An equivalence...

There is one topic that has been constantly rattling about my brain waiting to be put into words. However, this topic is so close to my heart that I am afraid I will not do it the justice it needs. It's actually a very simple topic - imagination.

You see, I went into Physics in the first place because it grabbed at my imagination, forced me to widen the boundaries of my insight and 'dream-sight', if you can call it that. I would be reading about galaxies or about the atom, then just sit back and picture these strange, wondrous objects sprinkled with the magic of a little-understood truth. I was able to take these words on paper and these math equations and visualize a universe gone mad with them.

But I always wondered... How did Newton come up with the laws of motion in the first place. How did Galileo make his jumps of intuition. How, in all the heavens, did Einstein come up with GR and the concept of the space-time continuum and Heisenberg, his uncertainty principle? Where did these thoughts germinate? What fertile brains they must have found to take seed in! And I would wonder, am I capable of such deep intuition? Is it possible that I can look at a construct, or a theory, and by induction or leap of intuition, will I ever be able to extend the theory or even, heaven's forfend!, come up with something entirely new?

Theoretical Physics for me is like the world of fantasy. It is not quite so hard to take what is already known, take a few facts and legends and extend upon this already well-known theory. However, when a physicist wends his way into the complete unknown, like in General Relativity or String Theory or Chaos Theory, the fruits of his labor are that much more mind blowing! Quite similar to how I view the works of Mercedes Lackey and quite a few other fantasy authors. When a good author creates a world all of her own, creates the intricate web of rules which guide each character and ability in such a way as to encapsulate that entire world, and is able to actually show the reader the different facets of such a world... I find it equally worthy of respect. It might seem like a gross insult to some that I compare physics and fantasy. But, you see, to me they are one and the same in essence.

In physics, you can find experiments to actually prove that these are the laws that guide our universe. In fantasy, you can create thought experiments that can easily show the flaws in the logic and reasoning behind the specific universe's rules. Both require that the theory flows without breaks, runs without hitches and requires a brain fully capable of bringing forth a snowdrop from rocks as from rich soil.

My favorite author, Lackey, brings me fully to my knees. She has, to my knowledge, come up with Valdemar, the Four-Hundered Kingdoms, the Elemental Masters, the Elves and Bards cohabiting our universe, and some other science fiction as well. Valdemar looks to be a world much like ours, more idealistic, where energy is conceptualized as mage-energy which resides within the earth in much the same way as water would in uneven ground. She lays down the rules within which constraints these energies can be used by people with the ability to sense them. And then, she brings out special characters who are strong enough and imaginative enough to bend the rules. It's enormously brilliant! Her Four-hundered Kingdoms is an entirely strange land where the breaking of Tradition (the fairy tale traditions), causes energies to build up around the hero/heroine (because the Tradition wants them to go down certain paths and tries to inject more energy to push them down those paths) and these energies can be transmuted and put to different uses if the user is educated in such ways. The Elemental Masters is a beautiful, logical yet magical portrayal of our fairy tales where the heroine is Not just a blonde helpless beauty waiting helpless to be rescued by an inane, brainless hero who fortunately has the backing of some magical creature with brains and an agenda (that thankfully does not lead to entire tragedy and heartbreak for our children). And finally, the Bards and Elves coexist with human beings in our universe where music can penetrate the barriers of the world to bring creativity (which is its own style of magic) and magic which go hand in hand with one another, all while keeping the general non-magic population completely unaware of what happens on the other side of the curtain. One person, many worlds. And yet, in a lot of her works, although the rules of the game are different, the inherent philosophy for her humans and other thinking beings, is very clearly, logically and empathetically displayed for her readers and I find that my philosophy about a lot of things in life follows hand in hand with hers.

The same way, if you look at Richard Feynman, my physics hero... you will see his imagination is mind-boggling as well! Of course, it is a little harder to explain in simple terms. But maybe I will try to write it out a few blogs down the line. This blog has already become huge! So I go work now... :)

... and a final word about her religion.

*now this is a little harsh - but the shadings of the truth are present... again for all organized religions of the world today - I tried going with Wicca once - it's not bad - but I find that the amount of imagination required is a little tiring. And the other problem about Wicca is that, although we can crib about misinterpretation and human hunger for power in translation when it comes to any of the sacred texts - those same texts, when interpreted as per each of our learning and knowledge and morality, are immensely useful in giving a broader perspective of things. Wicca does not have that advantage.*

What about Valdemar could possibly seem so threatening to a religion?

