vol 2: Synopsis
part V: Applied divinity
page 34: Peace
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The peace theorem
This theorem is based on the notion (well illustrated in quantum mechanics) that boundaries create structure. Further, we assume that stable boundaries create stable structure, The prerequisite for this stable structure is consistent communication between the boundaries. This notion of peace is very old, since it encapsulates the idea of peace being the result of knowledge of and obedience to God, the boundary of human existence.
As Boltzmann realized, life on earth is made possible by the flow of low entropy energy from the sun. We may think by analogy with the sun as a source of order (low entropy) in human mind space.
Let us assume that a peaceful situation can be maintained if all errors tending to destroy peace can be either avoided or corrected. The question is: is this possible? is peace possible? Our answer revolves around the cybernetic idea of requisite variety. Ashby pp. 121-186.
We ask this question of the transfinite network, our model of the universe. The transfinite network is a layered communication network, each layer more complex than its predecessor (as is common in real networks). Each of these layers is indexed by a natural number n, and has a certain complexity, measured by its cardinal number aleph(n). Since we assume that the model is big enough to map onto any subset of the universe, we can also assume that we are in there somewhere, let us say in layer h.
Let us say that there is peace in a layer if all the entities in it can interact without being overstressed. We might say overstress occurs when an entity is permanently deformed against its will. Peaceful interactions are, by analogy, elastic rather than inelastic or plastic.
We are bounded above by the more complex layers n > h, and below by the less complex layers n < h. Now it seems to be a truism in quantum mechanics and elsewhere that boundaries produce structure. Let us assume here that it is the case.
As a well documented example, consider the complex atomic structures created by electrons bound to protons.We see the infinite flowering of atomic structure that arises in this tiny system. Brandt. Let us assume that particles moving in layer h exist in a potential well created by the layers below them. Let us further assume that it is open to the particles in layer h to use the resources available in layers above them to solve problems related to the potential well in which they find themselves.
Let us call the layers below us our physical environment and the layers above us our spiritual environment. We must remember, though it is sometimes difficult, that from the conscious point of view, our bodies are part of our physical environment, The body is a dissipative structure, needing continual input to survive. We experience our physical potential well as our needs. Our task then is to use our spiritual resources to fulfill these needs. Survival depends on how well we fulfill our task.
Can this be done? Application of the cybernetic principle of requisite variety to the transfinite network suggests it can, subject to certain conditions. In essence, given the infinite spiritual layers available to us, any problem of peacefully structuring ourselves to adequately fulfill human physical needs has a very high probability of solution. The most interesting point about the peace theorem is the measure it places on the probability of peace.
This measure allows us to say that it is by improving the bandwidth of communication between the individuals in layer h that we increase the probability of peace. As we improve our communication with one another, we increase cooperation at the expense of antagonism in the processing of human life. This in turn increases productivity, allowing more time to be devoted to less survival oriented activity, increasing our spiritual depth. A virtuous circle.
We see the vicious opposite to this virtuous circle operating wherever non-communication leads to violence and violence to even more entrenched silence.
Books
| Ashby, W Ross, An Introduction to Cybernetics, Methuen 1964 'This book is intended to provide [an introduction to cybernetics]. It starts from common-place and well understood concepts, and proceeds step by step to show how these concepts can be made exact, and how they can be developed until they lead into such subjects as feedback, stability, regulation, ultrastability, information, coding, noise and other cybernetic topics' Amazon back |
| Brandt, Siegmund, and Hans Dieter Dahmen, The Picture Book of Quantum Mechanics, Springer-Verlag 1995 Jacket: 'This book is an introduction to the basic concepts and phenomena of quantum mechanics. Computer-generated illustrations are used extensively throughout the text, helping to establish the relation between quantum mechanics on one side and classical physics ... on the other side. Even more by studying the pictures in parallel with the text, readers develop an intuition for notoriously abstract quantum phenomena ...' Amazon back |
| Cercignani, Carlo, Ludwig Boltzmann: The Man Who Trusted Atoms, Oxford University Press, USA 2006 A stimulating biography of a great scientist, May 30, 2000 Reviewer: Dr David J Bottomley 'Cercignani provides a stimulating biography of a great scientist. Boltzmann's greatness is difficult to state, but the fact that the author is still actively engaged in research into some of the finer, as yet unresolved issues provoked by Boltzmann's work is a measure of just how far ahead of his time Boltzmann was. It is also tragic to read of Boltzmann's persecution by his contemporaries, the energeticists, who regarded atoms as a convenient hypothesis, but not as having a definite existence. Boltzmann felt that atoms were real and this motivated much of his research. How Boltzmann would have laughed if he could have seen present-day scanning tunnelling microscopy images, which resolve the atomic structure at surfaces! If only all scientists would learn from Boltzmann's life story that it is bad for science to persecute someone whose views you do not share but cannot disprove. One surprising fact I learned from this book was how research into thermodynamics and statistical mechanics led to the beginnings of quantum theory (such as Planck's distribution law, and Einstein's theory of specific heat). Lecture notes by Boltzmann also seem to have influenced Einstein's construction of special relativity. Cercignani's familiarity with Boltzmann's work at the research level will probably set this above other biographies of Boltzmann for a very long time to come.' Amazon back |
| Kauffman, Stuart, At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Complexity, Oxford University Press 1995 Preface: 'As I will argue in this book, natural selection is important, but it has not laboured alone to craft the fine architectures of the biosphere ... The order of the biological world, I have come to believe ... arises naturally and spontaneously because of the principles of self organisation - laws of complexity that we are just beginning to uncover and understand.' Amazon back |
| Nicolis, Gregoire, and Ilya Prigogine, Exploring Complexity: An Introduction, W H Freeman 1989 Jacket: 'This provocative book surveys the wide range of complex phenomena arising in the framework of physico-chemical and biological systems and in the global environment, defining the elements of a new scientific vocabulary - the vocabulary of complexity- and elaborating the tools for analyzing these problems efficiently. It breaks disciplinary barriers to consider issues beyond the realm of traditional physical science, including the dynamics of climatic change and the behaviour of social insects and human populations. Exploring Complexity incorporates many new discussions on topics such as chaos, attractors, and fractals. The authors offer innovative views on recent reseach into non-linear systems, complexity and chaos that might further challenge the laws of science. Amazon back |
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