Mars settlement has become the symbol of man’s penultimate of technological achievement. The ultimate. To teleport.
Early in the 21st century experimental results validated quantum teleportation. The technology to teleport matter is on the verge of being discovered. Governments round the world clamour to be the first. Rumours abound of an X paper that propounds to have finalised it; with the building of a teleportation machine underway. Other rumours say the X paper is a hoax. And other rumours say the X paper has been stolen. It is 2053 .. Bang bang, warehouse chase scene.
Why would this movie premise excite people? Is it the excitement that comes from what we don’t understand?
Our perception of reality affects our actions, and our actions affect our perception of reality.
The human species is sending this planet to an overpopulated ecologically unsustainable death trap, all the whiles proliferating petty yet fatal wars over diminishing natural resources.
There is a large proportion of the world’s population believing if God (or a representative of God) won’t save us in the future then science will (or science will save us and that will be God saving us through science).
Regardless of whether people are religious or scientific, or both, or none, there has, for thousands of years, been a perfunctory optimism about our survival.
At this ‘stage’ of our evolution we identify predominantly with our physical nature, having, at large, shelved our ‘spiritual’ nature – our ‘spiritual’ nature in this definition being a defined reflection upon the cause and nature of the universe and attributing it to an outside source and/or set of universal morals for our collective conscience.
We don’t feel perturbed. An ever-growing proportion look back on ‘spiritual’ nature as if it were naïve superstition. Or was/is it?
Nevertheless we become more and more preoccupied with the material. So we might ask: What is this physical nature we identify with?
The scientific theories of reality we have today are monumental. In a sense their genius represents the heights of human achievement. In their presence I feel humbled.
It is no surprise science is given so much credence.
The percentage believing in science only grows and spreads today, even if the masses do not agree or understand. It is a new faith. And faith it is: science’s direction has gone off the road into the rough of theoretical physics with hardly a sniff of empirical evidence to keep them alive.
Luckily most the world hasn’t noticed what the physicists have been doing. It is presumptuous to believe the physicists have either. It could be disconcerting because the twentieth century was the century that the human species switched their faith in reality, generally, from religion to science. Many would make the shift whilst holding on to their religiousness in an objective God underlying the initial cause. Others have given up on religion altogether and transferred their objective God to science only.
But is faith in science sacrilege?
And is it sacrilegious to religion or science?
Early in the 21st century experimental results validated teleportation on a quantum level. At the current rate of over-population and over-consumption the invention of teleportation of matter would seem a necessity.
That would be convenient for those who haven’t taken responsibility for the rarity that is our planet. Underlying this absence of responsibility is the belief that we will continue over-population and over-consumption and somehow be saved by an outside agency, albeit, science, or religion.
One of the conclusions from this summary is that our survival will not directly come from science. I could say it will not directly come from religion either but I am not going to enter the fray of a factionalised Absolute.
Teleportation of matter via mechanical means is not possible.
According to Empirical Relativity, there will be many significant discoveries in the future, teleportation via mechanical means will not be one of them. This will be a spoiler for sci-fi fans.
Populating another planet (Mars) will be possible, but so hellishly icy in condition that only teleportation of matter would make it viable - still in a bubble technologically dependent and impractical - but viable - in a not-fit-for-human struggle for survival. The same argument applies to residing on space-stations.
The nonexistence of teleportation of matter is but one of many implications of Empirical Relativity. Why elucidate such sobering information?
To garnish a greater understanding of physical reality. To mature into a planetary adulthood, with excitement and hope from ourselves, not from without.
history
By evolutionary standards the human species took a quantum leap in thought 10,000 years ago. It identified completely with its physical nature (ie. no difference between it and the rest of Nature), and this new self reasoning capacity – no different a capacity to other sentient creatures, but more developed, complicated, individuated.
How did the quantum leap in thought come about?
One main factor was staying put. Whether it was the impact of the last ice age or a combination of environmental factors, the human species stopped hunter gatherer migratory patterns.
