SCIENCE AND THE EXPERTS

Aug 05, 2021 - 02:23 Leave a Comment 1871 views

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SCIENCE AND THE 'EXPERTS'

It is often said, ‘follow the science.’

The question is, whose science? The experts? Which experts? And what agenda do they advance? Is there a whiff of ideology, money or power that we should be aware of before offering our obeisance and deference? How tolerant are the protagonists? What is the response to dissent? How ‘settled’ is the scientific hypothesis alleged to be.

Never before, on a global scale has there been such a concerted effort to silence those who question the objectivity and integrity of ‘preferred’ scientific positions.’ Though science, qua science, don’t do that, some scientists do, particularly those beholden to special interests.

Science is only as good as those scientists who remain open to the fact that things might not be as settled as was presumed.

When discourse is denied, cancelled or ridiculed, you know we are in trouble. And yes, we are in trouble. After five minutes of watching television or reading Twitter, you know the fix is in. Facts, information and opinions that contradict the narrative are censored. That should be the first clue that there is a bogus agenda.

The quote I’ve featured by physicist Richard Feynman in this post is a warning to us to be skeptical of the message of those presenting themselves as ‘experts.’ When we allow ourselves to be silenced by some elite class because they know, and we don’t... or so they say, then we give our power to them and are at their mercy.

Have we entrusted our lives to the medical-pharmaceutical establishment? Or, are we going to educate ourselves and take responsibility for our health? Are we prepared to declare the emperor has no clothes when the emperor has no clothes? If not, why… fear of the masses, fear of ‘the experts,’ fear of the truth?

As it becomes increasingly apparent something has gone terribly wrong in the world, I would urge everyone to take back their power and to question authority. If not, we default to totalitarianism. There is no question about this, over the centuries, history proves that’s what happens.

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I stated some of these concerns in a previous post: Science, Scientists and Scientism http://digitalbloggers.com/reference-and-education/science-scientists-and-scientism but wish to restate these from another angle taken from my third, yet unpublished novel, Quantum Leaps, from the Elysium’s Passage series.

From Chapter 3, A Brief Debriefing

‘I suspect long before he sees your journal,’ Mo said as he placed the lasagne in the stove’s oven, ‘you will have reverted to being the same sceptic you were before. All your former materialist prejudices will dismiss everything that your heart tells you happened on this side. That’s just what the ego-mind does, shuts down the heart’s inner knowingness because it doesn’t like to be wrong.

‘Most beliefs are based on the ego’s obsession to be right about its delusions rather than considering what might be true. Of course, you’ve heard me say this several times before, just as you’ve often heard me say, the greater the smugness, the greater the ignorance. That’s the big hurdle you will have to overcome.

‘The dark side of human nature will avoid, deny and even attack whatever dares to oppose its cherished beliefs. It will even forgo what’s in its best interests since the ego has no abiding investment in love, union or happiness. Its illusory hell depends on sustaining fear and conflict in any way it can.’

‘As much as I wish to disagree with you on this,’ I said, ‘I have witnessed this arrogance in myself and at times among many esteemed philosophers and scientists who can’t bear to admit they might be wrong.’

‘Regrettably,’ Mo said, ‘computer models make it easier than ever to configure data to support desired outcomes. Those who are most driven to compromise science are hardly aware they’re rigging their systems to support whatever beliefs they can’t let go of.

‘Any evidence that’s contrary to what supports their assumptions is readily discounted and dismissed. Such prejudices, however, are nothing more than elaborately packaged presuppositions. Often these are passionately held to, providing a ruse of intellectual respectability. In the end, it all comes back to providing a means to justify those prior beliefs embraced by their ideological communities.’

‘That may be a bit cynical, Mo. I prefer to think most scientists and philosophers are more rational and objective, rather than just being passionate about their beliefs.’

‘What do you think David Hume was getting at,’ Mo asked, ‘when he wrote: Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions?’[1]

‘I’m not familiar with that statement,’ I said. ‘But if Hume said this, I’m not certain what he might have meant by that. To me, it hardly seems possible one can be reasonable when in service to their passions’

‘As with you, this statement has astonished philosophers for centuries,’ he said, ‘considering Hume’s sceptical, hardnose approach to philosophical discourse. Yet, he was just acknowledging what should be blatantly obvious. All too often, reason advances the prejudices of beliefs rather than the pursuit of objective truth.

‘Perhaps that’s why science can become so easily politicized. Increasingly, over the last century, too few are willing to acknowledge what evidence doesn’t conform to ideological preferences, university grants and questionable peer reviews.

