Whatever Happened To The Forbidden Fruit?

Has anyone ever thought about this?

Very early in the Bible Adam and Eve, the first humans, are described as eating the "forbidden fruit". Eve was first tempted by Satan, and then Adam followed. This fruit, which is not described in the Bible, was forbidden from them as a test of their obedience. Eating the fruit gave Adam and Eve knowledge and insight which they did not have before.

This event represented the fall of Adam and Eve, and their descendants, from a pure and sinless state. God "cursed the ground" because of this disobedience, and humans now had to work hard to grow food and survive. They were banished from the Garden of Eden. Humans inherited the sin nature, the proclivity to sin against God.

In the 1970s, the oldest human remains were found in Ethiopia, and it is known that humans certainly originated in Ethiopia. This oldest known human was named not Eve but Lucy because, as her remains were first noticed by the scientific expedition, the Beatles song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was playing on a tape deck. But the title of the song was a euphemism for LSD, the illegal drug that was popular at the time.

So we have the irony that Eve made the mistake of eating the "forbidden fruit" but Lucy, the scientific counterpart of Eve, was named for an illegal drug.

But whatever happened to the "forbidden fruit"? What exactly was it? If humans inherited their sin nature by their ancestors eating the forbidden fruit, then shouldn't they also have inherited a strong attraction for the fruit itself? This fruit is often depicted as an apple, but the Bible has no information at all on what exactly it is.

I have noticed something interesting and I will let you form your own conclusions.

As it turns out, there is a plant with a fruit that originated around Ethiopia in the same area that humans are known to have originated. Coffee has spread in popularity across the world. We refer to coffee "beans" but it is not a bean, it is actually a fruit. The "beans" are the roasted seeds of the fruit.

Coffee only became popular in the Middle Ages. It was first associated with religion, keeping awake for rituals. There is a legend that coffee was discovered by how excited and energetic goats became after eating the berries.

The effect that this drink has had on the world is incalculable. It not only has stimulating physical and mental effects, it is also one of the most-traded commodities and the basis for the cafes that are so popular across the world. The word "café" means "coffee" and so many of the movements and new ideas that have shaped the world over the past few centuries have begun with discussions in cafes.

Could coffee be the descendant plant of the "forbidden fruit"? Although coffee has a stimulating mental and physical effect, it does not compare to the boost in cognizance that Adam and Eve got by eating the "forbidden fruit". But remember that the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3 Verse 17, described God "cursing the ground", following the disobedience of Adam and Eve, so that their blessed existence in the Garden of Eden would be over and they would have to work hard for a living.

But if coffee has the stimulating effect on humans that it does today, what must it have been like before God "cursed the ground"? It's stimulating effect must have been far, far greater.

As we have seen in the posting on this blog, "The End Of The World As We Know It", we are now in the "Last Days" of the world, before the Apocalypse and the Return of Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth. Although it is not specified in the Bible at all, wouldn't it make perfect sense for the plant descended from the original "forbidden fruit" to gain great popularity across the world during the "Last Days"? 

The Car Flag

Seeing the Ethiopian flag on our visit today reminds me to ask why the car community, people who work on, make or, sell cars don't have their own flag? Barber shops have the traditional red, white and, blue striped pole. Why shouldn't people who are into cars have their own flag? The logical colors for the car flag would be the colors of a traffic light.

The Information And Energy Mismatch In The Universe

This is being reposted because more has been added to it.

Many cosmology theories nowadays have the space and matter of the universe forming together. But my cosmology theory has space forming before matter and there is an information and energy mismatch in the universe that shows this must be correct.

The simple harmonic motion of a pendulum is caused by an information mismatch. It is one dimension of information against two. The axis of the pendulum is a one-dimensional line but it can swing in two dimensions. 

When the pendulum is released from a position, other than with it's axis aligned with the direction of gravity, what should happen, according to the Law of Gravity, is that the pendulum should immediately align itself with gravity with the one-dimensional axis in a vertical position, and if it was an object falling in a one-dimensional line that is what would happen.

