Things happen when there is imbalance and imperfection. It is the way nature operates; through imperfection, imbalance and chaos. Balance, perfection and order are popular only because of their mass appeal and better publicity.
Chemical reactions occur when there is an imbalance of energy. Heat flows when there is a difference in temperature. Electric current requires a difference in electric potential. Imbalance makes things happen. And when do these things stop? A chemical reaction stops at equilibrium. A heat flow stops when temperatures are equal. You get the idea... Balance is static. Nothing happens after that. You may say that balance was the reason things happened in the first place. True, but even then, balance is more of a motive perhaps, a final state. It is imbalance that drives every process in this universe. And balance or equilibrium we all know is just a state of maximum chaos. Ironic, isn't it?
Everywhere you look, you will see imperfection and imbalance at work. Had our brains been in state of perfect equilibrium, we would have had no thoughts, for they are just electrochemical activities that crackle in there. The reason people have beautiful faces is because they are imperfect. If everyone had a perfect face, everyone would be identical. There would be no sense of beauty. And this goes for pretty much everything. Beauty arises from imperfection. It is the reason we see one thing different from another. What did perfection do? Nothing. Apart from taking the credit of course.
Imperfections give us our identities. Everything we are, can be attributed to imperfections and imbalances. Sometimes a sequence here or there in the genetic code. Sometimes emotions. A lot of things actually, if you think about it. The amazing thing is, these imperfections in totality make what we call perfection. It just sounds better that way.... :)
PS: It did end up quite imperfect. Not something I wanted. Ran out of coherence while writing. I didn't want to lose these thoughts though, so pressed "Publish Post" and ended up with this.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A Short Post About Gravity
[ Just some thoughts that came to my mind while watching the lectures on General Relativity. Comments are welcome. Please do point out if there's any mistake. Either in language or in science.]
Gravity, is a very good source of inspiration for one to look up to. One of the fundamental forces of this universe, gravity is by far the weakest. It is no match for its counterparts like the EM force, and it doesn't manifest itself so easily[Footnote 1]. But this weak force turns out to be the hero of the universe. Though weak, gravity shapes and controls our worlds. Gravity gives birth to the stars, binds together galaxies, shapes the planets, control their motions and even our lives. Its inspiring, seeing it to emerge as the biggest player. A fairytale story if you like, from weakest to strongest. Gravity may be weak alone, but it grows with mass. It keeps on adding, never letting anything go. Gravity does not give up. Its range extends to infinity, unlike nuclear forces. Gravity knows only to grow. While EM forces come in two flavours, gravity comes in just one. It does not cancel out itself. So everything that it takes in, only increases its strength.
While rise is one lesson, fall is another. Gravity, if let loose, goes mad. It gives birth to a star, but also destroys it. When it becomes too much for itself, gravity leaves nothing. Not even space and time. It rips apart the very thing that it created and fed on, resulting in a black hole.
So, it is a good story I think. Seeing nature operate. A weak force gaining strength, slowly but surely, creating things and destroying them. And it doesn't require a prince or a demon to teach us some nice things as well.
PS : The title is a reference to Krzysztof Kieślowski's films(Decalogue #5 and #6). Pinnacle of cinema.
[1] By which I mean that the effects are not visible unless the scale is large. For example, it is easy to deflect an iron ball with a magnet, but doing same with gravity would require quite a big mass
Gravity, is a very good source of inspiration for one to look up to. One of the fundamental forces of this universe, gravity is by far the weakest. It is no match for its counterparts like the EM force, and it doesn't manifest itself so easily[Footnote 1]. But this weak force turns out to be the hero of the universe. Though weak, gravity shapes and controls our worlds. Gravity gives birth to the stars, binds together galaxies, shapes the planets, control their motions and even our lives. Its inspiring, seeing it to emerge as the biggest player. A fairytale story if you like, from weakest to strongest. Gravity may be weak alone, but it grows with mass. It keeps on adding, never letting anything go. Gravity does not give up. Its range extends to infinity, unlike nuclear forces. Gravity knows only to grow. While EM forces come in two flavours, gravity comes in just one. It does not cancel out itself. So everything that it takes in, only increases its strength.
While rise is one lesson, fall is another. Gravity, if let loose, goes mad. It gives birth to a star, but also destroys it. When it becomes too much for itself, gravity leaves nothing. Not even space and time. It rips apart the very thing that it created and fed on, resulting in a black hole.
So, it is a good story I think. Seeing nature operate. A weak force gaining strength, slowly but surely, creating things and destroying them. And it doesn't require a prince or a demon to teach us some nice things as well.
PS : The title is a reference to Krzysztof Kieślowski's films(Decalogue #5 and #6). Pinnacle of cinema.
[1] By which I mean that the effects are not visible unless the scale is large. For example, it is easy to deflect an iron ball with a magnet, but doing same with gravity would require quite a big mass
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)