MANKIND and SPACE TIME

Brent Anderson

The majority of mankind is entranced by the possibility of extraterrestrial life so much so that a great number of written works and movies have speculated on such. It seems evident that there is some need within the Human Race for such speculation, but rarely are any of these speculative attempts as well reasoned as they might be. Most of mankind has very little understanding of the continuum of space-time in which we live. Because of this, they often fail to even begin to understand how far their speculations miss the mark. Indeed extraterrestrial life is probable, but I can personally state that there is extra-universe life, and it is our spiritual home. To understand life in either realm requires a better understanding of space-time and the limits it imposes upon us.

We are intricately woven from the fabric of matter and space-time, and the substance of our bodies is defined by the properties inherent to it. Yet none of us can say that we have absolute understanding of this universal condition. A few have some conception, while the vast majority has never entertained any thought of it. This is to be expected, given that from birth to death no thoughts of its characteristics are needed to travel the totally separate paths we each blaze through it. The talents needed for navigating our courses through life are contained in the genetic program within each of our cells. This chemical firmware allows us to master throwing a spear, ball, driving a car, or learning an almost infinite number of new behaviors. The primary purpose of our genes is survival and propagation in a very competitive environment.

Our reference point is the Earth and our relative movements through time and space upon or around it. Understandably, this reference point is egocentric because each of us is totally independent from all others, and so we view the universe each from our own perspective. Few of us have had the opportunity to orbit the Earth or set foot on the Moon, but even in these exclusive cases the astronauts were still captives of the gravity well (distortion of space time) created by the mass of the Earth. While to us it appears that the Earth is static, its velocity through space and time (compared to the great Attractor) is over two million miles per hour. This seems a very high speed, but it is only 0.3% of the speed of light. Mass and relative velocity dictate most of the rules we refer to as natural laws, and thus determines our physical restraints. Energy’s interaction with matter provides the motive force for matter, and without it, movement would quickly become very close to zero. Einstein has shown that as relative motion decreases, the rate at which time passes increases, so while time exists only for objects composed of matter (mass), it is the kinetic energy of the object that determines the relative pace of time as well as distance for the object. Nor are these the only effects of relative motion, for we find that as speed increases space itself actually contracts and the amount of energy needed for an incremental increase in speed increases for any given mass. To help comprehend, then, we could say that ultimately mass increases with increasing speed, and at relativistic speeds it approaches infinity. If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that though this is true we are ill equipped to really understand and internalize the concept.

Space, gravity, and time are all attributes of matter (mass) and so do not directly apply to photons of energy. Energy (light) appears to travel through space-time and definitely interacts with matter, but gravity has no direct effect on packets of energy (photons), which have no mass. The indirect effect of gravity on packets of energy is that it warps space-time, causing curvature and light, which is a prisoner of space-time, appears to us to follow the curvature. The fact that there is no time or space for a photon of light is extremely puzzling to us, because from our relative point of view it seems that light travels at 186,000 miles per second and transits between points separated by space. It helps somewhat if we try to imagine ourselves as beings composed solely of energy. For such hypothetical beings it would appear in our timeless existence that interactions with matter were random events during which we would fall into, for us, a strange state in which time and distance exist, only to pop out of that condition with our energy state changed (higher, lower), or the same level in a completely random fashion. It is very difficult to even imagine being in such a timeless environment for us who have lived our lives constrained by space-time.

The relationship of matter and energy is a direct one, even though the two exist in vastly different states. Matter is a condensate of energy, with the equivalency expressed by Einstein’s equation which shows that energy is equal to mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. (In simpler terms matter is stored energy.) The amount of energy stored in matter is so large that it defies our understanding. The amount of matter converted to energy in a hydrogen fusion bomb is very small, but the energy released is beyond everyday understanding.

While matter represents the primary storage of energy in the universe, we cannot ignore the fact that kinetic, chemical, potential, magnetic or electrical energy represent huge amounts of energy, and these have all to do with life, as we know it. While our bodies are composed of matter, the spark of life, as we know it, is energy derived from biologically controlled chemical reactions. Generally, the sources of this energy are carbohydrates derived from photosynthesis in plants, and ultimately light (electromagnetic energy). Virtually all life on the Earth is dependent on energy derived from the ongoing fusion of Hydrogen to Helium within our Sun.