It settled into farming, coupled with animal husbandry, with hardly any success. For generation after generation the act of being out of synch, ie. not moving with Nature’s seasons, incurred a high mortality rate. This was not so much from sparse crop yields as it was from fatal diseases developed from living with newly domesticated animals. It was a failure until, gradually but surely, a small enclave built up immunity. Farming began to work. So much so that the surplus in food meant the population getting ‘unnaturally’ out of flux and flow with its surrounding eco-system (nothing compared to the last century!); and had to expand into other areas.
Prior to farming the human species’ concept of reality, in general, was similar to that of the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime: identification with the environment, the land an extension of oneself, natural responsibility, everything having a greater reality behind this one, of which the human identity was intentionally indiscriminately a part of.
In the beginning of the self-reflective schism the identification with Nature was still there, assured, harmonious, kind even; and Earth Mother stories and totems reflected that security for millennia.
After farming settled the human species had more leisure time. Not because farming required less work than hunting. It required more. But because the population slowly grew, there were more people to avail of for farming; which meant more food; which meant more people; which meant more leisure for leisure’s sake, which meant more deliberation over who to have that leisure. In previous migratory cultures more people meant a hindrance to travelling.
With more leisure time and more deliberation over who to have that leisure, spoken language flourished, a more individuated consciousness developed. With this creative use of language came a plethora of personalities interwoven within its fabric. Poetic metaphoric allusions as to the nature of reality. Gods. Colourful Gods. Not very big or fearful in a personal way .. not yet.
A new hierarchy was born with the advent of more people than necessary for labours required. The hierarchy was different from the inclusive tribal hierarchy of old. It was exclusive, based on division – division of labour, division of ownership etc. Instinctively they knew these divisions to be artificial, yet they were propagated as being for the interests of the whole, whereas, on the whole, only few benefited. The complications of ownership of stock and land within the new settlement initiated written language, be it mathematic, or symbolic .. or the newly formed idea – religion.
Within the new static settlements social rules, and rulers, became necessary to maintain harmony - and defence - of their particular culture. The loose and insightful stories of origins and reality became enshrined, to be followed, religiously. This was to keep power over the people - not necessarily in an evil way - but to maintain security, stability and identity of that particular culture. The Gods became even more almighty, moralistic, fixed. Patriarchy was looming.
Thus the roots of an artificial paradigm became entrenched in the human psyche. With profound awareness of an objective Self – oneself/God-self - came awareness of the unknown, no Self, death; intimately identified with our origin: Nature. The epitome of humans’ artificial escape from death/Nature was the ruling class, living off the fighting for survival of the many. With this insatiable dynamic the human species furtively furthered its over-farming, over-population, and over-consumption of land and natural resources, as if ensuring the human species’ survival per se wherever it spread.
You would think the farming communities would be sitting ducks to hunter and gatherer tribes. At first yes, but eventually farming communities conquered by sheer numbers; and their main weapon: hunter and gatherer tribes had no immunity to counter the new diseases spread from farming communities living with domesticated animals. And, like the new diseases, farming communities spread.
The exploration of rational explanations for the workings of the world – science - was also breathed in; not to usurp governing control of the peoples though - which had fear and survival as its tradition, formalised religion its tool. The intimations of a foundation of geometry began predominantly by the Greek vegetarian mystic Pythagoras, with elaborate elucidations by Greek philosopher Euclid.
Meanwhile the warring and assimilation of tribe after tribe grew into cosmopolitan societies, eventually into the birth of the empire - growing more and more multicultural with every addition - each religion adding to the disempowerment of the governing religious body. Amidst the parade of many cultures’ many Gods a religious focus was needed to keep control. A one objective God was decided upon (an indescribable one to keep it universal). In the West the Christian dogma, doctored, was chosen, eventually usurping all pantheistic and pagan based religions.
