Time for Gravity

I'll like to recomend reading the book by Bernard Schutz, 2003, "Gravity from the Ground Up: An Introductory Guide to Gravity and General Relativity", Cambridge U. Press, 462 pp. ISBN: 0 521 45506 5. O.F.Linn QC178.S36 2003.
As the title indicates this is a good introductory book to a very important subject in modern science. Bernard Schutz using a clear and direct language allows readers that are not specialists understand and most importantly enjoy the discussion of basic scientific ideas. The understanding of “Gravity” as it is related to the functioning of the universe is of paramount importance for the understanding of all natural phenomena. Schutz gives examples from astronomy to show how the universe can be used as a laboratory and how measuring distances and masses, and calculating their ratios, is used to infer laws and deduce the existence of black holes. Other astronomical objects and phenomena, such as neutron stars and cosmic rays, are mentioned as indicators of the kind of knowledge we can gather for the understanding of how the universe functions. Some one who is interested in understanding the principles of the time-space relationship and the correlation of mass and energy should read this book.

Timely Read

When Gödel was asked by Judge Philip Forman –as I read Palle Yourgrau’s book “A World Without Time” -if a dictatorship such as the one that flourished in Germany could arise in the US? Gödel spiritedly reply with an affirmative. The reason being that according to his “incompleteness theory” in mathematics it will apply to law in the sense that any legal code couldn’t –even if intended to be fully explicit and complete- cover the whole set of situations that could eventually arise.
Today we face a situation if we try to reconstruct the constitution by looking at the letter of the law and forget to look for the spirit of the law.

24 days

Twenty Four Days [OFL libraryHD9502.U54 E57927 2003] by Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller 2003 ISBN: 0-06-052073-6.
From the inside cover: “This is the story of two Wall Street Journal beat reporters –one covering the energy industry just after the chaotic California electricity crisis; the other chasing stock swindlers. Together these journalists were ideally placed to uncover one of the great cons of the century.” If you’ll like to have a profound insight of what happened with the Enron story, how economic power goes hand in hand with political power, and how modern technology can be used to create artificially immense wealth, this is a book you’ll like to read.
It is interesting to see how time plays such an important role, timing of the con with the political atmosphere of deregulation.

Time for A Healthy Earth

Another excellent book that environmentalists have to read is "Environmental Health" (3dr Ed) Edited by Monroe T. Morgan (2003)[ISBN: 0-534-51717-X; OFL library RA566.M67 2003] where a good collection of contributors present a solid, consistent, and thorough analysis of the state of health of the world. From the definition of the health paradigm to the exposition of issues related to transportation, building and development as they relate to the transmittal of diseases. Current topics such as those related to the production of electricity from nuclear energy, and the protection and safety of food. Ending with an excellent account of the principles of environmental health administration written by Larry Gordon of the University of New Mexico. In this last chapter a well rounded account of the organizational diversity involved in health administration, looking at the national, regional, and local level.

Time for Environmental Managment

In a clear and concise way different authors in the book "Managing Environmental Policy: A casebook" present cases that are relevant to the present discussion on environmental issues. The book is edited by R.P.Watson, D.C. Kiegel, and S. F. Robar. And published by Krieger in 2004. (ISBN: 1-57524-233-8. O. F. L. library: GE310.M36 2004.)
Several cases in particular relate directly with Northwestern US. From “Salmon and People” presented by Mary Brentwood (Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at California State University, Sacramento) to “Wolf Politics” by Martin Nie (Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Policy at the University of Montana.)
The format of the book is inviting and induces a discussion where both sides of the issue are recognized. Based on actual cases gives the reader a broad idea of environmental issues facing our world, as well as a perspective of the situation that comprises all sides.
Even though the cases presented are based in the USA and mention real institutions and organizations the book has not a provincial view, it can be used and read to gain a general, universal perspective.

Times don't change

What is going on with the energy crisis? We are talking about gasoline price in the US above $2 per gallon - and rising. Have a look at this book: The Energy Crisis: World struggle for power and wealth. Michael Tanzer (1974) ISBN:0-85345-346-2; O. F. L. Library: HD9502.A2 T35 1974
According to Michael Tanzer: There is no energy shortage. The problem lies on the power struggle between energy companies and their host countries.
With very few exemptions this book written in 1974 is actual. Up to that date facts represent in general what is still going on. So the content becomes so relevant to today's situation where as crazy as it sounds, nothing has change in more that 30 years!
On the other hand and looking into the paradoxical nature of our use of energy, we might expect that unnoticed changes have occurred, and these will suddenly -without any warning- bring havoc in our society. Hopefully this havoc will give way to a positive chaotic transition out of which a more equilibrated and just society will emerge.
This is a short read -about 170 pages, and highly recommended.

