Basically the same idea I came to!

Just wanted to share a paper by Peter Lynds that covers basically my same exact thoughts on how the universe works.  The only difference I currently have is that I do not think any "bounce" would be the exact same.  I will say my argument for that difference is related to the idea of consciousness - the ability to say no to a stimulus.  This boils down to free will, which I do not believe can be predicted.  Hmmmm.  Now I am thinking that maybe the universe could replay exactly, but we will NEVER be able to have an equation to answer the whole thing.  I have some more thinking to do about this subject.

Anyways, here is the paper by Peter Lynds.

Evidence for a single force?

The video below is representing a black hole.  The radiation pattern is what I want to draw attention to.  Specifically, you will see the radiation going towards the center and the radiation shooting out.

The video was first watched by me after viewing this website: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast23oct_1/

Now compare that with what we find from images of magnetic fields.

This image is taken from the magnet wiki page.

I think a black hole IS one pole of a magnet....

I will have more on this eventually....

Definition of Consciousness

This is my explanation of consciousness, which was spurred by Sam Harris's blogs on the mystery of consciousness (Part 1, Part 2).

I will begin with my definition of consciousness.  Consciousness is the ability to "say no" to a stimulus.  Another way to say it would be the ability to recognize patterns (i.e. learn).  Everything below will be my attempt to explain how I came up with this definition.

First, one has to acknowledge the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.  Energy will ALWAYS go from areas of high concentration to areas of low.  This fact is required in order to clearly distinguish between consciousness and unconsciousness.  We have evolved in order to limit the amount of work needed.  For example, opposable thumbs greatly reduces the amount of work required to move an object, thus lowering the amount of energy required to move that object.  Being able to recognize patterns and say no to a stimulus would do the same thing, for the "thing" is not wasting energy; it recognizes that pattern as an overall wasteful experience in terms of energy and chooses to not respond to the stimulus in order to not do wasteful work.

Let's look at a clear example of something that would be considered unconscious: a car.  If a car was conscious, it would be able to choose to shut itself off if it was sitting idly for an extended amount of time to return to the lowest energy state.  Now you might argue that we can program cars to do that, which is true, but that is responding to a stimulus, not recognizing a pattern and then responding to it.  So I would also argue plants are not conscious; plants can move, but only if a stimulus (e.g. light) is present to respond to.  

There are many examples of conscious organisms that clearly recognize and react to patterns: humans, cats, dogs, mice, birds, etc.  However, I would also consider the computer named Watson to be conscious.  It is capable of recognizing patterns not pre-programmed.  This is quite remarkable, for we have a working model of consciousness!

The big question now is where did this evolved ability of consciousness come about?  I will guide you to my prior blog post as to where I think we should begin looking.

The beginning of intelligence - a place to begin the search!

I believe we need to start looking at the moment an organism was able to both control its movement and recognize a pattern.  I don't think this would be too difficult to set up.  You would use food, much like experiments with mice.  I am assuming if food is positioned in straight lines, an organism would go in straight lines.  Then I am assuming the organism would continue to search in a straight line if giving the food was stopped.  The experimenter would then place small bits of food back in the opposite direction, eventually giving the "motherload" of food.  This process would be repeated x amount of times, probably at least 100.  After the x amount of trials with the food trail, the next trial would not have the food trail leading the organism back.  If the organism does go back to the designated spot, the "motherload" would be given.  If an organism given this training repeats it consistently, that would be evidence that learning a pattern has occurred, and thus intelligence!

I would begin with organisms known to be able to "turn off" their flagella, possibly protists.

The importance of Science

I am constantly blowing my mind.  I just recently realized the real importance that students understand what science is!  I also decided on my definition of science: the interplay of questions and physical observations to understand and explain natural phenomena.  This is the key to understanding how people learn, for it is only through thoughts (cognitive effort) - the questioning and observations - that learning takes place.  This is the ultimate understanding we want from our students - to know how they themselves learn!

Also, I realized the importance of understanding what technology is.  I knew I thought school was pointless when I was in it, but now I know why!  Technology is a tool.  That is why so many subjects seemed pointless, for all the subjects in school are technology; they are the products of science!!!  Tools are only useful if you use them, and you will only find them interesting if you actually NEED them.  It really is no wonder why I and students found/find school boring.

Science - A Creation Story

A great idea came to my mind today.  I should teach science as though it is a creation story.  Science already has many similar qualities as a story: problems are solved, settings differ, multiple characters, and created by people.  These qualities are well understood by students, for they are told stories throughout their life.  This makes the transition to science easy for students, for they already have schemata constructed for stories.  Too many students view science as out of their reach; it is important to help the students understand that science does the same thing as other stories, but how it is developed differs.

Science as a creation story also allows you to get to very important ideas.  By having students imagine the very beginning, you can get to the concept of energy.  This is one of the most important concepts, for without understanding energy, nothing happens.  This also allows you to introduce the concept of matter, for something has to exist!  Every story has characters, and matter and energy are the main characters in the  story of science.