Review: Consilience the Unity of Knowledge

First of all, those who attempt to come to an understanding as to the origin of the universe, the how and why of it all, ultimately, the answer to the big question--where we came from, why we're here, and where we're going-- . . . well, what's being attempted here needs to be put into perspective.

According to Stephen Hawking, if we find the string theory (or a third theory to tie together quantum and relativity) then we will know the answer to everything. We'll know the mind of God. Now, I must say that even if you aren't religious (like Einstein, but he knew--God doesn't play dice with the universe), you've got to realize that the universe is made of 100's of billions of galaxies. And the great intelligence or organizer of it all (very little chance that such finely tuned matter merely randomly arose out of cosmic chaos) can make galaxies, planets, and stars. Me? I can barely make a good omelet. Case closed.

So my point being, we're basically a peanut trying to keep up with a jaguar (I used to use the ant analogy for my students, until I realized that was too kind). How can we in our infinite ignorance ever understand anything of such complexity?

Well, the answer lies in the non-answer. String theory is not even wrong. What's that mean? There are so many possible outcomes that it can't even be considered. Maybe it's the Great Intelligence telling us by design that the answer lies not in our imperfect mind but in our potentially perfect heart. But that's another argument.

Well, even physicists will tell you they aren't dealing with reality. How can they be when the string theory, in order for it to be worked with, dictates that seven dimensions are required. If our brainiacks need four additional dimensions to describe the ultimate answer to reality--key word there: reality--then I think we've run aground. And nothing at all against the brilliant mind of Edward Wilson, a Harvard biologists, but I think all this theorizing, to a great extent, is a waste of time. The same reason I've gotten out of the college / university vacuum. Too much thinking with little real life application.

But here, in simple terms, Wilson believes that he can find the answer to the universe and everything, what Hawking and other great abstract theorists have been looking to for some time, can be found through a bringing together of knowledge. Knowledge, in this case, can be found in the arts, humanities and social sciences. My issue is that we have a lot more pressing social, economic, and political issues to attend to before we go off on issue of unity of knowledge. Even Hawking mentions how he and his cohorts are involved in fantasy science or that of the unreal, often inexplicable to the average, and certainly problematic to the extreme now and even if the theory is found. For Hawking mentions how no theory is absolute, meaning perfect without flaw. So where can ultimate answers lie? Not in flawed theory, for sure.

All this rationalizing in avoidance of the practical  all reminds me of Swift's great thinkers in Gulliver's Travels on the Island of LaPuta. Here these men use their fascinating intellect to come up with such inventions as sunlight extractors--taking sunlight from cucumbers--or the feces reader which tells the user whether or not the person being analyzed is telling the truth. What is most interesting of all is that while these great thinkers are coming up with their abstract, impractical inventions the earth below is in shambles--people are starving and wasting away under the cloud of the great Island of LaPuta.