‘Even your highly acclaimed physicist Richard Feynman once said, Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts. He was right, and never has this been truer in your world than now. That’s why I continue to say your world is upside down, inside out and backwards, compromised beyond recognition.’

‘I see you and Eli haven’t changed your opinions about my world since we spoke on this last. I must say, however, it is interesting how you so adroitly draw Hume into the fray. Most philosophers, I’m sure, might find Hume’s statement curious, especially coming from such a revered empirical philosopher, but not without a rational explanation.’

‘It is only curious,’ he said, ‘because it doesn’t fit into the mind’s narrative and how the intellectual crowd chooses to understand reality these days. But then, they never have been that interested in seeing what lies beyond the flat plains.

‘That’s why it will be interesting how you might view reality after you return. Will you still listen to the crowd and your mind when your heart tells you it’s all wrong?’

‘I guess we’ll have to wait to find out,’ I said. ‘Still, I hope I will see things as they are here, rather than how they are perceived there.’

‘Even when you come to realise you had an out-of-body experience,’ Eli said, ‘I expect you will try to rationalize any evidence for it. That’s what the separated ego-mind often does in defending itself from inward knowingness.

‘At first, you might convince yourself that your brain was merely dreaming a dream without being aware of it. But then, that’s what much of the world does, and why everyone sleeps so much in the Flatlands. It’s the normative state of consciousness in this, the lowest regions of the Lowlands.’

‘I’m sure,’ I said, ‘most of these Flatlanders, as you call them, would be greatly offended by what you say.’

‘No doubt they would,’ Mo said, ‘since they have convinced themselves that they, being the most educated, are the most awake. However, it’s waking that understands sleeping, not sleeping that understands waking. That’s why Flatlanders dream the most when they think they are awake, just as they are often the most irrational when being clever.’

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In sum, a few takeaways from this excerpt:

‘Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts. Feynman was right, and never has this been truer in your world than now. That’s why I continue to say your world is upside down, inside out and backwards, compromised beyond recognition.’

‘Its illusory hell depends on sustaining fear and conflict in any way it can.’

‘… because it doesn’t fit into their mind’s narrative and how the intellectual crowd chooses to understand reality these days. But then, they never have been that interested in seeing what lies beyond the flat plains.’

‘However, it’s waking that understands sleeping, not sleeping that understands waking.'

‘… ego’s obsession to be right about its delusions rather than considering what might be true. Of course, you’ve heard me say this several times before, just as you’ve often heard me say, the greater the smugness, the greater the ignorance.'

Below are links related to this post

SCIENCE, SCIENTISTS AND SCIENTISM
http://digitalbloggers.com/reference-and-education/science-scientists-and-scientism

ARE YOU A SKEPTIC?
https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/are-you-a-skeptic

REALITY: WHAT A CONCEPT
https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/reality-what-a-concept

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SCIENCE AND 'THE EXPERTS'
https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/science-and-the-experts

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SUMMARY OF ELYSIUM'S PASSAGE SERIES

This is the first in a series of five Elysium narrations regarding a young British philosopher named James Phillips, who finds himself living in an altered state of reality while still remaining on earth.

After experiencing a near-fatal fall while climbing to the summit of a remote mountain in the Andes, James awakens in a new dimension. He soon encounters two mysterious beings who provide him with a very different perspective on the nature of his existence. Over the next year, before his body recovers from the coma, he is challenged to re-examine his understanding of life’s meaning and purpose far beyond anything he previously believed or could believe.

An engaging and sometimes surreal adventure with intimations of impending romance, the narrative explores the most important questions about life, death, reality, and our ultimate destiny.

The Plains of Elysium (Champs-Élysées) was described by Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, and many other poets as the paradisiac afterlife realm reserved for heroes. As the title suggests, this is about a journey through a passage that leads towards Elysium’s exciting realm of adventures.

To read a sample press review at https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/05/prweb15515775.htm

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The following comments are excerpts from among the first readers, including a number of Amazon five star reviews. To read the full reviews, go to READER REVIEWS on www.elysiumspassage.com or directly at https://digitalbloggers.com/arts-and-entertainment/reader-reviews

"A delightful mix of fantasy, reality, conjecture, and humour; Mr Meyers draws the reader into the story with a gentle narrative that captures the imagination, leaving one anxious to get to the next page drawing you into his exceptional world.”

"Quietly, gently, and without imposition, the Author unfolds the pages, creating an intricate, interlocking bridge spanning the chasm between mind and heart. Renewing, refreshing, restoring. In my bereavement, it was vigil and light…."

