Parents make a great birthday present

Mom and Dad just left after spending two wonderful weeks with me. Having them here was the best birthday present ever. Not to mention they turned my apartment into a proper home.
Now it's back to focusing on work. I have also resolved not to do so much pondering about the world and more living in it. There'll be plenty of time for pondering later but right now I need more data (scientifically speaking).

Working to music

Today I got a bunch of new music (mostly classical, devotional music) from my Mom. It's great to work to. I've missed working. This week was productive of quality but not quantity. Spent a lot of time with my parents who are only here for two weeks. Still, being given time to drown out the world and focus exclusively on my work is an opportunity that brings me joy and gratitude. Today has been better that way. And I feel my headache beginning to recede, for which I'm also grateful.

That's all for today. Just thought my many readers deserved some update. ;)

What is physics?

This passage from an article written by John J. Hopfield, who served as President of the American Physical Society in 2006, is a beautiful summary of "what is physics". I hope you enjoy reading it and come to understand a little bit more of the world I get to play in every day. :)

What is physics? To me—growing up with a father and mother both of whom were physicists—physics was not subject matter. The atom, the troposphere, the nucleus, a piece of glass, the washing machine, my bicycle, the phonograph, a magnet—these were all incidentally the subject matter. The central idea was that the world is understandable, that you should be able to take anything apart, understand the relationships between its constituents, do experiments, and on that basis be able to develop a quantitative understanding of its behavior. Physics was a point of view that the world around us is, with effort, ingenuity, and adequate resources, understandable in a predictive and reasonably quantitative fashion. Being a physicist is a dedication to a quest for this kind of understanding.

—John J. Hopfield, APS News, 16 (8), Aug/Sep 2007, p.8.

The privilege of education

Yesterday I read the Universal House of Justice's 9 Sep 2007 letter to the Baha'i youth of Iran who are still denied access to higher education. It brought tears to my eyes. The simple fact that I can be where I am and do what I do is something not everyone can have and for that, I should be deeply grateful and exert every effort to ensure that I make the most of the opportunity I've been given.

The Knowledge of God and the Knowledge of Self

The existence of God would imply, amongst other things, that it is possible for every human being to experience the divine for himself or herself.

Sacred Scriptures state that

He who hath known himself hath known God. [Islam]

and also

Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting. [Bahá'í Faith]

So it seems the knowledge of God comes as the fruit of the process of self-discovery. The self that is to be investigated is the self described in all the Holy Texts of the world. For example:

We made man in Our own image and after our likeness. [Christianity]

and again

I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty. [Bahá'í Faith]

Skill is ...

paint brush
Originally uploaded by .tintin.

The artist's craft lies in knowing precisely how the slightest angle and pressure affect each stroke of the brush, what mix of pigments produces exactly which colour, how the canvas absorbs and molds the paint.
Her vision is in imagining the finished work before ever picking up a brush or choosing a canvas.

Skill is in seamlessly combining vision and craft to create a masterpiece: a work of art so perfect in its composition and execution.

Living is a skill.
Life, the greatest masterpiece.

How to do Science

Thoughts on reading Julio Savi's "The Eternal Quest for God", a book I gladly recommend.

1. Approach research in the spirit of consultation (truth-finding).

2. Rely on sense perception (observation), intellect (reason), insight (imagination or intuition),
and tradition (previous research and literature).
When these four are in harmony, then a degree of certainty and truth is attained.

3. "The realities of material phenomena are impenetrable and unknowable and are only apprehended through their properties and qualities." —Abdu'l-Baha

4. "Reality is one and does not admit of multiplicity." —Abdu'l-Baha
Thus there exists AN answer to any question posed about reality.

5. Science, the outcome of man's intellectual endowment, is his most noble virtue and highest attainment. —Abdu'l-Baha