The Nature of Mathematical Genius.

In the book, _The Poincare Conjecture:  In Search of the Shape of the Universe_ by Donal O'Shea the author describes the commonly understood notion of mathematical genius.  Here, the romantic notion of mathematical genius is of the solitary genius heroically wrestling understanding from an uncaring cosmos. While this may not apply to many modern mathematical discoveries which were made "upon the shoulders of giants", this "great man" view of history is the traditional perspective.  As is, it applies to Grigori Perelman who was able to prove the Poincare Conjecture.  This is the finest the human species has to offer for this era.

The Relationship of String Theory to Medieval Theology.

Modern string theory has been related to medieval theology in that it poses the possibility of multiple universes.  We may see this as the rise of a new "ironic science".  Sheldon Glashow opposes string theory for this reason and claims that it is a tumor on the larger body of physics.  Other instances of ironic science may be seen in relativistic theories of worm holes and time travel and applications of Godel's results to scientific theories.  Stanley Jaki maintains that Godel's theorems show the futility of providing a universal self contained theory of everything or final theory.  Murray Gell-Mann echoed these claims but only after he had been shown this by Jaki which Jaki maintains he was later to deny.  Other instances of ironic science involve the understanding of consciousness by Roger Penrose, various applications of artificial intelligence, and in particular the theories of Ray Kurzweil regarding a singularity.  In particular, the "simulation theory" is in accordance with classical medieval metaphysics or the notion of a "brain in a vat".  Other instances include the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, the transfinite numbers of Cantor, modal logic, and the possible worlds of David Lewis.

The Brave New World of Science and Religion.

In a strange twist of fate a new synthesis of science and religion has been made possible.  Schools such as Caltech and MIT once traditional bastions of scientific empiricism and materialism are now offering courses on Bible study and courses on robotics and God.  The relationship between religion and science has always been a conflicted one but now it appears that religion has broken through into these prestigious science institutions where it had been absent since the nineteenth century in this brave new world.
I question some of this account however because when I was at Caltech I remember a strong Christian presence on campus.  Many of the students and especially some of the Asians (among whom Christianity appears to be growing) were strong Christians.  Also, at the founding of Caltech prominent members like Robert Milikan were actually Christians.

The Witch Mania.

The European Middle Ages witnessed the rise of the witch mania resulting in various forms of persecution for witchcraft.  The truth of these claims was often dubious, though in recent times similar claims regarding interaction with demons and the Devil have been substantiated.  During this time various missives appeared alleging that the witch craze constituted a return to a period of darkness and attempted to shine light on the reality of the world.

Jaki's Comments on Human Consciousness and Computers.

Stanley Jaki in his book _Brains, Mind, and Computers_ considers the role of computers in understanding the brain but argues against physicalism and the notion of artificial intelligence.

One interesting consideration of Jaki's is the idea of David Hartley that W = F^2/L meaning that the magnitude of man's love of the world W is indicated by the relative strength of F man's fear of God and man's love of God L.  Jaki rewrites this as L = W X F^2 to show that man's love of  God is the product of man's love of the world and man's fear of God showing a contradiction.

Jaki also considers the role of computers and maintains that Godel's incompleteness results show that it is always possible for the human mind to "out-Godel" a machine by constructing a Godel sentence.  This demonstrates that human intelligence and the human mind cannot be reduced to mechanical algorithm.   This result was first discussed by Lucas.

Jaki considers the role of a series of intelligent machines each designing another intelligent machine.  Jaki maintains that such shows the necessity of a First Designer or an Undesigned Designer arguing in lines with Aristotle's and Aquinas's argument for an uncaused cause.

Cosmism and "Cosmic Loneliness".

Bertrand Russell describes philosophy as a means of alleviating "cosmic loneliness" in his _History of Western Philosophy_.  Indeed this cosmic loneliness was long revealed to man from his earliest existence in the wild of brute savagery.  It was long recognized that it was impossible to leave the earth, and until the voyages of Columbus and the explorers it was even believed that nothing existed beyong the oceans.  Pascal was horrified by the thought of wide open spaces filled with the void and thus sought solace in religion and mysticism.  Modern thought sees little hope for alleviating man's cosmic loneliness as revealed by his place in the universe.

Mysticism as a Natural State.

Mysticism can be understood in many respects as a union of the soul or mind with the Absolute, the Universe, the One, the All, Being, or God.  This may be felt as cosmic feeling of oneness, as a blissful "oceanic feeling" at the source of all Being.  This may be understood in terms of immanence and transcendence in the forms of animism, pantheism, panentheism, and divine union.  In quantum mechanics, there exists an interaction between the observer and the wave function.  This interaction indicates an interaction between consciousness and the universe at some fundamental level.  This interaction may be seen in the revelation of the universe to the human being through the Divine Source of all Being.  The prevalence of true mystical systems, as opposed to false mysticism seen in illusionism and nihilism, indicate a further development and unfolding of the universe.  The heat death of the universe my be understood in this manner as man achieves greater mystical awareness until the entire universe becomes a conscious entity.