'Brief Answers to Big Questions' - Stephen Hawking's final book

The Summer reading list for 2019 included the final book of renowned physicist, Professor Stephen Hawking who had died in March 2018.  The book is essentially a collection of answers to various critical questions drawn from Hawking's archive and accumulated over many years. In addressing the varied issues, Hawking and his assistants have sought to compile answers to complex yet widely asked issues such as: is there intelligent life in the universe ? Can we predict the future ? Is time travel possible ? Will artificial intelligence outsmart us ?

Most telling, Hawking also confronts the most immediate concern of climate change  and the environment directly by asking - can we survive on Earth and should we colonise space ?

With his characteristic humour, the book is full of quirky quotes - for the question as to whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, he concludes "..it must be a very long way away otherwise it would have visited Earth by now. And I think we would've known if we had been visited: it would be like the film Independence Day".

In confronting the biggest threat to planet Earth, Hawking concludes that while an asteroid collision is possible, the last big event was sixty-five million years ago. The immediate threat is runaway climate change. As he concludes, "A rise in ocean temperature would melt the ice caps and cause the release of large amounts of carbon dioxide. Both effects could make our climate like that of Venus, but with a temperature of 250 degrees Celsius".

This book is made for a non-science reader with the extra treat being that it includes Hawking's work on black holes and the relationship between Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and the later theory of Quantum Mechanics  - explained in clear, simple language. This is a must read book confronting some of the major science and ethical questions of the era.

Anzac Day 2019

Australian War Memorial: Ambulances with wounded members, 9th Division, Adelaide 1943

On  25th April, as Australia commemorates and remembers those members of the community who served during various armed conflicts, particularly the fallen on the battlefield, there is also the need to recognise the many often badly wounded who survived the conflicts. Suffering either physical injuries or psychological effects or both for the rest of their lives, they often constitute twice the number compared to those lost in action.

During the First World War 1914-18, Australia's population was less than 5 million of which 416,809 men enlisted to serve. Of these 60,000 were killed, and 156,000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. The casualties and POWs combined constituted 51% of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). A staggering number.

In the Second World War 1939-45, Australia had 993,000 serving in the armed forces from a population of 6.9 million. Of these 27,073 were killed in action or died with 23,477 wounded and 30,560 taken as prisoners of war. Of the POWs, 8,296 died in captivity mainly in Japanese camps.

Lest we forget.

Anzac Cove 1915: Wounded being transferred to Hospital ship Gascon

Easter - Jesus, eggs, Heaven and Hell

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Easter - the festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead - has several separate distinct elements which stretch over a full week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Easter also coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. 

How much is actually known about Jesus ? His life, teachings and practices are drawn from the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The archaeological evidence however for Jesus is non-existent although much effort has been spent over the centuries since his death (around 30AD) to find actual proof. 

After his resurrection Jesus ascended to Heaven, a form of existence to which all Christians are meant to aspire.  As academic Robyn Whitaker points out, the concept and understanding of Heaven is  fairly varied and most often relates to a 'paradise' which appears to be a description of the Persian Royal gardens.  The word for heaven in Hebrew (shamayim) and Greek (ouranos) also translates to the word for 'sky'.  It could be argued that this is more a cultural influence than a religious one.

The perspective taken on Hell is more diverse. The Old Testament merely refers to Sheol or a realm of the dead however the New Testament  has multiple terms - Gehanna, Hades, Tartarus or the Abyss. Whitaker sees this as more a case of the New Testament writers being influenced by both the Greek and Jewish cultures and incorporating concepts into their writings. Of interest Gehanna was a valley near Jerusalem which had a perpetually burning rubbish dump hence the association with wickedness and fire.

Easter eggs and Easter bunnies have little to do with the actual events of Easter and have their origins in Europe, the German Lutheran Church and some of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. This mainly involves the tradition of fasting during Lent and the painting of eggs in bright colours rather than making them from chocolate. Easter in essence is not about the Easter bunnies or chocolates.

Happy Easter !

The Reserve Bank and climate change

The March 2019 speech by the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Guy Debelle on climate change and the economy was something of a watershed moment for many commentators in the media. Here was a senior official of Australia's central bank acknowledging the serious impact that climate change could and almost certainly will have on Australia's economy in future years in stark contrast to negligible statements by the Australian Government.

Debelle's address to a public forum hosted by the Centre for Policy Development in Sydney follows closely similar comments by other key federal regulators, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

What made Debelle's address so essential is that it was framed within the context of  economic models and monetary policy - the key instruments which the RBA uses to influence the Australian economy.  According to the RBA, when thinking about weather its important to see it in terms of a trend rather than cycles: "The impact of a trend is ongoing, whereas a cycle is temporary".  Frequency of climate events needs to be considered and how the economy adapts to increasing sudden shocks which affect demand and supply.

RBA has joined the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) which is a group of central banks looking at climate issues and impact.

The speech can be accessed at the link below:
Address by the RBA Deputy Governor on climate change  

Earth Hour 2019 - Saturday 30 March 2019 - 8.30PM

Earth Hour link below:
Earth Hour 2019

Ancient Earth - 720 million years back in time

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Imagine the Earth in the Cryogenian period around 720 millions year ago. A new online tool has been developed which can do just this.  The Cryogenian period was  the second of the three periods of the Neoproterozoic Era extending from approx 720 million years to 635 million years ago.

Click the link below to access:
Ancient Earth