42 Mostly Harmless...

Douglas Adams' Babel Fish

For some reason or another, I deided to watch one of those "How Old The Universe Am?" shows recently. I got an idea for one called "The Universe: We Have No Fucking Idea." Really, in the end, that's the only truth.

There are brains here on Earth that can do quite a lot of math. Numbers guys and gals. The ones who become the physicists and astronomers are especially gifted. Supposedly through some logical gymnastics we now "know" not only how old the Universe is, but that the Big Bang definitely went down and how it went down, too.

Is it just me, or are scientists the new holy men? Instead of Jesus, Muhammed or Bhudda, science has Newton, Einstein, and Hawking. (Jesus=Einstein/Young Einstein. Newton=Bhudda. Hawking=D-E-V-O.) Instead of religion's mythologically-inspired, regional, moral systems of social control, science mildly preaches progress. The difference is that science uses logic in place of faith. Belief is belief. Churches, Temples, Mosques, etc. How is the Swedes' giant particle accelerator any different? Where religion teaches prayer and specific moralities, science simply questions, measures and records.

There is something very similar about the enthusiasm with which a preacher talks about God, and how some scientists discuss the Universe. There's something in the way those science guys say "billion, billion, billion, billion" or "trillion, trillion, trillion" that really seems to tickle their privates. It's the same look you see on all religions' true-believers' faces. That "I know" stare.

The truth remains. The Universe can be measured. THEORETICALLY. Human measurement of temperature and force can't really even begin to describe what actually happened nor could it ever give a solid explanation for the origin of all energy and time. Nobody knows. You can't. There is only speculation, even in the highest orders of science and math. It is all completely dependent on what you believe. The human power of belief can be absolutely astounding.

"In the beginning, the Universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
-Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide has only one reference for our planet. "Mostly Harmless." This is my favorite way any author has ever described the world. In terms of how the rest of the Universe might see us. If you also Dig Doug, you know that the real answer to the question of "Life, The Universe, and Everything" is 42. Amen.
Don't Panic. See you at Milliway's.

-2013 Wielgorecki