Rational Disbelief

Rational Disbelief

The rational world

is divided into quarks

subatomic probabilities

particles riding on

waves of matter

throwing logic in its wake

like so much

flotsam and jetsam

The rational world

is full of irrational numbers

and nonsensical ideas of

a universal elegance

in a universe

too big to view

with anything less

than infinite scope

and all the while

the space between two points of nothing

and everything in between

is as screwed up

contrarian

counter-intuitive

and diabolically mysterious

as

tiny bosons spinning

away

and polarising all

your favourite assumptions.

A J Ponder 

This poem came from some kind of discussion where someone mentioned they "believed in science" and I thought it was an odd thing to say.  All I could think was - science isn't about belief - because where science falls over is in faulty assumptions, methodologies and dogma. It totally fails when people say something is true and we believe them because of their stature.  So I felt obliged to point the poor unsuspecting believer to the bizarrely compelling and almost unbelievable Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, where he slams the hollow appearance of learning (rote learning) in favour of asking questions and discovering the answers for yourself. So please - whatever you do - don't believe in science and definitely when it comes to science don't believe a word I say - because I say  "if you believe in science you're doing it wrong."

And lastly-

Fun week, very busy - does it ever stop - or as you get older does life run away faster than a dish with a spoon fixation?  I suppose it must - but before the dog gets carried away or the cow jumps over the moon how about sailing through this far less daunting portal to make your way to the lovely poets in the Tuesday Poem blog. 

A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.