How I wish I’d become a scientist—Tricia McGill.

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Back in the days when I was ready to leave primary school in London and move on to high school we had to sit for what was called the 11 plus. My primary school still exists I am pleased to say as I loved that little school. We called it Conewood Street, but it is known as St John’s Highbury Vale CE Primary School. I look at it on the internet and am transported back there where I can still smell the chalk as the teacher wrote on the black board. I sometimes can’t remember what I did last Saturday but can still vividly recall my first day at that school as if it took place a mere few years ago.

 I have no idea what the entrance exam is called these days as the school system is much more complicated. I guess I must have done well in the 11 plus exam as my mother was given a choice of the high schools I was eligible to apply for. (My father had passed away earlier that year so this is why the decision was left to her) Her first choice was Lady Owen’s, so off we went for the initial interview with the headmistress. It’s worth taking a look here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dame_Alice_Owen%27s_School

There is quite a history attached to that school I was blissfully unaware of back then. I guess my senses were alert to the knowledge that this school was not right for me, as the curriculum concentrated more on Science, Physics and Maths, all subjects I detested. Needless to say I flunked the interview so was not accepted. I often ponder how different my life would have been if I went through my secondary education there instead of the second choice which was Barnsbury Secondary Modern all-girls school in Islington (Which doesn’t exist anymore) I’ve searched the internet so if anyone out there knows how, or if, this school was disbanded I would love to hear from you.

I was happy in my choice as there I excelled at my two favorite subjects, which were art and English. My art teacher seemed to take a liking to me and my budding skills so therefore I loved her. I was never too fond of the rules of grammar or Shakespeare (who was idolised by our English teacher) in those days, but absolutely revelled in writing the essays and what we called compositions back than, which were simply short, short stories about life in general. My sisters and brothers would tell me how clever I was and how interesting my stories were. Sadly they never went as far as preserving any of them so my early efforts at penmanship have been lost in the sands of time.

Now, you are asking, what has all this to do with science and the fact that in the last part of my life I am regretting not opting for the sciences? Don’t get me wrong, I have few regrets about my life choices. But you can blame all this sudden interest in science and physics on Professor Brian Cox OBE who is currently on our TV explaining all about the universe, its beginning and expected end, in a fascinating programme called Stargazing Live:

http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/stargazing-live/DO1616H003S00

If you haven’t heard of him, and I doubt that, as Prof. Cox is a British particle physicist at the University of Manchester and Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science. He is best known to the public as the presenter of a number of science programs for the BBC, boosting the popularity of astronomy, physics and exploration. He is one of the world’s foremost communicators of all things scientific, possessing an incredible ability to make highly complex matters entertaining and easy to understand, even by ignoramuses like me. Apart from all that he is a very likeable man and very approachable. He has brought about this sudden resurgence in me to regret losing interest in science all those years ago. He just makes it all so plausible and easily understood. All things die eventually of course and it is inevitable that our earth won’t be around forever, so that is why we must find another planet to inhabit within the next 3.5 billion years, which is when the sun will be so hot it will finally have evaporated all Earth’s water. Don’t take my word for it, just have a look at what Brian has to say.

https://lateralevents.com/public-events/brian-cox-journey-into-deep-space/

https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/oct/05/physicist-brian-cox-interview-human-universe

Considering my non-knowledge of the universe and the galaxies I wonder how I had the audacity to write a Sci-Fi Fantasy (cover featured at the top of this post) but as writers we are prone to use our imaginations and go off on flights of fancy. Also, considering what I have recently learnt about the planets and the likelihood of there being a far off planet on the other side of the universe that just might be inhabitable by us earth people, I am rather proud of the fact that my story sounds plausible. The only fact that I sort of fell down on was how long it would take to reach this far planet and how many years might have passed by the time a spaceship went there and returned.

I love Sci-Fi movies and my all-time favorite is probably Interstellar (might be because it features Matthew McConaughey) because it comes closest to what I imagine space-travel may really be like in the future. My list of other favorites is endless but to name a few: Terminator, The Matrix (never did really get the hang of it but loved it nonetheless) Inception, Star Trek, Star Wars, Avatar, and how can I leave out E.T., one of the greatest movies ever. Way back in the 50s I saw my first Sci-Fi which some of you may recall—The Day the Earth Stood Still. Without modern technology and cinematography to help it, that movie convinced me that there really were aliens out there who might one day come visiting.

