Have We Forgotten HG Wells Already?

Where science, psychology, and psi events meet

One of the pioneers of the science fiction genre, H.G. Wells, used that platform to make a statement about what he saw as the dark side of the growing fascination with science and the decline of interest in the humanities. Today, we are paying the price for not heeding his warning.

In his new book, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectable, Pulitzer Prize-wining journalist, Chris Hedges, speaks to a broad range of societal ills that began with the cultural shift immediately following WWII. In the book, he addresses the loss of literacy and the preference toward consumerism and shallowness. He also laments the displacement of the humanities curriculum in major universities in favor of vocational education.

The latter was a major theme in H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds. He intentionally created the aliens with big heads and little bodies (holding tiny hearts), to emphasize the preference for analytical intelligence over emotional intelligence. He warned that following such a path would lead to advancements in technology without an ethical foundation to govern its direction or scope.

Wells had many detractors in the sci-fi community because he didn’t base his futuristic science on real calculations, as did Jules Verne. However, he did base it in facts, which alluded to the dark side of human nature. Just as we have seen Verne’s fantastic machines built, we are also seeing Well’s prophecies come true in the conduct of our society.

Wells certainly wasn’t the only great figure in history to proclaim such a warning. General Omar Bradley made several cautionary comments, including: “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.” He also said, “If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.” Most everyone is familiar with the ethical crisis faced by Einstein, a pacifist, over the use of the atomic weapons his calculations helped create.

About a year ago, a documentary on the changes in China featured a vignette on several students anxiously awaiting the arrival of their university acceptance letters. One student opened his and read aloud that he had been accepted to M.I.T. to which the other students responded by lowering and shaking their heads while giving their condolences. Because M.I.T. insisted on graduating students who could also write good papers, they were further down the list of desired schools than those that focused exclusively on the development of new technology.

What we know of ancient cultures was a mix of their language, visual art, writings, music, fashion, rituals, mathematics, and technology. The overwhelming majority of those factors fall into the humanities category. What will future societies know of us? The first classes we cut in our educational system during a budget crunch are the arts. What does that say about our priorities?

There is currently an initiative from the White House to encourage kids to do better in math and science because the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world in those subjects. The fact is, the U.S. is falling behind in all subjects. Perhaps Chris Hedges is right in that we have built an empire of illusion and the preference for spectacle over substance has won.

The Body Antenna – Antennas and the Physical Body

Chapter 1 of The Sage Age - Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom covers aspects of the human body as a sophisticated, multi-faceted antenna system. To encourage discussion, the entire chapter has been divided into topic sections and presented as excerpts for download.

Most folks think of an antenna as some type of metal pole. In its broadest definition, an antenna is anything that can carry an electromagnetic current. These conductors include wire, metal poles, and even the human body.

Citizen Band and Ham radios can both transmit and receive signals making them a transceiver. They use what is known as a dipole antenna meaning that it transmits from the center out toward each end.

The human body is like a dipole antenna that transceives from the gut area out toward the head and feet. It also transceives from the core out toward each hand. Many parts of the body, including the gut area, are made of special crystals that facilitate transceiving all sorts of signals. (For more information on this topic, see the two-part article on the Body’s Crystal Matrix.)

The length of the dipole antenna determines what frequencies it can transceive. Using ritual body postures like those found in Yoga and Tai Chi tune the body’s antenna by situating the structure of the crystal matrix into different shapes and lengths.

Download the full excerpt to discover how this works and see the different antenna patterns ritual body postures form.

Limited time special offer on autographed copies of The Sage Age.

The Body Antenna – Frequency and Waves

Chapter 1 of The Sage Age - Blending Science with Intuitive Wisdom covers aspects of the human body as a sophisticated, multi-faceted antenna system. To encourage discussion, the entire chapter has been divided into topic sections and presented as excerpts for download.

In the first two excerpts, we covered how ritual postures tuned the body’s antenna and learned how light radiates as electromagnetic energy. This third excerpt gives an overview of what the terms frequency and wavelength mean and explain how water waves and light waves are different.

(Some of the words and concepts in this section may be unfamiliar and seem a bit technical, but keep reading. Understanding these terms is very important to grasping the vibrational nature of matter. And, there’s a fun experiment at the end!)

One full cycle of a wave is known as its wavelength. In other words, a wave takes time to develop in a space. The length that it takes to develop completely and then begin repeating is known as the wave’s length, or wavelength. (Pictures of this are in the download.)

How many times the wave can complete this cycle in a second is measured as frequency. The faster a wave is moving, the higher is its frequency. The higher the frequency, the more energy the wave carries.

What does this mean? High frequency waves are also high energy waves. In the spectrum of light waves, visible light has a lower frequency than an FM radio signal. It also has lower energy. An X-ray is a very high frequency, high energy light wave and can cause damage to tissue if it’s exposed to the wave for extended periods.

Amplitude is the height of the wave. For sound, this would equate to its volume. For light, it would equate to intensity. So, wavelength is a side-to-side measurement of a wave. Amplitude is an up-and-down measurement of a wave.

Frequency measures how fast a wave is moving side-to-side and has nothing to do with how high it is up-and-down. Let’s use a sound wave to explain this concept. You could hear a high pitch at a low volume. That means it has a high frequency with a low amplitude.

Download the full excerpt for a fun experiment with a rope that will let you see and feel first-hand how wavelength, frequency, and amplitude work together.

Limited time special offer on autographed copies of The Sage Age.