:There is no one true way,: Taver said. :That is what threatens the Sunpriests; that is what terrifies them. If you offer that to people, you offer them freedom, and you challenge those who claim ultimate authority. If you offer that, you give people options. The Sunpriests rely on being the ultimate, unchallengeable authority; their lives depend on the very opposite of options. Their rule depends on their followers having no options, and relies on blind belief and even blind obedience.:

...and about honor

In the following lines, I like how Lackey brings the grey areas into her definition as well - where included by the words 'also' and 'unless'... She brings the a little bit of realism into what is largely an idealistic concept...

Honor was never taking the easy way when it was also the wrong one. Never telling a falsehood unless the truth was painful and unnecessary, or a lie was necessary to save others. Never manipulating the truth to serve only yourself. Protecting the weak and helpless; standing fast even when fear made you weak. Keeping your word.

... what she says about love...

Love now-a good, solid love is something infinitely rare and difficult
to maintain, because you don't know everything your partner is feeling.
Love takes work. Love means being able to apologize and mean it when
you blunder. Love is worth fighting for!

One of the very things that made what Van and I have a love-match as
well as a lifebonding was that we were so different. It is like a
marriage - you marry who you think your beloved is, and then discover
who they really are over the years. It's that discovery that makes a
marriage work. We did have things in common, lots of them, but you
would never have assumed that from first seeing us. It made hunting
and finding them all the sweeter. And it gave us chances to introduce
each other to something new. 

Love is as much trust as it is devotion. Oh, there is no such thing as
perfection, or a "perfect" love. I doubt there is even perfection in
the Havens. Wouldn't perfection be a bore?

Build on what you have, children, the foundation is a good one, so now
see what kind of a house you can raise. And don't worry if the windows
aren't the right size, the door is too tall, or there's dust on the
mantelpiece. Just make sure the walls and the ceiling are sound, and
make certain your home holds laughter. The dust will take care of itself.

...and they tell me not to read fantasy!

Quick aside: This holds good for all the organized religions of today, or so I believe... unfortunately :( This is why I call myself a constructive Deist! ;)

Excerpt from Lackey's 'Exile's Honor':

"I'm hunting answers myself."

Geri regarded him with a somber gaze. "You, of all people, ought to know that you aren't going to find many of those here. Questions, certainly, but precious few answers. Ours is a faith, Alberich, not a map or a guide, and certainly not a set of certitudes. At least, that is the way it should be—"

"Not what it has become." He said that sadly, and once again, he was back in childhood, with that kind, yet stern priest, who tried to show him in ways a child would understand, just what the Sunlord was and was not. "We are the mirror of Valdemar—"

"More like the twin. Or we were, before things disintegrated." Geri sighed. "I've had this discussion with Henrick, actually. He is of the opinion that the long slide began with a will to power. I think it's more complicated than that. I think that the priesthood was corrupted by the congregation."

Alberich blinked. "How, exactly?"

"The laity wanted absolutes, answers, and the priesthood finally elected to give them answers, the simpler the better," Geri replied. "The Writ took second place to the Rule, and a poor second at that. The answers took away all uncertainty, and what is more, took away the need to think."

Alberich frowned; not for nothing had he spent so much of his childhood under the tutelage of a priest who knew—and lived—the old ways. "Above all, the Writ demands that a man—or a woman, for that matter—learn how to think."

Geri nodded. "You see? The old ways require that each person come to the Sunlord having thought through everything for himself. The current Rule requires that men become sheep, herded in one direction, following one path, pastured in one field, ever and always, so will it be."

"Sheep." It occurred to Alberich that it was probably no coincidence that the Sunpriests of Karse had taken to calling their congregations by the name of "flock."

"Sheep don't have to think for themselves, do they?" Geri made a face. "The Sunlord was reshaped from the Unknowable into the remote but predictable Patriarch, from the Whirlwind to the windmill that grinds—exceedingly small. Do this—you are gathered unto His bosom. Do that—you are cast into the outermost hells." Geri shook his head. "Answers are terribly seductive. The simpler they are, the more seductive they become."

Alberich turned that over in his mind, and found it certainly matched some of his own experience. "But that isn't the whole of it," he objected.

"Of course not. I just suggest that this was where the corruption started," Geri replied. "Then came the power, power that came from giving people what they wanted instead of what they needed, and power is just as seductive and even more addictive than any drug. Now—I don't know, Alberich. I don't know how it can be fixed. Or even if it can. It would take the Sunlord Himself in manifestation, perhaps. And someone as the Son of the Sun who is willing to hold to the hard course and be disliked, even hated."

"And loved."

"And loved," Geri agreed. "At one and the same time, and probably by the same people. Because when you demand that each situation be considered separately, and not responded to with the predigested Answer, you are always going to anger someone since you're always going to disagree with someone. Probably even someone who agreed with you the last time, and now takes this new response as a betrayal."

Alberich smiled sourly. "It would take the Sunlord Himself to protect someone like that."