Human brain is one of the most complex pieces of engineering. I said ‘engineering’ because I find it hard to believe that it could evolve from unicellular organisms. I am not a ‘Creationist’ either. I think that it ridiculously stupid to even imagine that a larger-than-life being creating us from dust. In his book ‘The God delusion’, Richard Dawkins attacked the very nerve of every religious belief saying that it is ok to be an atheist. For him, God is a misinterpreted word. God can be a powerful creator, which can be observed from a scientific, logical and rational point of view. It’s a mystery that created the universe which can be termed as god, but he is against a personal, supernatural creator with a list of do’s and don’ts.
Another book that I read a few years back was ‘A brief history of time’. Stephan Hawkins is perhaps one of the most respected physicists of recent times. Most of what he says is beyond my comprehension. But what intrigued me the most was the ‘string theory’, which should explain all the 4 forces and all the elementary particles. String theory, super-string theory, Theory of everything, Unified theory, M theory ( which talks about 11 freaking dimensions). Each theory has something new to offer, yet something is always missing. Its crazy enough to imagine the 5th dimension, or even the need for it in our daily lives. Do you know what a hypercube is? It’s a like a cube which 3 dimensions (length, breadth and height) , only that it can have 4, 5 or even more dimensions. Just try imagining that. I mean, a line is 2-D, a cube is 3-D. Can you imagine a figure in 4-D? (time is not a spatial dimension). Its possible to prove that such a structure exists mathematically, and we have studied it. What is the formula for the diagonal of a square? D(diagonal)=sq root of [a (squared) + b(squared)]. So what is the diagonal of a cube? D(Diagonal)= Sq root of [a(squared)+b(squared)+c(square
These are all but theories. A possible explanation. For example, if you get a missed-call alert in your phone and the number is unknown, who do you suppose the caller is? You may or may not be able to narrow it down, and will be wildly based on patterns known to you. Theories are just like that, of course, much more scientific and replicable. But the point of a theory should be to make it simple enough to be comprehensible.
The human brain is a brilliant piece of engineering. But compared to what? Compared to our own understanding of ourselves? That's a bit myopic. I am not a theist. I also believe that there are certain limitations of our brain. Bruno is our family dog, and sometimes he sits in front of the television and stares at the screen. I am sure the facts are in front of him. There is electricity, there is a remote control,there is a screen, there is a switch to turn it on, there is a set-top box, etc. But to expect that one day, Bruno would be able to understand the precise mechanism of how the TV set works, is wishful thinking.
I think humans are just like that. We are trying to comprehend things that are way beyond what our brains are designed for. Imagine the tiny spot of algae residing in a corner of a swimming pool. Humans are just like that speck of algae, trying to make sense of the pool and beyond.
Another book that I read a few years back was ‘A brief history of time’. Stephan Hawkins is perhaps one of the most respected physicists of recent times. Most of what he says is beyond my comprehension. But what intrigued me the most was the ‘string theory’, which should explain all the 4 forces and all the elementary particles. String theory, super-string theory, Theory of everything, Unified theory, M theory ( which talks about 11 freaking dimensions). Each theory has something new to offer, yet something is always missing. Its crazy enough to imagine the 5th dimension, or even the need for it in our daily lives. Do you know what a hypercube is? It’s a like a cube which 3 dimensions (length, breadth and height) , only that it can have 4, 5 or even more dimensions. Just try imagining that. I mean, a line is 2-D, a cube is 3-D. Can you imagine a figure in 4-D? (time is not a spatial dimension). Its possible to prove that such a structure exists mathematically, and we have studied it. What is the formula for the diagonal of a square? D(diagonal)=sq root of [a (squared) + b(squared)]. So what is the diagonal of a cube? D(Diagonal)= Sq root of [a(squared)+b(squared)+c(square
These are all but theories. A possible explanation. For example, if you get a missed-call alert in your phone and the number is unknown, who do you suppose the caller is? You may or may not be able to narrow it down, and will be wildly based on patterns known to you. Theories are just like that, of course, much more scientific and replicable. But the point of a theory should be to make it simple enough to be comprehensible.
The human brain is a brilliant piece of engineering. But compared to what? Compared to our own understanding of ourselves? That's a bit myopic. I am not a theist. I also believe that there are certain limitations of our brain. Bruno is our family dog, and sometimes he sits in front of the television and stares at the screen. I am sure the facts are in front of him. There is electricity, there is a remote control,there is a screen, there is a switch to turn it on, there is a set-top box, etc. But to expect that one day, Bruno would be able to understand the precise mechanism of how the TV set works, is wishful thinking.
I think humans are just like that. We are trying to comprehend things that are way beyond what our brains are designed for. Imagine the tiny spot of algae residing in a corner of a swimming pool. Humans are just like that speck of algae, trying to make sense of the pool and beyond.
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