Month: September 2021

Oops

Very intriguing. Probably the best video for an introduction to the most “murky” part of physics. Quantum mechanics, Young’s double-slit experiment, interference, the observer, superposition, Einstein, Niels Bohr, Hugh Everett, the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, and even natural selection. Truly very interesting and presented in an accessible way.

Music class

A good report by “Redaktsiya”.

I have been taking private English lessons for almost a year now. We discuss various topics, mainly the history of the USA, sciences, and now, almost a year later, we’ve reached religion. A few days ago, we discussed the Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and today, in a couple of hours, we will be discussing evangelical Christianity. In the USA, it is the largest denomination: it is believed that a quarter of the population identifies with them.

And I have always had a question. How do all these missionaries explain the difference between denominations in a language understandable to a typical representative of this quarter of the population? It is clear that the absolute majority are not interested, and half the missionaries themselves do not know, but still, why is there no normal, clear guide written in simple language, “for dummies”? After all, religion has always been aimed at ordinary people, so why the heck is everything so complicated there?

It would be okay if it were just complicated, but it is also illogical. Let’s imagine that there is some observation about how the world works, and ten hypotheses as to why it is so, and all the hypotheses are more or less equal, because you cannot verify it in any way. And some believe in hypothesis number one, and they have their arguments, while others believe in hypothesis number two. But no, it is not like that in denominations at all.

For example, we will never know what lies beyond the event horizon of the universe. You can speculate, but the truth will never be awaited. And each hypothesis could have a certain degree of persuasiveness in its argumentation.

Or why does time always move forward? Are there parallel universes? What happens inside a black hole? You can fantasize about all these questions, and from these fantasies weave explanations of everything in the world.

Okay, there are two major branches of Christianity – Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Catholics, unlike Orthodox Christians, believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the Father but also from the Son, believe in the Immaculate Conception not only of Christ but also of the Virgin Mary and in the existence of purgatory. Tell me, are there really ordinary people who will weigh all this and say, yes, this or that point of view is close to us?

For instance, flat earth theorists might start convincingly telling how the Earth was originally flat, with humans living on one side and dinosaurs on the other, and then an asteroid hit right in the center of the dinosaur side, and the Earth rolled up into a ball, with the dinosaurs remaining underground from where we sometimes dig them up. Well, there is something to argue with such a missionary!

Moreover, I am 100% sure that nine out of ten parishioners would not be able to confidently answer the question of whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son or only from the Father.

It always seemed to me that religion should have simple and accessible formulations, close to “people of the soil.” In the end, it’s like higher mathematics. As you start figuring it out…

At first glance, it seems that for Muslims everything is simple and understandable, “for people”.

Some years ago, I read “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel. There the main character, an Indian boy, systematically explores various religions, but something tells me that he wouldn’t have made it if he had started comparing denominations.

Told Nadya – my whole Facebook is all about “Dune”, maybe we should go for the first time after Covid? And then it turns out that our premiere is only on October 22, five weeks after the whole world has seen it! Seems like it will appear on torrents faster

Something unusual today—a hoverfly-like insect stuck in one spot. Does anyone know what it was?

Walked with Yuki. Met a turtle and a millipede (narceus americanus millipede – it’s over 10 cm). The turtle is of the box species, it has a hinge underneath to fully close its face when it sees strange men.

Darn it, Tomb Raider is apparently read as Tyum Raider (Brit) or Tuum Raider (Amer)!

Upsilon is pronounced upsilan (Amer)

In modern Greek, the Greek letter beta β is pronounced as “v” (“veta”).

#English

How to leave school during lesson time: 2019 – five ways, described in detail 2021 – cough a couple of times and they let you back into school only with a test or after 10 days