[lit-ideas] Re: The Piano Man
- From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 15:06:45 -0400
> [Original Message]
> From: Paul Stone <pas@xxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 8/23/2005 1:16:12 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The Piano Man
>
>
> >AA: It's different because the more shoulders we stand on, the farther
away
> >from the ant's eye perspective we get. That's what's nice about science,
> >that it's willing to grow.
>
>Paul: Ironically, the absurdity that I see in Religion is that it's
willing to
> grow too. It's either god's word or it's not. If you update it, then it
> renders previous versions false. At least Islam has THAT much going for
it
> -- it's mired in the stone-age. Even if it is silly, at least
> it's consistently silly.
>
>
A.A. Fundamentally it doesn't change. There's always still one answer for
everything: God.
> AA:The laws of physics and the elements are constant throughout the
universe.
>
> >PS: I used to believe that.
>
> AA: Examples, please.
>
>Paul: Examples? Of what? Things that lead me to believe that laws are NOT
> constant? That's not what I said. Read more carefully. A lack of belief
in
> something does not make me believe in its oppositie. In my opinion, the
> jury is still out. It's always out. Damn JURY!!!
>
A.A. The jury's not out on what the universe is made up of. It's made up
of the 93 or whatever number of elements that Earth is made up of, held
together by the same forces earthly molecules and compounds are held
together by. Admittedly ideas change. It used to be thought that life on
earth couldn't survive without sunlight (photosynthesis). Now it's been
known for decades that plants thrive at or near the bottom of the ocean
using volcanic heat and gases for food, never seeing sunlight. Now it's
thought all life on earth can't survive without water. Maybe someday an
organism that doesn't need water will be found. Likewise this new thing
about light traveling faster than the speed limit. Maybe it's true, maybe
it isn't, but however it shakes out, that law will certainly pertain to all
of the universe, not only Earth.
>>Andy: We're a long way from knowing everything, but a longer way from
knowing
> >absolutely nothing. It's interesting that knowing absolutely nothing and
> >knowing everything curve in on themselves. All we need to know is in
that
> >little book, the Bible ...
>
> Paul: Will you please desist with this silly insistence that I'm a
believer! [or
> a Republican] I have more disdain for religion that you can possibly
> imagine. But I also have a tremendous problem with the completely
> paradoxical view that science is correct, but willing and able to become
> increasingly more correct.
A.A. Sort of like the Founding Fathers' attempt at creating a more perfect
union. Science, good science, is always willing to become more correct.
Otherwise it wouldn't be science.
>Paul: We've gone from a flat earth, to geocentric, to heliocentrical
orbital
> motion, to speciously predictable space travel. Do we all know the REAL
> story now? WHY now? Why do WE? Hasn't every single generation thought
that
> about their own? Did 18th Century people think "well, we've got a lot of
> developing to do yet?"
A.A. I think they did. The 18th century was an amazingly inquisitive time.
Paul: The older I get the more I realize how fucking
> clueless we really are. Every day I learn of 100 questions and 2 answers.
A.A. This is interesting. What kind of questions do you ask, and what
answers have you found? We are all clueless, yes, but growing
incrementally less so. I would say even with really big questions, like
why death, the universe follows the same laws. Like humans, stars too are
born, go through life stages, die. Why stardust needs to decay (question
#37 on your list?) is one of the "it just does" scenarios. If stardust,
along with humans, needs to die, then truly, what was God thinking, and
where did he put the cemetary? That's why I don't fear death. We will go
to whence we came ... ashes to ashes, dust to stardust ...
Paul: I
> am bloody hopeless. You've got that right. Too bad that's the only thing
> that you've got right.
>
A.A. Aw, come on darling, things aren't that bad. Like the man said, would
you like to swing on a star ...
Andy Amago
> needing a psychiatrist, but worried that he'd hate me
> p
>
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