Week Two

My reflections on uncertainty.

We live in a world of uncertainty. To make a simplistic point, my husband left work the other night certain he would drive home without interference. However, about half way home his tire blew out and then he discovered his spare tire was flat. He eventually made it home thanks to AAA, except not the way he was certain he would.

In our world theories are made and believed until proven otherwise. We can live with some certainty that that our basic needs will be met if we work, make money, etc. The seasons come and go with some certainty; the days come and go with some certainty. However, after our class discussion and readings I now live wondering if anything is certain.


Causality

There is no doubting we control effect by our causes. We voted for a president, so what effects come from his presidency we caused. Had we elected a different president there would be different causes. We are effecting our environment by our causes, whatever they may be. If we chooses to recycle, use less energy or/and use grey water we are effecting the outcome of our environment. Of course, there are small effects and large effects. The more people recycling the more the effect etc.

Is the Universe Weird?

Well, that completely depends on what your definition of weird is, the word is very relative. When I looked up weird in the merriam-webster dictionary I found the definition:

Main Entry:
2weird
Function:
adjective
Date:
15th century
1: of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural: magical
2: of strange or extraordinary character

By definition #2 I would say yes the universe is weird. It is strange and of extraordinary character to me. Yes, we know many things about our universe; we are also making new discoveries about it constantly. When considering space, time, energy, gravity, and countless other ideas going on in our universe it, in my opinion, is definitely extraordinary, therefore weird.