Time Matters in Evolved

What is time? If the image of a clock appears in your mind, reconsider. It is something we take as fundamental to our existence, a plug in a physics formula, a tool by which to schedule our day. But tell me, what IS time? Does it change? Has it always been around? Even before the Big Bang? Can we time travel? Well, yes! We’re all doing it right now as the seconds pass…

Einstein’s theory of relativity suggests time shortens or lengthens as velocity changes relative to another object. Objects… something with mass and three spatial dimensions. Mass is basically resistance as energy interacts with an external field. E=mc², Higgs Boson and all that. So if the strength/ weakness of the resistance field changes, our mass changes. Perhaps if we found a lever to control this resistance it could become the next diet fad, despite tearing apart our universe as we know it. But, back to time.

Do you believe there is a future? A past? A present? Well then, this implies time is fundamental to existence. This view is supported by many intellectuals, so you’re in good company. It implies time existed before the Big Bang, ticking away the seconds just like we experience today. The Big Bang was instead The Big Bounce, or perhaps a newly formed Bubble Universe. Quantum physics would appear to support this view of time as the wave length of particles move through space. Philosophers tag this type of time “A-theory.”

What if we shifted the term future to ‘happening after,’ past becomes ‘happening prior,’ and the present becomes ‘simultaneous.’ This is much more than semantics, it instead argues time is tenseless. It implies time is emergent, possibly didn’t exist before the Big Bang. It is more consistent with the theory of relativity, in which a human could theoretically accelerate close to the speed of light, slowing time for them relative to us, and return home to find hundreds of years have passed. This type of time is called “B -theory.” It too has many supporters among intellectuals.

This debate is woven into the fabric of Evolved, including consideration of chance, free will and determinism. Present, or simultaneous time, becomes a special point when possibility meets knowledge. In Evolved, the Big Bang can be thought of as the Big Division, when the resistance field first interacted with a singularity. This dynamic suddenly created mass (and time), splitting the singularity into the four dimensions we know and everything else we don’t. The present point holds the answers in Evolved, but proves surprisingly difficult to attain and control (are our four dimensions determinate from within our reality?). It forces the protagonist, fourteen year-old Amos, to consider higher dimensions within the universe and even spirituality in a society that has abandoned such notions.

Bear Bait

The reason I started writing was to set an example for my daughters. Two years ago, while she was in first grade, my oldest daughter began writing multi-page stories. I believe in parenting by example and so to encourage her I decided to start writing as well.

Evolved began with a kernel of an idea: “What if inorganic chemical elements were opportunities to enhance life?” I really had no idea whether it would last a paragraph, a page, a chapter or more. Well, a year later I had a novel-length manuscript that I’ve been editing and re-writing ever since.

The good news is my oldest continues to love to write and my youngest, who just finished first grade, now does as well. They both use it as a way to process their thoughts and feelings, a wonderful outlet for their active, curious and sometimes confused minds.

With that, I offer my oldest daughter’s latest story about our black lab, Fleuri. The story is set at our cottage, which is five miles out on a lake, surrounded by boreal forest. Fleuri doesn’t really like riding in the boat, so we leave her in the cottage when we go into town. The first time we left her she voiced her concern, which Isabael turned into a story. (We now leave the radio on when we leave, which calms her)

BEAR BAIT

A STORY FROM FLEURI’S POINT OF VIEW

Written by Isabael McKay (Age 8)

I hear the boat rumble from the dock.

My people are leaving me! What a shock.

Why can’t I go to town to shop?

Shop for goods like dog food and treats.

Treats! A rumble and gurgle from down below.

But, the boat is leaving without me!

I howl for help! Yelp Yelp!

“Good bye,” they call, “Be a good girl,” “We’ll be back home soon!”

Why, oh why do they leave me alone!?

Up on the couch to see where they go.

No, no!  They left me her for BEAR BAIT!

No no don’t go away!

Yelp! Yelp!

This couch is quite comfy and fit for me and now I can see!  See out the window!

Out the window I hear a distant growl.

I howl again.  But this time I know they are gone.

Will they every come back?  I don’t think so.

