As any of those who know me will assert, I’m not very taken with belief in supernatural beings. To quote the inestimable Christopher Hitchens, “There is no supernatural dimension”. So, when it comes to finding out how the universe, and all that it contains, works, I look to science and not faith as my guide. If verifiable proof of the existence of supernatural beings is ever found, I will, of course, change my mind. Such is the benefit of rational thought.
Moreover, the more we discover, the more wondrous the universe (and any others we might find in the process) becomes. Just look at the images from the Hubble telescope to be truly astounded. Finally, for those who argue that, even if there was a “big bang” that started it all, some being needs to have been around to have created this, I would take the argument one stage further and say that, using just that perspective, some being needed to be around to create that being itself in the first place. QED.
So what’s all this pontificating about then? Well, it’s the fact that over the past few weeks, I’ve been watching a couple of programmes on television presented by Jim Al Khalili. The first of these was on quantum mechanics; mindboggling in itself. The second, on quantum biology, was even more so. The fact that the biology and mechanics were linked may have been obvious, in retrospect. It wasn’t before I watched the programme. At which point the obvious unity between the two became extremely satisfying in its coherence.
So, not only is the wonder of it all utterly amazing, but that we now have a species which is able to discover why and how that’s so. If only we don’t cock it up in the meantime.