Letter to my Son
Sunday, 14 April
 |
| Fresno |
Good Morning Jack…
I don’t think anyone, including scientists, has ever
attempted to measure the duration of the present. As far as I know everything in existence
occurs within the hairbreadth instantaneous instant of the current time length
of now. It seems we live in a linear series of
innumerable instances of now. All life itself exists only in this instant
of now. Because we have memory, because we anticipate
what is coming next, we are left with the impression that life inhabits a
fuzzier time frame. It does not. The duration of life is only the actual size
of a single instance of the recurring period of now. How long is that? I suspect it is well less than one
one-thousand of a second. It is probably
so minuscule that it can not be properly measured. We will probably have to all agree on some
very small fictional number in order to quantify the length of now.
What happens if someone was to become out of sync with our
present awareness of the now? What if they somehow moved to a different version
of now? Is this possible? I don’t know.
I suspect if your existence was located in a different present from ours
then you would be unavailable to us and we would be unknown to you. Carrying that thought one step further it
seems possible for there to be any number of realities inhabiting the same
physical space of existence but completely separated by an alternative time frame. The inhabitants of the
different periods of now would be in
complete separation from each other because they inhabit parallel but alternate
dimensions, separated by a different phase in time. This is entirely speculative and the
conclusions arrived here may change with further thought.
Freeing our mind of structure and rules enables us to
venture down paths having no known basis in reality. If you think about it you can see how
daydreams can be the beginnings for great scientific discovery. Einstein’s epic Theory of Relativity is
thought to have begun with his trolley ride to work. He spent this time wondering what reality
would be like were he able to ride a beam of light. With his background in physics and
mathematics these became more than idle musings. Certainly there were more knowledgeable
physicists than him and there were more talented mathematicians than Einstein
but their names are long forgotten. I
believe the difference between genius and being merely brilliant has to do with
the capacity to imagine. Remarkable
scientists extrapolate from the appropriate rules in order to arrive at the
solution to a problem. The Einsteins of
the world first contemplate what isn't yet thought to exist and then use their
education in science and mathematics to prove to the world the truth of their
fantasy. The spark of genius lies in the
power of one’s imagination. In order to
budge human knowledge beyond the boundaries of the accepted we have to first
visualize thoughts most everyone else would consider absurd. Besides having a powerful imagination one
must also possess the courage to face down ridicule or else quietly abandon the
pursuit of one’s own belief. Human
destiny is not engineered by lemmings.
We are all indebted to the few self-sufficient pathfinders that scout
our course, often sacrificing their own well-being so that we may benefit from
their discoveries. Society busies itself
elaborating on the ideas of a few. They
are fashioned into the tools of our economy.
They form the structure of our education. They provide the foundation from which new
odysseys are launched by an entirely new generation of pioneers.
What is the length of the present instance of
existence? Can it be measured? Is there the possibility of time frames parallel to our own? Is time a linear
progression or is this an illusion brought about by our own experience of
time? How do we go about studying the
properties of time? What tools will we
need? What education will be required? How do we prove the validity or falseness of
our speculation? A talented and
resourceful individual could devote their life to answering some of these questions. Personal commitment, great labor and
brilliant thought does not guarantee for one individual success. Many a worthy and heroic individual has
pursued their dream to an unproductive end.
Many people are required to chart their own separate course of discovery
so that we can celebrate the glorious achievement of the so very few. They are lone vessels cast upon a disquieted
sea. It’s the nature of life. Great reward begins with first taking high
risk. You can’t avoid it. If you succeed society benefits, and you are
rewarded with your name and a thumbnail photo of yourself published in some
barely read textbook somewhere. But
that’s OK. If fame were your goal you
would have long ago shucked the books and you’d have bought teeth whitener and a
plane ticket to Hollywood . With luck you’d have a golden nest egg for
retirement and, when you die, you’d get a thumbnail picture of yourself and a
short blurb to go with it in the obituary column of the New York Times. Congratulations! You've achieved a recognition approximating
our notion of immortality. No matter how
you choose to look at it, the fact is, popular recognition makes for a poor
facsimile of a human’s true worth. Live
your life to the standards worthy of you and let everything else be as it
may. That is all we’re good for.
Love,
Dad
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