Fine Things
Our universe is full of fine and amazing objects. From the inner workings of cellular biology to the amazing expanse of outer space to the grandeur of the Yosemite high country to the wonders of the man and woman shaped world, one can observe a remarkable variety of excellence.
Current thought about our understanding of cellular biology leads scientists to the conclusion that molecular chemistry is our best explanation for how life works. However, that leaves out the answer to a key question: How were the components created? Cell components we describe as atoms, nuclei, electrons, protons and other fancy names had to come from somewhere. It is certainly beyond my understanding to explain the answer to that question. Leave that to the philosophers and theologians. The thesis of this musing is that as we study these components we find amazing beauty. The intricacy of the inner workings can be dissected into smaller and smaller divisions and still science cannot explain their origins.
Space holds the same mystery. No matter how big the instruments we build to study the universe, there is the same question: How did it get there? We can explain it by black holes, galaxies, super-novas, expansion, coalescing matter, gravity, time warps and many other extraordinary terms like quarks and quasars, but that does not explain how it all got there.
The Earth in all its glory ranges from placid
to very dry and hot
to amazing wet and extremely cold,
to violent weather and colors from red sunsets
to deep blue skies and oceans.
Fine human inventions often take what we perceive as enormous amounts of time to create. For example a fine violin can take two hundred or more hours to make. In contrast, some works of art take mere minutes but have lasting value, such as a Picasso drawing. What combination of brain cells is capable of imagining a fine symphony before it is written or an exquisite piece of needlework produced stitch by stitch? How is it possible that we have traveled 250 million miles to the moon and back in a rocket and spaceship? Creativity of the human mind abounds in many artistic, scientific and philosophic media. Whether it is Einstein and his famous theories or Rembrandt with his artistic genius, human neurons connect in amazing ways. But all these things pale in comparison to the genius of creation.
What are the finest, grandest things I can think of? In no particular order, I have listed some things that come to mind. Each has a special place in my experience or understanding of the universe in which we live. The fun thing about life is that the list is varied and constantly changes, depending on current interests and circumstances. What is on the list today may be deleted tomorrow. Items forgotten today will be added tomorrow.
Fine Things
· A Human birth
· An elegant computer program
· A superbly cut diamond
· The tiny watercolor paintings at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
· A Stradivarius violin
· My wife’s needlepoint of traditional Dutch costumes
· Carbon nanotubes
· The Hubble Space Telescope
· The Brahms Requiem
· Mt. McKinley
· The Korean script Hangul
· The Sydney Opera House
· Petra, Jordan
· The immune system
· The United States Constitution
· The F-22
· Computer search engines
· The central nervous system
· The ability to share this musing with the world online
What is on your fine things list?
©Frank Bliss 2010 All rights reserved
January, 2010
