A Tree falls in the Wood: Plato's Cave, Schrodinger's cat & the Young's double slit experiment

Introduction

There has always existed a fine line between Philosophy and Physics, In this piece I will discuss Plato's allegory of the cave who's physical counterpoint lies in Schodinger's "cat in the box" analogy, this will give us some scope for a discussion about what I would deem to be the most important experiment ever carried out in Physics, the Young's double slit experiment, an experiment which truly tests the limits of human perception. With these things in mind we will answer the question "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

The allegory of the cave

The allegory of the cave, as described by Plato in the republic is a scene comprised of a cave containing a small fire and a group of people who have been confined from birth to only view one wall of the cave. Unawares to the cave dwellers, another group of people stand behind them placing various objects into the light cast by the fire, resulting in images being formed on the cave wall. As far as the cave dwellers are concerned, the projections on the wall of the cave constitute their reality and in this context a philosopher is defined as one who can distinguish this quasi reality from the true nature of reality. That is, they are aware that something is creating the projections on the wall of the cave. But the cave dwellers can only speculate as to what creates these projections.

One way of viewing this dilemma was presented by Aldous Huxley in the book The doors of perception where he suggests that rather than being completely oblivious to the true nature of reality, our brains are acting as perception filters, providing us with only the information it deems necessary for survival. This notion has intimations in eastern philosophy in the notion of a Dharma-body where all knowledge is stored in a higher state of consciousness and needs only the correct cipher to unlock it. Contradictory notions came from the philosopher John Locke, who said the mind is a blank slate which can only be inscribed by experience and therefore no notion could be innate in the mind of man. Regardless of these view points, both men are still staring at the wall of a cave, speculating about what lies behind it.

Schrodinger

There are many misinterpretations of Schrodinger's cat and what it means, I would like to think however, that I am extending the analogy and hopefully not tarnishing it. Schrodinger's cat is meant as a thought experiment to explain a range of quantum phenomena, including superposition and entanglement. The basic set up is a cat in a box alongside a radioactive source, a radiation detector and a bottle of poison. We choose a radioactive source that has a 50/50 chance of undergoing a decay (I have chosen the word 'chance' very carefully here), this decay causes the radiation detector to enter alarm and activates a mechanism which smashes the bottle of poison, thus killing the cat. So assuming the cat has some form of cognition, it's aware that it's fucked. But what about the external observer? What about us? The only way for us to know if the cat is dead or alive is to open the box, but until that point the cat is in a superposition of being dead and alive simultaneously. The experiment is also supposed to demonstrate how micro-scale phenomena like radioactive decay can influence macro-scale events like life and death by means of some mechanism. This has parallels to the allegory of the cave in the sense that we are the cat in the box and to rationalize our existence we have created another box upon which we place order and measure, just as the cave dwellers have done with the projections on the cave wall. This I feel at least qualifies the notion of uncertainty; that there is a fundamental flaw in our reasoning that is governed by a mechanism we cannot comprehend; the ones making the shadows on the cave wall if you will.

The Young's double slit experiment

Many attempts have been made to characterize this uncertainty and even to quantify it. In physics the uncertainly principle is manifested in the measurement of conjugate variables. I have previously discussed the notion that there exist physical quantities that cannot be measured simultaneously, such as position and momentum. When one quantity is the measured the other becomes indeterminate. The Young's double slit experiment consists of two equally proportioned slits in a piece of card, onto which a laser is shone. As the light passes through the slits it is split 50/50 between slit A and slit B and everything is fine. But what happens if a single photon (that is a single packet of light) is shone on both slits? Where does the photon go? To slit A or B? The answer is we don't know, and if we did know, we would already know if the cat was dead or alive. We would also know what casts the shadow on the wall of the cave and indeed we would understand the mechanism that constitutes our reality.

To my mind, uncertainty is a inevitable fact of life, nothing becomes certain or known until it has been perceived and measured by an observer. This leaves only one possible answer to the question, "If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?" and that answer is: we don't know. We could of course place a recording device in the vicinity of the tree and presuming it falls, it would make a sound; but only as a result of measurement. This act of observation has altered the outcome of events, avoiding the question of whether or not the tree makes a sound when left unobserved. The same applies for the Young's double slit experiment. When we observe whether the photon goes through one slit or the other, the light being absorbed by our eye, or by the optical detector causes the photon to be bent in a different direction, again dodging the question of what happens to the photon if left unobserved. Many attempts have been made to adjust the double slit experiment to avoid tampering with the photon while observing it, this field of study is called weak observation and is founded on Busch's theorem that there is "no such thing as a free lunch", that is, no information can be gained from a system without disrupting it and although it is a field of much merit, the researchers are still just staring at the wall of a cave.