(In the East they had less cosmopolitan pressure and built enough wisdom within to develop the one objective God [or ‘Idea’ as in Taoism, Buddhism] amidst the many Gods, - but the same dynamic as far as governing society was concerned.)
The mandatory religiosity of that one objective God got a firm footing when its one and only chosen prophet became its Earthly counterpart to identify with. The unapproachable God of varying cultures had an approachable favourite for the masses to intermediate with.
This was a significant development for the human species. For the first time, ‘en masse’, they had taken religion seriously, whatever the idea was, its use based still on fear and subjugating the masses. For the first time the human species truly demarked itself from Nature, from oneself, and truly didn’t know itself. Yet, with the new self consciousness sword slicing deeper into the psyche, believed that ‘someone’ other than them, knew; and whoever controlled who ‘knew’, had artificial power.
The dark ages followed, consisting of inventing and fighting ‘evil’. The human psyche was now polarised enough that it saw its biggest mission as converting others, fleshing out that they truly did not know. Just as tribe after unnamed tribe died at the hands (and diseases) of the new farming society, so did the pagans (those holding on to rituals connecting them to the underlying elements of Nature) die by the civilised sword. Fear. Fear of God replaced. The worst ‘evil’ after the pagans was another culture with the one objective God different to their own.
The wars, inquisitions and forced conversions were rumbles with the one objective God establishing itself deeper and deeper into the mass psyche. That was reality for centuries. It was so ensconced and unquestionable that the human species felt confident enough to apply the logic mind to the world about us. For God was definitely not in our physical Nature, that was established (we could say forced), nor in the simple mechanical laws we formulated of Nature. It was not sacrilegious to explore the world around us. That is how science was established. And how the Industrial Revolution ran rampant without conscience of the consequences.
The renaissance of science was tolerated at first. Because of the domination of its religious predecessors the core of science was trepidation; and, no different to its religious predecessors, never, this was paramount, never showing trepidation on the surface. So frozen by fear that empirical proof was not only the face of science, it was its definitive existence. Sacrifice proof, sacrifice science. [Our perception of empirical proof is that if properties of the physical world come to the same conclusion at a high percentage rate then those properties are universal reality.] To this day empirical evidence enjoys precedence over logic.
Gradually eventually this empirical proof began feeling secure as the reason for reality, as truth, rather than the objective God so clung to, and necessary it seemed, all those dark centuries. The age of enlightenment begun? Or the age of materialism? At what price? God (objective belief of reality) was dying. Long live materialism and science (objective belief of reality).
A chronological overview of the evolution of our perception of reality (of course generalised):
1. A total identification with ourselves as a part of the eco-system of Nature. Sense of individuality spread everywhere.
2. The beginning of a social sense of self separate to Nature. Female mother deities. Stories of Gods.
3. Farming communities. Colourful Gods stories, fables. The strengthening of a social sense of self (as separate from Nature).
4. Morals, ethics. Social rules. Law. Politics. Religious rules and structures. Strong foundation of social identity separate to Nature.
5. God through Ruler. Societies, empires, state law. Religion enshrined. Strong cultural God religion identification.
6. One God focus. Religion forced. ‘Peaceful and Just’ prophet on Earth the link to God, the masses’ saviour. Future salvation. Forced sense of self divided from Nature.
7. Severing all links with Nature. Demonising it.
8. Objective God/Nature division taken for granted. Science – knowledge of Nature as an objective entity, to be dissected. Society identification on top of this division. Individuality. Self governing democracies replace monarchies. Industrial revolution in gear. Capitalism and consumerism at the fore.
9. Division from Nature/self consciousness as if ‘complete’. Less defined belief in objective God. Belief in knowledge of physical ‘reality’ – Science. Merging of world’s cultures. Rampant capitalism.
10. Overpopulation. Illusion of prosperity amidst poverty and degradation. Escalating material reflection via technology.
11. Lack of natural resources. Reflection of degradation of Nature.
Confusion. Threat to our core – our planet.