But what a pendulum does is effectively to get an object to fall in two dimensions, rather than one. The two dimensions must be represented equally, regardless of which one the fall begins in. Since the pendulum itself is only one-dimensional it's initial fall must be equalled on the other side. But this makes it go too far to the other side, relative to what it would do if this was a one-dimensional fall. So it corrects this by going back in the opposite direction, but then goes too far to the other side. The process repeats and, if there was no such thing as friction or outside forces, would go on indefinitely. 

In my cosmology theory the matter in the universe is also an information mismatch because it originated from a two-dimensional sheet of space that was within, but not contiguous with, the surrounding background space. The Big Bang saw one of the two dimensions of the sheet disintegrate into energy and the other formed matter, which was scattered over four dimensions of the background space. We perceive one of these four dimensions as time. So it is an information mismatch of two dimensions against four, in a way similar to that of a pendulum, and the matter in the universe actually operates like a pendulum. 

For an explanation of the cosmology theory there is an abbreviated version of it in the posting "Cosmology Theory Illustrated With Diagrams", January 2024.

The way that matter in the universe operates like a pendulum is to alternate between concentration and dispersion, we could also describe it as like the bouncing of a ball. We could say that the two-dimensional sheet, within the background of four dimensions, was a concentration and the scattering caused by the Big Bang was a dispersion. But then, when the universe had cooled enough, many of the negatively- and positively-charged particles came together to form atoms, which usually have a neutral electric charge. Aside from atoms, other matter came back together into just quarks, other than those within nucleons, and black holes. 

Even when the charged particles came back together to form atoms the dispersion side of the pendulum was at work. The vast majority of the inside of an atom is empty space. Hydrogen is the simplest and original atom, and still by far the most common element in the universe. The density inside a hydrogen atom is just about what we would expect if matter consists of two dimensions dispersed through four, one of which we perceive as time.

Many of the atoms come back together into stars, and then the stars into galaxies and groups of galaxies. This is the Big Bang trying to come back together, according to the pendulum principle of concentration alternating with dispersion. It comes back together even more as lighter atoms are crunched together into heavier atoms by fusion in stars. A star is born when enough matter comes together by mutual gravity to overcome the electron repulsion between atoms and crunch lighter atoms into heavier ones. The new heavier atom contains less overall energy than the lighter atoms that were fused together to form it. The excess energy is released as radiation and that is why stars shine.

But the dispersion side of the pendulum is still at work, and the pendulum must swing back to that side. The fusion of atoms in stars, which is concentration, is balanced by the release of radiation during the process, which is dispersion. If the star is large enough it will ultimately explode in a supernova, which is dispersion as it scatters matter across space. The energy released by a supernova fuses some atoms together into elements heavier than iron, which cannot be formed by the ordinary fusion process. This is concentration but the dispersion side of the pendulum is still at work as many of these new heavy atoms are less-than-stable and gradually release particles or radiation to reach a more stable state. These emissions are known as radioactivity. 

Black holes, by far the greatest concentration of matter, eventually evaporate into radiation. So radiation is the ultimate return to dispersion, from concentration. Every time you see the stars you can see that matter, which is a concentration, is continuously being converted to radiation but the process is not being reversed.

There is a match between matter and energy in the universe. Indeed matter, as defined in my cosmology theory, is like electric charges held together against their mutual repulsion by energy. This energy shows up as the Mass-Energy Equivalence and is what gives matter it's mass. But, since there is a limited amount of energy in the universe, the changes going on in matter must lead to a state of less energy in matter, rather than more, because there is no additional energy from anywhere else. The excess energy is radiated away when fusion takes place in stars. But this one-way process goes against the pendulum principle, described above, and would not be the case if matter and space had formed together, because there would be no reason for such a limit on the availability of energy.