It's like the whole room changes

It's like the whole room changes
Like the walls come alive when it thinks
As if a thought could affect change
As if it had some quantity

Is anything beyond thought
Or merely beyond sight
Are there things beyond measure
Or beyond measurement

A room, an extension of the mind
Alive in ways we can't understand
Four walls reflecting thought
Scaling the world to the tip of a pen

The peak of it's majesty close to hand
We clasp the new born ideas
Then there is calm, the thought subsids
And the walls remain quiet

It's like the whole room changes

Atoms, Radiation & Complementarity

In the last piece we introduced the idea that gravity and light are two fundamental forces of nature. In general, these forces govern the interactions of the very large. In this piece we will discuss the strong and weak nuclear forces which govern the very small. We will also use these forces to explain a principle of complementarity in physics called wave particle duality.

The strong interaction

Let us begin with the humble atom. For those who do not know, atoms are the building blocks of matter and an atomic nucleus contains two types of blocks called nuclei. The first nucleon is the proton which has a positive charge, the second is the neutron which has no net charge and the final component of a complete atom is the electron which orbits the atomic nucleus much like a planet orbits a star. One might ask: if a neutron has no charge and a proton has a positive charge, how are they held together? The answer is the strong nuclear force; whose associated particle is conveniently named the gluon and causes the neutron and proton of an atomic nucleus to adhere to one another. The strong nuclear force is so named because it is the strongest force in the universe, orders of magnitude stronger than gravity but it only acts over a very small distance; about one attometer which is about one quadrillion times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, while in theory gravity has an infinite range.

A diagram of an atom of Helium

The weak interaction

So far we have identified that the nucleus of an atom contains both protons and neutrons. Now, what if I said that protons and neutrons are made of the same substance and that a proton can become a neutron and visa versa? Well, believe it or not it's true and we call this the weak interaction and it's responsible for radioactive decay and nuclear fission. There are numerous types of radiation in the universe, in particular the conversion of a neutron into a proton or visa versa is called beta decay and occurs by the exchange of bozons, which are the associated particles of the weak field, just as the gluon is the associated particle of the strong field. But curiously, radiation can come in either the form of a particle or in the form of a wave. Alpha decay (a type of radioactive decay) involves emission of an alpha particle. Beta decay (which we have already discussed) causes the emission of an electron, which can exist as either a wave or particle and finally gamma decay, which propagates as gamma radiation in the form of a wave.

A diagram of alpha, beta & gamma decay

Wave particle duality

This leads me to a discussion about complementarity. As we have seen from radioactive decay, matter can exist as a wave or a particle. In general we describe things in terms of its wave like properties or its particle like properties for the sake of convenience and it marks an inadequacy in the English language to describe the true nature of matter. It becomes necessary to introduce a new term to the problem of the nature of matter and that term is superposition. Superposition is a term which allows us to expand on the concept that something can exist as a wave or a particle by introducing what I can only describe as a riddle: For a binary operation in A and B, if the result is not A and not B, not both and not either, then what is it? This is the riddle of superposition and underpins the limitations of our understanding of the nature of our reality. Every observable in the universe is in a state of superposition (so it is not a wave, it is not a particle, it is not both and it is not neither). An observable will only leave superposition upon observation. The only means we have as humans to make observations is to shed light on the problem, literally and figuratively. So if there is no light falling on an object you wish to observe then objects are in a superposition of states and have no duty to remain bound in any particular position. This has many counterpoints with a theory called Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, where he states that an object has either known momentum or known position but never both simultaneously. Like a footballer, when the footballer is in motion his position is unknown but his momentum is well understood because he is in motion. When he stops running his position becomes certain again, but he's stopped moving so we have no idea what his momentum is. So what does this mean for us, the noble observer? Well it means that objects in the very room you sit in are stationary only because you can observe them to be. The act of observation keeps them from entering a superposition of states. Turn off the lights and they enter superposition, meaning they no longer have any obligation to remain in a fixed position because you have no means of observing otherwise. Verification of the concept of superposition was achieved with Young's double slit experiment in 1803, however intimations of this unusual effect come even earlier than this. I would like to finish with a quote from Werner Heisenberg.

