(This is an ongoing series of thoughts and hints by which Chi
might be better described in Western scientific terms. Each part may be viewed
as a piece of the puzzle, and should be viewed as true only as far as it proves
useful. They are offered here with no claims other than an attempt to describe
observed phenomena.)
For those interested in some hints by which Chi can be discussed
in terms amenable to Western “Hard” science, consideration of Louis de
Broglie’s conception of matter waves might be useful, in particular his idea
that any object with mass and movement can be described as a wave, each
possessing a specific frequency and wavelength.
De Broglie’s calculations would
indicate energies on a level with Einstein’s famous e=mc squared if traditional
physics were involved, but de Broglie has substituted ‘v’, the velocity of the
object, for ‘c’, the speed of light, and this might allow for a scale magnitude
more in line with the observable manifestations of Chi. If the speed of a
moving arm or leg were used, and the wavelength was measured in human
dimensions, a body being a little less than 2 meters, and a forearm and hand from
elbow to fingertip might be one fourth of that, or ¼ wavelength…then there
might be the possibility of the creation of standing waves at this level
(electromagnetic) as well as and somewhat synchronous with the physical waves
engendered by the body movements.
These are just first musings, and although probably not
strictly mathematically correct, may suggest productive and empirically useful
associations leading to a greater understanding of Chi.
Louis de Broglie won
the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1929. His 1924 doctoral thesis on the wave
particle duality theory of matter, which created a new field of physics, wave
mechanics, was such that his thesis examiners, unsure of the material, passed
his thesis to Einstein for evaluation, who endorsed it wholeheartedly. De
Broglie was awarded his doctorate (Wikipedia).
Ham Radio Epiphany
One night I went to bed feeling that I was a screw up (I
thought I had blown the finals in my new Amateur radio transceiver), but woke
up realizing that I had experimented and tried, and that that wasn’t a bad
thing. As Howard used to say, “If you come to learn, you always come out
ahead.” I had learned that a setback can sometimes be the first step toward
success or growth. If you try you might mess up, but that’s how we sometimes
learn and grow. If you don’t try you lose these wonderful possibilities.
(The end of the Ham radio episode, several days later, was
when I found that I hadn’t blown up the final output transistors, but had
neglected to notice in my haste with the new equipment that I hadn’t set the
transmit offset frequency correctly. The finals had weathered the problem in
the antenna cable I had purchased recently, and had incorrectly blamed – I had added two and two and gotten five!
When both the sometimes shorted solder connection and the bad frequency offset
were corrected everything worked well. And my realization came BEFORE I
realized that the radio wasn’t broken!)
I tell my students they don’t have to do the T’ai Chi
perfectly to benefit from it, and although I might not have responded perfectly
to my radio problem, I did get past it and I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t tried! Paying
Attention Pays Off!! Paying
attention sometimes means putting in the time, which can mean making a mistake
and correcting it, forcing one to put in the time required to really look!
Very Best Wishes,
Daniel