With the radiation that is the ultimate in dispersion we again see the simple harmonic motion of the pendulum pattern. A wave cycle of electromagnetic radiation can be graphed as a sine wave. It starts from zero and proceeds to a peak on what we could call the positive side. It then goes back to zero before repeating the process on what we could call the negative side. It is just like a pendulum. 

The explanation given by my cosmology theory is that there is an information mismatch, just as with the pendulum, of one dimension against two. Matter ultimately consists of one-dimensional strings, one of the two dimensions of the original two-dimensional sheet of space, while an electromagnetic wave is two-dimensional. All electromagnetic waves originate with matter. Unlike with a pendulum there is no friction in space but the wave must diminish with distance, according to the Inverse Square Law. The result is the same as with the pendulum, the wave first goes too far to one side and then the other.

So when matter is continuously converted to radiation it is a movement toward the dispersion side but the pendulum principle is still there in the sine wave. 

Another way we can see this information mismatch, of two dimensions against one, is in centrifugal force, and this parallels the information mismatch of the pendulum. When an object is moving in an arc there is a force pulling to the outside. There are many obvious examples of centrifugal force, from carnival rides to the earth bulging at the equator due to it's spin. 

But what is happening is that the object is moving, at any given moment, along a one-dimensional straight line. But the arc is two-dimensional and this is what causes the information mismatch of one dimension against two. The direction of the one-dimensional straight line, along which the object is moving, is continuously changing. This is what causes the outward force that we refer to as centrifugal force. The object is still moving in the direction that it was a moment ago as the direction of movement changes. 

This information mismatch shows the truth of my cosmology theory. Matter formed from a two-dimensional sheet of space that was within, but not contiguous with, the four dimensions of background space over which the matter was scattered over. If not for this information mismatch there would be no such thing as simple harmonic motion, including pendulums and electromagnetic waves, or centrifugal force in the universe. 

This actually defines what a straight line is. A straight line is a one-dimensional line, which involves the lowest energy state that the universe seeks. It has to be a one-dimensional line because matter, as described in my cosmology theory, consists of one-dimensional strings, and there is no information from anywhere else. The shortest route between two points must involve only one dimension. This would not be the case if matter and space had formed together because there are three dimensions of space, four including time.

The nature of the universe, as described here, shows that matter and space certainly did not form together. Space formed first and matter is somewhat of an alien newcomer. This information mismatch is because, as described in my cosmology theory, matter formed from a two-dimensional sheet of space that was within, but not contiguous with, four dimensions of background space. One of the two dimensions became matter and the other became energy, in what we perceive as the Big Bang. This explains why the average density of matter in the universe, as a whole, is extremely sparse and the universe always seeks the lowest energy state.

It is like going shopping. When you go shopping, you probably have a shortage of money. What that means is that you have to carefully select what you want. You cannot afford to just buy everything in the store, and then decide what you want. You are seeking the "lowest money state", just as the universe seeks the lowest energy state. But that would not be the case if you owned the store, and the universe would not be seeking the lowest energy state if space and matter had formed together.

None of this would be the case if matter and space had formed together, as is held by many cosmological theories. We can see that the dimensions of space form right angles, because that is the only form that can fit together with no leftover space. But yet gravitational spheres of matter, such as planets and stars, take the form that is as different as possible from right angles. If matter and space had formed together this would not be the case and they would take the same form.

A great mystery is why, if the dimensions of space form right angles, is the sphere the default gravitational form of matter in the universe? Matter that comes together by gravity, to form stars and planets, forms spheres but we know that the dimensions of space form right angles because it's the only geometric form that fits together with no leftover space. 

It would apparently require less information for planets and stars to form cubes, the same as the dimensions of space, and that's the way it would be if space and matter had formed together. But a sphere is the form with the lowest information and energy state because it has the least surface area per volume. This shows that there is a shortage of energy in the universe, relative to space, that would not make sense if it had all formed together. 