The temperature range for life is defined by the physical characteristics of liquid water. This range has been slightly expanded by some life forms at the freezing point by production of natural antifreeze, which allows for a few degrees below freezing. On the other end of the spectrum are some that manage life at temperatures above the boiling point of water by living in very high-pressure environments where the boiling point is elevated. This leaves a very narrow range of 100+ degrees Celsius. Most life forms require temperatures under fifty degrees and above zero degrees Celsius, and so for the bulk of life on the Earth the range of acceptable temperatures is less than 50 degrees C. While rare, this temperature range probably exists on billions of planets and moons within the Universe.

Despite our myopic focus on the Universe, we should now be able to evaluate some of our speculations concerning possible intelligent life forms in the Universe. Currently some of our scientists are searching for radio signals that might originate from the very probable intelligent life forms in the Universe. Everyday we send our calling card of electromagnetic signals that advertise our presence to the vastness of space. From our newly enlightened perspective, we must conclude that the search is a very long shot, not because it is improbable that intelligent life exists within out galaxy or even in our arm of the galaxy let alone the Universe. If we postulate that such a world might exist within a relatively short distance, say 1,000 light years, they would still not see our first radio emissions, which started only 100 years ago, for another 900 years and then only if they had very sensitive instruments focused in our direction. Our life spans of 75 years make this a very long time in any perspective, especially if we consider that 900 years ago our ancestors lived in the dark ages. Viewed from that perspective, even if we did find an intelligent civilization with which to converse, and considering messages taking 2000 years for turn around at the speed of light, we would be hard pressed on our end to have any sort of coherent interchange considering the time involved. We must reluctantly conclude that our isolation from other intelligence’s within the Universe is all but absolute, barring faster than light communication or transportation, which is extremely improbable for reasons related to the physical constraints of matter and light.

To this point we still have not addressed the issue of extra-Universe life. The constraints of space-time need not have any effect upon intelligent beings that are not made of the stuff of this Universe (spiritual beings). Communication with this realm has been reported and recorded since the beginning of recorded history. Spiritual beings then must be able to match the speed of the Earth through our space-time, or have methods of communication negating this problem. Since our meager senses are based upon light, sound, touch, taste and smell, all of which detect phenomenon ruled by this universe’s physics, then it would seem implausible that our physical bodies would have any sensory organ that could detect communication from such. The only possible method of communication then is extrasensory communication. It is interesting, given the impossibility of proving that this sort of communication exists, that the majority of the human race believes it is probable. Many of the intelligencia would point to the gullibility of the masses as the explanation of this fact. While it is true that the masses can be sold big lies, as witnessed by politicians everywhere including one of the most notorious ever, Bill Clinton, it is difficult to perpetuate such over generations spanning periods of time. Upon closer scrutiny of individual testimony, almost every person has had or knows a trusted relative or friend who has had some episodic experience with this sort of communication that is personally compelling. From this vast base of personal belief comes the widely held view that we are dual beings with both a spiritual and physical components, and hence, most of the religions of the world. Unfortunately, where there is such belief you always find charlatans mixed with the sincere, and thus the deserved skepticism of many, but the same can be said for all of man’s searches for knowledge.

The best description for this sort of communication is episodic, because it is not volitional in any way. The more credible witnesses are those who are not seeking to make money or gain notoriety from their near death or other extreme experiences that seem to trigger such communication. These people are typically within a cross section including children to the oldest among us. If these aren’t seeking money or notoriety, then it seems unlikely that so many would be devoted to lying for no obvious reason. They comprise a rather large group perhaps 20 % of the population including myself. They all testify that there is extra-universe communication and life and that such communication is very real. In light of the shear number of such witnesses, it seems safe to assume that it not only exists, but also is fairly common when measured over life span periods of time. Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify any such account in any way but personal and irreproducible ways, and so it is always a personal decision whether to believe or not. For those of us who have had such an experience, there is no doubt that we are not alone in our tiny place in the continuum of space-time.