Hi there SHADOW MINISTER...

What ? My friend I have no idea what you're talking about, with gravity, and all this other material you've kindly shared with us? My knowledge of gravity can be explained thus; the more weight I put on in my retirement, the more difficult it is for me to walk around. This is the whole extent of my knowledge on gravity, is this an adequate summation ?

After Hertz discovered or confirmed electromagnetic waves he was asked about the effects of the discovery...

"It's of no use whatsoever[...] this is just an experiment that proves Maxwell was right— we just have these mysterious electromagnetic waves that we cannot see with the naked eye. But they are there."

Asked about the ramifications of his discoveries, Hertz replied,

"Nothing, I guess."

Did anyone watch TV last night? Listen to radio? Use a mobile phone? Use their home wifi?

Far from being a curiosity, Hertz discoveries changed the world.
It even allows those who consider themselves morally superior to advertise their 'goodness' by pooh-poohing these discoveries without actually understanding how profound and important they are or realising they are using the very results of those discoveries to advertise their 'virtue'.

There is every reason to think that these confirmations of gravity waves will be as or even more profound as Hertz discoveries. No one knows how, what will change, what new advances will come. But come they will.

When Hertz made his breakthrough their were 1 billion of the most important resource on the planet - the human brain - available to work out how to make the most of those discoveries.

Now that resources is 8 times greater. Think of the world in 1900 and compare it to the world of 2000. Those advances will be a mere footnote compared to advances we'll see in the next century.

I guess when the first genius constructed the wheel some dill sat there and opined that it didn't much help their understanding of their inner self. The more things change....

Dear Shadow Minister,

There are a lot of engineers on the Forum. Too many in fact.

When I first started in engineering I spelled engineer as injunear. Then I did an Arts degree and starting writing it as engineer instead.

That's why I encourage engineers to do something more than their vocational degree.

Dear Shadow Minister,

I was only responding to your query:

"For nerds like myself this is better than my footy team winning the final, but I guess for everyone else I am interested in what you think."

That this decade is packed with scientific/cosmological discoveries is an obvious and undisputed fact, but the attitude toward this fact is not as obvious: many people for example, still prefer their footy team to win over finding a unified field theory or quantum gravity.

By making this query I assumed that you sought genuine, honest answers regarding others' attitudes towards scientific/cosmological discoveries rather than to be acknowledged by an "Amen" chorus.

Science can and will teach us more and more facts about the structure of the universe (and the technologies that come with it), one day perhaps including the discovery of a unified field theory and quantum gravity, yet it cannot produce anything more principally meaningful than the private meaning which footy fans assign to their team's victory.

Specifically, you claimed that "we are finding the answers to life", but while science can tell us all we want about the origins, anatomy and physiology of living organisms, it can tell us nothing about life itself.

Now you mention that gravity based radios and quantum computers will change our lives: I'm afraid that you are right. Such change will not be for the better and I am very concerned that whatever still remains of our privacy and autonomy would be taken away by these. Fortunately, I do not expect to still be around when it happens.

Dear Sonofgloin,

Let met try answering your question:

<<why we have a consciousness that had not been imparted to the other creatures of this earth that we share most of our DNA with. From our earliest years we wake every day knowing that we are mortal, an attribute not given to fish, fowl, or beast>>

No consciousness is imparted on any creature, neither animal nor human - they all blindly follow their genes and the laws of physics.

Now unlike other animals, the human DNA allows for more memory and for abstract deductions based on contents of that memory, hence the concept of death. This has nothing to do with consciousness but is merely some electrical/molecular process in the brain and if we wanted (though I believe we shouldn't) then one day we might even be able to detect exactly what and where it is.

When we identify ourselves with a human body, or taking the analogy of a radio, if we tune our attention to a human brain, then we sense whatever it produces including that concept of mortality. If we instead tune our attention to an animal brain then there are no such concepts to sense there.

Yuyutsu, SM is going to chastise us for hijacking his thread........thanks for your views on the mechanics of as to why we have a unique consciousness. Although...... it does not take away from my premise that all other creatures do not.........why should they not, and why has evolution gifted” it just to us?