Thursday, November 18, 2010

I've recently been reading articles about biocentrism - a radical cosmological theory that supposes that it's so statistically improbable for the universe to develop in such a way to support life, that the only other reasonable scientific explanation is that life, or consciousness itself, is what shaped the universe. Rather than the other way around. And that concepts like "time" and "space" are simply constructs of our minds to help us comprehend what we perceive. In other words, "time" and "space" don't really exist beyond our own limited perception.

In the words of this article, by Rosemary Bachelor,

Biocentrism redefines our concepts of space and time. They aren’t as definite as we think. Everything we see and experience comes from activity in our mind. Space and time are merely tools mankind invented for putting everything together.
In a timeless, spaceless world, death doesn’t exist. Lanza tells how the great Einstein admitted this when speaking of an old friend: “Now Besso has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us…know the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

There are all kinds of cool facets to this hypothesis. One idea builds on the proven theory that energy can be neither be created nor destroyed--and that includes the energy which powers our consciousness.

To Dr. Lanza, individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, but something important is left after they do. He calls it the alive feeling, the “Who Am I?” This, he says, is a 20-watt fountain of energy operating in the brain and it doesn’t go away at death.
Is this immortality? Yes and no. A proven axiom of science is that energy never dies. It can neither be created nor destroyed. Okay, but does this energy transcend more than one world or universe? Where does it go when the body dies? Is this what religion calls our soul?
I find this particularly interesting as a Mormon. Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught the same principle of energy conservation. He also taught that God doesn't abide by our mortal concepts of time and space. Rather, He supersedes them. to Him, time is "one eternal round."

Check out a good summary of Biocentrism on Wikipedia. Who knows? That dude Lanza (who developed the theory) could be onto something.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

The Digital Youth of Jeff Bridges

I just saw the awesome latest trailer for Tron Legacy. Aside from the movie looking mind-blowingly spectacular, it was neat to see the young and old versions of Jeff Bridges.
I wonder if youthification through the use of CGI will become so cheap and easy that age will mean little when it comes to casting. When will we have a movie starring a digitally youthful actor for no other reason than billing that actor's big name? Time will tell.