I lay on the couch and make myself small, eventually falling asleep.

The tap of a woodpecker wakes me. I look out the window.

Several boats go by but ignore my worries.

Soon so soon I hear the familiar whooshing of the waves,

the rumble of the motor as it slows.

My people are back from their stroll in town.

Oh look! My food, food and more food!

Glorious, wonderful food!

Terrific, mouth watering food!

And treats! Oh my!

Uh oh! They caught me on the couch!

Eagle Eye Shared

The path that led me to write Evolved began firmly in science and logic, studying the properties of chemical elements, space time structures, and neurology. It eventually led me to something I called the “Real” in the book as I dove into psychology, specifically the subconscious. It was only at the end that I felt I had missed something in the series of objects I had logically patterned out. Eventually I was guided to Richard Rohr, a Franciscan monk, who explained what I had wrote completely.

To be clear, I believe Christianity is merely one path we can follow to find the “Real.” Most other religions, spirituality and even science also seek to guide one to the same truth. However, our ego gets in our way and every faith or mindful effort focuses on different aspects. In designing the symbol for Evolved, I wanted most faiths and even mindful thinkers to see meaning. After all, the ancient Greeks touched on deeper truths in their math and science discoveries.

This morning I received the weekly summation of Richard Rohr’s writings. “Shared Identity” speaks to what I touched on in “Eagle Eyes Penetrate.” The following is an excerpt:

“Francis spent much of his time praying in solitude in nature. He practiced contemplation, or ‘a long loving look at the real,’ which allowed him to see in a new way. Seeing from a pair of glasses beyond our own is what I call ‘participative seeing.’ This is the new self that can say excitedly with Paul, ‘I live no longer, not ‘I’ but it is Christ now living in me’ (Galatians 2:20). In the truest sense, I am that which I am seeking. This primal communion communicates spaciousness, joy, and a quiet contentment. It is not anxious, because the essential gap between me and everything else has already been overcome. I am at home in a sacred and benevolent universe, and I do not need to prove myself to anybody, nor do I need to be ‘right,’ nor do others have to agree with me.”

– Richard Rohr

Eagle Eyes Penetrate

Everyone does it. “Knows something” and conveniently rationalizes that something into an inconsequential object in our mind. The sun is bright, the oceans vast, the universe infinite. Simple neat objects in our mind. It is only when we’re confronted with an unfiltered view of the sun, swim in hurricane churned surf, or watch the northern lights dance over distant galaxies that we begin to touch the deeper power surrounding us. Objects in our mind become real, threatening, perhaps liberating…

This year we have the good fortune of new neighbors. A family of bald eagles built a nest on the back side of the property. Even better, apparently our lawn and dock is the runway leading to the nest, supplying endless gasps and wonder as they sweep past through our grove of white pines. When they are hungry we marvel as their talons appears, their wings stretch behind their back, and they drop from the sky to grab a fish.

I’ve “known” that bald eagles are big beautifully graceful birds of prey. Yet, until the girls and I had two fly just over our heads as they squawked like sick seagulls at each other, they were simply objects to me. We went and looked at their nest a few times today, the eagle perched staring down at us nonchalantly. Looking into a wild animal’s eyes you see something else, something that connects you in this reality. The world, and all its power, became that much more real today.

Finding One

Copyright Ruth Dick

Each summer the family drives many hours, gets in a boat and motors five miles out on Lake of the Woods in Canada. No road access, outhouse, surrounded by bald eagles, beavers, and black bears. On the first day up here we saw all three! It is the closest place I’ve found to become close with nature (as scary as that sounds at times). Aboriginal sacred ground rests across the channel from our camp, adding a little more mysticism to an already magical place.

Here is where I hope to work on the website (apologies for the many changes), and go through one more round of editing of Evolved. Quieting the mind and opening the soul comes easily up here, which helps one find what is real in the world.

The photo was taken of the lake water by Ruth Dick, a good friend who grew up spending summers in much the same way. The following poem was written by my eight year old daughter after waking up the first morning.

Shhh Shhh, Listen

Shhh shhh, listen listen.

To the birds singing in the early morning light,

Tweet, tweet.

