early understandings

 

Quantum physicist Brian Greene (McMaster & Greene, 2003) states that clearly, we are only beginning to understand the structure of the universe. The nature of human understanding of the universe at the has changed significantly since the 1920's when it was discovered that the old tools and formulas were no longer applicable to phenomena being observed at the sub atomic level. Since then, theoretical physicists have been struggling to find a theory that unites both the micro and macro understandings of the world. String theory comes closest. It suggests that "everything in the universe is made from vibrating strands of energy called strings." They vibrate in a multitude of different ways, making up all the constituents of nature (McMaster & Greene, 2003, n.p.). Solid matter is a result of these vibrations, rather than an entity unto itself.This idea has significant implications for how one understands the world.

 

This idea has significant implications for how one understands the world. For instance, "[i]n modern scientific terms, physicists, in their pursuit of understanding the nature of physical reality, have reached a stage where they have lost the concept of solid matter; they can't come up with the real identity of matter. So they are beginning to see things in more holistic terms, in terms of interrelationships rather than discrete, independent, concrete objects" (Dalai Lama, 1999, p. 351; see also, Laszlo, 2008; Greene, 1999; McMaster & Greene, 2003). Furthermore, theoretical physicists such as Goswami (1993) and Stapp (1995) are beginning to suggest that "matter is secondary to consciousness"; in other words, consciousness shapes reality (Goswami, 1993, p. 11). This means that human thought and intention may be more powerful than previously imagined (see also, McTaggart, 2007).