Eye-High

James Worrad, author of Eye-High

Is it possible to use the laws of optics for pleasure and profit and perhaps even to conquer the world? James Worrad answers "Yes" in his story Eye-High.

Is it possible to base a world currency on chastity instead of gold? "Why not?" answer Ian Watson and Roberto Quaglia in their story The Invention of Beloved Money.

Some science fiction is mere space opera and other SF--more properly called "speculative fiction"-- expands the boundaries of the human imagination into regions that are risky, risque' and unsettling. The stories collected in Rudy Rucker's latest Flurb webzine (Flurb #13 Spring 2012) fall in this category -- highly imaginative speculative fiction. All killer; no filler.

Approach Flurb #13 with caution. Don't be lulled by Rudy's nice photographs. Some of these authors have really twisted minds. Before you dig into Flurb be sure you know the keystroke that shuts down your browser (Command-W on my machine). You have been warned. Enjoy the trip.

Schrödinger's Proof (for the Existence of God)

Erwin Schrödinger by Louisa Gilder

Quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger often wrote about philosophy and religion (his personal beliefs corresponded to some form of Vedanta) but surprisingly none of his musings on these topics include any trace of quantum theory. For Schrödinger physics and religion were completely separate. However in one instance, which deserves to be better known, Schrödinger produced a three-line logical proof of the existence of God based not on quantum theory but on the more general Materialist Assumption that the universe is completely describable by materialist laws. In the tradition of Aristotle, Aquinas and Anselm, here is Schrödinger's Proof for the Existence of God:

1. My body functions as a pure mechanism according to the laws of nature (Materialist Assumption).

2, Yet I know by direct and incontrovertible experience that I am directing its motions, of which I correctly foresee the effects.

3. Conclusion: I am the Person who controls the motions of the atoms according to the Law of Nature = I am God.