Shhh shhh, listen listen.

To the boat rocking in the waves,

Clonking in the water,

Down, up, down, up, down.

Shhh shhh, listen listen,

The leaves are rustling in the breeze,

Woosh, woosh, woosh.

Written by Isabael McKay who was inspired by opening a window

That’s Just Warped!

It didn’t take long after I started writing that I figured out if I was going to set the story in the distant future, I needed to understand some of the theories about the universe. After reading many books on bubble universes, multi-universes, and string theory, I found Dr. Randall’s theories most satisfying. Her book, Warped Passages, was one of the first books I read and is filled with my notes, underlines, and turned-down pages. What made her views click is that she is a “model builder.” She builds theories from the bottom up. This means she starts with observable scientific facts in particle physics, within the framework of the Standard Model, and attempts to extrapolate from a firm footing. For a former financial analyst who modeled out the finances of public companies, I very much appreciated the methodology.

Her book is an effort to tie particle physics with string theory. String theory is elegant mathematics but has also been portrayed as “castles in the sky” due to its lack of relationship to anything observable. Dr. Randall developed the theory of branes, named after their membrane-like structure. Basically, the theory argues our three or four (if you include time) dimensional reality is a brane within a multi-dimensional bulk. This allowed Dr. Randall to explain why gravity is so weak in our universe, when the standard model argues it should be much stronger.

As a writer, this theory literally gave me a rich topography of the universe with which to play. It also was a very approachable theory for someone who is not a mathematician, offering an easy way to visualize the universe. To recognize the book’s impact on my writing, I named the main ship in the story the USS Randall.

Standing on Giants

Over the summer I plan to go through my sources of inspiration for Evolved. This is partly for my own benefit as I refresh my understanding of various theories. It is also to recognize the brilliant minds that have transformed my life over the past few years. Finally, it will help you understand the road I have traveled to date, and how I arrived at this point.

The path started innocently enough with the thought, “What if humans could adapt to non-organic elements and unlock new capabilities?” This initial idea quickly swept me into chemistry, neurology and psychology, followed almost immediately by cosmology and particle physics. Quantum mechanics and time philosophy took some time to wrap my head around, but boning up on general relativity helped me to understand at least the basics. I’ve always enjoyed moral philosophical debates like “sacrificing the many for the few,” as well as arguments around free will and determinism. One book on chance I read at least five times before it clicked.

When the second draft of the manuscript was complete I took a step back and thought, “there is something more to this.” After showing the draft to a minister at my church, I was blown away that the world I had created was explained almost perfectly by spiritual teaching. Not only that, but Christian, Judaism, and Buddhism belief systems all seemed to explain the supra conscious element I had developed, especially Native American spirituality. Ancient Greek philosophy suddenly sprang into relevance for me. It became clear my mind was wrestling with deeper questions than I had recognized. This realization has been transforming me, urging me on to deeper understandings in all the areas mentioned above.

It has been very cool to go into science and emerge out of spirit. Hope you enjoy the ride.

In The Beginning…

Image courtesy of njaj at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ever start down a path and find yourself emerge somewhere completely different from what you expected? You were lost but did not even know it, happily following the next bread crumb tantalizing you along the path. Unexpectedly you pop out of the wilderness into some Alice in Wonderland situation. Suddenly aware that world has shifted, or have you?

Evolved has been my journey, or maybe merely the critical twist to my life that spun me in a different direction. Honestly, I’m still figuring out what has happened, is happening to me. This website is part of my transformation because I have learned that I process through writing.

So what is this journey about? It started out as a feeling to set an example for my daughters by attempting to write a novel, morphed into curiosity about cosmology and time theory, and eventually led me onto a spiritual path. At its core are the questions: “Who am I?” “Who are you?” But, I didn’t even know I was asking these questions until I found answers.

By starting this website I hope to engage with people contemplating these questions, and more. Wondering at our world and why we exist. Along the way asking questions like, “What is time?”

And yes, there is a science fiction novel I plan to publish in the future. It is nearly finished and now I need to work through publishing options.

So, please join me for this journey. Two is so much better than One.

Matthew