If space and matter had formed together not only would the forms of matter be cubic, as space is, but it would be evenly distributed in space because that would require less information. As it is now, the matter in the universe is distributed fairly evenly only on the largest scale, not on any local scale. Matter is also extremely sparse, in the universe as a whole. That is because, as my cosmology theory describes, matter and energy were formed from a two-dimensional sheet of space that was within, but not contiguous with, four dimensions of background space.

Considering the basic forces in the universe, what do we notice? There is energy in the bonds formed by both the nuclear force, which holds the nucleus together, and the electromagnetic force that binds the electrons in atoms to the nucleus, holds molecules together and also energy in electromagnetic waves. But there is no energy in gravitational bonds, only the mass holding objects together. In fact gravity pulls matter into lower energy arrangements, rather than higher. Gravity pulls matter into spheres because that is the lowest energy state. Thus we can conclude that gravity is a secondary force and exists only because of the nature of the universe as it is, and would not exist if space and matter were formed together.

The rotation and revolution of stars, planets and galaxies achieves the lowest information state because, by cycling through all possible positions, it avoids the necessity of making the choice of one position. We know that energy and information is really the same thing, because we cannot add information to anything without applying energy to it and cannot apply energy to anything without adding information to it, and if, as we know, the universe always seeks the lowest energy state, then it should also seek the lowest information state. This seeking of the lowest information and energy states would be completely unnecessary, and would make no sense, if space and matter had formed together. So there would be no need for the rotation of stars and planets.

The Accelerating Expansion Of The Universe

This week it was in the news that scientists have concluded that "The Dark Energy pushing the universe apart may not be what it seems". There is a simple explanation for it, and we can look at this explanation in terms of either information or energy.

Ever since it was discovered that the universe was expanding outward from where the Big Bang had taken place, there was a general belief that the expansion was slowing down. In 1998 two separate teams of scientists that were investigating the expansion both came to the same astounding conclusion. Not only is the expansion of the universe not slowing down, it is actually speeding up.

This demanded a special explanation. Measurements since then have confirmed that the expansion is indeed speeding up. Just as scientists had earlier come up with the concept of "dark matter" to explain why our galaxy should fly apart by centrifugal force, yet it doesn't, the concept of "dark energy" was invented to try to explain why the expansion of the universe was speeding up.

But I find the acceleration of the expansion of the universe to be rather simple to explain. Just as my cosmology theory has no need of "dark matter", it also has no need of "dark energy".

My information theory explains the acceleration of the expansion of the universe in terms of information. The cosmology theory explains it in terms of energy. 

THE ACCELERATION OF THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE IN TERMS OF INFORMATION

Both explanations are driven by the fusion taking place in stars. Lighter elements are fused together by the tremendous heat and pressure into larger atoms. Matter in the universe began with about 75% hydrogen and 25% helium, and traces of the next two elements. Aside from the hydrogen the rest was the result of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis.

From there stars formed when enough matter came together by gravity to overcome the electron repulsion between adjacent atoms and crunch smaller atoms together into larger ones. This is what forms the rest of the elements, up to iron. Elements heavier than iron require a net input of energy to form and that happens only while the star is actually exploding in a supernova. Only the largest stars explode as a supernova, our sun will simply die out.

There is a direct relationship between surface area and energy. We know that the universe always seeks the lowest energy state. Stars and planets are spherical in form and spheres are the three-dimensional form with the lowest surface area per volume. This shows that there is a direct relationship between surface area and energy.

But when smaller atoms, such as hydrogen and helium, are crunched together by fusion in stars into larger atoms, the new larger atoms have less overall surface area than the smaller atoms which went to form them.

I should explain that surface area gets a little bit more complicated when we deal with fusion. In general, as we might expect, larger atoms atoms have a greater surface area than smaller atoms. But across a row on the Periodic Table of the Elements, the successively heavier atoms are actually more compact, with less surface area. 

