The Human Black Hole

Have you heard of the theory of information in quantum physics?  This theory is an integral part of the big bang theory.  The theory of information basically states that in the universe information can never be destroyed (complete information about a physical system at one point in time should determine its state at any other time).

The Hawking Radiation (named after noted scientist Stephen Hawking) proposed in 1976 seemed to violate this theory.  Hawking claimed that once a black hole forms then it will start losing mass in the form of radiation.  This radiation has no information about the mass inside the black hole.  Therefore information is lost.  This loss of information is in direct conflict with the laws of quantum physics.

This theory was disputed by many scientists and today most scientists including Hawking himself believe that information can escape from a black hole (a black hole is not a hole but a dead star that has collapsed on itself.  The resulting density is so high that even light cannot pass through it.  Our Sun will one day be a black hole).  Scientists now think that if the black hole is modeled based on string theory then it is possible for information to escape.

There is a saying that “there is nothing new under the sun”.  I believe that.  The universe is 13.5 billion years old and the earth itself is 5 billion years old.  Modern humans have walked on this earth for over 250,000 years.  There were billions of human beings who inhabited the earth before us and hopefully there will be trillions more who will call this planet home after us.

There is a lot of information and knowledge gathered by those before us that can be very valuable to us today (The concept of before us and after us might be moot considering that the “information” that is us can never be destroyed.  We like those before us and after us are always “there” but in other states and dimensions).

For some strange reason we human beings (particularly in countries like India) act as if we live in a black hole where nothing can reach us or influence our thinking.  We have no use for the tremendous amount of information that is all around us but instead go about reinventing the wheel all the time.  So instead of taking the existing knowledge base and adding to it and then passing it on to our future generations we simply take the current knowledge and reshape it to satisfy our fanciful needs.

The Egyptians believed and worshiped Amun Ra, Osiris and Isis for almost 5000 years.  Today no Egyptian or for that matter anybody else in the world considers them as gods.  They are part of the Egyptian mythologies.  But instead of using this information to our advantage we have created newer gods and built religions around them.  Is there an iota of doubt as to the future of our gods and our religions?  Are their fates going to be any different than that of Amun Ra, Osiris and Isis?

Buddha said thousands and thousands of years ago that “the reason for all the pain and suffering in the world is attachment”.  This is a profound statement.  Similar sentiments were echoed by many ancient philosophers.  But do we follow them?  We humans as a species are increasingly dependent on material things and some of us cannot even comprehend how we can live without them.  In addition to our increasing dependency on material things we continue to be addicted among other things to our religion, culture, politics, language, ethnicity and race.  We suffer because we are neither able nor willing to free ourselves from these attachments.

Charles Schulz (American cartoonist and creator of Peanuts) is quoted as saying “My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?”  This brings us to the issue of happiness.  Polls have shown that an average American is not happier today than they were over 50 years ago.  This is despite the fact that in the past 50 years almost every key factor improved including literacy, health, income, life expectancy, environment and quality of food.  What is going on?

Sigmund Freud proposed that “unhappiness” is the default state of the human mind (it is easy to be unhappy than to be happy).  Studies are also showing that human genes have a strong influence on happiness.  So those of us who are not genetically predisposed should work that much harder to be happy.  The question is what makes us happy.  The happiest people are those who have strong friendships, are grateful, optimistic and forgiving.  But is science finding out something that we do not already know?

The golden rule found in most religions and philosophies is to “treat others the way you wish to be treated”.  But we humans worship these philosophers/gods, are willing to die for their cause but conveniently ignore the message.  This is another example of us not using the knowledge and wisdom gained over thousands of years by our ancestors.  Instead of building lasting friendships we build a wall around our house and around our countries.  More time is spent in front of the television than with our friends, family and neighbors.  Some of us are eagerly waiting for the “end times” while others want to caste out those who are different.

Can wisdom and knowledge emerge from this black hole that we are currently in?  I am hoping that there is some sort of “string theory of life” that can prove that it is possible.

“The most important things in life aren’t things” – Anthony J. D’Angelo.

Related posts:

1. Should Indians Abandon Earth?
2. Should Human Beings Save the Tiger?
3. White Christmas & Black Nativity
4. Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ Myth
5. We Are All Atheists

Tags: American, Amun Ra, Anthony J. D'Angelo, Black Hole, Buddha, Charles Schulz, Egyptian, Human, India, Isis, Osiris, Peanuts, physics, scientists, Stephen Hawking, Sun

Category: Culture & Religion