subject: Light Behaves as Humans Do [print this page] Author: Marie-Chantal Ross Author: Marie-Chantal Ross
Albert Einstein, a very curious man, was the first to explain the dual nature of light. By this I mean that light (electromagnetic radiation) behaves like both a particle (.) and a wave (~). The year was 1905. Even though man had been struggling for centuries to explain the bizarre behaviour observed by the scientifically minded, his was a truly revolutionary idea. Aristotle was the first to try to figure it out in approximately 330BC. This tells us two very important things: 1) Einstein was a genius worth listening to, and 2) It takes a VERY long time for human understanding to evolve. Hold on to that thought... The nature of light, referred to as duality, does not mean we can see light as both a particle and a wave at the same time. In fact, we can only see it one way or the other. If we see a wave, we see a fluid, analog, motion. If on the other hand, we see light as a particle, then we see moving, little, digital chunks. Another insight into light came from one of Einsteins contemporaries, Neils Bohr. Bohr developed the Principle of Complimentarity, for which he may have even won a Noble peace prize in physics. According to him, everything exists in a state of duality, and these two things compliment each other. Examples include traffic (cars are particles, but they travel like a wave), the ocean floor (sand particles move in unison to create wavelike ripples), nuts and bolts in a hopper, and the list goes on. Cool eh? It gets even cooler. It seems that regardless of the complexity, all things behave in a way that is similar to that of its most fundamental component, or building block: Energy. Energy forms matter, and matter joins with other matter to make even bigger matter. Duality can be found from photons, to atoms, to molecules, to organic and inorganic materials and further on to biological systems. Humans, I would argue the most complex of biological systems, not only do we have physical duality, but also a spiritual one. We are digital chunks that occupy space, yes. But what is the coolest of all is that our duality extends itself to our inner life. We may not refer to ourselves as particles, we are individuals. We do not consider ourselves as waves, we are groups (or communities, or societies). We are 100% both, 100% of the time. Our nature follows this principle of complimentarity. Better stated, our collective and individual natures coexist and compliment each other. Each are necessary. Just as a particle of water gets picked up by the energy of an oncoming wave, like it or not, us individuals get picked up by the energy of the group. Sometimes we can resist the wave, other times we cannot. Regardless, light acts as humans do. When we are alone in our own thoughts and free to behave uniquely, our being (behaviour, emotions, and thoughts) can be observed from a particle perspective. We can focus on our individuality, but we cannot escape our upbringing, our communities and our cultures, even if we would like to. A man in Japan will struggle with his homosexuality regardless of his willingness to accept himself. The same is true of an obese teenage girl, a shorter than average North American male, an Asian with bad skin, and the list goes on. When we are with others, we cannot escape our own thoughts and emotions. Yet these are guided and manipulated by those around us. A negative room will leave us in a negative place, regardless of our will to be positive. The mob-mentality is the best example of this. People act in horrible ways, doing things they would never do if they were alone. Body image, self esteem issues, self hatred; these are all ideas imposed on us from the wave. One must only look at the children of the world to see what we look like before we get hit by this wave. It is as powerful as the wave from a nuclear blast. In fact, we interact with each other exactly as waves and particles do. When two particles collide, there is an impact. An opposite and equal reaction so to speak. There is heat, and there is friction. When two waves collide there is interference. The more particles in a collision, the more heat and friction. The more waves that interfere the more chaotic the pattern. There are over 6 billion people on this planet. That is a whole lot of heat, friction and chaos! When particles and waves act in unison, however, the story turns from chaos to order. Waves in sync, grow in size, making them even more powerful. Particles in sync never collide, there is no loss of energy, just a build up. The spiritual power that could be amassed if all these 6 billion were to act as one is mind-blowing. But, light acts as humans do in that we all have our own frequencies and wavelengths. There will always be collisions and there will always be interference. That is the nature of our universe. That is the nature of light. That is the nature of humanity. At least in our current world view. That view is changing rapidly with new technologies and scientific breakthroughs. If we were to go back in time, even 200 years, and tell that population that we would fly across the sky faster than the speed of sound, explore space robotically, manipulate our genes, and that one event could be seen instantaneously by the entire globe through a wireless connection, we would have been put away. Yet, here we are. Our knowledge of the universe has grown to the point where we can now understand the message of Jesus. He was a guide and an example. He showed us the way by pointing us to light in a time when humanity did not understand its nature. He pointed us to a new form of duality, and complimentarity. The dual nature of man and God. 100% each. For a great many of us, we know when we read the four gospel accounts that there is something that rings true. Our natural frequencies resonate, and something deep within us knows two very important things: 1) Jesus was a genius worth listening to, and 2) It takes a VERY long time for human understanding to evolve. About the Author:
Marie-Chantal is a mechanical engineer. She is a devout Christian who sees the beauty of God's creation through scientific discover. She writes a blog on the topic for Measuring God (www.measuringgod.com).