What I mean in this case by surface area is the amount of change in the surface area of the atom from the first element in that row. Obviously this only applies for atoms in the same row of the Periodic Table.

Another way that we could look at the surface area of atoms that will undergo fusion is in terms of the total displacement of the electric charges of space within the atom. An electron is a concentration of negative charge and the protons in the nucleus a concentration of positive charge. The space in between is an alternating checkerboard of negative and positive charges, in multiple dimensions. 

The opposite charges of the electrons and protons attract each other, but it also affects the charges in the space between them. The positive charges in space are drawn toward the negative electron and the negative charges in space toward the positive protons. The electron approaches the nucleus until the attraction between the displaced opposite charges in space equals the attraction between the electron and the nucleus.

For our purposes here we can consider this displacement of electric charges in the space within the atom as it's surface area. As we move to the right in a row of the Periodic Table, to successively heavier atoms, this displacement increases even though the actual surface area of the outermost orbital of the atom decreases.

This is energy and information that seems to have been lost. But neither can be lost, they have to go somewhere. Of course, energy and information is really the same thing because we cannot add information to anything without applying energy to it and cannot apply energy to anything without adding information to it.

If surface area represents energy, and surface area is really distance squared, then distance must also be equivalent to energy. This makes sense as we know that a higher, more distant, orbit is also a higher-energy orbit. This also means that distance is information.

So if surface area is lost when atoms are fused together in stars, and since surface area is distance squared, and both represent energy and information that cannot just be lost, where do they go? 

What about the surface area of the universe as a whole? According to my cosmology theory everything in the universe, both space and matter, are made of the same kind of electric charges. The missing energy and information from fusion would be accounted for if it went to increase the distance in the universe, which would also effectively increase the surface area of the universe.

In other words, the universe would expand. 

That neatly gives us our expansion of the universe. But now why would the expansion of the universe be accelerating? 

That is also explained simply by fusion in stars. Lighter elements are continuously fused together into heavier atoms. But the larger atoms each has more surface area than each smaller atom. So when heavier atoms are fused together into still heavier ones, it releases more energy per time than the previous fusion of lighter atoms.

This means, of course, that energy and information is being lost faster that must be accounted for. Again, this is accounted for by the universe expanding but it means that the expansion of the universe must be speeding up.

Wasn't that nice and simple? Remember that there is a long-established principle in physics that the simplest explanation for something is usually the best explanation, known as Occam's Razor.

THE ACCELERATION OF THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE IN TERMS OF ENERGY

Now let's look at the acceleration of the expansion of the universe in terms of energy. We are looking at the same event but from another perspective, although energy and information is really the same thing.

The idea of "dark energy" came about because it was a way to explain why the expansion of the universe was accelerating, which seemed to clearly involve some kind of energy.

So there must be some kind of energy that fills the universe and causes it to expand, and for the expansion to accelerate. There is no pun intended, but what if we opened our eyes? There is energy that fills the universe, but it is not "dark energy". In fact it is actually light, and other electromagnetic radiation.

This radiation that fills space is directly related to the nuclear fusion in stars, that we saw drives the expansion of the universe and it's acceleration. When lighter atoms are crunched together by stellar fusion into heavier ones the new heavier atoms contain less energy, which we can see as surface area, than the original atoms that were crunched together.

This missing energy is released as light, and other electromagnetic radiation, and this is why stars shine.

In my cosmology theory everything, both space and matter, consists of negative and positive electric charges. The basic rules of electric charges are that opposite charges attract while like charges repel. Energy always ultimately goes to overcome the basic rules of electric charges.

When energy overcomes the repulsion between like charges it gives us the concentrations of like charges that form the charged particles of matter. When energy overcomes the attraction between opposite charges it gives us electromagnetic radiation in space. The fusion in stars converts the overcoming of the repulsion to the overcoming of the attraction.

