actually its the journalist who calls it alchemy, science journalists are often so remarkably stupid the amount that it has to be dumbed down to get the message across to them. But I suppose that is their job to translate the information the public.
Look, i am a professional chemist too, and I have a huge hard on for theoretical physics, but I am also no stranger to mysticism, just look at my avatar.
I have spiritual beliefs about the nature of reality and my place in it, that arise out of my own experience, and they are also deeply intertwined in what i have learned in my physical understanding of reality, however inadequate.
I think what you posted now is beautiful, the cosmic dance, speaks to me strongly
“Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter,” and that “For the modern physicists, then, Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter.”
It is indeed as Capra concluded: “Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics.”
It is so very true, makes me tear up.
there is a reason why I include a bhagavad gita quote in my signature.
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its about truth, and in its entirety it is unknowable, unmanifested, we can only stand in awe and wonder of the ineffable magnificence and ourselves in it. The pattern is always there, if anything, physics, science is but a tool to dust off and see a bit more detail of that pattern.
the conflict comes when one decides to do away with these tools, claiming that any perspective, any opinion is a valid one. There is nothing wrong with imagination, drawing connections out of the ether, that is what the real scientists do, then they come up with a way to put it to a test. CERN physicists don't go asserting that ancient mayan cultures were transfiguring pools of mercury into gold. That's the difference, its a game you play with the universe, you can't cheat. Doesn't mean they believe its impossible, either.