Monday, July 9, 2012

Relativistic Bullshit

There is a quotation that is going around, attributed to physicist Albert Einstein.  It goes:

Everything is energy and that's all there is to it.  Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality.  It can be no other way.  This is not philosophy.  This is physics.

Einstein never said it.  About the only statement in this quotation that is accurate is that it's not philosophy.  It certainly isn't that; nor is it physics.  It's bullshit.

It is possible that Einstein might have made a comment about "everything" being energy.  After all he was the one who showed the relationship between matter and energy, that they were equivalent.  Of course, Einstein wouldn't have included space-time in that statement, but let's give the benefit of the doubt on this one...

The rest has nothing to do with physics.  It is typical New Age pseudo-science, a jumble of words that seem to suggest we can do anything if only...  Unfortunately, this is nonsense.

First, the notion of "matching the frequency with the reality you want" makes no sense in physics.  Frequency is nothing more or less than the number of times something happens, within a given time period.  Usually this is measured in cycles per second, which is given the name "hertz" (abbreviated Hz).  Something with a frequency of 1 Hz happens once every second.  This is neither difficult nor mysterious.

What, then, does it mean to "match" a frequency?  Well, if you're talking about sound, then to "match" a frequency is to produce the same note as the one you're matching.  In an orchestra, the reference frequency (or note) is 440 Hz, also referred to as A-440.  Everyone tunes to that note - they match the frequency.  On keyboard instruments, sometimes they use a reference of 256 Hz, called C-256.

So far, so good.  The problem comes when we try to "match" a frequency to a reality.  What is the "frequency" of a reality?  Come to think of it, what's a "reality" in the first place?

I guess a reality is a set of potential and actual experiences; and that it may be possible in some circumstances to change these sets of experiences.  I don't think there's enough evidence to say this is a certainty, but there's no solid evidence that says it can't happen - so let's concede the point and agree that in some cases it's possible to change realities.

Even so, "matching the frequency" is still bullshit.  How many cycles per second is this reality - the one we're in right now?  According to this quote, we must be matching this frequency somehow.  What frequency are we matching?  The question is meaningless.  Realities don't have a single frequency, any more than a symphony has a single note.

Going back to the orchestra analogy, the reference note or frequency is 440 Hz, as I said.  But when the orchestra is playing, it has many different frequencies, not just one.  The combination of the frequencies, which are constantly changing, is what makes the music.  There is no particular frequency of the orchestra.  In fact, in a piece of music, it is possible that no instrument in it will ever sound a note at 440 Hz.

Our reality is made up of many different components, which have many different frequencies.  Red light has a frequency; blue light has another.  Radio waves have different frequencies, as do X-rays, gamma rays, electrons, and neutrons.  This reality doesn't have a frequency; it has many billions, trillions, who knows how many?  How do you "match" that?

The only way I can think of to "match the frequency of a reality" is to set each particle, wave, and other object to the desired frequency.  That would probably do it, but if you did that you'd really be changing this reality, wouldn't you?

I love the New Age idea of being able to change realities, but... I get impatient with the abysmal ignorance of science that allows some people to make claims that will never happen.  If it's possible to change a reality (or to tune into a different one), it's going to be a bit more complicated than adjusting a frequency dial somehow.

My guess is that if it's possible at all, it would require intense and sustained mental/emotional/spiritual effort.  "Make a big wish" isn't going to cut it.  Just my $0.02 worth.

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