The radiation from stars fills the space of the visible universe. But if this radiation consists of energy that overcomes the attraction between opposite charges, which pulls the charges of space closer together, then shouldn't it cause space to expand, and thus to make the universe expand?

If the overall rate of fusion is increasing, because successively heavier elements are being fused together in stars, and this fusion is behind the expansion of the universe, then doesn't it make sense that this is what is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate?

Wasn't that simple?

The South China Coast

We have visited Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou (Canton), which are in the south. Today we will see the coastal cities that are in between there and Shanghai. North of Hong Kong but south of Shanghai.

This area is so important because it is a logical place for China to do so much of the trading that it does by ship. This stretch of coast was the location of the first Special Economic Zones that were designated by Deng Xiaoping. Possibly the most visible Special Economic Zone today is the Lujiazui area of Shanghai, but that was not designated as a Special Economic Zone until later.

In a Special Economic Zone trading can be done with other countries without requiring the express permission of the government. More free-enterprise is permitted and foreigners are allowed ownership and investment.

China has traded by ship for a very long time. The fabled Silk Road was not only by land. Much of the trading along the road was done by sea. These cities along the coast were mostly walled because piracy and raiding by sea was an ever-present menace. This area is on the mainland directly opposite Taiwan.

The first part of this coast that we will visit, the southern part, is in Fujian Province. In this province there is yet another way to speak Chinese, aside from Mandarin and Cantonese, the dialect here is Fujianese.

Xiamen is an island city on the coast that has been designated as a Special Economic Zone. A lot of shipping is done from this city. This was one of the first Special Economic Zones in China. The first five images of Xiamen are from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.4970245,118.1828842,3a,75y,97.5h,108.94t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNA4W4RyrhIyjOVglJrGBs3Uv7iSGcf5vFJFtAN!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNA4W4RyrhIyjOVglJrGBs3Uv7iSGcf5vFJFtAN%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-18.941883-ya298.64285-ro-0-fo100!7i6912!8i3456

Regardless of how modern these cities look, they are actually very old. Here is some traditional Chinese architecture in Licheng. The first four images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.9082581,118.5857412,3a,75y,91.5h,104.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMbegdGnFYXAYXLYU6jYXZUOSJEMd-WM99v4Cl2!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMbegdGnFYXAYXLYU6jYXZUOSJEMd-WM99v4Cl2%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.933861-ya65.50001-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

This is the coastal city of Quanzhou. The first three images of Quanzhou are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.8744295,118.6351763,3a,75y,271.5h,92.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPvn4UwWiWH44Pwz9edlNBxaey__PeILVT2vk0!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPvn4UwWiWH44Pwz9edlNBxaey__PeILVT2vk0%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya141.5-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

The largest city in Fujian province is Fuzhou. This is the central part of the city. The first four images of central Fuzhou are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.0558828,119.3337558,3a,75y,124.5h,104.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNzla0A927i5MLS6j43M-mMdsdNzk2aSzn3c82K!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNzla0A927i5MLS6j43M-mMdsdNzk2aSzn3c82K%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.933861-ya249.5-ro0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

Here is more of central Fuzhou.

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.0868464,119.2926077,3a,75y,112.5h,101t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPtZsoTuYNiJNwr02iXOkcM4XNZymvi4kmMOJAc!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPtZsoTuYNiJNwr02iXOkcM4XNZymvi4kmMOJAc%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-11-ya111.5-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

The following four images, from Google Street View, are of traditional China in Fuzhou.

