Fears of Uncertainty

This past Friday, we had our first lecture day. We conducted an experiment in which we examined Newtonian physics. Newtonian physics appeals to me far more than Quantum physics. While it is intriguing that there are so many uncertainties, I prefer to live in a universe in which everything can be known. It is frightening to me to think that there are no certainties. If everything can be examined through mathematical equations and the outcomes can be known, as with the pendulum swinging experiment, the universe is more orderly and more comfort is given to the observer, or at least to me. Once that certainly is taken away, as with quantum physics, the world is no longer orderly and predictable. I’d prefer a world in which scientists are coming closer to being gods than a world in which science can only give probabilities and not exact answers. I would prefer to examine the world as Einstein did when he said, “God does not play dice”.
With regards to what we studied on Wednesday, I find the idea of an “Aryan science” versus a “Jewish science” to be completely ridiculous. The Nazis allowed their racism to get in the way of their scientific thought. Science should not be subjected to such social issues as racism. Granted, we can allow society’s values to determine what scientific research should be done, but we cannot allow prejudices to determine the results or the scientific process. For example, if society deems it to be unethical to experiment on human embryos, it would not be wrong to cease experimentation using embryos. However, if scientists were blinded by racism and decide that they should not include any research done by African Americans in their results, it would be ethically wrong.
Zeno’s paradox is quite strange for me to completely understand, although I suppose that’s why it’s called a paradox. While I understand that if a distance is divided continuously, it is impossible for one to reach the finish, or even to start, the perceived truth is that it does occur. People do start races and finish them. It seems contradictory to me; thus it is a paradox. I have often thought on my own the nature of such reality. When I think about how motion pictures are constructed, I sometimes consider whether reality occur in a sort of “frames per second” existence. This is difficult to comprehend because one must then consider how a person moves from each frame. Since motion would therefore be not continuous, it is difficult to come up with a way in which motion occurs between frames. How would it be possible for motion to jump between frames of reality? I believe it’s far more likely that reality occurs in continuous motion.

As this next week begins, I would greatly like to learn more about what scientists believe of quantum theory. So far, the class has consisted of students answering questions. For example, when asked what is time, we all gave our opinions on it. However, I really am excited to learn what real scientists truly think time is. I want to know what quantum physicists think time is, what Newton thought time is, and what Einstein thought time is. I am hopeful that as the class continues we will begin to learn more what scientists think and spend less time listening to our fellow students come up with their own theories, which are based on very little scientific knowledge. It’s not bad to hear what my fellow students think, but I’d really like to know what scientists now believe and what they have believed, as well as the controversies going on in the scientific community.