From Singularity to Infinity,
A roundtrip through epistemology
presented by Kate Jones
for the participants of Atlas Summit 2012
June 28-July 1, 2012 – Washington, DC
Ten powerful thoughts, iambically defined—
Prologue—This talk is adapted from one Kate Jones presented at the 10th Gathering for Gardner in March 2012, a bi-annual event in Atlanta, Georgia, with a distinguished group of scientists, mathematicians, puzzlers, magicians, and polymaths who come together to honor Martin Gardner's legacy and to share stories about their own research and achievements. Kate's contributions usually take the form of a short philosophical commentary in poetic form, focusing on rational values and illustrated by examples of her puzzle designs.
For this 10th Gathering, she offered the cycles of infinity in 10 couplets of iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line, 10 metric feet of verse). These 10 points were illustrated with images of her puzzles that have a theme of 10—whether 10 pieces, or 10-fold symmetry, or a 10x10 grid. A three-couplet conclusion was added for the Atlas Summit and additional illustrations interspersed. For the most dramatic viewing, see the PowerPoint slide show.
Ten syllables in rhymes to tease the mind
I am; what is it; and what does it do;
Well, let us say that one and one is two.
There’s more—there’s deca-, hecto-, mega-, giga,
So words are handy to give things a name
The wetware's gleeful in its galloping growth
Debunk the junk, each fallacy and fad,
Life’s blueprint builds 'em, weird or elegant,
160 billion light years through,
So fill each unforgiving minute’s span
The Universe, the world, and humankind:
1. Being—the interface to understanding
And what should I do with it, and with you?
2. Understanding—encoded through mathematics
That seems to fit, and so it must be true.
3. Mathematics—the matrix of language
And peta-zetta-yotta, even bigga...
4. Language—the carrier wave of thought
That others recognize to mean the same.
5. Thought—the vehicle of Reason
And makes some rules to sort out what it knoweth.
6. Reason—the guardian of truth and reality
Though magicians show, illusions aren’t all bad.
7. Reality—that which is, in every form and structure
If it exists, it’s energy or matter
And other stuff, like cosmic background chatter.
8. Structure—the template of evolution
Genes make both dust mites and the elephant.
9. Evolution—the ascent toward infinity
New combinations play with what makes sense,
Like fractals bounded by the longest fence.
10. Infinity—the birth place of being
The Universe kept on till it made you.
Conclusion:
And you, and you, each life just once appears,
To carve its meaning from its earthly years.
With all the verve and gusto that you can.
Their priceless heritage—the sovereign mind.
Postscript—The fallacies and fads in couplet 6 refer to Martin Gardner's Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science and other works debunking pseudoscience and mysticism. Martin was also a magician and well understood how its effects are created using the laws of physics, misdirection of the viewers' attention, and the delight and wonder of creating seemingly magical illusions. A rational viewer will nevertheless know that no supernatural force is at work, just the skill of the illusionist.