12. Twelve may or may not come en masse. Finding meaning within, no objective God per se; responsibility to what we have, now and the future, defined insight, reflected by science, not directed by science.
Soon enough our species will have our collective backs against the wall. Our world will seem smaller with further overpopulation and lack of natural resources – food, arable land (here or on Mars) will make us reflect strongly on changing our perception of reality. The next stage of evolution may surface. It may not. Up until these times the future was assured. For the vast majority now it is a question.
The human species owes it to its children, and ourselves, to have a perception of reality that will sustain us into the future. We are at a point where we cannot buy colourful stories, myths and fables, about our origins or our destinies. We are mature enough to know there is obviously ‘something’ behind what reality is, that our minds can understand it, that it is not the exclusive domain of some other mind. We can at least be mature enough to move towards that comprehension. What stultifies us is the fear that chaos might be behind it, that our lives have no ultimate meaning. Or conversely, in New Age paradigm minorities, that it is all blithely waved away as ambiguous mystery.
As globalisation homogenises us we are aware of many different heads of ‘God’, but mostly, now, science is taking over, it seems, as the universal description of reality, some even believe the reason for reality.
Without realising it – and therefore is innocent – science today holds the reigns of what reality is, and isn’t. Religion has inadvertently lost its driving capacity, it now takes the back seat. The decisions made round the world for the progress and betterment of the species are largely based on the material belief frameworks that are science (science that is empirically dependant). The implications are huge. A dead end lies ahead.
Yet we could bring the understanding of science to fruition, ie. not negate nor hack it into reductionist pieces, but use science's virtue, its scrutiny, on itself as a whole. Our glib faith in empirical provinciality questioned, our grip on that faith loosened, our insight into reality expands, our appreciation increases, our future avoids dead end.
The closest star system with any remote possibility of sustaining life is literally impossible for any organic species to traverse the distance. Period. Mars or outer space settlements will be technologically dependant, as cold (and hellish) in their dependency as Mars or outer space is in temperature.
Our planet is what we have. One of the direct implications of empirical relativity is that teleportation, via mechanical means, is definitively impossible. Period. Science cannot, and will not, save us, technologically.
Knowledge can.
The sooner we understand the nature of science for what it is, the sooner we hold the reigns of what reality is: the driving force for the future of the planet for everyone on it and everyone to come, and not be influenced by bogus ideas of hope.
Physics And Psyche
The most significant change to come worth contemplating is how we perceive the relationship between our psyches and physics. There are fringe groups now who propose the possibility that a person’s conscious will can actually affect an electron, all physical reality even. As if quantum physics and free will are intimately related. We will reflect upon these fringe groups as playing with fools gold, so to speak. Tripping the quantum fantastic. Runaway romanticising with scientific results.
Minds do not influence space-time in any cause and effect way per se (apart from everyday mechanical motions). If our minds could - and because it's obviously not already happening - suggests there is something in our minds (not our brains) holding back a direct experience of it. If our minds influenced matter then our minds and space-time would already be in a continuous flux and motion. It would already be happening on the subtlest of levels. There would be no dualism. Only from our minds, our senses of self. Therefore if it were already happening, if we tried to use our conscious will to influence reality, the opposite could well happen. Why? Because our sense of self would be directing it and, therefore, in the way. It then wouldn't be a question of whether minds influence reality or not. It would be more a question of how much heart is involved. Real humility. [If true this would practically negate New Age capitalist philosophies.] Because only humility could sustain it, or make anything truly happen. Quite simply, one ‘mind’/frame of reference would not be able to have ‘more’ influence on reality than another, even reality’s. It would be a contradiction. If this were given credence then research would focus on the element of feeling’s direct non-causal association with our physical reality. It would propel scientific research into new territory. Its reverberations deeply affecting everything, from physics to philosophy, health to psychology, economics to everyday conversations.
And then the road to real humility, real awareness, would begin. The next chapter in our collective evolution would unfold. That is, if it were true.
But then, it remains to be seen.