General discussion

How old are you? Well that’s obviously an easy question. You were born on such-an-such a date; today’s date is such-an-such; therefore you are such-an-such old. Or are you really? While both the physical you – your body, and the ‘inner you’ - your mind, have a time frame that dates from your conception, there’s a few twists in the tale to be considered.

Your reality is so obvious to you that it’s hardly worth commenting on. But, and there’s always a ‘but’, one possible alternative version of your reality is that you (and everything else) is just a software program, a simulation created by a super computer freak geek. I’ve already covered that but there’s more to coming to terms with what’s really real or unreal than just that possibility. There are some other reasons why you can’t trust your senses to give you an accurate picture of your world and environment – your reality.

We’re aware that once upon a time our ancient ancestors lived day-to-day as nomadic hunters and gatherers. Then, roughly 10,000 years ago, in various locations around the globe, we ceased our wanderings, put down roots as rural agricultural-based settlements, and became civilized. Anthropologists cannot tell us why. Mythology does tell us why – the gift of agriculture was from the gods. What to those cultures were gods, we can interpret as ‘ancient astronauts’.

Here are a few comments on the general topic of mathematics, often arising out of debates with others.

Is Mathematics Eternal?

#1) Simple, complex, beautiful, elegant, ugly, explains all, success story, fundamental bedrock, etc. These are words and phrases often associated with mathematics, especially beauty and elegant. That in itself doesn't make mathematics eternal.

You will frequently encounter in astronomical and cosmological texts the idea that space or space-time is a thing, a flexible membrane type of thing that can influence the motion of objects, in fact carry the flotsam and jetsam of the Universe around. This flexi-space is increasing over time, expanding, and by carrying the bits and pieces that comprise the Universe, provides the reality behind the common phrase ‘the expanding universe’. Unfortunately, space is not a thing and the consequences arising means the common mechanism for an expanding universe is nonsense.

We’re all frightened by radioactivity. We associate it with high level nuclear waste; atomic weapons and the mass destruction of nuclear war; Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Three Mile Island and Chernobyl; radioactive fallout that causes cancer and biological mutations. What I’m most frightened about radioactivity is that there is no rational scientific explanation for it! That’s probably because radioactivity resides within the realm of quantum physics, and there’s no rational scientific explanation for that either.

Aliens, as in extraterrestrials, come in all manner of shapes and sizes at least according to science fiction authors, TV produces, film-makers and even scientists. We have to rely on them since we don’t yet have an alien on the slab in the lab for verification. Our potential aliens also have all manner of philosophies and intentions – invasion and sex usually dominate. But what about religion: their existence and impact on our religion and of greater importance, their religion’s impact on us.

Most knowledgeable people acknowledge that theoretically, on paper at least, the concept of infinity has merit, even if it’s difficult to pin down. Some however say that this concept presents a logical contradiction. An actual infinity cannot exist and so there had to have been an “in the beginning”, a first cause, yet 1) how do you create a something from nothing and 2) what was the first cause that caused the first cause? What follows arises out of my point of view in a debate I had with an Accidental Meta-physician which I've edited for, hopefully, sake of clarity.

Lots of effort has been put into discovering the existence of extra-solar planets and thus confirming that our own solar system isn't some sort of anomaly. Hundreds of extra-solar planets have now been found and in the data-banks, with more being found every week. Meantime, there’s a whole other set of extra-solar planetary objects or abodes, probably undetectable with even foreseeable technology. These extra-solar abodes are the sunless orphans (technically termed ‘rogue planets’ or maybe ‘interstellar planets’) that exist in deep interstellar (perhaps even intergalactic) space itself.

If the UFO extraterrestrial hypothesis is controversial, then abductions of humans by alien beings is controversial squared, if not cubed. There’s intense polarisation on the issue, not just between UFO sceptics and UFO believers, but between UFO believers themselves. Is there anything to be said for the reality of alien abductions?