Scarcity vs. Abundance

I am troubled by the rise of the belief in the "closed system".

As I see it, the world and the universe are an "open system". We are not defined by a limited set of alternatives and resources available. We are not locked into a future of repetition. But this is what the "closed system" would have you believe.

I have seen it in economics: the theory that there are only a limited number of jobs available, and they must be distributed equitably.

I have seen it in people's opinions about children: "your family is taking up more than your share of space, aren't they?"

I have seen it in people's feelings about the earth: "if we use up all of the oil, our children will live in poverty."

This world-view ultimately leaves us bitter and selfish, because it forces us to see our lives as "us vs. them". If a rich person has money, I lack money. If I want food, I have to take it from someone else. If I want a job, you can't have one.

What this world-view lacks is perspective, and an understanding of where things come from.

Natural resources are NOT finite.
Wealth is NOT finite.
Space is NOT finite.

Does this seem to fly in the face of science? Consider money, as crass as that may be. Where does it come from?

As economists know, money is just a representation of value, and value comes from the natural world. We plant seeds (which come from the natural world), and we harvest food. Food = wealth. Food = money. We trade food to our neighbors, and our neighbors in turn give us the products that they have created from natural resources.

In this system, no one suffers due to another. When we trade, no one loses. Both win.

How do we increase our wealth? Work harder, producing more food? Or work more creatively, producing more food? Humanity has chosen the latter, using technology to get more and more out of less and less.

Thus our wealth is not limited by our natural resources, but by our creativity. Apply more creativity, and more wealth is available for all.

When we consider that the amount of the earth's resources that we are tapping don't extend more than a few miles down, and that our creativity is only beginning to be explored, and that the sky above us holds INFINITELY more resources than our earth does, we begin to realize that our world is anything but a closed system.

God created us to live in an abundant universe. He created the world to be an abundant place, and he created us to look beyond the earth and see the sky above, waiting for us to embrace it.

What this means to me is that the universe is literally an infinite store of resources for humanity. Most people would find the "literally infinite" part hard to swallow, so let's just accept that at the moment, it's practically infinite.

This means that we live in an open system, not a closed system. And it means that God, and the universe, is good.

Jesus Camp

I just watched "Jesus Camp".

I was struck.

I realized why people on TV act as if Christians are strange. Apparently, they are. I've never really been around those kind of Christians. Apparently these are the "evangelicals".

I was raised in a really conservative church, but it wasn't like this. We didn't believe in speaking in tongues, in being overly emotive about Jesus, or in letting kids testify and harp about hellfire and brimstone.

Now, I realize that everybody looks silly if put on camera at the wrong time. We shouldn't judge people because of documentaries. And I realize that not all of this stuff is bad.

Bad theology is the problem here. Kids talking about hellfire and brimstone is freaky because it highlights where theology has gone wrong. But the theology was bad in the first place.

-micah

Computer Science and Eternal Life

Kevin posed an interesting question about post-mortem fate and eternal life. Why are humans fascinated with this subject?

Let me answer by going as nerdy as I can, and approaching this question from the perspective of computer science.

In computer science, there are "finite state machines" and "infinite state machines"; two different types of computers or machines that can exist.

Finite State Machines must necessarily start repeating their actions at some point. They have a limited numbers of "states" they can be in, and after they reach that limit, they start doing the same thing over again.

For example, if you left a desktop computer running for an infinite amount of time, it would have to start doing the same thing over and over again at some point. It does not have the capacity for new "states", or new experiences beyond a certain limit. It has a FINITE amount of states it can exist in. This is fundamentally because it has a limit to the amount of information it can address. Any given desktop computer has an upper limit to how much information it can deal with, no matter how much you upgrade it. At root, that computer is built to deal with only a certain amount of memory, and so it is a Finite State Machine.

In its world, there is a certain amount of information that exists, and no more. Thus, there are a certain number of "thoughts" it can think, or things it can do, and no more.

