Aura

As Einstein wrote: "It seems as though we must use sometimes the one theory and sometimes the other, while at times we may use either. We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do" 

Einstein, as it turns out, was quite the philosopher. The conclusion that he came up with, is today known as Wave-Particle Duality. In simple terms, he said light (which is a form of energy) exists as a wave, but also as particles. And as we know from his mass- energy equation, it is safe to say that matter exists in two forms - as wave and as particle. 

What i'm trying to say is - Every atom in your body, oscillates among a mean point, and therefore has a certain vibration and frequency. Of course this frequency is negligible when considering a mass as large as a person's (some being larger than others). That is to say, that it is negligible considering our sensory limitations as human beings; but it is there nonetheless. If you add to this - the fact that every memory, thought, idea and experience that we have, is stored in our mind in the form of memory proteins; proteins which are made up of amino acids, held together by individual bonds; each bond being associated with a certain amount of energy -  we might have a new possibility surfacing. 

Conventionally, an aura is defined as "the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place."

Instead, Consider this alternative - What if an aura, is the cumulative sum of all the physical energy that is associated with the atoms in our body; along with the energy associated with every thought and memory in our mind - a gross, perceptible representation of our entire being and existence?

As human beings, we're limited by our range of senses, but that doesn't dismiss the possibility that each of us has a certain energy associated with us, and it's not just something hippies talk about. Rather it could be a very real, scientific 

phenomenon. 

Think about it. 

Could Destiny Be a Real Thing?

Einstein's Mass- Energy Equivalence showed us how matter could come from energy and energy could be derived from matter. A concept we use today in nuclear power plants, where the break down of atoms leads to the formation of smaller atoms and release of a large amount of energy which we utilise for producing electricity.

That's not what this is about, though.

Assuming the World started with the Big Bang, a large amount of energy was converted into atoms which were set in motion by the initial force of the Big Bang. Physics tells us Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it only gets converted from one form to another; while religions tell us God has always existed and will always exist. Notice the similarity?

So considering no new energy has been formed since the Big Bang, and no one knows where that initial energy came from, the same way no one knows who created God, for me there's enough similarity to for a moment, hypothesise that Energy is God.

In physics, there's another law - Newton's first law of motion-  that states that "When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a force". Which means that once the atoms were formed and were set in motion by the initial force, and considering no external force has acted on them (since energy cannot be created in our physical world), that would mean - the energy that propels the universe today is the continuing force from the Big Bang.

Now imagine yourself making a video as you throw ten marbles in a box. Record them till they come to a stand still due to losing energy as friction and heat. Replay the recording but one second after you throw them, you pause the video. Using resolution of vectors, and knowing the initial velocity of the marbles, you could accurately predict exactly how the marbles would interact with each other and how they would interact with the walls of the box, yes? And if you played the video, you'd find that your calculations were right, unless of course, like me, you're bad at math.

If we consider the universe as a whole, considering the marbles to be the atoms created during the Big Bang, and the only force propelling the universe being the force of the Big Bang, and also considering the universe to be frictionless therefore there being no loss of energy through friction, it would be safe to say that how the atoms interacted with each other in the future, was already decided at the time of the creation of the universe.

When matter came into being, a domino effect was initiated where every interaction that was to take place could've been predicted. This means when the first planet would be formed, how long it would take for a solar system to form, when the first RNA would be formed, when the first DNA would be formed, when microbes would be formed...everything was fixed. x number of interaction had to take place before any of these events could've taken place.

We're made of the same atoms as the rest of the galaxy. We're a continuation of the cosmos. We are energy. The same energy undergoing the domino effect right now.

If we consider this alternative to the conventional "God made plans for everything" theory, it would appear that everything that happens, does in fact happen because it has been predestined from the beginning of time. Not because someone wrote out a story for our lives and mystical powers make that story come true; but because we're still being knocked down, one domino at a time, and we're following the path to a greater complexity.

Everything happens because that is the way it is supposed to happen, there was no other way and since energy can neither be created nor destroyed, there is nothing that could change this progression, because no other energy exists.

Perhaps religious scriptures suggest the concept of destiny because it was too difficult to explain the physics behind it to everybody involved and it was easier to come up with a more catchy storyline. But the suggestion was rooted in science.

Think about it. 

The Carbon Cycle

Of the one hundred and eighteen elements in the periodic table, Carbon has been getting a lot of bad publicity these days. On a daily basis we're told that the carbon dioxide levels in the air are rising, and this is leading to Global Warming and climate change. But where is all this extra carbon coming from?

Most of you probably know what i'm going to say, but I'll say it anyway.

Carbon is a pretty basic element. It's what you and I are made of. It's what sugar is made of.

Plants are the only organisms that are capable of trapping that carbon into a more compressed form. So essentially we have the same amount of carbon as before, but through burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees, we've released it into the air.

Besides trapping the sun's heat and making our planet warmer, carbon also competes with oxygen in our lungs, and reduces the amount of oxygen that our body efficiently absorbs, each time we take a breath.

So, what can we do about this?

For starters, you could be vegetarian for one day or week, or more. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to make one pound of beef. From growing crops to feed the cows, to actually raising the cows, slaughtering them, processing the meat and getting it to your plate. That's 20 times the amount of water needed to produce one pound of grains and pulses.

So by cutting our meat and animal products intake, slowly we can reduce the amount of livestock that is raised, and some of that land can be used to grow trees and make forests - helping us trap some of that carbon into a compact form.

Try to be vegetarian or vegan for just a little while, or one day a week, or whatever is convenient for you, and help make a difference. :) 

Pause, please.

In MedSchool we learnt about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV.

The reason why it is unbeatable is because it mutates - constantly and rapidly. By the time our body figures out how to destroy it, it changes form. It outsmarts our body and our resources, and continues to multiply and take over. It uses the body's mechanisms to grow and spread. Eventually our body has nothing more to give, and the virus makes us so weak, that even the most trivial illness, proves fatal.

Essentially, every living system has a defence mechanism to protect it from such invasion. In our body, that is the Immune System. HIV attacks our immune system and renders it ineffective.

Now consider the human race and the Earth. The world existed much before us. An equilibrium state evolved, and it was sustainable. Then we came along. Too many of us, came along. We dug holes into the ground and played with the delicate balance that took billions of years to build.

The Earth's natural defence mechanisms came into place, but we beat them. We burnt fossil fuels. The Earth gave us Climate change. We fought back with Air conditioners and central heating. The Earth responded with polluted air. We made air purifiers and masks. Pollution lead to new diseases. We came up with newer medicines, so more people survived. Our population grew exponentially. The Earth responded with shortage of food. So we cut down forests to make farms. Shortage of water? We made dams. You see where this is going.

Any attempt made by nature to restore balance, and revert to a sustainable system, was met by resistance on our part. All this while, coming up with newer, more complex ways to beat problems that we created in the first place. And in the process, creating more problems.

In medicine we refer to this as symptomatic treatment, without treating the underlying disease. Sometimes making it worse by our actions.

This blog is about presenting an alternative perspective. Changing the way we see the world, and the way we see ourselves.

Instead of making things more complex, let's simplify, for just one moment.