A Quantum Immortal

Well, personally I am agnostic/atheist, but I’ve heard from several people that believe in God, that they believe “he exists” more than they believe that 1≠2.

Please put aside for one moment the exact meaning of the sentence “God exists”. All knowledge is, to an extent, subjective. I know that 1≠2 because it is a mathematical theorem, but also is a theorem that Zorn’s Lemma is provable from the Axiom of Choice – my level of confidence in these two theorems being true is rather different.

I claim that anyone (if he understands logic), even if he believes that “God exists”, should place more confidence in the statement “1≠2” than in his belief in God *. Why? Let’s assume 1=2, and prove God does not exists:

1. Assume 1=2, and suppose by negation that God exists
2. 1≠2 (from standard arithmetic axioms and inference rules)
3. If God exists, then 1=2 and 1≠2 (from 1 and 2)
4. Therefore, God does not exist (from 3, by Proof by Contradiction)

Q.E.D

So, one can prove from 1=2 that God exists, but I doubt you’ll find a proof that 1=2 from the assumption God exists. So believing 1=2 requires more faith, and provides more information, than believing God exists (because it implies God exists, but the other way around does not hold).

* Of course, there is at least one flaw in the above argument. Can you find it?

Rarely do we appreciate enough the little things in life. I believe this sentence is true on many levels, and today I want to focus on one of our basest assumptions. We live in this physical universe, and are gifted with the unique ability to influence it. Firstly, this universe has a dimension of time to it, our lives are not static, boring, never changing. Instead they are dynamic, changing for good and bad, giving us a steady flow of new experiences. This is a basic requirement for the very definition of good and bad, because in a constant universe there is no differentiation, and everything is just plain zero. Living in a dynamic universe, we give meaning to each experience in relation to the previous ones and to the experiences that follow, and are thus able to observe and appreciate these changes, and enjoy at some of our moments in time, in contrast with other, worse moments.

Secondly, we are not simply watching our lives go by as if it were a movie playing in a theater. We are conscious, living beings, who can act of our own intent and purpose, and bring change to the physical world surrounding us. I’m not talking about grand plans and designs, I think we should be grateful about our simple ability to pick up an object, move our hands and feet, throw a ball and marvel at the effects we cause. The simple Newtonian rules of cause and effects govern our day to day lives and give us the simple pleasure of mobility. Furthermore, we wield tools to our every whim, and can rule over other physical objects. Of course this causes problems sometimes as some people forget that other people are not merely objects but willful beings of their own, and their will conflicts … but I digress.

Before thanking God, chance or math, whichever you believe is responsible for creating this universe (I believe that physics is a subset of math) for gifts like wealth, happiness and health, remember to first appreciate the more basic qualities of our existence, without which there would be no questions of health, illness, happiness or sadness.