Andy's Heavy Winter Musings - with Aplogies

Ok this is going to be a little heavy but it has to be said. I have decided that the manifestations of quantum physics and evolution are somehow linked. I came to this conclusion as I read Isaacson’s biography of Einstein while simultaneously being inundated with articles relating to the two hundredth birthday of Darwin. Einstein had as much trouble accepting the uncertainty postulated by quantum mechanics as the creationist’s continue to have with evolution through the process of natural selection. The connection I see lays in the fact that chance alone is at the heart of both of these natural phenomena. Consider this comparison: subatomic particles unpredictably wink in and out of existence and can appear as either particles or waves; in the process of natural selection, random mutations at the genetic level can be inconsequential or can lead to an entirely new direction for a species. Einstein resolutely maintained that God does not play dice with the universe. The creationists cannot accept that things have not unfolded according to a divine plan. To me it looks like the whole cosmos has been set up to confound our attempts to impose our idea of order and predictability. Grab a glass of your favourite brew and consider these thoughts in front of a warm fire, a sunset or maybe even a sunrise – spring will be here soon. AH