In philosophy, our universe has often been thought to be a Finite State Machine, such that everything that has been, will come again in exactly the same way. Jesus would die again on the cross, I would write this post again, etc. This is called "The Eternal Return".

On the other hand, there are Infinite State Machines, which have a literal infinity of different states they can exist in. If you give an Infinite State Machine the rest of infinity to do as it will, it doesn't EVER need to repeat a given "state". It can "think" new things, do new things, process new information, ad infinitum. It recognizes that there is an infinite amount of information out there, and so it is free to grow and process for the rest of time.

The fundamental difference between a Finite State Machine and an Infinite State Machine is the amount of information it can address: Finite vs. Infinite. Because of this, a Finite State Machine will repeat given enough time, while an Infinite State Machine will never repeat.

If Human Beings were Finite State Machines, it would be pointless to give them Eternal Life. They would simply start thinking and doing the same things over and over after a certain point.

But if Human Beings are Infinite State Machines, then they have the capacity to extend their memories and experiences indefinitely, limited only by their "hardware" (physical body). Given infinite time in which to live, a human would never have to repeat any past state, or relive the same moment. It could grow forever.

I believe that Human Beings are Infinite State Machines, and thus have the built-in capacity for Infinite Life. And if a being is able to take advantage of Infinite Life, I suspect that this being would realize it, and consider it a shame not to do so.

This is, I think, the fundamental basis for our fascination with Eternity.

Politics, Religion, and Blood Diamonds

More thoughts on "Blood Diamond" from yesterday...

One of the politicians in the movie stated that Africa has a history when it comes to natural resources. Any time something valuable is discovered, whether it be diamonds, gold, or rubber, the locals suffer and die for it.

Africa has problems. And I don't have any really adequate grasp on the extent of their problems. But I have often wondered "why?". Why is it that America prospers, while Africa does not? Why do they have AIDS and conflict diamonds, and child soldiers, etc, etc, while America, England, Europe, and most other places do not really have these issues in anywhere near the same degree?

I believe the answer lies in politics. When a group of people can't utilize their environment to pull themselves out of poverty, we know it is not their environment (rich and productive as ALL of the earth is), or their people (any people can work and advance themselves), or their past (anyone can overcome their past).

It is either something fundamentally wrong with them, or there is something wrong with their system.

I don't believe that God made some humans better and some worse than others. So I believe that the source of the continuing and ever-growing issues in Africa is corrupt politics.

Politicians are the reason why foreign aid doesn't help those who need it most, food and clothing donations don't go to the poor, and people turn and declare war on their neighbors.

Wrongs committed provoke vengeance and hatred, and spur on other wrongs, and so a cycle is created. Politicians corrupt, and their efforts often lead to generations of wrong.

I truly believe that no other explanation can really account for the lack of progress that continent has had. Only when humanity is put in a strangle-hold by political structures and organizations, does it stop flourishing and innovating. Only then can a people fall backwards.

-micah

Blood Diamonds

I just finished watching "Blood Diamond", and it inspired my thoughts.

One of the main characters kept saying, "When the fighting stops, this place will be paradise; when peace comes, this place will be paradise". That was the most powerful thought in the whole film. Not just Africa, but the whole earth, is nothing but paradise. What is there on earth that is not beautiful and good? What is there that is not for our benefit? The land, the water, the oceans, the grass and trees, the clouds and the sky, the rain, the deserts, the ice and snow, the animals and plants and bugs and bacteria, are all beautiful and good. What of it is not for our enjoyment? What of it is not for our prosperity? The earth brings forth food and fuel and housing and clothing, and even beautiful luxuries like diamonds and gold, all for us! God's excess and lavish gifts are amazing and without bound.

So why do we do the one thing that can ruin it? Why do we hate and kill each other?

It reminds me of the "Riverworld" sci-fi book series, in which billions of people wake up one day in a paradise, young, strong, beautiful, and immortal, with endless free food and clothing. They almost immediately set about torturing and enslaving each other.

Why does humanity do this?

More thoughts tomorrow...

-micah