"The two mental pictures which experiments lead us to form one of particles, one of waves are both incomplete and have only the validity of analogies which are accurate only in limiting cases [...] the apparent duality arises in the limitations of our language."

Gravity, Light & Black holes

Gravity is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, it is responsible for holding galaxies together and for keeping our planet in a stable orbit around the sun, another such force is the electromagnetic force and governs the radiation of light in the cosmos. In this entry we will discuss the incongruence of gravity and its ability to distort electromagnetic fields, thus putting into question our perceptions of the universe as seen through Gravity's lens, a theory first proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915.

What is electromagnetism?

Electromagnetism has two components. The first is the magnetic force, which I'm sure you've encountered when trying to overcome the force of repulsion or attraction between two magnets. Second is the electric force, sometimes called voltage or more correctly electromotive force (EMF) and is responsible for making current flow through electrical circuitry and gives us such wonders as the electric kettle and the humble toaster.

So the electromagnetic force is the combination of electric and magnetic components and gives us a thing called light, which I'm sure you're all quite familiar with. The light in this room is in the visible part of electromagnetic spectrum but not all light is visible. Your mobile phone is emitting and absorbing light in the form of radio waves to provide you with good coverage, a microwave emits light to heat your food and an x ray machine shoots light at you so you can see your skeletal structure. In short, light is pretty incredible. What is even more incredible is that no matter how much energy a light source has, that is, no matter how much energy a packet of light has, it will always travel at the same speed. That's because light is our cosmic speed limit and only one method of exceeding this limit exists, called the Alcubierre drive, which would only be possible with the invention of a device capable of controlling gravity (plus it's not really faster than light, it's kind of cheating to be honest.) It works like a jet engine, contracting air in front of it and expanding air behind it to generate thrust. The only difference is the Alcubierre drive contracts and expands space time to generate thrust.

The components of the electromagnetic wave

So why is gravity so special?

Gravity is incredibly weak, how do I know that? Well, stand up. So then you might say "Well hang on, you just told me that gravity holds the cosmos together" and it does, because gravity depends entirely on mass. Anything that has a mass has gravity. The bigger the mass, the bigger it's gravity. What's peculiar about gravity is that it has no associated particle, for example in the electromagnetic spectrum the associated particle is the photon and as discussed it can come in a number of shapes and sizes, but gravity has no such particle. In fact of the four fundamental forces of nature, it is the only one without an associated particle, at least not one we have proven to exist. More questions arise when you think "well, if there was an associated particle, would it have a mass and thus be affected by the very force that governs it?" To that question I have no answer and is the reason gravity has remained an elusive and mysterious force in nature.

So what does gravity have to do with light?

To understand how light can be distorted by gravity we will use black hole theory. So, every mass that exists has gravity, that gravity distorts time space. To visualize this imagine you have a blanket held rigidly at four corners. This represents time space and a few pieces of fruit that represent mass in the universe. As you add fruit to the blanket the shape of the blanket begins to distort and the amount of distortion depends on the mass of the fruit, this is in essence what gravity is, the amount of distortion in the shape of time and space. So what is a black hole? Well, when a star of a sufficient size reaches the end of its life it usually undergoes a massive coronal mass ejection called a supernova and if it meets certain criteria it can implode on itself and start to form a very small, very dense ball that we call a singularity. This singularity has an infinite mass, and thus, creates an infinitely large distortion of time space called a black hole. So a black hole isn't actually a hole, it's an infinite bend in space and time. So what does that mean for our friend light? Well, nothing can escape the massive gravity created by a black hole, not even light, and thus black holes are almost entirely invisible. So let's think about something, if black holes can absorb light, and a black hole is in essence just a large mass, then how do we know that the light from a distant star is not in fact being bent out of shape by the presence of massive stars and planets before it reaches our eyes? This creates a massive uncertainty in the position of celestial objects. It's akin to walking through a mirror maze and colliding with all the walls before finally finding the path you were supposed to be following. Thus the term gravity's lens.

