| (Copyright) by Gregory Diaz (Wayne, New Jersey) |
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| In the comedy classic movie “It’s a Mad Mad World” a few people witness an accident. They then make their way down to the driver. Before he “kicks the bucket” the driver tells them about a stash of money buried under a “Big W.” Rather than cooperating and sharing the money they each race to the park where the money is buried to try to claim it first. When they all finally arrive at the park they earnestly begin searching. However, at first they cannot seem to find the big W. They keep walking past four palm trees that have grown into the shape of the letter. Eventually someone notices that the palm trees are what they have been looking for. Since the beginning of our existence man has gazed into the night sky with wonder and amazement. Psalm 19:1 (NKV) tells us “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” We see that the universe is extremely beautiful. Yet could we be missing the most incredible and fascinating idea about it? Is there something hidden in plain sight? Is there a kind of “Big W” of the universe? In order to explain, first imagine how God may have come up with the idea for creating a universe. Let us first assume that before God created anything there wasn’t anything else. Since only He existed it would be logical for Him to draw on His own attributes as the inspiration for its design. Attributes of God in addition to His righteous character include His ability to create, think and learn. Keeping in mind that God made man in His own image (Gen 1:27) this raises a fascinating question. When we look at the universe are we seeing a model of God’s thinking and learning process? Could the universe be a physical representation of God’s consciousness? For example, could galaxies represent swirling collections of thoughts and ideas? Could space and time represent knowledge and imagination? Is energy the physical equivalent of curiosity? Could space and time unite to form matter the way that knowledge and imagination unite to form thoughts? A newly discovered and interesting piece of evidence seems to support this. It concerns patterns of galaxy networks that have an uncanny resemblance to brain cell networks. A web search of “neuron galaxy similarities” will bring up several articles and image comparisons on the subject that explain the finding. It would be ironic if a new scientific discovery inadvertently led to evidence supporting the existence of a creator since many scientists reject this idea. Most people would agree the universe is beautiful. It is filled with symmetry which exemplifies beauty. Symmetry conveys the idea of two separate parts having been joined together. Therefore, it appears evident that beauty exists whenever multiple parts come together to make a whole. Unity and beauty could be thought of as synonyms. Beauty is interesting as it gives evidence of the intelligence necessary to create it. Harmonious unity and relationships are underlying themes of the universe. Consider the inexplicable motion of electrons within atoms. Known as the Uncertainty Principle the exact motion of electrons cannot be predicted. Yet there exists a relationship between uncertainty and predictability. The universe beautifully combines these two opposing properties by limiting the random motion of electrons to specific energy levels. Although the precise location of an electron for a specific time cannot be known before hand, it will be found within the boundary of its energy level. The same idea is seen throughout nature. For example, the exact size and shape of leaves on a tree cannot be predicted. However, each leaf will follow the same basic pattern. Likewise in our thinking process we are able to unite imagination with knowledge. We do this by guiding our imagination to stay within the boundary of what we know. In this way we focus our creative ability to form thoughts and ideas. Consider how we learn. We compare our observations and experiences. This forms a kind of union that provides us with new information. We also compare our thoughts together learning through logic and reasoning. Naturally it requires two parts or aspects in order to make any comparison. The universe mimics the way we learn. Consider the relationship between space and time. They exhibit unity, beauty, and cooperation. The cooperation of space and time allow for the motion of objects through them. When any two objects are in motion the universe displays a comparison between them. The closer they are to each other the more obvious that comparison becomes. The universe in a sense comprehends any difference or similarity through the comparison. Of course, this is not to say that the universe has any awareness of its own but seems to be the facsimile of it. There are two fundamental ways that we learn. One is by the scientific method. The other is through communication. The scientific method is a laborious process. In contrast communication is a kind of rest from the labor of the scientific method. For example, when scientists share their findings, they save each other time spent setting up and carrying out experiments. When using the scientific method, we are comparing observations, experiments and thoughts in order to gain knowledge. As previously mentioned there must be two observations or experiments in order to make the comparison. Likewise, two facts are required when reasoning. Now consider how this method of learning is modeled in the laws of the universe. Objects move through three-dimensional space. Likewise, we may utilize three different approaches within the scientific process of learning. The steps of the scientific method are themselves each different approaches to learning. If we think of these learning approaches as paths for motion between one understanding to another and from one idea to another, we can see there is an identical pattern in the way the universe functions. Like the scientific method the universe also has three categories, its three spacial dimensions for the motion of objects. As with our learning process the universe also compares in various ways for its ability to function. Both our learning process and the universe have a fundamental numeric pattern. Our learning process utilizes the three approaches of observation, calculation, and experimentation while the universe utilizes three spacial dimensions. Our learning process and the universe both use comparisons. The numeric pattern therefore is three times two plus one. The “plus one” represents communication as it is also a learning method. In the creation account of the bible the same numeric pattern is seen. The bible tells us that God used six days to create before resting on the seventh day. It also explains how the first humans initially observed, then reasoned before eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If we now consider that the primary message of the bible teaches us faith in God, and that the bible is communication from God, it strongly indicates that the bible is likewise authored by God. Communication creates unity but requires faith and the fruits of God’s spirit to do so. Consider some ways that the universe represents or enables communication. For example, through electromagnetic radiation the universe shares information with other areas of itself. Electrical charges transfer information and join atoms together. With the phenomenon of quantum entanglement entangled particles will remain connected despite being separated by a distance. Actions taken on one particle will affect the other. The laws of physics make communication by telephone, internet, radio, and television possible. We also see that space and time clearly function as a union. Now consider an interesting possibility. The prospect that seeing the universe this way, as a representation of thinking, may give us a more complete understanding of its nature. Specifically, we might gain insight into the nature of time. Since the universe operates by symmetry and