On uncertainty
Just to warn y'all ahead of time, this post may or may not seem rather...out of character for me. Anyhoo...
Yesterday, we had a really confusing Chemistry class. We were studying measurements, and in so doing I was introduced to a concept that had never really occured to me. You can't be certain of anything. For example, the lead in my friend's mechanical pencil is 0.7 mm. thick (the writing on the side of the pencil says so. Ooooh....). But the thing is, that measurement is only as good as the instrument making it. In truth, that pencil lead is not 0.7 mm. thick...that was only the best guess BIC could make with the instruments at their disposal. In truth, that lead may be 0.74267783501200 (and on and on and on in infinitely smaller degrees of precision) mm. thick. It's like those stupid graphs we made in algebra last year for exponential functions. They get smaller and smaller and smaller, but can never reach the exact number zero.
If you really squint at that lurvely little graph, you will see that the little amber line never totally mushes into the black one to achhieve zero-ocity. It just gets closer and closer to zero, but never actually reaches it.
So, in other words, no measurement is reliable. None. All measurements stretch on into infinity.
Where am I going with this?
Is it not really really really weird that numbers, the things that make up mathematics, are in fact completely uncertain? Mathematical rules and formulas are supposed to be eternal, concrete and reliable, to both atheist and believer. But in fact, the numbers and values that we plug into these formulas are completely unreliable; they are so wishy-washy that they can never get up the guts to just be finite and have a DEFINITE end, a DEFINITE value.
How cosmically ironic.
Once again, James, what's your point, other than being really confusing?
Well, I mostly just went on this tirade because I thought it was a cool little revelation; I'm not actually disturbed by this. But it does remind me of myself, lately, and of a question I've been mulling over.
See, I've been getting this strong sense of relativism lately. I keep hearing about how there is one, objective, ultimate truth contained (as much as possible) in Catholicism that applies to all circumstances and that there are laws that must never be broken (this is not to portray the Church as tyrannical; this is just what I have heard/been taught). But experience--partly nurtured by the Church--suggests otherwise. It seems to me that there aren't only solid laws or truths; that the universe is not black and white and grey areas abound. Apart from the two laws of love set down by Jesus, it seems that all (or at least most) laws are suspendible. For example, we are forbidden from taking other human life...unless it's in self-defense, or for the good of a larger community, or what have you. See the inconsistency here?
Now, let me dispel all doubts here: I am not on the verge of tossing my Bible out the window and converting to Buddhism. I've been Catholic all my life and I plan to stay that way. Somehow, I know that this big, apparent contradiction I see within the Church can't be true. I just don't understand how.
In other words, feel free to poke holes in the logic I've presented in this post. That's what I need. Perhaps this doubt is just a test of faith.
I dunno.
Yesterday, we had a really confusing Chemistry class. We were studying measurements, and in so doing I was introduced to a concept that had never really occured to me. You can't be certain of anything. For example, the lead in my friend's mechanical pencil is 0.7 mm. thick (the writing on the side of the pencil says so. Ooooh....). But the thing is, that measurement is only as good as the instrument making it. In truth, that pencil lead is not 0.7 mm. thick...that was only the best guess BIC could make with the instruments at their disposal. In truth, that lead may be 0.74267783501200 (and on and on and on in infinitely smaller degrees of precision) mm. thick. It's like those stupid graphs we made in algebra last year for exponential functions. They get smaller and smaller and smaller, but can never reach the exact number zero.
If you really squint at that lurvely little graph, you will see that the little amber line never totally mushes into the black one to achhieve zero-ocity. It just gets closer and closer to zero, but never actually reaches it.
So, in other words, no measurement is reliable. None. All measurements stretch on into infinity.
Where am I going with this?
Is it not really really really weird that numbers, the things that make up mathematics, are in fact completely uncertain? Mathematical rules and formulas are supposed to be eternal, concrete and reliable, to both atheist and believer. But in fact, the numbers and values that we plug into these formulas are completely unreliable; they are so wishy-washy that they can never get up the guts to just be finite and have a DEFINITE end, a DEFINITE value.
How cosmically ironic.
Once again, James, what's your point, other than being really confusing?
Well, I mostly just went on this tirade because I thought it was a cool little revelation; I'm not actually disturbed by this. But it does remind me of myself, lately, and of a question I've been mulling over.
See, I've been getting this strong sense of relativism lately. I keep hearing about how there is one, objective, ultimate truth contained (as much as possible) in Catholicism that applies to all circumstances and that there are laws that must never be broken (this is not to portray the Church as tyrannical; this is just what I have heard/been taught). But experience--partly nurtured by the Church--suggests otherwise. It seems to me that there aren't only solid laws or truths; that the universe is not black and white and grey areas abound. Apart from the two laws of love set down by Jesus, it seems that all (or at least most) laws are suspendible. For example, we are forbidden from taking other human life...unless it's in self-defense, or for the good of a larger community, or what have you. See the inconsistency here?
Now, let me dispel all doubts here: I am not on the verge of tossing my Bible out the window and converting to Buddhism. I've been Catholic all my life and I plan to stay that way. Somehow, I know that this big, apparent contradiction I see within the Church can't be true. I just don't understand how.
In other words, feel free to poke holes in the logic I've presented in this post. That's what I need. Perhaps this doubt is just a test of faith.
I dunno.
posted by James at
9:27 PM
