The upper left edge. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1992-current, January 01, 1994, Page 12, Image 12

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except hoiUay*
The more c lo s e ly we examine o u r w o r ld , th e
c le a r e r i t txxxxneo t h a t the ends o f th in g s a re
in t h e i r b e g in n in g s , waving l i k e Burma Shave
s ig n s from th e edge o f our karma.
L i f e te a c h e s ,
i f n o th in g e ls e , t h a t no wheels g r in d f i n e r th a n
than th o se we s e t in m o tio n by o u r a c t io n s .
Tta
le a rn th a t th e u n fo ld in g o f our p e rs o n a l c r e a ­
t io n is th e u n ra v e l 1 li n g o f cause and e f f e c t
does n o t make th e m y s te rie s le s s m y s te r io u s ,
o n ly more in tim a t e and c h a rm in g .
An e la b o r a te and la r g e ly ig n o re d r i t u a l s u r ­
rounds th e b i r t h o f th e new y e a r.
The ca p s to n e
o f th e h o ly days is th e w in te r s o l s t i c e , a geo­
p h y s ic a l cusp m a rkin g th e r e tu r n o f th e L ig h t .
I t is no a c c id e n t o f th e c a le n d a r th a t th e sea­
son is g iv e n o ve r t o s h a rin g fo n d , c o n s id e r in g
th e r o o ts o f whyness,
and renew ing what rem a ins
o f o u r re s o lv e . The dead o f w in te r c o n f r o n t s us
w ith our b e l ie f system s. The h o lyn e sa comes
from o v e r la y in g them o n to r e a l i t y and f in d i n g ,
once a g a in , our p la c e in th e dream works o f c r e ­
a t io n .
T h is in m ind, a p la c e sh o u ld he made in
t r a d i t i o n f o r th e e p ip h a n y o f John von Neumann.
Von Neumann was a m a th e m a tic ia n , th e in v e n ­
t o r o f th e com puter as we know i t , a p io n e e r in
c y b e r n e tic s , and c o in v e n to r o f game th e o ry and
quantum lo g ic .
H is book, The M a th e m a tic a l Foun­
d a t io n s o f Quantum M echanics, is c a lle d 't h e
quantum B i b l e '.
In 1932, von Neumann s e t o u t
t o d is c o v e r why th e re ) s a n y th in g .
I t may bo
easy t o ta k e th e u n iv e rs e f o r g ra n te d , b u t i t
is n o t w r it t e n anywhere in a ccep ted th e o ry t h a t
th e r e must be so much as a s in g le q u a rk , l e t
a lo n e a c lo s e d and unbounded u n iv e rs e o f fo u r
d im e n s io n a l s p a c e /tim e expanding in a l l d i r e c ­
t io n s a t n e a r ly th e v e lo c it y o f l i g h t .
From quantum e le c tro d y n a m ic s , th e most s u c -
c e s f u l id ea m th e h is t o r y o f s c ie n c e , von Neu­
mann knew t h a t , tie h in d th e b o g g lin g d i v e r s i t y
o f a p p e a ra n e e s, th e u n iv e rs e is humogenous-----
composed e n t i r e l y o f q u a n tim s t u f f , each b i t o f
w h ic h i s l i k e e v e ry o t h e r .
For reasons n o t
known and in ways n o t c le a r , t h i s u n m a n ife s t
raw m a te r ia l o f r e a l i t y a r t i c u la t e s i t s e l f in t o
a l l t h a t is .
Not a m ir a c le , b u t c lo s e .
He a ls o knew, a g a in from quantum th e o r y , th a t
r e a l i t y is a tenuous a f f a i r -----a t h in membrane
o f o b je c t /e v e n t s d a n c in g on a sea o f p o t e n t ia l.
What r e g is t e r s as r e a l i t y on o u r in s tru m e n ts
and senses a re waves o f p r o b a b i l i t i e s .
Fór any
p o in t in s p a c e /tim e , th e re i s an a r r a y o f e v e n ts
t h a t m ig h t ta k e p la c e .
In o rd e r f o r th e r e t o
be a n y th in g , a l l p o s s ib le stxn e th in g s b u t one
must d is a p p e a r, c o lla p s e d t o z e ro by some s t a t i s ­
t i c a l deus ex m achina. The p r o b a b il it y l e f t is
w h a t's th e r e when we lo o k .
To f in d t h i s c o lla p s e o f p r o b a b i l i t i e s , th e
c r e a t io n o f som ethin g from n o th in g , von Neumann
b u i l t a m in im a l e ve n t system c a lle d von Neumann's
c h a in -----a s o u rc e , a s ig n a l, and a r e c e iv e r .
T h e re is no s im p le r system s in c e , i f any o f these
l i n k s a re remov«>d, th e re is no exchange o f energy
arid so no r e a l i t y t o o b s e rv e .
He f ig u r e d th e
s i t e o f th e c o lla p s e sh o u ld s t i c k o u t l i k e a
s o r e th u m b .
It d i d n ' t .
T ry as I * : : i q h t , he
c o u ld f in d no l i k e l y , o r even p o s s ib le , s i t e fo r
th e spontaneous g e n e ra tio n o f th e u n iv e rs e from
p re g n a n t n o th in g .
Because each li n k in th e c h a in i s made o f
'qu antum s t u f f * and each b i t i s l i k e e v e ry o t h e r ,
th e r e is no p o in t a t w h ich d if f e r e n c e , in th e
fo rm o f o b je c ts and e v e n ts , can a r is e .
