Thought I was atheist...

[Jacob]

I was raised as a christian but stopped believing in god at age 14 (thanks to the Slayer album "God Hates Us All" to kickstart the questioning of my faith) but after a lot of thinking lately I think there is something out there that is "above us". Could just be aliens, could be a deity. Also, the brain is able to think in the fourth dimension. I have had dreams where, later in life, I get deja vu back to some dream I had about that exact moment. Not sure what that means but it has to mean something...

What I know for sure is organized religion is a total scam. Some of the best people I know believe in god so I'm not knocking individuals, just the whole "church" thing.

http://youtu.be/72srSaFskVU

[Ken]

As a confirmed Atheist I worship neither God, beast, man nor devil. I am not so biased as to believe that there is no greater intellect or civilisation in the universe - I just fail to see why it should be 'worshipped'.

I have always thought that religion was a great opportunity for people (particularly those unable to make a success in other ventures**' to make a very good living, out of the fears and superstitions of those who had no belief in their ability to run and control their own lives.

Ken.

** The Victorians were great believers that the brightest sons went into industry or banking, the less bright went into the Army and the least bright went into the clergy.

[Jacob]

Interesting. I had never known that about the Victorians.

[grouch]

Also, the brain is able to think in the fourth dimension.

I should hope you can think in the 4th dimension. Time is the 4th dimension. There may be as many as 12 dimensions on the quantum scale.

[Jacob]

I always thought dimensions beyond the 3rd dimension could only be comprehended by the brain itself, not necessarily in conscious thought. But 12 dimensions? I can't even begin to comprehend that. Very interesting.

[grouch]

I always thought dimensions beyond the 3rd dimension could only be comprehended by the brain itself, not necessarily in conscious thought. But 12 dimensions? I can't even begin to comprehend that. Very interesting.

The first 4 dimensions are forward and back, up and down, side to side and time. Time is what keeps everything from happening at once. When you get into 12 dimensional string theory, you're dealing with both the quantum and macro scale. Quantum strings are theoretical structures in space where extremely dense matter warps space. It's sort of like a phase change through energy input. It's difficult to describe without both parties having the math to understand it.

[Jacob]

I think I'm beginning to understand at least the first 4 dimensions. The way you describe them, to me, is like the X, Y, and Z axis on a plane. X is forward and back, Y is up and down, and Z is side to side, then there is time to prevent the first 3 from happening all at once... so what the heck is the fifth dimension? I've studied the string theory before (that molecules are made up of even smaller particles, strings) but that's about the extent of my studies.

[grouch]

I think I'm beginning to understand at least the first 4 dimensions. The way you describe them, to me, is like the X, Y, and Z axis on a plane. X is forward and back, Y is up and down, and Z is side to side, then there is time to prevent the first 3 from happening all at once... so what the heck is the fifth dimension? I've studied the string theory before (that molecules are made up of even smaller particles, strings) but that's about the extent of my studies.

Higher dimensions entail higher mass. Molecules are made of atoms which are made of subatomic particles. Protons, electrons and neutrons are made of even smaller particles such as muons and quarks. The field is progressing so fast, I really can't keep up with it. Strings, such as I've been refering to, have strong gravitational properties and may be the key to understanding gravity and othe ratomic forces such as the weak and the strong forces.

[Jacob]

Hmm..."Quark" you say?... pretty sure that's the sound a duck makes in the fifth dimension.

Sorry, had to say that.

Deep stuff. I obviously didn't know when I started this thread that the fourth dimension was time. After thinking about it today the first four dimensions seem really basic to understand. Thanks for the replies.

[Jacob]

Thinking deeper into this whole "dimensions beyond 4 dimensions thing".... I'll bet if I just follow the first 4 dimensions, I'll eventually land in the fifth... http://youtu.be/PyZ42Csl4Xw

[grouch]

What riles most athiests and agnostics is narrow minded preachers who try to force the Bible into their short sighted human predilections. for instance, they look at a simple solution when the Bible was written for illiterate people with no scientific training. Consider, Genesis describes the beginning of the Universe as " All was without form, until God said, Let there be light". Now, listen to how Stephan Hawking describes the Big Bang. "Space/Time did not exist until an infinitely small particle came into existence and expanded. Space and time were formed behind the wave front of the expanding Universe". Talk about the Big Bang (which got it's name by a religious man scoffing at the idea) and Preachers get upset but it sounds to me like the Biblical book of Genesis describes the Big Bang perfectly.

The first step towards knowledge is to realize what you don't know. Delving into the quantum scale really will give you a headache. Right now, this point in time, we are at the cutting edge of research into the quantum scale of physics. Am I religious? Sort of. I only go to church if someone is getting married or buried.