The Preacher

It seems to me that Ecclesiastes 3 is becoming my favorite chapter. It start with: (King James) "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven;2 A time to be born, and a time to die;..."
And, as I truly like questions- finishes with the following: "22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? "
Accepting that there is a time for each thing and each thing has to be at its own time is for me so fundamental and basically the only way to achieve happiness. Having work as a means for excellence and being is a truism. Finally who knows what is after him/her? But one thing we know: we are another link of humanity. The link that comes after history and before the future thus "we are the present." Whoever we are it doesn't matter.
We are the present. Even after we die, whenever someone read this, it will be.
"2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ... "

Is it "time" for a change?

Many thoughts come to my mind. Some have to do with politics, some have to do with international relationships -mainly US-Mexico, some have to do with little things in life that are so unimportant that they are profound!
So how can I change what I am doing here? Is it time to change? So I figured it out! Maybe if we have another blog. That way we will not deviate from the main topic-time that we are supposed to deal with here. We can also post in another language - say Spanish. So once in a while check my other blogs, you can find the by going to "view my complete profile" and clicking on the other blogs at the end of the profile.

Time to rest, time to move on

Thinking about what time does to your thinking. Taking the time to mature a thought is as letting a rain drop flow into a river, if the thought is profound the river will go to the ocean. C.S. Lewis book on "Miracles" tries to declare a framework where t is necessary to establish the right filosophy in order to talk about miracles. The question is: can we prove the occurence of a miracle? Can we do it within a historical context?
Lewis' claim is that if you don't believe in miracles -that would be your philosophical framework- then it can't be proven that miracles exist. One must then be in the right frame of mind what ever that means!!!!

Book Review

Mathematician Roger Penrose’s book “ The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe” (2004) ISBN 0-679-45443-8; OFL Library location: QC20.P366 2005 is a blast! There is so much to say about this magnificent encyclopedic account of the history and philosophy behind the most important discoveries of humankind. So much that I will not try.

To get a taste of the one-thousand-page book you have to only look at the content.

1. The Roots of Science
2. An Ancient Theorem and a Modern Question
3. Kinds of Numbers in the Physical World
4. Magical Complex Numbers
5. Geometry of Logarithms, Powers, and Roots
6. Real-Number Calculus
7. Complex-Number Calculus
8. Riemann Surfaces and Complex Mappings
9. Fourier Decomposition and Hyperfunctions
10. Surfaces
11. Hypercomplex Numbers
12. Manifolds of n-Dimensions
13. Symmetry Groups
14. Calculus on Manifolds
15. Fibre Bundles and Gauge Connections
16. The Ladder of Infinity
17. Spacetime
18. Minkoiskian Geometry
19. The Classical Fields of Maxwell and Einstein
20. Lagragians and Hamiltonians
21. The Quantum Particle
22. Quantum Algebra, Geometry, and Spin
23. The Entangled Quantum World
24. Dirac’s Electron and Antiparticles
25. The Standard Model of Particle Physics
26. Quantum Field Theory
27. The Big Bang and its Thermodynamic Legacy
28. Speculative Theories of the Early Universe
29. The Measurement Paradox
30. Gravity’s Role in Quantum State Reduction
31. Super-symmetry, Supra-Dimensionality, and Strings
32. Einstein’s Narrower-path; Loop Variables
33. More Radical Perspectives; Twistor Theory
And finally
34. Where Lies the Road to Reality.

If you are interested in paradox, language, ontology or semantics this is the book for you! It looks like it is only about mathematics but it is not. Written for the general public, it doesn’t require you to be proficient in math even though formulas are used in order to clarify the semantic connection of reality with concept. In fact I recommend this reading to those who have had bad experiences with math. Penrose is one of the clearest minds alive today and his writings in Mathematical Physics directed to specialists, as well as his writings directed to the general public have become classics.

No Time at All

As I try to write at least once a day. It shows that I have not been successful, It is more like once a month. Time is scarce. No writing but a lot of reading! One book: Yourgrau's "A World Without Time" is an account of the friendship between Godel and Einstein comes to my point about not having time as Godel's hypothesis is that "time doesn't exist."

