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the value of nonsense
12/17/2007 3:01:24 PM

Hi dear friends, and unexpected passengers

Today it's party, I go to write my tenth thread. I invite you all to read my quantum balloons and have a pie slice of my delicious mind blowing cosmic cake. Because I'm dutch you have to bring your own booze.

Before I sink in any deepness, such as " a brief history in time " I again like to tell a little anecdote from last November. The last week in November I visited a friend in Germany, we have the same bread dog, you will see us later when I have uploaded some pics for the gallery. On short, of course my dog traveled with me the distance of roughly 150 miles. When we arrived, we where looking for a park before we ring the bell on the friends door. So I was walking the dog and I met a little young fellow. The boy looked at me with wondering dark sparkling eyes and asked me polite, are you the Santa Claus. I answered with my kindest face possible, no young man I'm only his brother. But if you have any wishes tell me and I will tell my brother, and we look what we can do for you. No, sorry sir we get no present from Santa we get them from the Christ kind, by any way do you know the Christ kind, yes of course we are all family. That is great I would like to have a carrera track 10 xm. I promised him to pass the message. With lucky eyes he jumped home. I thought nice done, a new story to tell. Of course I shared the park experience with my friend and we philosophy on that. Some possibilities, the little man came home and told enthusiastic his story. The parents listen wise and smile what an adventure. The parents think the son overreact and deny my existence but not the existence of Santa . Worst case, the boy fantasizes to much, they make an appointment to see a shrink next Monday.

When does our action makes sense and when don't they, do we know?

Back to Sir Hawking, he started his book after a lecture at Harvard, the famous Loeb-lectures. The decision to write the book, was made after he read a lot books published about the early universe, black holes, is the universe endless, how did it start. Only a few met his standards, the rest was nonsense. The idea to enlighten some humans is noble and makes sense, to think it is a must read in interest off all is nonsense.

His handicap, having ALS, an ailment that is degenerating his motoric nerve cells rapidly. But he is being so happy to may count his blessings, his lovable wife and children, and of course the opportunity to study theoretical physics fulfilled his life. The total quantum universe plays and exist in his fabulous mind, that makes him a non nonsense man.

In my readings from last week, I found an interest thread in Samis forum of virtue. A post from Georgios about his vision what the eye sees. I replied on that, and here I like to extend my reply on my manner. Ever heard of QED, the Quantumelectrodynamics, The Strange Theory of Light and Matter.

At Auckland University, these lectures were delivered in 1979, as the Sir Douglas Robb Lectures.  Although the published version of  "QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" is an excellent self-contained description of the subject, watching an unedited Feynman delivering the lectures reveals his style and enthusiasm for his subject in a way which is impossible in a printed medium.  Direct quotations from the lectures provide fascinating additional insight both into the material of QED itself and into Feynman's character. Even this honorable character with a shared nobel prize made only sense to 0,01% of our world population.

My point, I'm fully aware of the fact I write nonsense all the time, with bearing in my mind, if I reach only a few of the readers my nonsense becomes sense and this I enjoy every single day. Have a happy mind bending evening, I do hope you leave my party without a hangover.

best wishes to all,

Bernd

 

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Mary Hofstetter

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Re: the value of nonsense
12/17/2007 3:38:45 PM

Bernd,

Very interesting even tho much I do not comprehend.   The story of the boy was something to make one think about.  The little boy displayed faith in you as you must have presented yourself as quite respectable and trustworthy. To think he met Santa's brother.  Has another of us every met other than Mrs. Santa or one of Santa's helpers?  That means you had a vivid imagination which met the needs of the little boy.

Adults tend to ruin it for children by making negative statements  about their fantacies because we adults  lose our imagination.  The innocence of children  is so precious.

Thanks for sharing and do keep your imagination sharing ideas with us.

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Georgios Paraskevopoulos

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Re: the value of nonsense
12/17/2007 4:10:16 PM
Hello Bernd!

Hey man you gave me intellectual food here. The value of nonsense, nice article, nice examples and a wonderful story. I hope the young man finds an expalantion to his vision on St Claus. Metaphoric stories are a solution to unxeplained matters and nobody questions them.

Many times or better say often it struck me that religion, or religious belief, is part of science in the sense that religious belief is hypothesis, an attempt to explain the world and make sense of things. Certain things can never be explained by science, or have not been yet: what was before the big bang, what happens after death, whether the woman really did know the moment at which her twin died on the other side of the world, etc.

For me Value of Nonsense is hoghly apprecieated when it comes up as a theme.
Does that mean we should stop making hypotheses? All religious belief can be seen as metaphor, and so it is: It is made up pictures that try to approximate something dimly intuited. Not so very different in some ways from scientific hypotheses. They are similar in another sense: while scientific hypotheses can be true enough to create excellent technologies that actually work, they are never finally 'proven'. A more sophisticated scientific theory may always come along with a better theory that explains the existing observations and more besides.

Meanwhile, our engineers must take the current theories on faith that they will work again, as they did last time. Certainly the religious and scientific are different ways of seeking explanation and knowledge, and I do side with topmutt in thinking that science is a surer way of getting to what's really going on, but its range is limited, and I don't think we should stop all poetry and all theology just because science hasn't got all the answers. Science itself grew out of the same curiosity that gave rise to religion, and has often been stimulated and nurtured by theology and religious belief, just as it has often contradicted it.

Keep up the good work

Happy Holidays
Georgios
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Re: the value of nonsense
12/17/2007 4:10:48 PM

Hi Mary,

As being the busiest queen of the week, even then you create some time to response at the speed of light. You again hit the core of my nonsense writing. Imagination with the trust of our feelings mixed with the courage to express is a cocktail, nothing taste better.

Skol to your party,

Bernd

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Larry Blethen

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Re: the value of nonsense
12/18/2007 9:39:50 AM

hello Bernd...thank you for sharing...I am not sure where you get your information..but it different indeed to read...

Happy Holidays...Larry

Larry Blethen http://www.bluelight-marketing.com larry.blethen@bluelight-marketing.com, 304-369-5603
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