Which brings me to my theory—we were created by an alien force a long, long time ago, and they have been keeping an eye on us to see how we progress, or how long it will take us to completely annihilate ourselves. They have visited on and off forever and left behind a few pointers for us to ponder over. Just take a look at how many wonders of this world that we have no true explanation for. Okay, far-fetched, you say. But we all have our theories, and that’s mine—what’s yours? 

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Science & the Spiritual by Eleanor Stem

Do you think science and the spiritual will ever meet? Recently, a professor of physics at Texas Tech University, Bill Poirier, proposed a theory that assumes parallel worlds exist, and they interact with one another.

This idea has been knocked around for centuries, in one form or another. Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle is considered the first to write science fiction, which is amazing because she lived in the 17^th century. Her book The Blazing World is filled with her perceptions of the universe. It contains her concepts of what we know today as chemistry, physics, all sciences. In a world where women were considered chattels, she was educated, and allowed to express her forward thoughts. 

Margaret Cavendish

She wrote of a universe within a universe, set in an earring. Now, this may seem simplistic, but consider the implications. Most recently, scientists have said mathematically the idea of parallel worlds could exist alongside our own. Science fiction television shows, movies, and novels have explored this for generations. Why couldn’t this be, in fact, true?

Have you ever looked in a mirror through another mirror and see the reflection of yourself into seemingly infinity? What if each one of these reflections is another parallel life?

We believe time is secure; seconds, minutes tick from one moment to the next; moments we’ll never get back. We’ll only remember them. This idea keeps us anchored in a single dimension. We feel comfortable here because it’s not too complicated, and our lives are complex, hard, but there’s also a thought time is constant, fixed. We are in the past, present, and future, and in multiple dimensions all at the same time. We live all the experiences from the Big Bang to when the universe implodes. Our souls are tied to the universe; we are joined by a nebulous but strong tether to each other on this planet and into the cosmos. We are as one, and we are not alone.

From LiveScience Nov 19, 2014, Kelly Dickerson, Staff Writer, wrote an article titled ‘Parallel Worlds Could Explain Wacky Quantum Physics’. She explains that “an infinite number of parallel worlds could exist alongside our own called Many Worlds theory.”

Margaret Cavendish asked the question what “…of those creatures that are called the motes of the sun?” The answer was: “…that they were nothing else but streams of very small, rare and transparent particles, through which the sun was represented as through a glass… they would eclipse the light of the sun…they were thinner than the thinnest vapor, yet not so thin as the body of air.” This suggests quantum physics.

Then, she asks whether or not these sun motes were living creatures. The reply is: “Yes, because they did increase and decrease, and were nourished by the presence, and starved by the absence of the sun.” This suggests sun motes are living things. Our perception of inanimate objects are they are not alive, but dead. These objects will decay over time. They’re particles joined together during a life-cycle in which they have a purpose. Taking a walk, I trip over a rock made of carbon. I am made of carbon, so are plants, constructed of particles that will dissolve. Over time, a rock will dissolve into sand, trees into rock if the conditions are right. Are these alive?

I suppose the idea of all objects alive or dead is subjective, but mathematicians are willing to believe parallel worlds can exist with our own. Does this mean the constant upheaval occurring on this planet co-exists on all the other, parallel worlds?

Why is our world filled with so much pain? Fighting covers most of the planet; our weather charges angrily over populations; our planet’s innards explode into earthquakes and volcanoes. Are these events interconnected? Do they extend into the infinity of parallel worlds?

We know light lifts us out of darkness. Perhaps, scientists can tell us if darkness, heavier and murkier, is the absence of God, while light is buoyant, and filled with peace, contentment.

Perhaps, we can sit for a moment and meditate, feel the darkness the spews around our ankles, and envision light. Let that light fill our beings and raise us from the murk of constant gloom. Allow peace to fill us, surround us. Hopefully, this will extend over the plane of our earth and into the parallel worlds that co-exist alongside our own. Perhaps, the anger in our universes will diminish, and we will experience joy.  

http://bookswelove.net/stem.php