Holographic Universe

or

"O day and night,

but this is wonderous cool!"

Image; Rhawn Joseph

Some 15 years ago I came across a book, The Holographic Universe, in a public library. It touted a "grand unified theory" of normal and paranormal phenomena through the supposition that the universe is holographic - in some sense a projection of a differently dimensioned reality into what we perceive around us and as us; perceptible, 3 dimensional, timed and spaced. Now to a necessary digression.

I've never been comfy with integrating grand unified theories of anything into preexisting metanarratives - Judaism, naturalistic materialism, etc - especially when the given "GUT" reaches beyond the commonly-conceded, scientific parameters in its conclusion. In such settings, I think people redefine theories (as used for a relatively brief period of time), to comport with a/theo-logies or philosophies, thus loosening their moorings in the peer-reviewed, commonly-held settings of methodological materialism. There may be a similar situation in "reaching beyond" sciences parameters in creationism, ID and materialism.

To play the game of science, all of them offer, but cannot state, that the evidence they present of anomalous phenomena (in the ID/Creationism camp), or predictable, integratable phenomena is not compatible with certain worldviews - worldviews being metaschemes that work outside what science/reason can evidence or deny (some examples underline science and reason themselves; they include unscientific, unreason-to-able presuppositions that are where science and reason start from). But there are many examples of critics of Creationism or ID who are fellow theistic-worldview-holders, and even on occasion there have been secularists who oppose the infiltration of naturalistic materialism in the exploration of evolution, where they see naturalistic materialism as actually stiffling investigation and scientific progress. The point being that there can be materialist readings of a seemingly-designed and finetuned universe, and religious readings of the evolution of the universe within the approach of methodological materialism. In fact, those perspectives are the ones held by the majority of people engaged in the scientific venture!

To return , it seems our universe may well be a hologram. There are going to be naturalist materialist readings of it and religious people will continue to seek the compatibility of it with their worldview(s). For everyone who perceives things, it soundeth wondrous cool...