New Big Bang Theory

Recently Prof Stephen Hawking and Prof Thomas Hertog have come up with a new idea to explain why the Big Bang of creation led to the vast cosmos that we can see today.

In this theory, the early universe can be described by a mathematical object called a wave function and, in a similar way to the light particle, the team proposed two years ago that this means that there was no unique origin to the cosmos: instead the wave function of the universe embraced a multitude of means to develop.

But, like any new idea, there were problems. The professors found that they could not explain the rapid expansion - inflation - of the universe, evidence of which is left behind all around us in what is called the cosmic microwave background, in effect the echo of the big bang, a relic of creation that can be measured with experiments on balloons and on space probes.

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Quantum Physics Explained For Everyone's IQ

Once Upon A Time...

Two thousand years ago Roman Emperor Hadrian built what we know today as Hadrian's Wall, a fortification meant to defend Britannia against Picts (ancient Scots) attacks. Among those who built and guarded the structure were several units of Dacian soldiers. Those 1,000 Dacians were part of the first wave of Roman settlers who civilised the actual England.

What was their contribution to the future Britain? Well, firstly, the English word dagger comes from daca, a Dacian knife, and it also may be related with the medieval Romanian word daga, a kind of knife with three blades, used only for assassination.

Then, the sica. Sica was the weapon of choice of the Dacians, and can be seen all over Trajan's Column in their hands. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long. Roman Emperor Trajan built the column to celebrate his victory against his most fierceful adversay, the Dacian King Decebal. Anyway, the sica became sickle in English.

And lastly, but most importantly, the draco. A draco was a military standard (flag) borne by a draconarius. Originated with the Dacians, it took the form of a gaping dragon's head and mouth formed from cast metal, to the end of which was attached a 'body' of cloth or silk fabric in the form of a windsock. When charging, the body would billow out behind the head. It is also thought that the draco was sometimes fitted with a whistle of some form, since there are descriptions of it making a howling sound when borne into battle. Sounds familiar? What other armies borrowed this flag in the Middle Ages?

So, my ancestors were among those who brought civilization to the savage tribes of barbarians that inhabited the actual British territory. Unfortunately their influence was not strong enough to remain in the history books...

Evening Flight

Last month The Guardian presented an interesting article on the timeline of the universe. How about the micro-universe? Our inner, tiny world is still full of mysteries. Have you ever wondered how the fetus' heart starts? The heart forms and then what? Bang, it just starts to beat or what? What switch starts that 'life engine"? As long as we can't create life, we are not entitled to take life. I'll tell you what Mr. Darwin, the probability that life appeared from void had the same chances as a hurricane that stormed a wrecking yard and gave birth to an assembled car.

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Reaching Out, Touching You

'Non-communication is impossible', says one of the communication theory's postulates. However, considering that the fourth most important element of the communication process is (can you believe it?) the noise, let's try to apply the Shannon-Hartley theorem to the almighty Internet. The entropy of English text is between 1.0 and 1.5 bits per letter,^[1] or as low as 0.6 to 1.3 bits per letter, according to estimates by Shannon based on human experiments^[2](one bit being equal with a fair coin). If we take into account the fact that the channel codes appear to multiply following (say) geometric progression, then we will soon (50 years) face a "deafening" entropy. In other words, we will move from a directory centric communication to a user centric one. Just think of the millions of blogs with less then 5-10 readers. You start to feel the frozen breath of the Big Crunch on your back?...

Ruined props

Twenty years ago a Romanian sci-fi author came with the idea that humans might very well be extras left behind a gigantic production "filmed" millenniums ago. Other writers, such as Heinlein, Frank Herbert or even Asimov (in "The End of Eternity") flirted with the same concept in one way or another. But there were the Wachowskis who put that subject in the spotlight, using America's ultimate propaganda weapon, the Hollywood. However, there was nothing new under the sun, as The Matrix was inspired by other films, books, myths and philosophy including Messianism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Existentialism, Nihilism, Vedanta, Advaita Hinduism, Yoga Vashishta Hinduism and Sikhism. As Wikipedia mentioned, the film's premise resembled Plato's Allegory of the cave, René Descartes's evil genius, Kant's reflections on the Phenomenon versus the Ding an sich, and the brain in a vat thought experiment, while Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation. After all, the question still remains... How can you tell how real is your world?

18 Wheels Of Destiny

David Lynch's masterpiece Twin Peaks was all about symbols. The first of them, shown right from the opening credits was the wheel. His daughter, Jennifer, a movie director as well, recalled that the Vedic mythology inspired Lynch on most of the symbols (including the Wheel of Life). Other symbols could be found here and thanks to Mr. Eco anyone could find an explanation for them. And speaking of Vedas and sanskrit, Coppola just launched his latest movie based on a novella by Mircea Eliade, a.k.a. the Godfather of the history of religions. Anyway, getting back to the graphic...how many wheels can you see there?

Afternoon Delight

The reminiscences of a dull afternoon, ironed by the silver sun of the Black Sea. What was that book next to me? Proust, maybe... I forgot. But was it Debussy's Faun rumbling in the back of my ear? I'm flat...

First Takeoff

What's worse than a wave-less morning?... What's bluer than homesickness?... Maybe the moment you start to wake up and see the rednecks...

Moon Glass

The white wolf used to wander around most nights, ruminating on his own reflection in the Raven's Lake, and sometimes even indulging in optimistic thoughts about his mortality...

Earthy Brekkie

One morning, you'll have to have my little Earth as breakfast... on an optimistically-pink plate, next to a greenly-fresh mug. Laid on a Renaissance table. The rest of the temple is silenced...