“Is this the real life? Is this a Fantasy”
Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody
THE PROBLEM
Scientists across the globe have been playing this interstellar game of Marco Polo, trying to find the elusive, shadowy substance that refuses to interact with light or any electromagnetic force. Picture a universe-sized room where dark matter is the sly kid hiding behind the curtains of space-time, giggling silently. It’s the cosmic equivalent of having an invisible friend who’s really good at physics. You can’t see them, but they’re always there, affecting things around them.
So, how do we know dark matter isn’t just a figment of overactive astrophysical imaginations? It’s like detecting a ghost at a dinner party: You can’t see it, but the silverware is floating. Galaxies, it turns out, are the silverware of the universe. They spin with such gusto that, without some unseen mass holding them together, they’d fling their stars into the cosmic void like a merry-go-round gone berserk. This gravitational glue, according to many recent conjectures, is none other than our bashful friend scientists have taken to calling dark matter. It’s the universe’s way of saying, “Trust me, something is there; just look at how these galaxies are not falling apart!”
Just look up into the sky and see all the cool pictures coming back of these vast cosmic webs, the vast network of galaxy clusters connected by bridges of… you guessed it, dark matter. It’s like a galactic game of Twister, where galaxies are bending over backward, trying not to topple over while staying connected. The only reason this web holds together is that dark matter is there, unseen, like the world’s most introverted party planner. It sets up the entire event, connects everyone, and then refuses to come out of the kitchen.
- Do we know what Dark Matter is?
- Not at this time, but we have some guesses.
- Can we currently detect or observe dark matter directly?
- Again, not at this time, but based on our observations – there is something going on that this concept of “dark matter” helps to consistently explain.
- Couldn’t it be God or angels doing something miraculous?
- Sure, if that’s what it turns out to be.
THE SOLUTION
No one is denying that billions of people feel they have a special relation to a deity, or that they believe that that deity exists and is active in their lives. The problem is for everyone else who doesn’t have that relationship, has never had those feelings, and has never directly observed evidence that these things are there. At issue here is for believers, they deeply believe what they have experienced to be true – and so they plead for atheists to just “open your heart to the lord”. While pulling from the other side, without evidence of any of this – other than what other people are saying they believe to be true – atheists are concluding from things they have experienced.
It all goes back to how we think through things and how our logic works – LOGICAL POSITIVISM. Believers have observed something and as a result came to a conclusion that positively affirms that a deity exists. Everyone else hasn’t observed any of this, and as a result concluded the opposite.
The only way we can get out of this mess, much like our inference on the existence of DARK MATTER is through the positive observation of experimental evidence confirmed by all individuals.
THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
Apple has a great TV show called SEE where society is completely blind. Imagine you were living in that community and came across some braille books talking about “red rivers” or “purple hazes” – what would that even mean? Or suddenly individuals who can see appear and start talking about the “colors of the wind”. Wouldn’t you brand them as crazy for talking about things like colors? There’s no way for you to observe or experience them, so colors can’t and don’t exist – and in that society, no way for the “seeing” to convince you otherwise.
But along comes the 1800s and suddenly not only is braille invented (1824), but science has come up with a way to measure light. Suddenly RED is a tangible, measurable thing that even you, as someone who is blind, can confirm. You may not be able to feel, hear, sense, or smell it. It may have absolutely no impact on you whatsoever in your normal daily life – but you DO KNOW it exists. Not only that, but you can use this to your advantage and set up anti-bull barriers around your garden now that you know that you can use this “RED” thing to magically ward off bovines.
Consider the alternative, light frequencies never were discovered (everyone stayed blind) – with enough rampaging bulls around the world, I’m sure someone would have created a “magical” device to ward it off and some special technique to create more – however, it would remain magical (but observable).
THE MORE I KNOW THE LESS I KNOW I KNOW
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke
Science openly admits it doesn’t know everything (never has so would appreciate theists out there to stop throwing this around). But that doesn’t mean it can’t also say that the current, best, and most plausible explanation for something is what it’s concluded from the evidence it observed. In the ancient past human scientists (read shamans) thought that the sun died in the winter and only through the rites of yule would they save it from death and bring it back. A few years later they discovered that the earth revolves around the sun and didn’t need to keep doing those yule rites any longer. Problem was, science moved on, but the “traditionalists” continued on insisting on yule being continued (good thing because I would hate the winter without Christmas decorations).
At the end of the day, the only way forward is through. Do believers have some super-special sixth sense allowing them to observe things non-believers can’t? Will enough science advances will discover this and be able to come closer to finding positive evidence of the “supernatural”?
And the only way for us to get there, together, is to start putting together things like this site, where we can start experimenting on a large, public scale, and collecting evidence. With enough data we can start formulating models, which then can lead to testable theories, and finally tools and techniques to further advance humanity. Or maybe we’ll be like the tower of babble and cause another worldwide flood…
Does God Exist? 