NOW and the Weltanschauung of Government Men

By Gary J. Davies

In this brief philosophy-tinged discussion the personal Weltanschauung (German for 'world view') of the author is outlined and ultimately contrasted with that of the science fiction/fantasy novels Government Men, its prequel Secrets of Goth Mountain, and other works of the author. Focus is placed on a critique of the multiverse concepts and multiple-world quantum mechanics (QM) interpretation supported by cosmologist Max Tegmark. Instead, the Cramer transactional interpretation of QM is favored, along with the view that there is one mathematical universe emerging as a continuing 'big bang' event happening now everywhere as the NOW (Now One Universe) phenomenon.. Less weighty, more practical topics are also touched upon, including lawn care, hamburger condiments, how to cook corn-on-the-cob, and hot pants. Finally the implied science in the fictional works is discussed, including phenomena such as parallel universes, doppelgangers, and psychic powers. SPOILER ALERT: You may want to read the novels BEFORE reading this discussion of them! Note: This September 2015 revision features editorial corrections and substantial improvements.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary J. Davies
• Release date: Oct 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311318930

Gary J. Davies

Now retired from engineering, I have been writing science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels as a hobby for three decades. Born in Erie PA, my wife and I currently live in Cherry Hill, NJ. We have also lived in Mechanicsville, MD, and Horsham, PA.

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NOW and the Weltanschauung of Government Men

By

Gary J. Davies

Published by Gary J. Davies at Smashwords

NOW and the Weltanschauung of Government Men

Copyright 2014 Gary J. Davies

Smashwords Edition License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free e-book. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Attributed quotes are permitted and welcomed however, including those used to support reviews. If you enjoy this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com (and affiliated sites), where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support!

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Revision 1 Note

This September 2015 revision incorporates editorial corrections/improvements and refines and somewhat expands some discussions (by thirty percent/six thousand words, including quantum mechanics discussion improvements) for significant improvement, but there are no fundamental changes in content or viewpoint other than the fact that NOW has been defined as the acronym for Now One World.

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Contents

1. Introduction

2. Background and Key References

3. The Max Tegmark Multiverse Views Vs Mine

4. My Weltanschauung

5, Secrets of Goth Mountain and Government Men

6. Conclusions

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NOW and the Weltanschauung of Government Men

1. Introduction

I have recently begun self-publishing fantasy/science fiction EBooks using the Smashwords independent author/self-publishing website, including the novels Government Men and its prequel Secrets of Goth Mountain. Certain events in those novels reflect concepts of physics and associated underlying interpretive philosophy. The novels broach such topics as parallel universes, doppelgangers, near-instantaneous travel through space/time, and psychic/magic 'tricks' such as telepathy, psychic far-seeing of possible future events, teleportation, shape-shifting, and telekinesis. As the author I attempted to provide a veneer of plausibility for many of these phenomena by suggesting an underlying pseudo-science/philosophy framework within each novel, without getting too deep into explanations in the midst of novel plot exposition.

It occurred to me that through the wonderful self-publishing and distribution services provided by Smashwords I could even further self-indulge myself by more explicitly discussing the speculative philosophical/scientific framework behind my fictional writings, and making that discussion publicly available to anyone that may be interested in such torturous topics. Out of approximately seven billion Earth humans there could be two or three of you, I estimate. (Whichever one you are, thanks for reading!)

Naturally in addition to contributing to a huge electronic Ebook slush pile, I also irrationally hope that this discussion will stimulate incredible additional interest in my fictional EBooks. Note that I have cleverly used the title and book-cover of my novel Government Men in the title and book cover of this booklet! Doubtless after publishing this discussion all of my EBooks will fly off their electronic book-shelves, creating trillions of bits of electronic data exchange that will bring the internet to its digital knees! This work will also unfortunately expose my finite limitations and perhaps ignorance in various areas of science and philosophy, but that can't be helped. Each individual must for practical reasons form a weltanschauung, despite all such personal limitations.