“Excellently written with an exceedingly deep understanding of this world and the next. The characters are very well written and engaging. I can't wait to complete this book!"

“Takes the reader on both a philosophical and spiritual journey, a journey that at times is both disquieting and tranquil. James, a British Philosopher, can be irreverent and caustic, traits that should have left me cringing but instead made me laugh out loud. Elysium’s Passage is a fun, enlightening and remarkable book.”

“This is a masterful fantasy, becoming a real possibility, as the reader is drawn into the story. The Summit leaves you anxious for the next book in the series, yet also leaves you totally satisfied with the world you have just visited. Genius! An exciting yet calming experience that is not to be missed."

"There was hardly a page on which I did not find at least one sentence worthy of hi-lighting for future reference. In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed the main character, James, whose personality and passionate verbal exchanges with the other characters kept me coming back for more. I am reading the book for a second time while I wait for the next one in this series to be made available."

“N.G. Meyers has clearly put a great deal of research and thought into what the afterlife may look like, and I like his perspective. It’s an altogether welcoming and exciting vision. The book gives one a great deal to think about and a reassuring confidence that the end of our lives is truly the beginning of life in the next. I highly recommend it."

"I am really enjoying your book, it’s fantastic! It is so incredible and diversified that I can’t really explain it to other people, so what I say is just read this book. Thank you so much for the blessings that you’ve given the world!"

“The humour interjected into a serious discussion makes me laugh out loud. Totally unexpected....l may be in the presence of at least a master, if not a genius. A fair ride into reality... seeking that which is unseen, yet absolutely real.”

“An engaging story of adventure embracing man's deepest desire to search for meaning and purpose, N.G. Meyers takes the reader on an adventurous, thought-provoking journey. This book has substance. It is a perfect blend of adventure and fantasy combined with spiritual philosophy. It ignited my imagination. The author magically weaves a good story laced with wit and humour together with deep philosophical wisdom. This book has it all!”

“An evolution in thought is triggered by many fresh philosophical themes which could inspire readers to re-think their reality and former ideologies that have dictated their lives… the author fires readers’ imaginations to view what could be possible when spirit vacates the body.”

“This is the book spiritual seekers have been waiting for. For me, it granted a great read as well as increased inspiration to live every day with a heightened sense of purpose. I highly recommend it.

“The Summit is capable of hooking readers and luring them to search for Book 2 to discover more about Dr Philip’s surreal trek into the mysterious unknown universe. This thick book is well worth the read and to share…”

“Mind-blowing statements and speculation (‘…everyone is a non-physical thought form conceived in the Mind of God, preserved for all eternity because God’s thoughts never die…’). Many will find Meyers’ journey up the Mountain intriguing—and possibly even life-changing.” (BLUEINK REVIEW)

“In its effort to grapple with fundamental questions about the meaning of life, it raises questions that have echoed throughout the ages, including about where we come from, where we are going, who we are.” (CLARION REVIEW)

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PENDING PUBLICATIONS IN THE SERIES

Amazon in 2024

THE ASCENT: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

THE SUMMIT: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

QUANTUM LEAPS: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

SURREAL ADVENTURES: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

MYSTICAL ROMANCE: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

THE ELIXIR: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

THE RETURN: Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage

1. The Ascent is the first novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage that’s foundational to everything that happens in the following narratives that embark on an adventure that will surprise and delight the reader like no other book.

It all begins with an extreme adventure of climbing a remote and challenging mountain somewhere in the Andean Mountains. Just as James, the protagonist, is about to reach the mountain summit, he falls into an abyss that leaves him in a coma for almost a year.

After being airlifted by a forestry helicopter and flown back to London, where his body remains for almost a year. Eventually, he learns it was not him but his body that was rescued. Several days later, without understanding what happened, he continues to climb to the summit in an alternate dimension of higher consciousness.

Fortuitously, he meets two adventurers on the summit ridge who are no longer of this world. After that, his surreal life leads him to several new adventures in the subsequent chronicles that include a rich mix of adventure, romance, and fantasy, along with profound discussions of philosophy, spirituality and the afterlife.

2. The Summit, the second novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, carries on where James, the narrator and protagonist, is taught more about a multidimensional reality that he finds difficult to comprehend.

Not only does he find he’s not as clever as he imagined, but his off-world companions on the summit demonstrate that much of what he believed about life was not just parochial but wrong. At first, he finds this difficult to comprehend since their teachings are contrary to his limited understanding of non-material reality.

After being tricked into teleporting off a ledge where he was trapped, James becomes aware of the new reality that makes him capable of far more adventures than could have ever been experienced previously in his physical body back home.

