Thursday, November 23, 2006

Help (math and science)

The neighborhood smart guy was at my house again the other night. He told a story about the body of an ish godol (great man) that didn't decompose after burial (he claims to have seen it) and asserted that this is how God made the world: The dead bodies of rightious people who take nothing from the world do not decompose.

I attacked this on several grounds (couldn't help myself) but ran into trouble when he started babbling about quantum mechanics. The guy's an Ivy-trained eletrical engineer. Really knows his stuff (and has a brain which suffers from the same impairments as XGH's). He says Quantum something or other shows your concious mind can change the physical world (he cited several experiments which, he claims, demonstrate this) He further claims that this proves (or at least suggests) that the laws of chemistry (themselves based on physics) which say a dead body decomposes might be flexible.

Of course, I attacked the leap in logic, but I'd love to undermine the whole basis of his world view. He thinks Quantum shows that the rules of the universe as they are commonly understood do not work at all times; therefore the door is wide open for spirtuality. I think he's bonkers, but I can't compete with him on the math.

I have a feeling some of the dear readers can, though, so how about it? Can you tell me what he's talking about when he says our thoughts can change the reality, and can you help me explain why this doesn't suggest that spirituality and miracles are legitimate?

Thanks

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