Originally when I started this project I was going to produce a very brief note that focused only on some of the pseudo-physics involved in my novels. It could have perhaps been titled The Pseudo-Science of Government Men. The actual end-product indeed includes such matters, but it has morphed to address much broader topics also. I found that I couldn't coherently discuss the science of my novels without first espousing considerable supporting material. The discussion of the NOW (Now One World) concept even became so prominent and intriguing that 'NOW' was included in the title. The discussion grew further to address parts of my weltanschauung beyond the science hinted at in my novels, including even the identification of 'pet peeves' and other fun topics. In sum I ended up outlining my own personal weltanschauung and comparing it with what is in my novels. Such over-indulgence is what comes of the ability to self-publish, but it is also perhaps due to a genuine psychological (pathological?) need to express thoughts to the world at large - or at least to my two or three anticipated readers.

### SPOILER ALERT! You may wish to read the novels Secrets of Goth Mountain and Government Men BEFORE you read sections 5 and 6 of this work, which discusses 'secrets' that unfold in those novels! ###

On the other hand, you may wish to skip most of my ranting and go straight to the discussion of my novels in sections 5 and 6. You are in control readers; read what you wish!

2. Background and Key References

Weltanschauung

The wonderful German word weltanschauung is one that I first encountered more than four decades ago as an undergraduate student at what is now Gannon University in my hometown of Erie Pennsylvania. Gannon, a Catholic school, as part of its core curriculum required that every student take several classes in philosophy and theology that at the time seemed useless but have over the years proven to be of great personal value to the formation of my weltanschauung. Thank you Gannon!

At dictionary-dot-reference-dot-com (based on the Random House Dictionary, copyright Random House, Inc. 2014), the delightfully useful word 'weltanschauung' used in philosophical circles is described as:

Welt·an·schau·ung [velt-ahn-shou-oong]; noun, German [literally: world-view]; a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and of humanity's relation to it.

Every thinking person has one, though they might not realize that they do so, or know of the nifty German word that perhaps best describes it. Philosophers and some scientists, theologians, and many others spend a great deal of effort consciously developing their world views, others may seldom directly think about the topic. For many people their world views are simplistic and for many they are to a significant extent faith, culture, and family based.

I try to keep my world-view as observation based and science based as practicable. However science certainly does not have all the answers, or even directly address what for most people are the most important questions. For the comprehensive world-view needed to navigate through life in a practical way, the thoughtful individual must reach considerably beyond the bounds of science.

Science

Science however, provides a uniquely legitimate source of knowledge, as it is based on carefully collected and logically examined facts/observations and the consensus agreement of many highly intelligent and thoughtful scientists world-wide. Scientists are of course human beings complete with quirks, limitations, biases, and faults like everyone else, but nevertheless the most widely accepted scientific theories provide the best available human knowledge for those aspects of the universe that they apply to, as they are the result of the collective efforts of hundreds or even thousands of scientists over many years of effort. Therefore it is reasonable that any credible world view of any thoughtful individual start with and necessarily be compatible with well-established science theory.

Regrettably much of the public at large does not understand science very well. In part this is the fault of science itself, as communication with the general public by scientists is often either overly simplistic and vague or too overly laden with specialized scientific jargon to be understood by anyone outside the particular specialized field of science involved. Many reporters of science news also lack the ability to competently bridge the gap between science and the general public.

Although it is often correctly noted that the language of science is mathematics, around each mathematical scientific theory there is necessarily a set of verbally expressed definitions, descriptions, and procedures that are needed for humans to 'understand' the science theory and communicate that understanding. Science theories are usually expressed as mathematical equations consisting of terms that have precise physical meanings and corresponding verbally-supported definitions, such as 'mass', 'time', 'electric charge', or 'the number of male humans living in Philadelphia that contracted flu last year'. All terms must