GOD Sanctions New Scientific Discoveries & Applications

By James Carlson

In Job 38:33, God asks:

38:33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

God challenged Job ~3500 years ago to tell him what the Laws of Nature (Ordinances of Heaven) were. This then is the foundation of modern Scientific discovery. From this challenge, we are given the task to learn how the natural order of things works. We are given many tools to use in order to make these discoveries. Understanding them is the foundation on which we can build, applying scientific discovery here on Earth for the shared benefit of all mankind.

Johannes Kepler and Sir Isaac Newton both said that science is thinking God’s thoughts after him. They both explored and discovered scientific principles and presented them as the 3 Laws of Planetary Motion and the 3 Laws of Gravity. These laws were mathematically expressed and they have proven to be true. Scientific discovery fulfills the challenge God gave Job.

STEM

That discovery often comes in the form of mathematics. The “dominion thereof on the earth” represents applying the “ordinances of heaven” where we live. Applying the ordinances (science) defines engineering, applied science. The result of that application is often technology. From this, we see that God sanctioned Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology, which is what the acronym STEM stands for: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We can outline it further as:

God Said                                                         God Sanctioned

·       What are the ordinances of heaven?             Scientific Discovery

·       What the ordinances are…                             Mathematical Laws of Nature

·       What is the dominion thereof in the earth?  Applied Science or Engineering

·       What that application is…                              Technology, Predictability, Causality

So, from a Biblical standpoint, God has sanctioned Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math; what we call STEM today.

STEM is a methodology whereby scientific discovery can be achieved and applied for the benefit of people everywhere. First, we start with a thesis, falsify that thesis, test the thesis (the perfect agnostic), gather data from the test, discover mathematical relationships from the data, describe the math as a simplified equation or set of equations that represent a model of natural phenomena, and apply that model in various forms to include new technology. STEM defines a method for achieving scientific discovery.

Science of System Thinking

Next, by defining a system, as presented by the Science of System Thinking, we can identify it and better understand it. Any given system may be identified as having 5 characteristics:

·       Parameters that define functional behavior

·       Relationships between parameters that further identify behavior

·       Initial Conditions

·       Inputs and Output (this defines an open system)

If we know 100% about that system, we can call it a Deterministic System, and the associated math that defines its functions is also 100% known. However, if we do not know 100% of a given system's characteristics, we call it a Stochastic System. This reflects a probabilistic understanding of how the system works, and the math is more statistical than deterministic. Examples of stochastic systems are:

·       Economy

·       Meteorology

·       Medical Arts

·       Politics

Design of Experiments (DOE)

DOE is a tool used to provide a reduced test cycle (test runs) whereby the input of a few parameters leads to an explicit equation, such as a polynomial, which provides the relationships between parameters. This then helps us begin defining a system and its characteristics, along with equations that represent the science behind it.

For many stochastic systems, the objective of DOE is to run experiments and provide the data needed for statistical analysis to produce the mathematical expression that defines the system's underlying science. This DOE-based data analysis process is very similar to the work done by statistical engines in AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Given the stochastic nature of many natural systems, we can apply AI (alpha- and beta-; please see previous blog) to learn more about the system and the mathematical equations that define the functions of natural processes. The discovery AI may offer mankind, then, is the transition from stochastic system thinking to deterministic system thinking, fulfilling the challenge God gave Job. As God sanctioned STEM, He also sanctioned AI.

Are There Limits to AI?

To help answer this question, the Enlightenment put it this way:

God made man. And God made the universe that man lives in. Therefore, God made man to understand the universe we live in.

This reflects a classic Enlightenment and natural-theology view. It argues that a rational creator would not design a complex cosmos and a conscious mind without intending for that mind to seek knowledge, use reason, and decode the natural laws of the universe. Both Kepler and Newton were part of the Scientific Revolution that preceded the Enlightenment and inspired much of their way of thinking.

How many laws of nature or principles of science are there to be discovered? Thousands? Millions? The traditional route to science is found in STEM. A non-traditional route may lie in AI. The truth is that whether discovery is made one way or the other, there is no point at which mankind cannot understand how it all works. In other words, the challenge God gave to Job was to discover and understand these principles of science and apply them. There is no point at which discovery is impossible and where the lessons learned exceed the comprehensive capacity of ‘man.’

Many people think that AI will exceed the human capacity for learning and know things beyond our comprehension. And that is just not possible. AI does not have a neural network, nor does it have machine thinking. This is science fantasy. AI is a statistical tool useful for analysis of large data sets to discover relationships and principles of science we may only begin to imagine. AI cannot discover principles that govern the natural order of things to the point that people cannot understand them. AI will discover scientific principles that, when derived, are knowable and applicable to mankind.

The opposite is also true of science. No matter how much one wants to believe in something that doesn’t relate to a law of nature, there isn't enough time or chance to make it real. Given infinite time and chance, nothing will happen in nature without a Law of Nature. So we have to sift out supposed science from real science by deriving our understanding from the available data.

Some people have the fantasy that AI will become so powerful it will exceed mankind's comprehensive abilities; that's not going to happen. This is hard-wired into nature by God, and we can't escape this reality. We will continue to learn, to grow, to do, and to succeed in improving upon the state of science and its benefits to all mankind. This is the challenge God gave Job. I accept this challenge, and I hope you do too.

Afterword

In Daniel 11:32 & 12:4, God gave a prophecy of the Last Times.

11:32 …the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

12:4 …knowledge shall be increased…

So, in the Last Days, ‘knowledge shall increase,’ and ‘people will do great exploits.’ This is because ‘they know their God.’ Does this refer to you?