The Coincidence Of The Rhythm Of The Universe

If you are lost as to what to think about, here's a couple of things to ponder: What do Java tree rings have to do with the price of wrought iron in England? How does the number of marriages in St.Louis relate to the height of flood stages in the Nile? 

And one more for good luck: Why should the number of lynxes running loose in Canada concern the membership of the Presbyterian Church?

The answers all lie in cycles, That's in the sense of a cycle being a rhythmic pattern of recurrences - a trend that keeps repeating itself.

Java tree rings and English wrought iron prices ... St Louis marriages and Nile flood stages ... Canadian Lynxes and the new Presbytarians ... each pair shares such a cycle.

Edward R. Dewey, one time chief economic analyst of the U.S Bureau of Commerce, compiled a list of some 4,000 cycles for a study of, well, cycles.

Take the Java tree rings and English wrought iron prices, both seem to be on the same length - with cycles averaging 16 and two-thirds years - and have done so for hundreds of years.

In other words, the size of these rings increases toward a peak for about eight and a third years - and then decreases to a low point for the next eight and a third years.

The same applies to iron prices in England, which have been reported for nearly 700 years.

What is odd is that such similar cycles tend to start and end in roughly the same calendar years. For example, 21 long established cycles of 9.5 to 9.75 years compared by Mr Dewey att reached mid-points within a 4.5 year spread.

If the law of averages had prevailed, Mr Dewey points out, these mid-points would have come at various times throughout the 9.75 year period. They wouldn't be bunching up at each end of the period.

The implication to all of this is that there is some kind of all-governing rhythm in the solar system, galaxy or universe.

When the Canadian lynx population follows roughly the same cycle as that of heart disease in New England and wheat prices in Europe it makes you wonder if there may be something in Mr Dewey's conclusions.

Another example is that higher flood waters in Egypt always seem to go with more marriages in Missouri.

Mr Deway summed it up thus:

"A scientist may not be impressed because some cycle of activity continues for centuries with great regularity.

"He may not even find it too significant that diverse and apparaently unrelated phenomena have the cycles of similar length. But he must take note when such cycles of familiar length tend to begin and end at the same calendar times. Then he begins to feel this couldn't be all mere chance."

Other Random Posts:
The Tortoise And The Big Crunch Prior To The End Of The Everything
Jesus Had A Helicopter!
The Double Slit Experiment

The Discovery Of The Centre Of The Universe

"Ah, but you are the centre of my universe," she whispered - or maybe it was all in my imagination.

Confusingly, I also read that the USA town of Wallace is the centre of the universe:

"On September 25, 2004, Mayor Ron Garitone proclaimed Wallace to be the centre of the Universe. Specifically, a sewer access cover was declared to be the precise location of the center of the Universe. A specially made manhole cover was made to mark the spot. It bears the words "Center of the Universe. Wallace, Idaho." This prompted British comedian and writer Danny Wallace to visit Wallace. He wrote about his visit in the book Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe, published in 2006. The event is celebrated on the third Saturday of September." Source: Wikipedia.

But the good news is that in reality we are all the centre of the universe, wherever we happen to live or be visiting. Though, I must admit it makes my head a bit befuddled thinking about it.

The Big Bang that supposedly created our universe - and not to be confused with any other actions of a similar name - didn't start from a single point as we would normally expect. The theory is that it had to happen everywhere at once because, before the Big Bang, space and time did not exist. Therefore there was no single point where it could have started from.

Yes, but how could anything have started from somewhere that didn't exist? And this is where a God usually comes into the equation by many people. But, there again where was God hiding at the time of the Big Bang?

With respect, leaving God to one side, the popular theory about our universe is often likened to an inflating round balloon. As it continuously inflates it creates time and space. This means there is no time and space outside of the universe.

If some spots are drawn on the balloon (let's call them galaxies), and you shrunk yourself down to a minute creature, every way you looked or travelled you would still appear to be at the centre of everything (i.e. the universe).

And weirdly the balloon (universe) continues to expand, creating more time and space, and the point from where it started is everywhere.

Okay, my explanation isn't too special, it's not really my field, so I can understand why lots of people will tell you that: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth'. It's a darn sight easier explanation but, there again ... there are so many questions.

Other Recent Posts:
A Walk Along The Coast In Tenerife
Answers To The Nine Most Perplexing Questions Of All Time
The Coincidence Of The WW2 Nurse And The Truck Driver

The Universe Chuckling About It Raining Cats And Dogs

It's Sunday afternoon here in Cornwall and the rain is pelting down as I look out of the window. The old Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World book was on my desk. I opened it up at random to page 46 and there was the above 19th century picture - showing it raining cats and dogs - precisely what I was thinking myself!

I often using that expression, though I see that the picture is actually called 'Raining Cats and Dogs and Pitchforks!'

Strange how sometimes what you are thinking or say comes about - with absolutely no effort.

I'd also been reading in the Sunday newspaper an article about Mike Rutherford the Genesis and Mike + The Mechanics founder. He was quoted as saying how much he used to like playing polo. To quote him:

"I once nipped off to practice [polo] when I should have been in the studio, and told the band I had a dental appointment. Naturally I came off my horse and knocked out my front teeth. The next day, I turned up and the guys all asked, "What kind of dentist did you see?"

The universe likes a chuckle!

P.S. Karin just put her head round my office door and said, "Have you seen how much it's raining?" "Yes," I said, "Cats and dogs."

Other Recent Posts:
The Ten Secrets To Living A Long Healthy Life
Psychokinetic Potential And Beating The Odds Of 7776 To 1
Mysterious Slither-Like Geoduck Clams Stranded On Cornish Beach Following Storms

The Shape Of The Universe And Gateways Between Dimensions

I know other people's dreams are mostly boring but I had a dream of sorts that appeared to continue while I was awake - so I'm going to bore you with it.

The dream was about the shape of the universe and the shape of our lives - which go hand in hand.

My head was first filled with the idea that everything is a circle, and then how this can't be true as it would mean we keep on coming back to exactly where we started - which seems pretty pointless.

So life isn't a circle and probably not some elaborate cycle either, because this would also produce more of the same - again this would serve no real purpose.

It was decided that the Universe - our lives included - is a spiral without a beginning or an end. By spiral I mean more of a spring shape, like the image above. A spring that goes on forever - as do we.

Our current life, as we know it, had an initiation more than a beginning and lasts until our transition as we gradually move along the eternal spiral shape. We don't die. As Emerson said: Every end is a beginning.

Gradually we shift along the spring, coil, spiral or whatever you would call this shape unrestricted by time.

Time is man made but other creatures may have a differing opinions. Take Mayflies, for example, providing they are allowed to have their say. The adults are very short-lived, from a few minutes to a few days, depending on the species, but whose to say if their lives appear any shorter to them than our 70, 80 or 90 years.

But let's get back to our own human lives. The spiral shape of the universe would allow us to journey between dimensions, time zones and so on. It could be the basis of paranormal experiences. Maybe this is what happens when people say they have visited Heaven, or claim they have travelled into a different period of time, or have had some precognitive message - a gateway opens. It might just be a matter of tuning in.

Okay, I know this post is only dream based - though the gateway is my own idea - but it's as good as suggesting that the universe is doughnut shaped. And it's a fun subject to ponder.

Other Random Posts:
The Universe Is Just Like A Dot On A Balloon
Words Of Immortality And The Big Bang
The Hologram Theory And Synchronicity