Critical Mass-Critical Time

Reading Philip Ball's "Critical Mass" book one gets a deep understanding of how things are related. As the subtitle of the book implies -how one thing leads to another. We have used mathematical approaches to establish a language (framework) to relate cause and effect as well as, in many acceding, the path in which the process is carried out.
For a statistical analysis to be strong and confiable is it necessary to have a good set of information, data in sufficient quantity that allows us to see the pattern that describes the system in question. This sufficiency in the amount of information is what we call "critical mass" a term borrowed from nuclear physicist that define the critical mass of a nuclear reaction in terms of the density of radionuclides involved in the reaction. All in nature including of course human behaviour requieres a critical point from which reference is made. A city or town doesn't becomes a city or town until that critical mass is acquiered

Entropy of life

As the second law of thermodynamics states the universe is evolving in the direction of increased randomness. How fast is this happening? It seems to be a paradox as we find organized systems that are constituting themselves amidst this tendency for disorganized. R. Collins in his book Random Designer (2004) talks about how God is not concerned with this paradox and in fact mentions that "the Second Law is simply a necessary part of His magnificent plan."
One can see a deeper purpose in this law. Lets think of different mechanisms, some will increase the order of the system (as the total entropy of the universe increase) and others will decrease the order of the system. For example nutrition versus aging. The competition of mechanisms depends on the relationships of the energies involved with the rates at which the change is occurring. It is all about rates! So time is a basic, fundamental frame of reference.
In the realm of religion:
Our Lord Jesus Christ came two thousand years ago and we are still struggling with his teachings. Christianity has some basic principles that I see are related to the second law of thermodynamics. Love thy enemy! Is this proposition breaking some kind of order that states that we and they are different? Thus belonging to separate organized groups? If we are to love our enemies, we are not different from them under His eyes.

As Time Goes By, Space Warps

Looking at a candle burn, feeling that time is there without a change! Nothing is new under the sun while everything appears to be moving.
My own concern, my own life.
As I'm cooling down it seems to me that I'm slowing down. Temperature is the scalar measure of the heat (energy) level so as our energy level drops we slow down. Can we think of this energy level in terms of energy density and if so isn't it that energy and mass (the curvature of space according to Einstein) are related? So how are space -with its curvature- and time related? Gravity has been explained based on a warping of time/space. Where is energy in this picture?

Time is slowing down

It is Friday afternoon. After a hectic morning where rush seemed to make time go fast it is now a beautiful afternoon where time is slowing down.
Time for reflection.
In Spanish people ask about time when thinking about the weather, how are weather and time related?
Como está el tiempo? is: How is the weather?
Could it be that time goes faster when the weather isn't nice? Is it going to the beach and enjoying yourself an energizing experience because time is going so slow? Has this energizing effect anything to do with the energy used in the passage of time?
The only way we have to see the passage of time is when changes in energy occur. Changes could be from one kind of energy to another or changes in the level of the same kind i.e. quantitative or qualitative.

Changing times and pedagogy.

Frames of reference (theoretical or otherwise) allow us to communicate. As a concept "time" has been used as a frame of reference more than a relational reference. What do I mean with this statement? It seems to me that the presumption that the passing of time is constant within a spatial reference frame allows the calendaring of events, where their relative position is scaled to a particular unit of time. In this way we can say that some dinosaurs lived, for example: 100 years; and that they lived sixty million years ago. It seems to make sense. But, is it so?
Within the framework of education we have assumed that one hour of class is one hour of teaching equivalent to one hour of learning. The hour of class makes the hour of teaching synchronous with the hour of learning.
Here is where I have some uneasiness. My feelings are that teaching and learning aren't happening at the same "time"

A matter of fact is a matter of time

Time is factual as it is changing, as the only permanent concept is the concept of change. How can permanence and change be related? It is a paradox that can be illustrated by “rhythm” where the regularity of the beat is framed with/within the flow/movement of the music. Of course there are some who say that time doesn't exist.

Synchronous v Asynchronous

One issue that has been in the minds of people is the connection of past, present and future with the concept of eternity. Is eternity the sum of past-present-future? or is it the extencion of the present? Since the development of relativity we know that there is no "absolute" time so how can we relate different times? Is this relationship synchronous or not? I'll be thinking more about this.

Presenting myself

Welcome to my blog! This is my first, so please be patient with me. The purpose of this diary is to share some of the thoughts that I'm having (or have had) related to the nature of time and to try to compile links to other sites interested in the discussion of time. As it applies to issues of pedagogy, natural sciences, or religion. My email address is davidjterrell@msn.com please don't hesitate to write to me. Also I invite you to visit my web site at classpages.warnerpacific.edu/DTerrell where you can read about other aspects of my life. (Portland, OR/January, 2005)