I just had a bit of a revelation of thought: Obviously, there are a lot of things about the universe that we do not understand. We do not understand the origin of the universe or precisely how it works. However, we do have some knowledge that are factual. a) The universe does exist b) The universe has within it laws of physics that allow for the evolution of mankind c) Humans are a direct result of processes contained within the universe (i.e. there is no outside agent besides the universe itself that has brought us here). d) Evolution is fact e) Hence, the universe has encoded within itself the means to evolve mankind so that man himself can question the very nature of the universe -- including the origin of the universe and where the universe is headed. f) The universe, through man, is establishing sentient systems of greater complexity and is trying to understand itself. Therefore, I believe that the universe is actually programmed in some manner to constantly evolve greater systems within itself so that those systems, while part of the greater whole, can eventually give the whole some meaning of existence. All greater systems such as commerce, business, technology, industry exist solely to help man evolve into greater systems much further down the road. I think there is more here than first meets the eye. Regardless, it isn't about any one man or woman -- this is all about the universe trying to understand itself.
for those that don't know, it's a 3 part series shown over 2 nights: "Airs on PBS October 28th, 8-10 p.m. and November 4, 8-9 p.m." i'm definitely going to watch this. but damn it, oct. 28th is when "24" starts again. i'll have to tape one of them.
not long ago they did a series called, "evolution".. i thought it was GREAT. http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/shop/products/wg35469.html
... You should enjoy the program . String theory is interesting: particularly if you like mathematics. You could spend years developing and refining the abstractions contained within the primary thesis: Several people at princeton did just that. In fact a large publicity push has been made - yes academic institutions with billion dollar plus endowments have PR people - by the proponent universities that stand to gain from funding. However, one of my problems with it is that so much of it is untestable and that the details of the theory appear to be overly complicated A good rule of thumb is that if your framework is very very complicated then you are missing something important. As a stepping stone to a full quantum theory of Gravity the various flavors of this offer some utility but enough detail is missing that it is reasonable to look at other approaches and proceed cautiously in embracing this as worthy of the bulk of grant funding for quantum gravity research.
The String Cheese Incident is one of my favorite bands! PBS is doing a whole show on the, huh? What band is on the other night of the series?