Science the poetry of creation

“Why do you have to keep reducing everything to science?” asks Jackie Tyler of the Doctor in Doctor Who, Series 2 “Army Of Ghosts”. Jackie’s way of thinking about science has never occurred to me.

I’ve always viewed science as being a portal to a truly beautiful cosmos. However, Jackie’s view is not unique. To many people, scientists are not real people, they have no sense of humour, very few social skills and always wear white coats.

This could be a masked fear people have, not of science, but of the more terrifying aspects of cosmology. The supernova of a star, a massive explosion which often has a blast area of several light years reminds people that we are very fleeting beings and even our planet Earth, is a temporary home for us humans.

Poverty, famine and wars seem to be constant companions though aeons of time. Technology affords greater life spans. We have a burgeoning population of 80 to100 year olds but our financing of retirement pensions does not afford the greater number of people who are no longer working. There is little that young people in the 1960’s could have done to manage and provide for their old age now.

At first, when I listen to Gustav Holst’s The Planets “Saturn” I am reminded of Saturn, the bringer of old age. It sounds distressing at first, but the piece evolves into calm and serenity. It is at this point, that I view old age as being a chance to smell of that coffee we never got the same chance to, while we were working and raising families.

“Creation” means something a little different when you’re an Atheist.

Not a God created universe. No-one can explain now or before, (and they may probably never will), how the universe came into being. That flashpoint, in order to have an existence, must have straddled the boundaries of our physical universe and that point where time and space were yet to exist.

While I’m pondering that, I’m looking at clouds. Rather a lot to look at in an English winter. I’m struck how beautiful they are. They are only water vapour. Now why do I have to keep reducing things to science?

Oh…

The Coalition

I well remember people saying "why can't we have a coalition government?"

We were a bit niave in those days. A coalition government would be about parties all working together for the common good. And not about the Tories telling the Lib-Dems to get stuffed, after all.

In life, I've always noticed that it's a tiny minority of families on estates who bring down the reputation of the estate. This eclipsing of the decent majority has a lot to do with our media, hell bent on selling their newspapers, because for some reason, they judge us to be only interested in bad news.

School bullies are probably no more than about a dozen, out of a school roll of 1500. In the course of my union work, I've met a great deal of people who have been bullied at school. Again, bullies seem to be very far reaching, given their very small numbers.

I have always believed that politicians, (of whatever persusaion), go into politics because they believe that they can make changes for the better. I still believe that today.

I can't help but wonder how so many would be councillors or MP's feel when they have these great ambitions steamrollered by some pompous political grandee's desire to replace their ludicrously expensive bird table, have their moat cleaned, or supply their husband with a porn DVD courtesy of the tax payer.

So are these the same MP's who've frozen for 2 years public sector worker's pay* (who didn't cause the recession) and allowed bankers bosses (who DID cause the recession) to collect huge bonuses?

*(That's of course, except for the 425,000 public sector workers who will be losing their jobs).

Ah yes, we're getting a day off on Friday 29th April. The wedding!

Come on, it's not as though we're paying for it, is it?