The effect of gravity on space time

The black hole camera

Another wonderful thing about black holes is that should a telescope survive the trip inside the event horizon of a black hole, all the light in the universe would be falling on the singularity and like a giant celestial lens, would allow the telescope to observe the entire universe. The only problem then would be getting that information back out of a black hole for interpretation, but as nothing can escape the massive gravity, the information would be trapped inside. Thus spawning an idea. If one could move a black hole to the site of another black hole thus creating a binary system, should one black hole have larger gravity than the other, quantum information could be extracted from the weaker black hole as it was consumed by the larger one. There are problems with this idea; as discussed the large mass creates a bend in space and time, so time would travel much more slowly near the black hole, meaning it would take thousands of years to record a few moments worth of data, not to mention moving black holes across the universe would be a logistical nightmare.

To conclude

I hope this piece (like all my work) has made you think about our perception of the world around us. I hope it puts more questions than answers into your head, I hope it provokes thought and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Gravity and light are only two of the fundamental forces. There exist two more, the strong and weak nuclear forces. These govern the very very small, while the others govern the very very large. In my next piece I will talk about these other forces and their implications on the world around us. Until then, may the force be with you.

A video of me delivering this piece at Cave writings in the Ink Factory in Dublin City

III: Bioelectric fields, Auras and Kirlian photography

An Introduction

In this entry we will discuss our body's electromagnetic field and how it can be disturbed by external interactions and even photographed using Kirlain photography. I will also discuss the idea of an aura, its manifestation and people's apparent ability to register these auras with the human eye. This will be the final entry in the series. If you have heard or read them all i hope you have gained something from them, and I hope you will go into the world with an open mind.

The Human nervous system

Our nervous system contains two types of cells, the neurons and the glial cells. Neurons allow the transmission of electrical and chemical signals to various parts of the body and glial cells maintain homeostasis (so basically they act like glue). So what does this have to do with the bioelectric field? Well when electricity is passed through a conductive wire it creates a magnetic field. Similarly, when the neuron passes an electrical signal to another cell it also creates a magnetic field. Our brains contain approximately 100 billion neurons, all generating magnetic fields as they pass electrical signals through the body. Take a multimeter and place it across any two points on the body; you will read an electric potential, this means there is the potential for energy to move across the surface of the skin. I'm not saying these interactions or the electric potential of the skin is proof of auras but there is certainly evidence of a net effect of these electrical interactions on the exterior of the body that I feel merits further investigation.

Kirlian photography

This leads me to my next topic which is that of Kirlain photography. Semyon Kirlain was a Russian inventor and researcher who stumbled on a set of techniques now known as Kirlain photography. In one such technique he found that by placing an object on a photographic plate with a high frequency electric potential he could create images of the objects on the plates from their inherent coronal discharges. For many years people believed Kirlain had the ability to observe the human aura and even photograph the human soul, however in his remarkably long life of 80 years Kirlain never produced suitable evidence to support such claims.

The aura

An aura is defined as a radiant glow emanating from all living things. It is believed in some circles that certain individuals have the ability to see auras with the human eye. Many would dismiss this as pure nonsense but there is some evidence supporting such claims. In my first entry we spoke about the photo-receptor cells of the eye. These cells are divided into two categories: The rods, which control night vision and peripheral vision and the cones which control colour. We are all born with 3 types of cones, one for red, one for blue and one for green which represent the primary colours of the light spectrum. (Yellow is not a primary colour in science because it can be made up of green and red light). However, some people are born with a forth type of cone. These cones are capable of registering a large portion of the ultraviolet spectrum with the brain assigning a colour to each new shade of Ultraviolet. So one explanation for these so called auras could be that some individuals simply have the tools of reason required to comprehend what lies outside the realm of comprehension for a normal person. This mutation is called Tetrachromacy and has been well documented among the scientific community. Below is a picture of the wavelengths of light which are absorbed by the cones of an eye with the mutation.

Absorbance vs wavelength for an eye with Tetrachromacy

Conclusion

To quote William Butler Yeats "The world is full of magic things, waiting patiently for our senses to grow sharper" I hope you enjoyed these pieces and I hope you have taken something away from them. The world truly is a wondrous place and a denizen would do well to remember that reality is subject to interpretation and the prevailing interpretation is not always one of truth but one of power.

II: The Pineal body of the Brain

An Introduction

In my last blog we discussed that the human eye (as a tool of reason) has some rather serious limitations. In this entry we will discuss the pineal body of the brain, more commonly referred to as the third eye. I will outline its function as an endocrine system in the brain (for example how it regulates the sleep cycle) and we will also discuss the more mystical and religious aspects of the eye (specifically in Buddhism as a focal point for cosmic energy).

