My New Year’s resolution only lasted a couple of days; leopards and spots and all that.
Last night I started reading The Quantum Universe: Everything That Can Happen Does Happen by Brian Cox and Jeff Forman. Even considering the title for a while is enough to blow my New Year intentions (see last post) right into a parallel universe.
The realm of the very small seems to be mindblowingly bizarre, requiring a certain leap of faith in order to even partially understand the activities of subatomic particles. I am, I think, pretty sceptical by nature, never having fallen for the enticing simplicity of religious faith.
I read the Bible and the Koran a few years ago, and as far as my limited intellect would allow me, came to the conclusion that both books showed no sign of divine other worldliness but much evidence of human expedience.
Now I am fully aware that it would take a better mind than mine, and a lifetime of devoted study to even get close to fully understanding and interpreting these texts. For this reason, I have to make a desision as to what I believe based on my own incomplete research and crucially the word of an Expert who has possibly understood and certainly formed his own view of the truth based on I don’t know what competing influences.
So in a democracy we make big decisions based largely on secondhand knowledge from sources that we can’t be sure aren’t just pedalling propaganda for their own ends.
The world was after all, for many years flat and Iraq definitely had WMDs. Depending on which expert you listen to it will be a disaster for Britan if we stay in the EU and a disaster if we leave.
So whether it’s Brian Cox, David Cameron or my local vicar I am asked to believe in, a very large pinch of salt is needed.
And that’s about all I believe we can believe in with any conviction.
It must be delightfully blissful to have faith whatever it’s in.