5.14.2007
Lost in God Debris
Don't you just love those web surfing rabbit trails that lead to a pleasant surprise?
A friend and struggling fellow Lost fan shot me an interesting link to a new-to-me Lost theory. Typically I only care about my own theories and especially wouldn't give two rips about a blog written by the alias DarkUFO. However, through a quick peruse the two words "quantum physics" emerged a number of times, and well, seeing as how quantum physics is one of my many intellectual cravings, I thought best to satisfy my appetite, even if it was commentary for a fictional narrative.
While I might not recommend the theory entirely, it does lend itself to some interesting possibilities the writers might be venturing down. Surprisingly enough, however, I don't plan on diving into that commentary. Recall there is a rabbit trail somewhere in this netwide venture.
The blogger brought to light the idea that Lost might in fact be a rather lengthy Gedanken Experiment used to dive into the many questions raised, both philosophically and scientifically, in regards to time travel. I had heard of thought experiments in the past, the twin brothers travelling at light speed being the first that came to mind, but I never took the time to buckle down and read through the ones that are out there. I definitely never considered the notion of modern day ones.
To cut to the chase, rather than build my own rabbit trail here, my wiki travels brought me to an entry giving details about a book called God Debris. The author: Scott Adams. That's right, the guy that writes DILBERT. While I think of Adams as a great mind to pick for a chuckle, I never thought of him as a philosopher, let alone a quantum physicist, yet, here he writes this book that covers those very subject matters and with a clever gimmick: mellow dramatic fiction.
As it turns out the publishers had similar stereotypes in mind, rightly expecting the audience to act in suit. Their initial release of the book, in fear of revenue loss, was an eBook, only available online. However, it was a bigger hit than they anticipated, leading to a hardcover run and subsequent free-for-all (literally) as they now provide one version of the text for free.
The book, so far (and I'm nearly finished), is quite good. Adams in no way attests to be a specialist in the subject matter he's covering, yet in a way he raises the question of who really is? It forces the mind to consider the seemingly inconsiderable. While the book is fiction, some contend there's a level of nonfiction within, similar to the commonly known author's burden and blessing of expressing truth through lies. While by no means do I recommend this book for the absolutist completely dead set on perspective nor to the ultra-malleable minds of the young, I will admit, for those wanting a bit of a brain tease, it's a very good read. I'm hopeful at least someone else I know will read it, so I can have some interesting chats. Adams actually recommends that, along with a tasty beverage.
To top it off, it's only a measly 144 pages, big type, and bad spacing. This isn't a heavy read by any means, but the content definitely sticks in mind and forces one to raise healthy questions both internally and externally.
So do me a favor. Check out the book online; you need only pay with your time. Read through, at least the introduction. If you do finish it, and hopefully so, give me a ring and we can have a chat over a tasty beverage.
Cheers!
A friend and struggling fellow Lost fan shot me an interesting link to a new-to-me Lost theory. Typically I only care about my own theories and especially wouldn't give two rips about a blog written by the alias DarkUFO. However, through a quick peruse the two words "quantum physics" emerged a number of times, and well, seeing as how quantum physics is one of my many intellectual cravings, I thought best to satisfy my appetite, even if it was commentary for a fictional narrative.
While I might not recommend the theory entirely, it does lend itself to some interesting possibilities the writers might be venturing down. Surprisingly enough, however, I don't plan on diving into that commentary. Recall there is a rabbit trail somewhere in this netwide venture.
The blogger brought to light the idea that Lost might in fact be a rather lengthy Gedanken Experiment used to dive into the many questions raised, both philosophically and scientifically, in regards to time travel. I had heard of thought experiments in the past, the twin brothers travelling at light speed being the first that came to mind, but I never took the time to buckle down and read through the ones that are out there. I definitely never considered the notion of modern day ones.
To cut to the chase, rather than build my own rabbit trail here, my wiki travels brought me to an entry giving details about a book called God Debris. The author: Scott Adams. That's right, the guy that writes DILBERT. While I think of Adams as a great mind to pick for a chuckle, I never thought of him as a philosopher, let alone a quantum physicist, yet, here he writes this book that covers those very subject matters and with a clever gimmick: mellow dramatic fiction.
As it turns out the publishers had similar stereotypes in mind, rightly expecting the audience to act in suit. Their initial release of the book, in fear of revenue loss, was an eBook, only available online. However, it was a bigger hit than they anticipated, leading to a hardcover run and subsequent free-for-all (literally) as they now provide one version of the text for free.
The book, so far (and I'm nearly finished), is quite good. Adams in no way attests to be a specialist in the subject matter he's covering, yet in a way he raises the question of who really is? It forces the mind to consider the seemingly inconsiderable. While the book is fiction, some contend there's a level of nonfiction within, similar to the commonly known author's burden and blessing of expressing truth through lies. While by no means do I recommend this book for the absolutist completely dead set on perspective nor to the ultra-malleable minds of the young, I will admit, for those wanting a bit of a brain tease, it's a very good read. I'm hopeful at least someone else I know will read it, so I can have some interesting chats. Adams actually recommends that, along with a tasty beverage.
To top it off, it's only a measly 144 pages, big type, and bad spacing. This isn't a heavy read by any means, but the content definitely sticks in mind and forces one to raise healthy questions both internally and externally.
So do me a favor. Check out the book online; you need only pay with your time. Read through, at least the introduction. If you do finish it, and hopefully so, give me a ring and we can have a chat over a tasty beverage.
Cheers!
Labels: books, Lost, philosophy, quantum physics
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