In what
has come to be known as von Neumann's P ro o f, he
showed t h a t , w h ate ver i t is th a t c o lla p s e s po­
t e n t i a l in t o q u a rk s , b la c k h o le s , and P a r is in
th e s p r in g must l i e o u ts id e o f quantum r e a l i t y .
Von Neumann c o u ld t h in k o f n o th in g o u ts id e o f
th e e m p ir ic a l w o rld b u t c o n s c io u s n e s s . W ith
von Neumann's c h a in , we meet th e g h o s t in th e
m achine and f i n d i t i s us.
We a re , a l l o f u s , lin k s in th e quantum c h a in .
Beneath o u r d if f e r e n c e s , we ace 'quantum s t u f f ' .
I t is o u r c h o ic e s and o u r a c tio n s t h a t c o lla p s e
th e p o t e n t ia l o f o u r liv e s .
In a w o rld w ith o u t
i l l u s i o n , th e r e is no thee and me, and th e ap­
p r o p r ia t e a c t io n is alw ays lo v e .
Happy new y e a r .
(The above is a reprint of Mr Burgess'
January 93 column, we thought we would
give you another chance to try to
understand it )
LlCENSeO
BONDED
INSURED
AB CHILDRESS BUILDER
NEW CONSTRUCTION
RE MODE LI NO
FOUNDATIONS
FLATWORK
BB «3711700
Ption* 4 M 2400
P O Bo* 31
Cannon B««ch. OR 07110
‘WWnut k Cranberry
¿lujjcii (Tildien
breait of Huffed chicken. baked and
lopped wilh orange cream mace
$V 75
Ground ¿^Holn
Tender neak. ground and cooked to perfection
Served *uh muihroom Madiera lauce
U7J
¿ o ie a (a t\\Gvjarcr
Treih Oregon lole n earned and lopped wah
Hay ihrunp A labiler Hullandatie lauce
$10 25
1B o u ra u ig n o n
Tenderloin of beef lauteed wuh muihroomi.
garlic, and red wine Tuned with pana
and ¡erred with garlic toon
$V 50
S e a fo o d l \ e w b u r ^
Treih ieafood lauteed with garlic ia a
iherried muihroom cream lauce
$11.75
1 p in n c r i Inriudi uiup err calad. choice of March,
vx^rtaitfe of (he day. and co JJ m . tea. or decaf.
'i^rwrvalUwu ¿^Ujj^oKd
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1
( >innon <(l*acfi
436- 1108
An empty stomach ts not a good
p o litical adviser
Alber t I in s te in
C asual D ining
O verlo o kin g th e N estu cca River
S p irit* • Mot Sandw iches
fresh Seafood Dinners • Home Baked Desserts
Live M ush E very S a tu rd a y H ight
(5 0 3 )9 6 5 -6 7 2 2
l A u r ic
cm
okeqon
A hungry man is not a free man
Adlai Stevenson
MOVING!
WE LL BE CLOSED
JANUARY &
FEBRUARY, 1994 —
BUT WATCH FOR
US NEXT MARCH
IN OUR NEW,
NEARER-THE-
OCEAN LOCATION:
LANEDA & CARMEL
(MANZANITA,
OF COURSE!)
I
L E
f T
E D & t JA N U ftK X H V f
Swaying palms, balmy breezes
w afting over golden beaches in the
land of Mahana Dusky maidens sing
to the sounds of a small guitar
Five and a half hours of flying to get
there EEEK*
I am not a whit** knuckle flyer
I m more of a white everything flyer
we re talk mg palor, w hite as a ghost
fly e r *l think I'm going to be sick,*
I say
Herself, the light of my life , is n t
sympathetic
why are you being
such a baby about th is 7"
l m not being a baby, too young to
die. perhaps, but not a baby '
We re not even at the airport
yet *
Put w e re headed that direction "
We paid almost $500 apiece for
these ticke ts Were going to
M atzatlan"
"If I give you your money back
No1 We re going"
Later, seated in an immense
device made up of thin aluminum
sheet metal and thousands of parts
each supplied by the lowest bidder
"Why aren't we s ittin g by an
emergency e x it7 I asked the lady
who assigned our seats to put us by
an emerqengy exit *
Keep your voice down l to id her
not to, that you'd probably jump out
and run screaming down the runway
the minute the airplane moved"
We re going to die like rats in
here1
Alex, Shut Up *
Whimper “
My major problem w ith flyinq is
they won't let me drive Mind you, I
don t know now to drive an airplane
but that s what co-p ilots are for He
could drive the airplane while I
watched for mountains and other
hazards
"Look out for that mountain up
there.* I'd say
"That s a cloud *
“How do you know 7"
"The highest mountain in the
world is 29,000 feet ta ll, w ere
flyin g at 35,000 feet “
“When's the last time they
measured i t 7 it might have grown,
volcanos grow *
"Good thinking, we ll go around i t *
"Thank you*
See. that would be my job. to
bring up hazards they might never
have thought of, like growing
mountains
Alex LaFollette
• EAT IN OR OUT •
5-8 PM MON-THURS. 5-9 PM FRI & SAT
AT 411 LANEDA AVENUE UNTIL DECEMBER 24TH.
THEN EVEN THE FIXTURES ARE FOR SALE
CALL 368-5346 OR 368-5593 FOR INFORMATION
FEATURING KID SIEGEL. BLUES. FRIDAY NIGHTS
I Z im
Ah. yes. vacation in sunny Mexico
-------
P r ic ip le i have no real force except
when one I t w ell fed
Mark Twain