This is Minhou, to the north of Fuzhou. The first two images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.1446333,119.1467445,3a,75y,169.5h,92.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOEXnpUdxIIJFDJ2S0SwwFF8BjZLeQptKIPZD3T!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOEXnpUdxIIJFDJ2S0SwwFF8BjZLeQptKIPZD3T%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya169.5-ro-0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

Moving northward along the coast, beyond Fujian province, we come to Wenzhou. The first two images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.0149293,120.6535481,3a,75y,46.5h,92.93t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPQCxUnrLv9TweZRPnCmxBYbhhEbW9Ex2zR6ec5!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPQCxUnrLv9TweZRPnCmxBYbhhEbW9Ex2zR6ec5%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya342.5-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

Finally, at the end of our journey northward along the coast of southern China, we come to the area of Taizhou. This is in the Yangtze Delta, one of the great early centers of civilization. Shanghai is also in the Yangtze Delta. The first two images of Taizhou are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.6407714,121.2577859,3a,75y,187.5h,96.94t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPx6hSUhK9UBESVYwgFGPx0w8CEBpCIaPVHPG0a!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPx6hSUhK9UBESVYwgFGPx0w8CEBpCIaPVHPG0a%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-6.941883-ya8.750007-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

The Circular Trap

The modern world is partially caught in what I call the "Circular Trap", and it is really something that should have a name. The Circular Trap is all about our thinking.

For thousands of years, ceramic bowls, cups and, vases have been made on a potter's wheel. A potter's wheel is necessarily circular and it is difficult to break with the way that things have been done for thousands of years, even when new technology comes along.

Property lots and the floor plans of buildings tend to be rectangular, or right-angled. The reason is simply that the dimensions of space are right-angled and so this is the only form that will fit together with no leftover space. This is also why boxes are right-angled, this is the only shape that can be stacked with no wasted space.

So here is the question. Why are property lots, floor plans and, boxes almost always right-angled because it is the most efficient use of space but pots, like the one above, bowls, vases, plates and, cups are circular? It is because of the momentum of thousands of years of using the potter's wheel, and we have great difficulty breaking out of it, even though the potter's wheel isn't needed anymore. 

This is what I call the Circular Trap.

Despite being the most efficient use of space, because the dimensions of space are at right angles to one another, the right angle form is somewhat alien to us and is rarely seen in nature. The cylindrical form of most pottery, including glass, is much more visible because it is the form of the trunks of trees. There are cylindrical buildings, but it is usually done for decorative reasons.

This is St. Casimir's Church in Buffalo, image from Google Earth. Domes are attractive, from both inside and outside, but spatial efficiency inside the dome is not a factor.

This does not mean that right-angled is always the best form in all situations. It is easier to drink or pour from a circular spout. A cylindrical form means that the edge is always the same distance from the center and this makes rolling, whether paper towels or sheet metal used in manufacturing, more efficient. It is also more aerodynamic, having no edges, and more efficient for things like electrical transformers.

But the fact remains that the right-angled form is more space-efficient. Milk containers and jugs are usually right-angled, except for the pouring apparatus, but most other food containers aren't. Looking around the kitchen here, almost all containers that hold food or ingredients are cylindrical, only a few are right-angled. Today, right-angled containers are just as easy to make and would be considerably more space-efficient. It is no more difficult for us to hold a right-angled container than a circular one. It's just that mass production and transportation is relatively new, and our thinking hasn't caught up to it yet.

This is what I call the Circular Trap.

In the Nineteenth, and early part of the Twentieth, Century large volumes of liquid were stored in those common wooden barrels. A craftsman who made the barrels was called a "cooper". The barrels were made of the cylindrical shape that they were so they could be moved short distances by rolling, and bulged in the middle to facilitate rolling. The following image is from the Wikipedia article "Barrel".

The descendant of these barrels is the standard metal 55 gallon drum of today. When you hear of "barrels of oil", this is what it means. This image, from the Wikipedia article "Drum (Container)" shows a standard 55 gallon drum.

But these barrels of today are rarely moved by rolling. They are usually always moved short distances by forklift, either while on a pallet or with the forks under the ridges on the sides of the barrel, or by dolly or cart. So why are they still made cylindrical when being right-angled would be much more efficient in terms of space?

