inserted. I also authored a short essay on "who am I" pointing to a discussion of Mandukya Upanishads and also contemporary concepts related to self in western psychology and a summary of various notions of self in eastern and western philosophy. I hope you find them useful. There are three core foundational concepts in physics - quantum mechanics, relativity, and the standard model of particle physics. I explain each of them in as simple a language as I can. The next iteration of physics is a theory of everything that combines all these discrete foundati...