Now, if only he would win over the only woman in this life who matters, the nurse on the other side of the veil, who continually demonstrates her unconditional love toward his healing.

Warning: This book may also open the reader’s eyes to a much vaster reality than most might be aware. As with the other Chronicles, there are discussions of philosophy, the spiritual afterlife and what might seem like fantasy.

3. Quantum Leaps is the third novel in Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, where James, the philosopher-protagonist, teleports back to London to visit his body and make contact with the special nurse taking care of it in his absence. Immediately, he feels an inexplicable spiritual bond with her for reasons he remains unaware of.

Now aroused by a renewed interest in matters of love, the beginnings of a relationship begin to emerge as he attempts to reach across the chasm of their worlds. But it’s not until the fifth novel, Mystical Romance, that he encounters her in a way that he finds difficult to believe.

However, before that can happen, there is much about his failed relationships that must be resolved before he is ready to move forward in his new life in Elysium’s Passage. It is during this time he christens his comatose body as the fall guy since it took the fall for him down the abyss so he could learn the lessons he’s now learning.

That will be the next focus of his life, where in his next Surreal Adventures, he is given virtual lessons to release many of his past beliefs about life.

4. Surreal Adventures is the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Elysium’s Passage, which finds James, the protagonist and narrator, escorted by his companions to a remote South Pacific Island, where he is left to reflect on what he’s learned.

During the next forty days, he battles the demons of his past as he works through some rather painful issues from his early youth. Here, in a tropical storm, he encounters an eery suspended spectre of the one he loved yet still resents for abandoning him as a child.

After this, he achieves peace of mind and is ready to return to his lodge to join his off-world companions on the Andes summit. However, just when it seemed things couldn’t get any stranger, a sixteenth-century sea captain sails his ancient ‘ghost’ ship onto the beach. Together, they sail off on a mystical ocean voyage to a couple of virtual islands supposedly in the South Pacific, where he witnesses and, at times, participates in several important life lessons.

Near the end, these encounters help prepare him for a new challenge within the interior of a mountain, where he falls deep into a dark tomb of fear. After being rescued by a mysterious stranger wielding his Excaliber, he continues on to where his life is about to be transformed in the following chronicle, Mystical Romance.

5. Mystical Romance is the fifth chronicle in Elysium’s Passage, which will surprise the reader with a romantic twist of how love is expressed in higher realms. From this lofty perspective, everything about intimacy is understood as within, so without.

After escaping his tomb, James, the narrator and protagonist, makes his way through a maze of tunnels until he arrives at a large oak door, which he opens with the golden key he had been given. There, he steps into Elysium’s Passage’s Great Hall, where his life and recent achievements are celebrated now that his eyes have been opened to perceive a fascinating interior world of wonderment… and romance.

To say more might risk diminishing the multitude of delightful surprises as circumstances begin to open to The Elixir, where James is about to re-enter his earthly body’s existence.

6. The Elixir is the sixth chronicle of the Elysium’s Passage series that prepares James, the narrator-protagonist, to awaken and return to his body in London. Before that can happen, however, his off-worlder friend presents a mysterious equation enshrouded with a light code frequency that will stimulate multidimensional DNA strands within him.

Much of this narration is centred in London, where his nurse unknowingly becomes involved in how the Elixir’s equation finds its way from a taxi cab driver to higher echelons of science. There are many twists in how she unwittingly brings the Elixir to the attention of mathematicians and physicists, after which they eventually discover how to code the equation into a laser ray to stimulate his fall-guy body into full consciousness.

Ostensibly a new Adam, he is destined to return humanity to a higher multidimensional existence. How this happens is filled with intrigue, as is his shocking return to his earthly body.

7. The Return is the seventh and last chronicle in the series where James, the narrator and protagonist, has re-emerged from Elysium’s Passage as he readjusts to life in the third dimension. Many of the events experienced in the previous novels are tied together in an exciting, fast-moving, action-packed narrative over several countries.

At first, it seems all memories have been lost, with his fall guy’s brain not being aware of what happened to him while in his coma. As a consequence, it takes a while for him to be convinced he had been out of his earthly body for almost a year.

Through some rather unexpected events and evidence, along with his girlfriend’s urging, he is brought to an awareness of much of what occurred. It takes a while for his mind to catch up with the changes made in his heart during his stay in the alternate realm. But after experiencing several harsh realities, he discovers what he became within while out of his body. Gradually, he comes to understand the many challenges that lie ahead for him in fulfilling his future mission on Earth.

This book is filled with adventure, romance and personal intrigue that ties together all six previous narratives of the Elysium’s Passage series.