Suppose that a truck is carrying a load of standard 55 gallon drums. The drums are cylindrical and, because of the simple geometric fact that circles cannot fit together with no wasted space, at least 30 percent of what the truck is carrying is empty space. Over time, this simple inefficiency has cost billions because the drums would be more efficient if they were right-angled. 

In this image, from the Wikipedia article "Drum (Container)", you can see how much wasted space there is because the cylindrical drums cannot fit together with no wasted space.

This applies to anything that is in a package or container, from products on grocery store shelves to barrels of oil or industrial chemicals. It is an illustration of how our thinking works. Technology has advanced far beyond the potter's wheel, that was in use for thousands of years, but our thinking has only partially caught up. You can see this on your next visit to a grocery store.

I don't believe in space aliens but if they existed, and came to earth, this is one of the first things that they would wonder. Why do we make so many things cylindrical when it wastes so much space?

A common goal is to come up with new ideas by "thinking outside the box". But in this case the box is the goal and we need to "think outside the circle".

Macau

Macau began as a Portuguese entrepot on the coast of China, about 65 km from Hong Kong. It is a very wealthy and highly-rated place to live. Macau is also known for high-stakes gambling. Like Hong Kong, Macau drives on the left side of the road.

This is a look at central Macau. Unlike Hong Kong, there is no gap between Macau and the mainland. If a label says the scene is in Guangdong, that is the neighboring province of mainland China. The first three images are from Google Earth.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.2118631,113.5496592,3a,75y,281h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sufvcV24It6_-P-lGLANUZg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DufvcV24It6_-P-lGLANUZg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D281.12518%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The front of the church in the following scenes of central Macau is of St. Paul's Church, which was once destroyed by fire but the front remained. The first three images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.2022279,113.5429255,3a,75y,271h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipP27DkZ2vlDTQL2E4ZeXj1aEPXKCow7sZYsRo_-!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP27DkZ2vlDTQL2E4ZeXj1aEPXKCow7sZYsRo_-%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya149.49998-ro-0-fo100!7i2508!8i1254

This area is along the former border with mainland China. Macau is now fully a part of China. If the label says Guangdong, then it is on the mainland. The first three images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.2107871,113.5352078,3a,75y,304h,87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbuTi3cI6zhtCSCAJIGBu6w!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DbuTi3cI6zhtCSCAJIGBu6w%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D304.5%26pitch%3D-3%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Macau consists of two main islands. The southern island was actually two islands that was artificially joined together. The following scenes are around the southern part of the north island. The first two images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.1909754,113.5367523,3a,75y,188.48h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1suT1jqGNn-Qc7qtf7BeZjRg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DuT1jqGNn-Qc7qtf7BeZjRg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D187.86214%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is around the casino district of Macau. The first two images are from Google Earth. It looks like China's version of Las Vegas, and that is what it is.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.1913962,113.5519785,3a,75y,146.14h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1spT4r1VKE9yqt-aSVRUYvqw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DpT4r1VKE9yqt-aSVRUYvqw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D148.14462%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

On the southern island of Macau this is the area known as Taipa, near the airport. Remember that everything about Macau is a mixture of Chinese and Portuguese. The first three images, of apartment buildings, are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.1563721,113.5572662,3a,75y,310h,84t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMhEWsvMU7UvXLojny8yS2gTutvmZJUrEyboe2_!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMhEWsvMU7UvXLojny8yS2gTutvmZJUrEyboe2_%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-6.941883-ya5.4999986-ro-0-fo100!7i6144!8i3072

Finally, this is the "City of Dreams" mall on the southern island of Macau. China is known for it's sometimes "creative" modern architecture and the building with the "holes" in it is the Morpheus Hotel, as seen in the first two images from Google Earth.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.145186,113.564655,3a,75y,259h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNKw-kJazZsPiFOYRf3kdfKo5C9J-r5OIvU8eWm!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNKw-kJazZsPiFOYRf3kdfKo5C9J-r5OIvU8eWm%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9338646-ya259.5-ro0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688