2006.04.28
One thing that really bugs me is when New Age types talk about "energy". If you browse around on various New Age web pages or the "spirituality" section of the bookstore you will find many scientific terms used to lend credibility to their crazy ideas. "Energy" is one word that is the most often used and abused. The scientific definition of "energy" is usually "the capacity of a physical system to do work". That's it. Pretty boring eh?
I think when most people think about "energy" their imagination goes wild. They picture flowing fluids of glowing light. Where do these images come from? Maybe it's from a lifetime of cartoons and movies where "energy" guns or people with superpowers shoot out these rays of light. Or maybe it's from the things we can see in our daily life like fire and lightning. However, the light we see from fire and lightning is nothing more than photons given off by excited electrons in gases. Scientifically speaking, light is electromagnetic energy, that could do work if it hits a solar panel for example. I don't think that is the "energy" the New Agers are referring to.
When you do get down into the nitty-gritty of things nobody really knows what a photon or a electromagnetic field really is. The only thing science can do is describe these phenomenon and make predictions that help engineers build useful things like CD players or computers. Sure some alternative "scientists" may claim they can build things that use their mystical "energy" like pyramids or crystal healing devices, but nothing ever works. New age energy, chi, spirit or whatever never works because they are all figments of people's imagination. Everyone talks about the "power of imagination", but remember this "power" is metaphorical. If you can't define, measure, or use the "spiritual energy" you claim exists there is nothing to talk about. If you ever build me a crystal pyramid that can recharge my cellphone, then I'll change my mind!
--Old blog comments:
April 29th, 2006 at 11:57 am
jer Says:
Solar panels (I believe) contain crystals. I’ve often thought that a pyramid shaped
array of solar panels on the roof of your car would make an excellent phone charger…
May 1st, 2006 at 8:23 am
GNBenson Says:
You’re fuel efficiency would take a big hit from the wind resistance.
Maybe if we could wire up the phone battery to some well placed
acupuncture needles in order to tap the chi. Hey, that’s probably
what the Matrix was actually doing!