Wheeler's Singularities

John Archibald Wheeler- one of the great visionaries of modern physics; disciple of Einstein; by reputation, a bit of a prude--but not always.

They were originally called black stars, or dark stars; those deep holes in space whose gravitational attraction is irresistible even to light. Wheeler began to refer to them as "black holes". The new term was immediately blackballed by the preeminent American physics journal Physics Review as being obscene! But Wheeler fought it through the editorial board and black holes they became.
But, the inimitable Wheeler wasn't done: in describing the completely smooth and featureless characteristics of the black hole horizon, he opined that "black holes have no hair". Whether Physical Review was again outraged is not known!---These tidbits were excerpted from a delightful book entitled The Black Hole War by Leonard Suskind

In addition to black holes, John Wheeler coined the less controversial terms: "quantum foam", "wormhole", and the phrase "it from bit". In referring to the confusion surrounding the role of quantum gravity in particle physics, Wheeler's response was: "the question is; what is the question?

"it from bit"  was meant to symbolize the idea that every item of the physical world, down to the most elementary particle,  has an immaterial source and explanation. In short, all things physical are information-theoretic in origin.

Question: Are we the creators--or at least the minds that make the universe manifest?
Question: Will the Unified Theory turn out to be mind stuff?

"Consciousness is the Phenomenon, all else is Epiphenomena."----Deepak Chopra 

Native American Proverb

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children."

Do We Have a Soul

The year was 1907:
In Boston(where else?), Dr. Duncan McDougall conducted a ghoulish experiment: He watched 6 people die. Using a sensitive Scale he measured their weight just before and just after. In one case he observed a 21 gram decrease in body weight immediately following expiration. He concluded the soul weighs 21 grams and remains intact waiting for a new customer!
To the good doctor's chagrin, his scientific breakthrough received only a couple of lines in the NY Times.
It should be noted that no one has been able to repeat his macabre effort.

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