Essay on "Bleep Do We Know Traveling the Road"

Essay 13 pages (3658 words) Sources: 10

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Bleep do we Know

Traveling the Road to Divine Inspiration: Enlightenment or Pseudoscience?

In this essay, a discussion ensues which involves the book "What the Bleep Do We Know" by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, and Mark Vicente, published in 2005. First, the essay provides a book review style discussion of the concepts presented in the book. The rest of this report will expound on some of the ideas and concepts presented in the book, with supportive literature to fully explore those issues. Included in this outline are the conceptual underpinnings of the quantum physics, metaphysics, quantum mysticism, quantum information theory, and related ontological precepts. Finally, a conclusion is offered on whether the ideas presented in the book are more closely related with enlightenment, or with pseudoscience.

In "What the Bleep do We know" (Arntz, Chasse, & Vicente, 2005), one is presented with an interesting set of questions which border the fields of religion and science. What is thought? Why are we here? Why do we do the things we do? What is existence? The book creates a tempest of unknowns, with the purpose of making the reader deconstruct their own physical existence. The book attempts to not explain why 'we are here', rather it attempts to make the reader fundamentally aware that the question of the nature of reality is unknowable.

The book is an extension of the 2004 docudrama of What the Bleep Do We Know?, a half documentary, half fiction video narrative. The book version, may be more palatable to people wanting to chew on the kernel of a thought, rather be drawn through a video journey inside the space of two hours.

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The nature of the book is to use quantum physics as an explanation of reality, stating that what is unknowable can be explained as being that way by stating it in terms of the study of quantum physics. Using a blend of science, technology, and religious discussion, Arntz et al. weave delightfully stimulating pots of brain food to engage the reader is examining their preconceptions about themselves, the world they live in, and the nature of 'what is real.'

First we are presented with a thought experiment. Arntz asks the reader to construct a question that can be answered in the theoretical 'Universal Book of Everything.' The reader is engaged to ask another question just for fun, and then is asked a question, "what is the one thing you know for sure?" The point of that thought experiment (besides having something interesting to think about in terms of an actual set of answers) is that the exercise of asking questions, in and of itself, opens the door of the consciousness, expands previously held dogma, and inserts a big 'what if' into everyday discourse.

Science vs. Religion

Arntz gives the reader a compelling way to approach the science vs. religion divide when it comes to asking the 'great questions'. Truth, as a phenomena to be explored, is sought both by the field of religion, and by the field of science. Rather than being diametrically opposed, they are two sides of the same coin, separated by a view of whether some idea or explanation of the nature of the cosmos is dogma, or natural law.

Science as is the field is currently known, grew out of an idea that gaining wisdom and understanding the natural order was done for the glory of God. Science, then, was not 'apart' from religion, it was a natural evolution of the attempt to become one with the divine. This changed beginning with Copernicus, on through Newton, to Darwin, and up to present day. Science is driven by observation, not conjecture. The divine 'unknowable' based faith model, finds no testable hypothesis and statistical testing methodology in the field of science (O'Hear). Indeed, this is clearly, the realm of the spirit. Can Creationism and Darwinism live in harmony with each other? Creationism has taken on new weight as the spiritual progenitor of "intelligent design" (I.D.). The strategic scientific wording of "I.D" is an attempt to reveal the void in the evolutionary explanation, and that those empty spaces have more currency than its very convincing totality (Cray).

To Arntz, the new paradigm of bridging the gap between science and religion, is to use science as the explanation of the untestable hypothesis, the unknowable, and perhaps even the divine. One can imagine Arntz asking the question 'for what is the divine?' Science, holds Arntz, can explain why we do not know what we do not know, and that in and of itself, is an answer worthy of being in the realm of science. It is the 'new paradigm' of science, breaking away from the rigid structure of hard-line science. The tool that Arntz uses to uphold the premises in his book, is Quantum Physics science. At this point in the essay (which is not detailed in the book), we will review some ideas of quantum reality that directly play into Arntz' theories and interpretations of reality and consciousness.

Quantum Reality

Arntz asks "what is reality," and the answer is different depending on the viewpoint of the person being asked the question. A priest, monk, or shaman will likely give very different answers than a systems scientist, a nuclear physicist, or a theoretical physicist. Indeed, in "What the Bleep Do We Know," these two fundamental viewpoints (spiritual v. scientific) are brought into one sphere of knowledge -- quantum physics, specifically falling into discussions on quantum realities. The following review will discuss 'quantum reality'

Quantum Reality

What is quantum reality? Quantum reality is the holy grail of the theoretical physics world. It is the interpretation of how our universe really works and what existence is. The idea of quantum reality has been debated, analyzed, and theorized by some of the greatest minds the human race has ever known. Men with the most extraordinary intellectual powers such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Erwin Schrodinger worked on this puzzle without coming to a definite answer. There are eight accepted views on quantum reality, each has fundamental flaws but they are the best mankind's greatest could come up with. The eight realities are its creator's major guess (theoretical physics is, after all, theoretical) on what is really going on in our world (Bey). From this foundation of theorizing about the nature of what is real, Arntz builds his case.

The first reality is the Copenhagen interpretation, which states that there is no deep reality. This interpretation comes from the Copenhagen school in Germany and was developed by Niels Bohr. Bohr holds that there is no quantum world only an abstract description based on quantum physics. The Copenhagen interpretation says that the world we see is very real, but floats on a world that is not real. The everyday phenomena are not made of normal matter but an altogether different kind of being that is indescribable. This view is by far the most widely accepted paradigm. Bohr also stated in his interpretation that no advances in technology would ever be able to reveal the deeper truth of quantum reality (Stapp).

In "What the Bleep Do We Know," Arntz seems to draw heavily on an aspect of this interpretation, though the book smacks of an encounter with quantum mysticism. Quantum mysticism with deals a set of metaphysical ideas presupposing a consciousness, intelligence, or an otherwise mystical component to the experience of existence or reality at the quantum scale (Rosenblum). To some, this is a bunch of pseudoscience fluff-n-stuff; to others, it is an enlightened path to science.

The second quantum reality is the modified Copenhagen interpretation, commonly known as the Observer Effect or Hawthorne Effect. This reality is based on Bohr's reality but is modified to state that reality is created by the observer. In this interpretation, there is still no deep quantum reality, rather, there is phenomenal reality. What we see is definitely real, but these phenomena are not really there on the absence of someone there to see it (Van Orden) . 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?', or 'if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?', these types of sayings stem from the 'observer theory' This interpretation is easily summed up by saying, "You create your own reality." In this theory nothing is real until it is an observed phenomenon. This Modified version is the most widely used interpretation, and is commonly used in philosophy and many idealistic themes. In short, the act of observing, changes the nature of the thing being observed . Arntz uses this premise as an argument meant to sway one from the narrow hard boundaries of physical reality and common interpretations.

The third quantum reality was conceived by Walter Heitler. His interpretation is that reality is an undivided wholeness. The premise here is that everything in our universe is not separate, such as planets, stars, elements, atoms or even living things. Rather, everything is part of an… READ MORE

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