Abhi happens to be a physicist (Associate prof) from Duke university and his interests include Theoretical nuclear physics, Theoretical particle physics and string theory and Theoretical condensed matter physics.
Sudarshan
Dear Sudha,
The following analogy from physics might help clarify what
I am referring to. In the late 1600's when Newton discovered
patterns in planetary motion and proposed his laws, everyone
thought we had discovered how the universe functions. In fact
by the mid 1800's, armed with many physicists had assumed
we understood almost everything about the laws governing
nature. But they were all shocked in the late 1800's and early
1900's that they had not appreciated a completely new approach
to physics described by quantum mechanics where classical
mechanics was merely an "effective" approach. Ofcourse
quantum effects are rather subtle and Newton's ideas are still
valid almost in all daily experiences. So Newton certainly
deserves a lot of credit.
In the same way, I feel the theory of evolution of Darwin,
could be a very useful first step in our understanding of life.
But there may be many surprises on the way! And as scientists
we should be ready for it. In my opinion there are already many
questions that evolutionary theorists should be asking. Hopefully,
they are building more realistic models and testing the theory
of evolution rigorously. Trying to poke holes into the theory.
I would be surprised if they are not!
For example, some of the subtler questions could be related to
the quantum mechanical effects that govern the probabilities in
the evolutionary mechanism. I have heard that the physics of
protien folding is an open problem in biochemistry and I some
people believe quantum mechanics is playing an important role
there.
Finally, I am sure you will agree that human emotions and feelings
are "observed facts". At some point of time we should address them.
How do they arise? We cannot just say "these arise from "complex"
connections in the human brain"! You can almost explain anything
away through the use of word "complexity" these days and you
are not allowed to ask any more questions! Why? "Because it is
complex"! Sounds very much like religion to me!
Why did evolution create a human brain that is capable of "sacrifice" for the sake of others that by very nature goes against preserving the "gene"? Why did evolution create many human brains that thinks that "sacrifice" for others is an admirable trait in a human being and respect those people rather than "kill" them at first site! These are some questions I wonder about. I hope scientists just dont use "complexity" to explain away these observed facts and shut me up!
Abhi
The following analogy from physics might help clarify what
I am referring to. In the late 1600's when Newton discovered
patterns in planetary motion and proposed his laws, everyone
thought we had discovered how the universe functions. In fact
by the mid 1800's, armed with many physicists had assumed
we understood almost everything about the laws governing
nature. But they were all shocked in the late 1800's and early
1900's that they had not appreciated a completely new approach
to physics described by quantum mechanics where classical
mechanics was merely an "effective" approach. Ofcourse
quantum effects are rather subtle and Newton's ideas are still
valid almost in all daily experiences. So Newton certainly
deserves a lot of credit.
In the same way, I feel the theory of evolution of Darwin,
could be a very useful first step in our understanding of life.
But there may be many surprises on the way! And as scientists
we should be ready for it. In my opinion there are already many
questions that evolutionary theorists should be asking. Hopefully,
they are building more realistic models and testing the theory
of evolution rigorously. Trying to poke holes into the theory.
I would be surprised if they are not!
For example, some of the subtler questions could be related to
the quantum mechanical effects that govern the probabilities in
the evolutionary mechanism. I have heard that the physics of
protien folding is an open problem in biochemistry and I some
people believe quantum mechanics is playing an important role
there.
Finally, I am sure you will agree that human emotions and feelings
are "observed facts". At some point of time we should address them.
How do they arise? We cannot just say "these arise from "complex"
connections in the human brain"! You can almost explain anything
away through the use of word "complexity" these days and you
are not allowed to ask any more questions! Why? "Because it is
complex"! Sounds very much like religion to me!
Why did evolution create a human brain that is capable of "sacrifice" for the sake of others that by very nature goes against preserving the "gene"? Why did evolution create many human brains that thinks that "sacrifice" for others is an admirable trait in a human being and respect those people rather than "kill" them at first site! These are some questions I wonder about. I hope scientists just dont use "complexity" to explain away these observed facts and shut me up!
The bottom line is that some people become happy with an explanation about the observed phenomena. Others do not. People who accept an explanation easily are always happy. The question always is where do you draw the line? We scientists have developed some bit of arrogance as compared to non-scientists. We think we understand something better. That may be! Unfortunately, we too have to draw the line somewhere else and say, I am happy with the current explanation since I cannot go beyond this. It is too complex!
Abhi
