Saturday, September 30, 2023

Quantum Computing in Life Sciences: A New Force?

    On the subject of forces in physics, something important came to my attention when reading Michio Kaku's new book "Quantum Supremacy". He states that life is only possible because it obeys the known laws of physics; that on the quantum level, electrons are taking the path integral (the path of least resistance) in life processes, such as in catalysts, which speed up chemical reactions, and in proteins, which facilitate many biological functions. Richard Feynman won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the path integral and I am surprised he did not interpret it as a fifth force in physics since it is purely mathematical like the others. It might even explain consciousness itself.
    What's happening on the quantum level is that electrons exist in an infinite state of probability, but when we observe them they only appear in one place. The process Of protein folding, catalyzing, photosynthesis, and nitrogen fixation do not involve the most likely path electrons naturally take, but the most efficient; one that builds and creates order out of the chaos of inevitable disorder in any closed thermodynamic system.
    Kaku's thesis is that quantum computing can show us all the ways this happens on a molecular level. If it is indeed a force, various patterns should emerge, showing how the path of least resistance when certain atoms are combined obey a fundamental law of physics and not necessarily biology.

Friday, September 15, 2023

City of Chess

    Through the grid I roam, tarnished business suit enfolding the chances, lost in thought, found in finance, sulking under tall buildings built of chess pieces, the foggy rain shrouding their faces, imperialist hierarchy of the mercantile pandemic. Many pawns are we, limited in movement, sacrificed by probability yet capable of slaying an overshadowing superior. The briefcase keeps pace with unhinged knees that stumble down the streets seeking that serene space and a locked studio all my own, bound for another lonely evening amongst all the bustling nightlife the way I sat alone during lunch time at school, which was always the hardest part of being in Hell. Down they look on me, the ivory towers that commerce constructed, Knight to keep me immobile, Bishops to pontificate the moral apparatus, Rooks that attack when any escape from poverty opens on the path. Maneuvering down dusty alleys where the homeless slain keep me company from the possibility of it being worse, of the Queen disowning me or the King evicting me without even realizing they are the ones I've served, and even more oblivious to the player beyond the city, the God who trapped us in our rules for its own amusement. Down the streets I wander, another day another dollar, starless heart that binds my collar, leashed by a posterior skyline, standing taller, unknown forces rendering me smaller, smaller, smaller, until I finally falter, lose the dollar, become a crawler, a disillusioned scholar.

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Arthur

 I don't understand either,
 Why people act the way they do.
 I even took a 21st century psychology class,
 But nothing was said about war,
 About why men fight.
 Merlin's adventures blessed you,
 Made you a happy boy
 Instead of a bastardized rebel,
 The way I was,
 The losses tearing down the years.
 You were stronger, and luckier
 To have found a mentor
 And a certificate of divinity,
 Your blood ordained by fate,
 A king worthy of the honor.
 Despite all that they treated you wrong,
 Betrayed you, slandered your name,
 Your son did not love you,
 The pain caught up, took you for a ride
 In later years, the opposite of my path
 (Hopefully),
 Disillusionment settled, a haunting familiarity
 That those who love you will hurt you most,
 Emotional unfairness
 Unexpected after all your service to Justice,
 Their actions unaccounted for,
 Their mercy unavailable
 For you, the noblest knight,
 Far nobler than the hero you supported.
 It finally took your death
 To discover the truth in Merlin's ghost,
 That youth was your only joy,
 Blocked by a moat surrounding
 Your castle of supremacy
 That overshadowed it.
 How hard you worked
 For nothing it seems,
 If no civil rights were gained,
 Only the legend of your honor,
 Generosity, strength, character,
 Aspiring thousands who came after,
 Including me, once blind to perseverance,
 Finally seeing
 How it is the greatest indicator of success,
 More than genius, talent, and even kindness.
 Rest easy, fair king,
 My king, if ever there was one,
 Only in fantasy.
 Where the great wonder that is boyhood
 Shines through both our eyes
 Connects us like a ribboned bookmark,
 Bridging my soul to yours
 Across the great divide of manhood.

Sunday, September 3, 2023

The Dome of the Universe

 Anguish of Palestine the desert storm revoked,
 Moving pieces of the chess board to stale rubble,
 Blackened night of warming reflected in the sky
 That teaches philosophers we are all will ever know.
 All that stands is the Rock, knee of cypress
 In a murky swamp, diluted settlement of knowledge
 Dispersed among the foggy remnants displayed,
 Their majesty the green-tiled ornament
 Stripped of decoration to entomb the masses,
 Survivors who once believed in inevitable progress.
 They congregate before the Ascension,
 Whence prophets tickled the telescope,
 Casting beauteous constellations on the thin walls
 Lovelorn frost of destiny to those who remembered,
 Those who looked as far as the eye could see
 And only saw themselves, a star speckled explosion
 Pasted on the borders of Creation.

Hell and Heaven in Eastern Religions

    Contrary to popular opinion, most religions of the east have a version of Hell. They just aren't as widespread in popularity as they...