The Reverberant Chalk
Reverberation an effect or impact that resembles an echo
There are certain matters that remain subjects for conjecture, and which may be discussed in a Philosophy classroom or in a Physics lab. In either discipline there are no firm answers, but the questions remain forever. One example is that of the tree falling in a forest far from habitation; the unanswered question is whether or not it makes a noise on impact. The answers are many and varied and are staunchly defended, pro or con.
In a certain classroom, the Professor held up his piece of chalk and shook it. He maintained that when he did so, the entire universe reacted to that movement. What about the billions and billions of different actions: do all of them cause reactions in the universe? On a subatomic level? Photons? String theory? What do you think?
An anonymous poet voiced his or her opinion thus:
All things both near and far by almighty power
Hiddenly to each other connected are;
Thou canst not disturb a flower
Without the troubling of a star.
There are certain matters that remain subjects for conjecture, and which may be discussed in a Philosophy classroom or in a Physics lab. In either discipline there are no firm answers, but the questions remain forever. One example is that of the tree falling in a forest far from habitation; the unanswered question is whether or not it makes a noise on impact. The answers are many and varied and are staunchly defended, pro or con.
In a certain classroom, the Professor held up his piece of chalk and shook it. He maintained that when he did so, the entire universe reacted to that movement. What about the billions and billions of different actions: do all of them cause reactions in the universe? On a subatomic level? Photons? String theory? What do you think?
An anonymous poet voiced his or her opinion thus:
All things both near and far by almighty power
Hiddenly to each other connected are;
Thou canst not disturb a flower
Without the troubling of a star.
posted by marguerite louise at
4:56 PM
3 Comments:
Hmm... Chaos Theory. And when meteorologist Edward Lorenz posed the query, "Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas?", he expanded on it until he managed to identify 3 main variables in 3-D space and developed The Lorenz Attractor. In short, there is an almost infinite number of miniscule variables (maybe even the professor's chalk-waving?) in any system that make absolute predictability impossible. Like long-term weather forecasting.
BTW, your quote is from Francis Thompson, the English poet (1859-1907).
By
Anonymous, at 12/01/2005 11:25 PM
Thank you, Sharon! When I posted this essay I had a hunch one of my readers would come up with the poet's name. I had found those lines in notes I had taken years ago, and found them image-lovely, whether true or not. I am glad to have credit given to Francis Thompson. Evidently Edward Lorenz believed in Chaos Theory, or at least defended it. And now that any mystery has been laid aside, the question remains: do you believe it?
By
marguerite louise, at 12/02/2005 1:24 AM
I do believe in the "chaos theory". I often think of it in human terms. One person cannot interact with another without impacting many, if not all other people that individual interacts with that day.
I've been known to say "you can leave them laughing or you can leave them crying.....I prefer laughing".
If in your travels you encounter someone and you are nasty to them through no fault or action of their own. They in turn are more likely to react in a similar manner to the next person they meet and so on. It will ripple like that from one person to the next throughout the day.
By
Anonymous, at 12/15/2005 12:09 PM
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