Perceptions
“I feel the earth move under my feet…”
Carole King
Did you feel it? I did, and so did just about everyone else in
K-Town. A boom rattled the building of my Saturday morning Bible study. My immediate thought was an explosion rather than the Spirit moving. Actually, I quickly surmised the boom was an earthquake, later reported as 4.1 on the Richter Scale, which grades earthquakes 1-10. Our quake was not an insubstantial tremor because for each integer increase ten times the amount of energy is released as bedrock plates shift.
The quake, which was centered 13 miles southeast of Greenback, Tennessee, was also 15 miles deep in the earth. Ordinarily, our perception is two dimensional, unless we are flying or boating. However, earthquakes demonstrate that the ground we stand on is part of the earth’s crust which literally floats upon molten magma deep in the earth.
In 1912, German geologist Alfred Wegener first proposed the hypothesis of Continental Drift. He was ridiculed by experts of the time. But the next time you hear experts pontificating, consider the perspective of 19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is self-evident.”
By the 1950s, various discoveries proved Wegener’s hypothesis which is now the basis of plate tectonics, where even continents float upon seas of molten magma beneath the Earth’s crust. As an exercise, look at how nicely the north western prominence of Africa dovetails with North and South America in the Caribbean.
Now visualize a colossal slab of rock floating like an iceberg on the ocean. Then picture these continental “ships” bumping into each other, sometimes causing the edge of one to be pushed under (subduction) and the other edge pushed upward to produce, for instance, the Smoky Mountains 300 million years ago. If you drive north on Alcoa Highway, across from Loney Island, you can see 300-million-year-old rock pushed upward by plate tectonics and uncovered by TDOT’s roadworks.
Fault lines are where plates abut each other. The New Madrid fault line lies beneath the Mississippi Valley. Stresses build up as the plates move and eventually something gives and an earthquake results.
In the winter of 1811, an earthquake occurred in West Tennessee. Land on the eastern side of the Mississippi River was pushed under by the opposing plate and this actually caused the Mississippi River to run backwards and create Reelfoot Lake. I wrote about this in my Tennessee River essays of years past.
Humans perceive the world through five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. As stress along a fault line shifted last Saturday morning, a massive amount of energy was released and stimulated my body to feel the tremor and my ears to hear the “boom!” Actually, specialized cells throughout my body and ears collected and transmitted information to my brain which perceived the signals as tremor and noise.
A few weeks ago, I explained how we live amidst energy fields (Brownian Motion). As an example, we are bathed in an electromagnetic radiation field, yet only perceive the narrow spectrum of visible light that stimulates receptors in our eyes.
There’s a fascinating story in the Bible (1 Kings 19) where the prophet Elijah was hiding in a cave from King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who were trying to kill him. Outside the cave, a hurricane raged, then volcanic fire and an earthquake shook the cave. Yet God spoke to Elijah in a “still, small voice,” which I interpret as a spiritual force field resonating within Elijah’s integrated nervous system and perceived by his mind. Yes, Elijah perceived the violent wind, saw the fire and felt the shaking of the Earth, but his non-anatomical soul/conscience/essence perceived the word of God.
I believe perception is more than just tactile stimulation, hearing, sight, taste or smell. Is not joy a perceptual reality?
Everyone should have a moment of joy as my 13-year-old grandson recently experienced. In the final seconds of his championship basketball game, Oakley made a great defensive play by stealing the ball only to be fouled. Pressure was on him, as he stepped up to the foul line and sank both free throws to win the game. His joy was obvious and likewise swelled the heart of his grandfather.
It is written that we are created in God’s image. Our integrated nervous system and brain allow us to perceive joy, sorrow and the full panoply of emotions. Like God, we are also imbued with reason (Isaiah 1:18). Some believe the higher apes (gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos) and perhaps cetaceans (whales, dolphins) manifest behaviors that suggest reason, but we don’t know.
Humans also perceive the passage of time, comprehend love and seek purpose in life. My dog and I love each other. It is demonstrable. However, I don’t consider her expectation of supper conceptually reflective of purpose or time. Nor is empathy a part of her essence.
The Psalmist sang, “Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Maybe this world, so full of life, is unique in the universe. Maybe thoughtful human life is unique in the universe. As a science fiction writer, I don’t believe that. But the Fermi Paradox confronts my belief.
Enrico Fermi was a physicist important in the development of nuclear energy. Given the 300 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy and more than 100 billion galaxies, the probability of life, including intelligent life, in the universe is staggering. However, over lunch one day, Fermie asked his colleagues, “If the probability of life is so high, where are they?”
Astrophysicist Carl Sagan’s book “Contact” was made into a thought-provoking movie. Perhaps the answer to Fermi’s question lies in the almost inconceivable distance between stars. Perhaps someday, when we are more technologically advanced and civilized, we may bridge those vast distances and greet our interstellar neighbors. Until then, I’ll just rely on faith.