by relationships this may provide a logical reason to compare time with space. Perhaps space and time are symmetrical. Perhaps like space time is three dimensional. Of course, thinking of time this way isn’t what we are used to. It may seem incomprehensible. If we aren’t careful it may seem to cause brain damage. However, there is no need to panic. We may not need to completely give up our current understanding of time. Perhaps there are two types of time. In order to understand this first consider how we travel through space. In a sense we are continually moving forward through space. For example, when a person drives a car, he continually accumulates mileage. Even if he drives backwards, he is still adding to the car’s actual mileage. He can never erase it or the amount of space he traveled through; not even if he were to roll back the odometer. Yet space is three dimensional. We therefore could say there are two types of space. The space that we accumulate as we travel through it as well as the three-dimensional space which gives us the ability to travel through it in every direction. Now apply this same idea to time. We continually move forward through time accumulating events to create history. One type of time therefore concerns our accumulated experiences. We keep track of events by comparing them with the rhythmic patterns of nature. We think of time as continually moving forward. Yet this does not seem to be the complete explanation of time. There must be another type of time. Clearly time must also exist as a physical property of the universe. It is a property that allows us and matter to move through space. It is evident that time has many similarities to space. It therefore seems reasonable to consider that the physical property of time should be three dimensional. Now if so, time would not itself be in motion. It would not flow. It would need to be stationary in the way space is stationary. It is obvious that time is necessary for motion. Motion is also needed to perceive time. For example, in order to comprehend how long a train ride will last, we would have to compare its speed to the motion of a clock’s hands. We could also compare its speed to the speed of another train or any other moving thing. Since we perceive time through the motion of objects through space, we must conclude that space is necessary to our understanding of time. We can also perceive a multi-dimensional nature of time through motion. Again, if time were symmetrical with space, then perhaps it may be more clearly understood when compared with space. For example, anything in motion has both a speed and a direction. Since both are required, it would seem to be that an object’s speed through time is a property of time just as it’s direction through space is a property of space. Both speed and direction can be altered by degrees. Both speed and direction have a limit to the range of change they can use. For example, when light moves away from its source it does so in the most direct manner possible. It moves at a ninety-degree angle. It also travels through time in the most direct way by the fastest possible speed. Therefore, just as there is a maximum limit to the number of degrees in a right angle the speed of light is the maximum speed any object can travel within the universe. We can also draw a comparison between the directions of space to the range of speeds allowed by time. The dimensions of space are understood by length, width, and height. The dimensions of time might be understood by rate of speed, rate of acceleration and rate of jerk or change in acceleration. In other words, we clearly perceive the dimensions of space since we are able to change directions both horizontally and vertically through it. We may likewise perceive the dimensions of time from the way we adjust our speed through time. We may increase or decrease our speed. We may also increase or decrease the rate of our acceleration. The interesting idea is that if time is three dimensional it would provide us with a clear, simple, and comprehensible explanation for gravity. Three-dimensional time would not flow. It would be comparable to space in that it would be a boundless extent which allowed matter to exist and move around. Like space matter could move through time from one location to another and back again. Since matter occupies space, it will likewise occupy time. This provides a simple explanation for the existence of gravity. In order to understand the significance of this consider how that the effect of inertia and the effect of gravity are exactly the same. For example, a person traveling in an accelerating rocket would feel the same force as a person held down by gravity. We feel the effects of inertia any time we accelerate. If we accelerate while in a car we are pressed toward the back of the seat. Another way to think of acceleration is how it is creating a difference between two points in time. In other words, an acceleration creates a difference in the time of your arrival to a point in space. For example, you might come to a traffic light a second sooner after accelerating than you otherwise would have before doing so. If you were to have a constant acceleration you would be constantly creating that difference. The same idea applies to matter. Matter is occupying time the same way it occupies space. Each atom exists in a different location of time causing a slight difference in the time between each atom. Since the difference of time between atoms is permanent the effect is continuous. This explains why there is gravity. Now consider Einstein’s famous equation E=MC2. From this equation we understand that matter may be converted into kinetic energy. In other words when matter is annihilated it produces a force opposite to that of gravity. Compared to gravity this force is strong, pushes outward and is temporary. Gravity on the other hand is weak, pulls inward and exists permanently. Consider a logical reason that may explain the force produced when matter is annihilated. Since time may be the mechanism causing gravity, it may also explain why annihilating matter also produces force, a force opposite to gravity. Keeping in mind that annihilated matter no longer occupies space and time a logical possibility could be that matter is a fusion of space and time. When annihilated, fused atoms comprised of space and time then separate becoming in a sense new space and new time. The sudden increase in space and time creates force as it contrasts the existing time with the newly added time. As previously mentioned, the fusion of space and time may be compared to the way we fuse knowledge with imagination producing thoughts and ideas. Imagination fuels curiosity just as time produces force. By this we are inspired to learn new things. God created our minds and has given us the ability to learn. God also seems to have created the universe as a model of thinking and learning. God communicates with us through the bible. It is clearly stamped with a numerical fingerprint that corresponds to numbers both in our learning process and in the universe proving God as its author. However, there is yet an additional example of this theme in God’s creation. The bible tells us in Acts 17:26 that God has “made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” God created mankind in His own image. He created our diversity. Understanding what God had in mind by creating our diversity could give us a greater respect for our differences. It seems that God may have created major differences in us as a representation of our learning process. The theme of the universe is the unity and the beauty of relationships. Since relationships require love it could be said that love is the theme of the universe. God has an incredible plan to unite all of mankind to each other and to Himself. Therefore, when we view the universe and the complexity of nature let us not miss what is plain to see. Let us not fail to see the big W of the universe. |
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