Skip to content

Newton meet einstein

Discussion Post I submitted for my Atlantic University TP5110 Course –August 11

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m fascinated by quantum physics and quantum mechanics, yet I struggle to get my mind around it like everyone else. I’m glad I’m not alone, as Robin indicates in the write-up for this week’s post, not even the physicists themselves can agree. A clear sign that without a consensus, there is no silver bullet as there appeared to be with Newton or Copernicus.

Yet, I believe these theories, first put forth by Einstein over 100 years ago starting with his theory on relativity, are game-changers for scientism and the mechanical way we’ve viewed the world ever since Friedrich Nietzsche declared that “God is dead” in the late 1800s. Robin made a key point on our Zoom call, I believe, and that is despite a general acceptance of the laws of quantum physics by the experts, Newton’s materialism is still the prevailing worldview that exists in the scientific community and the world as a whole.

Some of this is precisely because there’s no agreement on what quantum physics means and how to extrapolate it from the minuscule to a cosmic scale. As Corey Powell notes, “Relativity gives nonsensical answers when you try to scale it down to quantum size…Likewise, quantum mechanics runs into serious trouble when you blow it up to cosmic dimensions” (Powell, 2015). 

Science now faces another dichotomy, the first being with religion, and the basis of this course. Now there’s another split, and this time it’s within the field of science itself. Corey Powell adds, “Relativity and quantum mechanics are fundamentally different theories that have different formulations. It is not just a matter of scientific terminology; it is a clash of genuinely incompatible descriptions of reality” (Powell, 2015). 

So it appears we’re heading for a massive food fight. For over 300 hundred years, everything’s worked like clockwork, and it was explained as such, thanks to Newton’s genius. As I noted in last week’s Experience Report, all I could see as I walked was measurable and explained. Formal religions appear to be lying on the canvas as the impact of scientism and other factors are causing people to leave in droves. Yet, now even the nice and tidy Newtonian explanation is open for debate. I believe new theories of physics will eclipse Newtonian physics, and many elements of Darwinism as well,  and most importantly, their accompanying mechanistic worldview.

Welcome to the Great Awakening! While formal religious and scientific dogma may be under siege, spirituality and quantum physics are not. The Internet has brought together Eastern and Western faiths and the teachings of the great Greek philosophers. Practices like yoga and meditation, unheard of 30 years ago, are now the norm. Master’s programs like this one expose students to indigenous spirituality, the New Age practices of the 1960s, and yes, even quantum physics and quantum mechanics. 

For me, this is the path forward, where spirituality and science can once again walk together. One explaining our internal consciousness and its connection to the Divine, and the other providing theories regarding how at its most basic element, the entire universe and everything contained within in it is made up of the same consciousness. The two coming together to give a complete picture of the whole. 5D promises a time of unity and coherence, and that’s where I see all these seemingly hopeless dichotomies heading. It may not seem like it if you turn on the news (I recommend you don’t), yet as they say, it’s always darkest before dawn. 

References

Powell, C.S. (2015, Oct. 29), “Will quantum mechanics swallow relativity?,” Nautilus. Retrieved from http://nautil.us/issue/29/scaling/will-quantum-mechanics-swallow-relativityAverage of ratings: 100 (1)PermalinkReply