On left: Bohr as a young man.
On right and below: A fully mature Bohr.
Wiki says: Niels Henrik David Bohr; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962 was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in Copenhagen. He was part of a team of physicists working on the Manhattan Project. Bohr married Margrethe Nørlund in 1912, and one of their sons, Aage Bohr, grew up to be an important physicist who in 1975 also received the Nobel prize. Bohr has been described as one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century.
"We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough." -Niels Bohr
It is in that spirit I often write my poetry. I guess it is up to you guys whether or not I succeed.
Bathing As Incantation
In my bath you show
as the bubbles from the soap
clinging to my form
as bubbles will do,
a cleansing film on my life,
washing confusion
out of my lank hair,
giving it waves, a fine sheen.
When I want trouble
that came here to me
unbidden and unwanted,
when I want trouble
to just go away,
that's the time I take you up
on your claims of joy.
That's the time I love you best.
July 1, 2011 12:40 PM
last line added 8:31 PM
last line courtesy of Donovan, though he wrote "that's the time I love the best."
When Einstein and Bohr got together in the heyday of the Copenhagen Interpretation, they sat and discussed the state of things. Einstein is reported to have exclaimed, "God does not play dice!"
It is perhaps apocryphal but possible that Bohr replied, "Don't tell God what to do with His dice!"
looking for trouble
ReplyDeletei enter your bubble
sliding through
waves and fine sheen
correct not the question
it can not be wrong
when love's at its best
There is some heat here, the bathwater up to high temp and me a rosy pink glow attached to hungry skin.
ReplyDeleteIt is strange that I should happen upon your blog again..(I haven't been here for a long time)when you mention quantum mechanics which is something I have been thinking about lately.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Borg...it can never be crazy enough if you want to get to the truth of things...I think Einstein was a little conservative..I know he hated quantum mechanics
I like your bath poem. Do you realise that she and the bath reduced to atomic matter would be microscopic and less than a grain of sand.
I just thought you needed to be aware of this riveting piece of information:)
oops Bohr!(I meant)
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by Anonymous...
ReplyDeleteThe issue is of course upside down. Quantum process is prior to human and underlays everything in the 5% of the universe that we explore. That's a real number, a best guess given what we think is true about the universe.
Since it is prior and beneath us, it may not be a surprise to discover it also is really NOT us. What we think of as "crazy" may just be "alien".
Or think of it this way. What is the language God uses when He is not thinking with about for and communictating with us? We are His special case, no? Perhaps with us He uses a special language. Elsewhere He speaks differently.
Or if not, then it is simply that we have not yet learned His language and are unlearning the one we have made up.
gotta wear shades....
ReplyDeleteplease, keep your divine and delightful craziness coming
ReplyDeleteif we let loose of our own special place then this is most likely, "Or if not, then it is simply that we have not yet learned His language and are unlearning the one we have made up." boy, we've strung ourselves, haven't we, and yet, it is almost as though in the creation of our language (as you have so often shown here with linguistics) we have threads of revelation humming in the chords of our language structure. perhaps we've just our ears trained on the wrong things. either way, i do believe the truth is present to be discoverd. it might just be the trees that know it though. perhaps we're not as special as we think.
ReplyDeletexo
erin
We are most definitely not as special as the Western (Middle Eastern) vision has painted. We are not the Crown of Creation, chosen in that way.
ReplyDeleteWe are privileged however as a group. It is a grant, like one is granted a college education. We have an opportunity in this way to turn towards the destiny that is ours.
Unfortunately, we are doing our best to render this grant null and void. At least that is how it appears.
Individually we still have ways to turn onto the "road less traveled" and change things nearby. As the Buddhists say, even the angels cannot do what we can if we take that road.