The pineal body as an endocrine system

The pineal body is an extraordinarily small part of the brain (6mm in length). It is part of the diencephalon which is the sensory sorting office of the brain situated at its centre. It has three main parts, at the anterior is the hypothalamus, at the posterior the epithalamus and in the centre the thalamus. In the last entry when I said that the eye relays information to the brain for processing, it relays it to the thalamus. Comparatively, the endocrine signals from the pineal body are processed in the epithalamus. To illustrate this please see the figure bellow.

The diencephalon of a human brain

So why is it that the pineal body was placed in the same region which processes our vision? Well the pineal body is responsible for our sleep cycle or circadian rhythm, this means the body will produce a hormone called melatonin when it is time to sleep, and convert the melatonin into a hormone called seratonin when it is time to be awake and alert. But how does the pineal body know when to produce each hormone? The cells of the pineal body are called pinealocytes, and are believed to be derived from the same photoreceptor cells found in the retina. So as it turns out the pineal body is photosensitive and it picks up on the light entering from the eyes via the superchiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and adjusts the hormone levels accordingly (So a piece of advice: never sleep with your light on, because you wont produce enough melatonin to get a good night sleep). In lower vertebrates the pineal body even has its own eye called a parietal eye which acts as a photoreceptor which they use for both their sleep cycle and body temperature regulation. So it is clear to see that the pineal body and the eye have a number of parallels, explaining the pseudonym "the third eye".

The pineal body as a focal point of cosmic energy

The third eye has numerous utterances in various schools of Buddhism and Hinduism alike. It is believed by many of these schools that the third eye provides powers of perception beyond those of the human eye. It is believed to be one of the seven chakras (a chakra is believed to be a focal point of energy in the body). There are a number of names given to this chakra; Vedas: a Sanskrit word meaning 'knowledge' or 'wisdom' and Ajna: meaning 'command'. Many people have attempted to associate the pineal body of the brain to the third eye and despite its roots in eastern culture this particular chakra has seen a migration into the western world and has become the focus of attention in the neo-hippy movement in Ireland, many of whom believe that the fluoride added to our water supply is the cause of calcification of the gland and thus the source of our so called 'unenlightenment' in the west. Unfortunately for our hippy brethren it has been discovered that this calcification or 'corpora arenacea' is mainly caused by deposition of calcium and phosphorus on the gland, a natural part of the aging process.It is also believed that the pineal body produces DMT. DMT is a powerful psychedelic and is found in every living plant and animal on earth. It is the structural analogue of melatonin and serotonin which are also products of the pineal body. DMT was first synthesized in 1931 but has been used by the indigenous population of south America for centuries in the form of ayahuasca. Its effects are known to cause deeply spiritual experiences and appear to give the user the ability to perceive life after death. It has been shown that the brain releases a large payload of DMT upon the moment of death resulting in the so called 'light at the end of the tunnel' earning it the name "the spirit molecule" among the scientific community. I believe that before death the pineal body modifies the serotonin/melatonin molecule to create DMT. Below is a picture of the skeletal structure of Melatonin and DMT respectively.

The structure of Melatonin

The structure of DMT

In Conclusion

So we have seen the function of the pineal gland and it's extrasensory abilities in the human body, we have also examined the more spiritual aspects of the third eye and seen it's apparent ability to perceive a life after death scenario. Despite this we are no closer to reconciling these two views to form a coherent understanding of this mysterious corporeality, the idea that our bodies have focal points for cosmic energy is viewed in the narrow minds of many physicists to be nothing more than nonsense, however a solid understanding of thermodynamics and a shaky understanding of the cosmos makes me think otherwise.

I: Life, Death and the existence of a Creator

Life, Death and the existence of a Creator

An Introduction

Where did we come from? Why are we here? For thousands of years humanity has looked to the stars and pondered these questions. This entry will deal entirely with the former question, with a discussion about the origins of life in the universe and the idea of a divine creator or super being, the human eye and the possibility of life after death. My approach will be almost entirely a scientific one, however i am no skeptic and i am a firm believer that one day science will reconcile with the world of the paranormal. Accordingly, i urge the reader to keep an open mind while reading this article.

