Sunday, May 31, 2009

The Holographic Universe

In the early school days, we had been taught that there was a one to one correspondence between an image the eye see and how that image was represented in the brain. In other words, when we see a tree, there is really a tree physically out there, outside our body and its image is present in our mind. Now scientists are telling us that the above is wrong. What are ‘outside’ are actually a bunch of interference pattern / waveforms which can be represented in a frequency domain (through Fourier transform). These frequencies are filtered and converted by many parts of the brain before they appear as familiar objects ( eg. Trees, mountains, cups, bowls … ) that make up our world. If such is that case, can we say that the physical world that we always perceive is just an illusion? If the external world is unreal, then what is real? What is reality? Well, this book provides some insights into this issue. Besides telling us that our brains mathematically construct objective reality (the physical world) by interpreting frequencies seen through the eyes and other senses, scientists also came out with another radical conclusion --- space and time are also ‘Unreal’, they are constructed by our Mind.

Coming to the topic of the Hologram, this book explains the principles behind the creation of a hologram. This eventually led scientist to discover that the human mind and vision function using holographic principles. Moreover, scientists also believe that the Universe is structured like a hologram and we human beings, are also part of the hologram. It's interesting that two top scientists from two entirely different fields, a neurologist and a physicist both arrived at the conclusion that the Universe is holographic in nature through their own researches. The book then went on to use the holographic principles to explain many other phenomenon, paranormal human experiences and unsolved puzzles that Science could not explain.

Although this book was published in 1991, it was still a very popular read based on the comments submitted at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Holographic-Universe-Michael-Talbot/dp/0060922583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241935295&sr=8-1 ). The book summarized findings of many experiments and research throughout the world that are relevant to the subject on Holographic Universe. You do not have to be very knowledgeable in Science or proficient in Mathematics to understand this book’s contents. The author is very clear in his explanation and the laying down of research findings. Surprisingly, this book also provides some insights into the meaning of life and existence, based on the outcome of many researches of people with paranormal experiences and the findings of top scientists. These insights and some of the discoveries on the secret of the Universe can form the basis for World peace and harmony if all people understand them.

This is one of the most interesting and mind-blowing piece of Scientific work that I have come across.

Reference :

Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe, 1991, Harper Perennial, USA.

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This book is available in some bookstores in Singapore as well as in some National Library branches.

Other links :

http://www.amazon.com/Holographic-Universe-Michael-Talbot/dp/0060922583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241935295&sr=8-1

Youtube videos related to the Holographic Universe :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnvM_YAwX4I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpbEhSxfxeY (interview with Michael Talbot - part 1)

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