Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The Tea-Pot by the Sun

My friend, Mr. Nanawaty mentions in a comment on my post that just because Science cannot disprove the existence of God, one must not blindly believe in God. Having said this, can we not put it this way ... Because Science has not proved the existence of God, we should not blindly disbelieve in God? Logically, one argument is as sound as the other. There is also the Tea-Pot by the Sun ... Of course, if someone just comes up and says that theres a Tea-Pot floating by the Sun, Science cannot go out and try to prove or disprove its existence. Its simply not worth it. I totally agree with Mr. Nanawaty. However, the concept of God is no Tea-Cup. If there is a Tea-Cup which has been haunting humanity ever since we came into existence, one which we have been thinking about for quite some time now (how many centuries?), I would think this is one helluva Tea-Cup. Besides, doesnt all Science begin with the idea of a maverick? Isnt all new scientific thinking maverick in some form or the other?

Look at the Theory of Relativity ... or, the concept of the Space Twins that Albert Einstein talks about ... quite a fanciful concept, I am sure. And, wasnt something which was a pressing need at the time. On the other hand, I would think it was more like the proverbial Tea-Cup ... of not much significance. So was the idea of the automobile ... Nobody ever took them seriously ... Taking two examples, one from pure sciences, and one from engineering, to make the point. But, one never knows where a trail might lead us to. On the other hand, if we are to keep this hypothesis in hibernation till some concrete proof comes up, and if this whole concept is that of the tea-cup floating by the sun, then no concrete proof will ever come up. One way or the other. This, to my mind, is some kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Somewhat like we used to pull fun of our Economics friends ... Assume the can is open, hence the can is open!

The debate has been eternal ... Has been going on for some time, and will continue for quite some more time to come ...

No comments: