Schrödinger on Heredity and Quantum Mechanics

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Mike

I recently came upon an inexpensive copy of The World of Mathematics, Volume 2,  and while I usually try to avoid purchasing single volumes of multi-volume works (that is, I prefer to buy entire sets at a time), I couldn’t pass up this book because the diversity of subject matter and authors looked intriguing.  Included in the volume are works by Gallileo, Mendel and Mendeleev, as well as many others.

Erwin Schrödinger

Erwin Schrödinger

I was particularly interested in reading an article called “Heredity and Quantum Theory,” which I initially thought was authored by Werner Heisenberg.  In fact, believing the piece to be by Heisenberg , I had hoped that there would be some kind of argument offered through the work that would suggest that genetic mutation occurs at a subatomic level due to the same underlying principles expressed in the uncertainly principle.  At some point, I realized I had become confused when selecting the work in the book’s table of contents (Heisenberg did contribute a piece to this volume), and that “Heredity and Quantum Theory” was actually authored by Erwin Schrödinger (of “Schrödinger’s cat” fame).  However, the fact that I was mistaken regarding the author of the piece didn’t really detract from the quality of information, therein.  In fact, there is a close relationship between the hypothetical story of Schrödinger’s cat and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle in that both hold that the presence of an observer influences the outcome of an experiment or phenomenon.  Kind of. 1

In “Heredity and Quantum Theory,” Schrödinger elucidates a plausible relationship between quantum mechanics and genetic mutation.  Although the details are sometimes difficult to comprehend, the fundamental premises of the work and Schrödinger’s conclusions make for some fascinating material.  The work is referenced through Google Books, but there doesn’t seem to be much of it online, presented below are some of the salient points of this essay:

THUS, aided by the marvellously subtle instrument of X-rays (which, as the physicist remembers, revealed thirty years ago the detailed atomic lattice structures of crystals), the united efforts of biologists and physicists have of late succeeded in reducing the upper limit for the size of the microscopic structure, being responsible for a definite large-scale feature of the individual —the ‘size of a gene’ —and reducing it far below the estimates referred to earlier.2 We are now seriously faced with the question: How can we, from the point of view of statistical physics, reconcile the facts that the gene structure seems to involve only a comparatively small number of atoms (of the order of 1000 and possibly much less), and that nevertheless it displays a most regular and lawful activity —with a durability or permanence that borders upon the miraculous.

He continues:

In this case it is supplied by quantum theory. In the light of present knowledge, the mechanism of heredity is closely related to, nay, founded on, the very basis of quantum theory. This theory was discovered by Max Planck in 1900. Modern genetics can be dated from the rediscovery of Mendel’s paper by de Vries, Correns and Tschermak (1900) and from de Vries’s paper on mutations (1901-3). Thus the births of the two great theories nearly coincide, and it is small wonder that both of them had to reach a certain maturity before the connection could emerge. On the side of quantum theory it took more than a quarter of a century till in 1926-7 the quantum theory of the chemical bond was outlined in its general principles by W. Heitler and F. London. The Heitler-London theory involves the most subtle and intricate conceptions of the latest development of quantum theory (called ‘quantum mechanics’ or ‘wave mechanics’). A presentation without the use of calculus is well-nigh impossible or would at least require another little volume like this. But fortunately, now that all work has been done and has served to clarify our thinking, it seems to he possible to point out in a more direct manner the connection between quantum jumps’ and mutations, to pick out at the moment the most conspicuous item. That is what we attempt here.

Further, while the following section is not the conclusion of the piece itself, this portion represents some of the most important of Schrödinger’s assertions on the matters of genetics and quantum theory:

Granted that we have to account for the rare natural mutations by chance fluctuations of the heat motion, we must not be very much astonished that Nature has succeeded in making such a subtle choice of threshold values, as is necessary to make mutation rare. For we have, earlier in these lectures, arrived at the conclusion that frequent mutations are detrimental to evolution. Individuals which, by mutation, acquire a gene configuration of insufficient stability, will have little chance of seeing their ‘ultra-radical,’ rapidly mutating descendancy survive long. The species will be freed of them and will thus collect stable genes by natural selection. [My emphasis. -M.]

The essay concludes with Schrödinger’s discussion of thermodynamic entropy as a measurable physical quantity (which can be expressed through statistical physics) and, more importantly, what entropy (e.g. disorder) means to evolution and life itself.  Yakhot’s subsequent assertion “What is of decisive importance in nature is not rest, although it does exist, but movement, development (and) change” is a succinct yet broad validation of Schrödinger’s assertions in this regard. 3

Full text:

Schrödinger , Erwin. “Heredity and Quantum Theory.” The World of Mathematics, Volume 2.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956. 975-1000.

Note: The above excerpts are presented in accordance with the doctrine of Fair Use.

[1] The Uncertainty Principle (commonly expressed as ΔXΔP≥ℏ/2) is succinctly explained by Douglas Hofstadter in his July 1981 essay “Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics” thusly:

“The uncertainty principle states not that the observer always interferes with the observed, but rather that at a very fine grain size, the wave-particle duality of the measuring tools becomes relevant.” [My emphasis. -M.]

He also discusses the implications of the “Schrödinger’s cat” thought experiment in some detail, summarized briefly as such:

The plight of “Schrödinger’s cat”…suggests that (the subject) might be in a quantum-mechanical superposition of states until a human observer intervened. [My emphasis. -M.] 

The full text of Hofstadter’s article is included in the compilation Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern, pp. 455-477.

[2] …Earlier in the volume from which this excerpt has been taken, Schrodinger gives the estimates of maximum size of the gene (evidence obtained by breeding experiments and microscopic inspection): the maximum volume is equal to a cube of side 300 A. (“A” is the abbreviation of Angstrom which is the 1010th part of a meter, or in decimal notation 0.0000000001 meter.) – From the original text.

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Hofstadter’s “Number Numbness,” Revisited

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Mike

Originally posted to the blog “Randomize at Will,” September 2011. 

In his May 1982 article, “On Number Numbness,” noted author, Gödel enthusiast and master of all things complicated Douglas Hofstadter eloquently laments a global decline in the appreciation and comprehension of “large numbers.” Of particular concern to Hofstadter is the virtual omnipresence of such grand figures in media coverage of government affairs and the like. Citing figures regarding GDP and defense spending, Hofstadter posits that unfamiliarity with basic arithmetic principles yields popular misconceptions and consequently, sweeping indifference throughout large portions of society. The piece is obviously not intended as a political manifesto, for sure, but the application of Hofstadter’s work to geopolitical issues bring about a number of important questions of the political sort:

I have always suspected that relatively few people really know the difference between a million and a billion. To be sure, people generally know it well enough to sense the humor in the joke about when the earth will fall into the sun, but what the difference is precisely—well, that is something else. I once heard a radio news announcer say, “The drought has cost California agriculture somewhere between nine hundred thousand and a billion dollars.” Come again? This kind of thing worries me. In a society where big numbers are commonplace, we cannot afford to have such appalling number ignorance as we do. Or do we actually suffer from number numbness? Are we growing ever number to ever-growing numbers? What do people think when they read ominous headlines like the ones above? What do they think when they read about nuclear weapons with 20-kiloton yields? Or 60-megaton yields? Does the number really register or is it just another cause for a yawn? “Ho hum, I always knew the Russians could kill us all 20 times over. So now it’s 200 times, eh? Well, we can be thankful it’s not 2,000, can’t we?”

He continues:

The world is gigantic, no question about it. There are a lot of people, a lot of needs, and it all adds up to a certain degree of incomprehensibility. But that is no excuse for not being able to understand—or even relate to numbers whose purpose is to summarize in a few symbols some salient aspects of those huge realities. Most likely the readers of this article are not the ones I am worried about. It is nonetheless certain that every reader of this article knows many people who are ill at ease with large numbers of the sort that appear in our government’s budget, in the gross national product, corporation budgets, and so on. To people whose minds go blank when they hear something ending in “illion”, all big numbers are the same, so that exponential explosions make no difference. Such an inability to relate to large numbers is clearly bad for society. It leads people to ignore big issues on the grounds that they are incomprehensible. The way I see it, therefore, anything that can be done to correct the rampant innumeracy of our society is well worth doing. As I said above, I do not expect this article to reveal profound new insights to its readers (although I hope it will intrigue them); rather, I hope it will give them the materials and the impetus to convey a vivid sense of numbers to their friends and students.

[…]

It is numbers like 545 billion that we are dealing with when we talk about a Defense Department overrun of $750 billion for the next four years. A really fancy single-user computer (the kind I wouldn’t mind having) costs approximately $75,000. With $750 billion to throw around, we could give one to every person in New York City, which is to say, we could buy about ten million of them. Or, we could give $1 million to every person in San Francisco, and still have enough left over to buy a bicycle for everyone in China! There’s no telling what good uses we could put $750 billion to. But instead, it will go into bullets and tanks and fighters and war games and missile systems and jet fuel and marching bands and so on. An interesting way to spend $750 billion, but I can think of better ways.

Of course, the figures cited above are indisputably dated – preceding the most out-of-control defense spending of the Reagan Administration[i], both wars with Iraq[ii], the TARP bailout[iii] and so forth), but the message stands that perceptual reality, fostered by misinterpretations regarding figures that express quantity, value and distance, bring about real life consequences. With specific attention to matters regarding the ability to wage large-scale warfare, a complex yet poignant question emerges:

Does the seemingly limitless ability of governments to produce fiat currency, coupled with an ever-expanding ability of a pervasive military-industrial complex to kill people on a massive scale mean that human life has been effectively, definitely, and completely devalued once and for all?

The full text of “On Number Numbness” is available in the volume Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern.

[i] In 1983, the year following the original publication of “On Number Numbness,” the conservative-leaning CATO institute noted “Among the notable features of the Reagan 1983 budget, the most egregious is the vast increase in defense spending. In terms of spending authorization…there is a 20% increase, from $214 billion ($214,000,000,000,000) in 1982 to $258 billion ($258,000,000,000,000) in 1983.” [Source]

[ii] The Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 cost an estimated $61 billion ($61,000,000,000,000); The most recent war with Iraq, as of 2010, has cost an estimated $715 billion ($715,000,000,000). [Source]

[iii] An estimated $700 billion ($700,000,000,000) [Source]

 

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Matches To See Before You Die: Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL (Judgment Day 2004)

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Mike

We wrestling fans have a penchant for sharing our favorite moments of the sport with our fellow enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts (much to the collective chagrin of the latter group, I’m sure).  We have our own respective opinions about what constitutes a “great” match and we’re always happy to offer a dusty old VHS tape, a secondhand DVD collection or a YouTube link to back up our assertions.  Our more “scholarly” types can likely share a short dissertation about the more remarkable matches that literally changed the very history of pro wrestling – for better or for worse, even.  But there are some truly special matches, too.  For this category of wrestling match, simple kudos are just not enough.  These are the matches that exemplify pro wrestling as both sport and entertainment.  These are the matches that any and all fans must see at one time or another to gain a transcendent appreciation for the spectacle of pro wrestling.  These are the matches you have to see before you die.

Here’s one of those matches now…

Viva La Raza – The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (2008)

Eddie Guerrero vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield
Judgment Day – May 16, 2004

This match is presented in its entirety on Disc 3 WWE’s Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero DVD set.  In the setup for the match, JBL provides an overview of his 2004 feud with Guerrero, providing a good deal of perspective on what appeared to be one of the more bitter rivalries of the day.  As many folks know by now, the reality of the matter is that these men were very good friends behind the scenes and, in some ways, their relative familiarity with one another might have given them the ability to push the envelope now and again.

The feud between Guerrero and JBL consisted of high drama and epic battles.  Family members were insulted and threatened, honor was lost and regained many times over, and JBL cranked out anti-immigrant promos the likes of which would make an Arizona Minuteman blush.

The action and intrigue both came to a head at Judgment Day 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  Here’s how it starts:  JBL takes to the mic before the match, generating enough heat to rival a SoCal wildfire as he vows to take the WWE Heavyweight Championship away from Eddie once and for all.  And–to add insult to injury–he suggests that Guerrero’s mother could work at JBL’s estate as a maid to make ends meet once her son is stripped of his championship gold.   Every time I watch this, I am completely surprised that Bradshaw didn’t bring the arena down around him before this match even got moving.  Don’t skip through this segment because it is truly one of the most wicked heel promos you’ll ever see.

Redemption is on the horizon as Eddie’s music hits.  He makes his was to ringside in grand fashion, riding in a tricked-out custom low-rider.  But there’s not too much time for light-hearted fanfare because, as Marvel’s ever–lovin‘ blue-eyed Thing might say: “It’s clobberin’ time!”

Here’s the thing:  The build up to the match is good.  The pre-match heat is great.  The anticipation before they lock up is terrific.  But this event is really two different matches.  There’s the first few minutes in which they bounce each other around the ringside area.  JBL hits a ring post or two and ends up flying on to the Spanish announce table (predictable, of course, but a little on the ironic side, too…) and actually tires to bail on the event altogether before Eddie chases him up the ramp and hauls him back to the ring.  JBL collects himself and gives it right back to Guerrero for a bit.    From there, it’s a decent enough back and forth match.  A flying cross-body move from Eddie, some more smashmouth stuff outside of the ring.  It’s on, all right.  And as they say on the infomercials: “Wait, there’s more!”

After about 13 minutes of out-and-out combat, the referee is accidentally KO’d by an over enthusiastic Eddie Guerrero.  Now, anarchy rules.  The action spills out into the ringside area once more and Eddie tosses JBL into the announce area again.  As Guerrero approaches the commentators’ table to mete out more punishment, Bradshaw rears up in a blinding flash and delivers a stunning blow with a folding chair, smashing Latino Heat squarely in the skull. The shot covers the area from crown of his head down to his forehead.  At this moment, everything witnessed in the first 14 ½ minutes of this match is simply academic.  It’s a new, different scene from here on out.

In his commentary on the DVD, JBL notes that he hit Guerrero with a chair shot that he describes as: “as hard as…any chair shot probably in the history of this business.”  Indeed.  I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a huge JBL fan but if I were doling out “best ever” awards for the sport of pro wrestling, this particular assault would surely garner the nod for “Best Chair Shot of All Time.”  In the course of my three decades as a wrestling fan, I think I can safely say that I have never seen a blow so powerful and so vicious (with the possible exception of pretty much every match involving New Jack, I suppose).

Eddie positively crumbles from the blow.  It’s understandable enough because it’s one hell of a shot.  But Eddie was a big, tough guy and it’s pretty unsettling to see him collapse like a house of cards , especially if you’ve grown up watching men like him take shot after shot and remain standing.

The crowd reaction to the resulting gore adds an uncanny dimension to the scene.  Eddie starts bleeding profusely mere seconds after impact and the 18,722 fans in attendance let out a tremendous gasp that captures horror and disbelief all at the same time.  Michael Cole comments: “Eddie Guerrero is bleeding like a sieve here!”  Well, I guess that makes sense if you were to take a sieve and pour a bunch of blood into it.  Whatever.

For his part, JBL–legendary for being something of a “bully” in the ring–seems to struggle just a little with how to continue.  He looks unsure of just what exactly he needs to do for a second or two.  Of course, he’s back to his old self soon enough, tossing a set of steel steps right into Eddie’s blood-soaked face.  I suppose one could call JBL a “consummate professional” but then again, it might have just been the MamaJuana kicking in.

Three minutes after the chair shot, Eddie has lost a significant amount of blood and most of it is covering his face, shoulders and chest.  Forget the proverbial “crimson mask”; Guerrero is sporting a crimson body suit at this point.  JBL delivers the “Clothesline from Hell” and goes for a cover as referee Charles “Little Naitch” Robinson enters the ring as a back-up ref to administer the count.  It’s a near-fall when Eddie kicks out.   JBL delivers the powerbomb and covers Eddie again. It’s another near-fall as Eddie kicks out.  Another cover, another kick out.  It’s fine and dandy to talk of wrestling as “sports entertainment,” but the fact that Guerrero has been bleeding so profusely (we’re six minutes post chair-shot by now) and he’s still on his feet and ready to fight some more…Well, that is some real showmanship and fortitude, people.  It’s “blood and guts” in every sense of the phrase.

Somewhere along the way, Charles Robinson is knocked out and the original ref (say, who is that guy, anyway?) regains his faculties and continues officiating the match.  By this point, Eddie is in full “comeback” mode and JBL is covered in his opponent’s blood.  Nasty.  There’s running, tossing, flying and crashing.  Almost 10 minutes after the chair shot, the men are still up and at it and the ring canvas looks kind of like the pavement in Frida Kahlo’s painting “The Suicide of Dorothy Hale.”  JBL brings a chair and the WWE title belt into the ring, determined to end it all with the use of one or both weapons.  As the ref wrests away the chair, Eddie gets a hold of the belt and clocks JBL with it in plain sight of the official.  So JBL gets the win by DQ, but not the belt.  It’s over, right?  Nah…

Eddie Guerrero on the threshold of redemption

It’s all about vindication, now.  Eddie delivers a post-match beat down of epic proportions.  He busts JBL open with a couple more shots to the head with the belt and then delivers a crushing chair shot of his own to JBL’s skull.  It’s like a page out of Fangoria by this point.

The defining moment of this match is Eddie’s final climb up the turnbuckles.  Having missed a Five-Star Frog Splah earlier in the match, it’s clear to everyone watching that’s ready to put the explanation point on scream for vengeance.  Now 12 minutes after the chair shot, he has lost an incredible amount of blood and the evidence of this is everywhere.  JBL would later comment that Eddie nearly bled to death that night and if you check this one out, you’ll find this claim to be entirely plausible.  From the top rope, Eddie stands tall over JBL and beats his chest in triumph before delivering a Frog Slash on to his vanquished foe.  After a brief melee on the ramp, the battle is over and while JBL claims the “W,” Eddie is, for all intents and purposes, the winner of this match.

This match stands out for its ferocity and its physicality.  These guys put the audience through the full gamut of emotions, testing the limits of sanity and decency with an incredible spectacle.

If I have just one grievance with this match, it’s that Guerrero didn’t beat JBL with a clean pinfall.  It would have been great to see Eddie pick up a “legit” win despite Bradshaw’s chicanery, for sure.  But the truth of the matter is that the unresolved anger and resentment that festered after the match set up a number of other encounters in what proved to be a ferocious rivalry.

*   *   *

When a wrestler passes on (and we all know we’ve seen a lot of that in recent years), there’s usually a temptation by fans and the wrestling media to shower all sorts of high praise and accolades upon the departed.  This is especially the case when the death is both untimely and tragic, as it was in the case of Eddie Guerrero.  I guess it makes us feel better at some level.  But Eddie really was one of the greats.  There are a lot of examples from virtually every phase in his career of his strength, expertise and charisma.  But if anything stands out as a testimonial to his dedication to the business and his commitment to wrestling fans, it should be this match.  It’s clear that Eddie was dedicated to the idea that “the show must go on” even in the face of personal risk, pain and suffering.  Indeed, the show did go on even after the wrestling world lost Eddie for good…but it was never quite the same.  ★

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Weird Comics: Chuck Colson – Born Again

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Mike

It’s something that’s so easily overlooked; that small box labeled “religious comics” that’s often found tucked away under a table or in the darkest corner of a comic shop or second hand bookstore.  Maybe I’m a sucker for some of the more bizarre facets of popular culture, but anytime I see a box of churchy comics, I can’t resist rummaging through them.  Religion and comics often come together to produce a unique brand of zaniness, as is evident from the insanity-ridden tracts that Jack Chick has been churning out for decades.

Image from Spire Comics

But the evangelical fire and brimstone of Chick’s work is just one facet of the peculiar genre of religious comics.  The old Treasure Chest comics, which saw something of a heyday back in the 1950s and 1960s, attempted to inform as well as inspire.  The “Buddy Jesus” comics that portray the purported Son of Man hanging out with a crew of talking animals, playing four square and rapping about creationism are always good for a chuckle, as well.  Some comics seek to effectively recreate the memorable scenes and stories of the Bible or they present modern tales of religious folks and their struggles.  Then there are the quasi-biographical, “here’s how this poor schmuck found salvation” stories.  Those comics are always entertaining in their own morbidly special way.  A prime example of the latter is Chuck Colson –Born Again, a comic book adaptation of the Watergate con’s 1975 autobiography of the same name.

Published by Spire Christian Comics in 1978, Born Again is the sugar-coated, “feel good” story of Chuck Colson’s suffering and redemption.  It’s a relatively typical tale in some respects, as Colson professes that he was converted to Evangelical Christianity through the help of his friend Thomas Phillips who had himself been “saved” some time earlier.  Phillips provides Colson with a copy of the C.S. Lewis book Mere Christianity and Colson subsequently immerses himself in the text, learning all kinds of Jesusy insight. (Incidentally, despite the fact that he apparently needed “saving,” Colson effectively maintains that he was basically law-abiding – and apparently naïve and blissfully oblivious of the wrongdoing and unethical behavior swirling around him – throughout all of his work with the Nixon administration and CREEP.) While serving time in a Federal prison for convictions related to the Watergate scandal, Colson shares his enlightenment with other inmates and he ultimately decides to start a ministry and devote his life to spreading the word far and wide.

Well…I guess some of that story is true.

The fact of the matter is that Chuck Colson – Born Again is nothing short of a grand and glorious collection of obfuscation and half-truths.  Colson’s yarn portrays the man himself as an pious martyr acting in service of a naively innocent Richard Nixon.  In one of the more laughable parts of the story, it’s inferred that John Ehrlichman learned of the Watergate break-in while watching the evening news.  Indeed, the entire question of wrongdoing and guilt is effectively marginalized through the omnipresent argument that Richard Nixon’s coterie of henchmen acted under the Nietzschean principal that “what is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.”  With respect to this particular version of the Watgergate story, it’s basically unclear as to whether the “love” that spurred Nixon and co. to action was an unfettered and dogmatic love of country or a just good old-fashioned lust for power, influence and control.

Image from Spire Comics

Chuck Colson – Born Again has kitschy appeal on many levels: It’s a nostalgic yet warped snapshot of history along with some fundamentalist farce and a good bit of out and out weirdness.  But in the most basic of terms, this comic book is simply a case of art imitating life…and it’s a pale, sad and half-assed imitation at that.  Enjoy it for what it is: a dose of self-righteous and egotistical spin, courtesy of a very guilty conscience.

 

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