The Big Bang theory

Apart from being a popular television program the big bang theory remains an integral part of our understanding of the origins of the universe and remains a topic of lively discussion among both the scientific and the lay community. When the universe began some 13.8 billion years ago some strange events were afoot. An infinitely dense and hot object had decided to spread it's heat through what can only be described as empty space. In doing so, this singularity began the creation of the universe. Small particles began bonding together to form larger particles known as nucleons, later these nucleons went on to form the elements of the periodic table we now know today. During this period of creation, gravity was believed to be an extremely strong force (binding these small particles together was a tough job but somebody had to do it). Curious then that some 13 billion years later that this incredible force can be over come by simply standing up from your chair. Why is that so? One explanation for such a phenomenon is the existence of a theoretical particle called a Graviton which governs the force of gravity. Before we discuss the Graviton i would like to explain something. When the singularity decided to create the universe it made 4 building blocks. The first was dark energy, which makes up about 73% of the universe, dark matter which contributed 23%, matter which contributed less than 4%, and neutrinos which are so small and light that they make up less than 1% of the universe. So what does this mean for our Graviton? Well it was discovered that as the universe got older (and colder) that the energy density (that is the amount of energy contained in some finite area) got smaller for objects that were constructed using matter, if we assume that the Graviton itself was constructed using matter, it follows fairly naturally that gravity would get weaker over time. But this is only an assumption. So why did the singularity choose to create 4 building blocks? This i fear will remain a mystery and relates more to my former question in the introduction. More disturbingly, why do we exist in a world made of matter which represents a mere 4% of the universe and why can't we see the other building blocks? I will discuss these questions later when we examine the human eye, But for now ponder this; If we accept the big bang theory as gospel can we view the singularity as our divine creator or is there an even greater power behind the birth of the universe?

An image of the cosmic web, the theorized connection between matter, dark matter and dark energy

The Human Eye

The eye is the only true connection we have to the outside world, without it we could not fully comprehend the objects which make up the world we live in. It is the ultimate tool of reason. The eye works much like a pin hole camera. It allows light to fall on a small area at the back of the eye called the fovea centralis where a set of photo receptor cells called rods and cones interpret the light and turn it into a signal which is interpreted by the brain. So what is light exactly? Well light refers to any electromagnetic (EM) wave, that means radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, microwaves and even x rays! So what range of light frequencies can we actually perceive? The answer is a very small range. The human eye can see from about 400nm (red) to 700nm (violet) nothing smaller and nothing larger. To illustrate this please see the figure bellow.

An image of the visable light spectum, compared to the entire EM spectrum

It can be seen then that our ultimate tool of reason has some rather serious limitations. Which rather begs the questions; what is it that we are not perceiving? Can we believe what we are seeing? This brings me to the idea of the virtual particles. In science 101 we all learnt that matter is mostly empty space, but imagine for a second that all this space was suddenly removed and the whole world shrunk to an infinitesimally small size. What's to say that this is not in fact the true state of affairs and that our eyes simply create this space so we may comprehend the macroscopic world? Well this is in fact the case, the so called empty space between atoms is full of virtual particles which are completely unobservable. I mean surely if matter was mostly empty space then passing through walls should be easy, right? But it's not, because the empty space is occupied by matter which we cannot even perceive or detect. On a side note however, according to quantum mechanics there exists a very small probability that if you place your hand to a wall that your hand is in fact on the other side of the wall, however the probability that you are not on the other side is greater and so the prevailing outcome is that you remain on the same side of the wall, so passing through matter may be statistically improbable, but not impossible. Another huge limitation of the eye is that it can only process information in three dimensions when in fact there are up to 25 spacial dimensions which are simply to small for us too perceive. So to recapitulate, we see only a small fraction of the light in the universe with the naked eye. Of this light we can only perceive it in 3 spacial dimensions, and this perception is an adaptation of the true nature of reality that your brain can deal with, and not a true representation of the world around us.

An image of the neurons of the brain, remind you of anything?

Life after Death

No one truly knows what happens after death, we may only speculate and form opinions based on tried and tested principals, and a principal which i feel best describes the events of postmortem are those of thermodynamics, specifically the first law of thermodynamics. The first law of thermodynamics is one of conservation of energy, specifically it says that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. Despite all of our strides in technology, the human race has not truly gotten any closer to quantifying the human soul. But if i had to try i would describe it simply as energy and when you die that energy has to go somewhere, it can't just disappear. Perhaps it is stored energy in some other spacial dimension, perhaps it is kinetic, moving through time and space. Regardless of the answer the truth of the patter lies in front of us, we simply do not have the means to perceive it.