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Omni Magazine (January 1992)

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ARTHUR C. CLARKE ON GIANT SQUIDS jiTiTn -JANUARY 1992 THINGS YOU MUST t&£T i •' ' ^-' I ,,/- 'A I I I I L REPORT CARD ON THE PLANET MAPPING & FICTION BY URSULA K. IE GUIN JANUARY 1992 GUCCIONE EDITOR IN CHIEF & DESIGN DIRECTOR: BOB PRESIDENT; KATHY KEETON EDITOR: KEITH FERRELL : GRAPHICS D HKCTOR : RANK DEVINO MANAGING l-D ""OH OAHOI INE DARK ART DIRECTOR: DWAYNE FLINCHUM DEPARTMENTS 30 Continuum First Word Environmental report card By Margaret Wertheim 44 Physics and 51 Things You Must the Theory of Everything Know About 8 Technology, Forum Science, and By Keith Ferrell Your Future Space and the presidency By the Editors of Omni 11 • Everything Communications (well, almost) you always Readers' writes know 12 wanted to about science but were | Space " afraid to ask By James Oberg 50 The Soviets sell out 14 Fiction: Encounter with the Body Gorgonids By Keith Harary By Ursula K. Le Guin Tinkering with evolution 56 16 Mapping the Mindfields Tools By Bob Berger By Sandy Fritz 62 real birds Whirlybirds, OMNI Treasure Hunt 18 Preview Wheels 64 PI By Jeffrey Zygmont Fiction: Carl's Lawn and Smart highways as Garden By Terry B'sson 1 Earth 70 By Ben Barber Squid! Third World recycling 26 By Arthur C. Clarke Games 75 World of Electronic By Scot Morris Games The year's best games COVER 28 85 departure for Omni, high- Interview i Political Science This month's coverjs a By Thomas Bass By Tom Dworetzky lighting our list of important things to I explained art and photo credits, page 97) Chaos ".iling trauma facilities know. (Additional : : n i- i ! i Hi .. .. "'I. I . 'I 5 Printed in itie USA it 9 world (except Itie Uf i: srts copy-rig 11 ed. )y COMAG, Tavistock F . tele rj!-.c:is:' -3CC- " FIRST WORD UNIVERSAL HARMONY: everything The search for a mathematical description of By Margaret Wertheim Universe contains find an aesthetically empty, for the e are living in a unique desire to | are all part f% pleasing and spiritually satisfying nothing but itself. We I I moment of history, tor in- it, not separate entities but %J %J many physicists be- description of the Universe—it's of the language of terconnected vibrations participat- they are on the verge of find- just that they use lieve the whole. Protons, petu- mathematical de- numbers not letters. The great ing in ing a complete ga- physicist Paul Dirac, nias, and people, galaxies and scription of the Universe—a The- quantum equations predicted the zelles—we're all harmonies in the ory of Everything. Encompassed whose once universal song. graceful equations suppos- the existence of antimatter, in its believe that to have Some physicists our past, our present, said, "it is more important edly will be the Uni- one's equations than to as well as describing how and our future. beauty in to be the way it is, fit experiment." From verse came The question that needs to be have them modern age the Theory of Everything will also are doing it? We the beginning of the asked is why we interpret in the sixteenth cen- explain why it did. If we individuals and our society as of cosmology as description but al- mathematical it not just'as a whole why are we looking tury, the quest for a a — explanation of why our description of the Universe has so as an for mathematical description of Wertheim, film- a exist, then we predominantly a spiritual Universe came to maker and the Universe? The usual answer been will find ourselves in the metaphys- searching one. Its underlying philosophy is science journal- is that physicists are ical domain. And so we must ask, Theory of that truth is beauty and beauty is ist, is writing for truth, and so the will a mathematical Theory of Ev- the Ultimate truth, and both can be expressed Pythagoras' Everything will be satisfying mathematical formulas. erything be a spiritually book Truth. However, this presuppos-- as Dream, a of existence? This is not For this reason, physics is one account about the es that mathematics is sufficient aesthetic pursuits of something that scientists alone the totality of exis- of the great attempt by physi- to describe Western cul- Giotto's frescoes, can decide. Since it is? our time. Like to describe tence. But how do we know cists ture has largely abandoned myth- belief Michelangelo's sculptures, and universe in The fact is we don't. The the ological and religious accounts of be- Bach's fugues, the Theory of Ev- language of that it is remains just that— a the existence, the mathematical ones phys- erything is a high point of West- mathematics. lief. The founders of modern best have come to play a key role in the ics—Kepler, Galileo, Des- ern culture. Some of the physicists to- psyche of our society. Space, cartes, and Newton— mathematicians and time, and matter, change and pos- iderstood this, day are engaged in constructing in math- of mathemat- sibility are all now defined but today a mathe- it, and all sorts new ematical terms. Our horizons, limi- matical perspec- ics are being developed for the then tations, and dreams are being tive on reality is purpose. If they succeed shaped by physicists' equations. too often taken to their theory will be a concrete need to assess this mathemat- be self-evident. expression of the ancient Pythag- We account not just as scientific While a desire orean belief that the Universe is ical metaphysi- theory but also ; as a to find truth is a a vast harmonic system. cal framework for our lives. 'motivating factor for The models physicists are now of Everything is an developing in working toward The Theory physicists, it is not the Everything do por- extraordinary construct whose only one. They are al- their Theory of scope and power challenge us to driven by a tray a Universe full of patterns The view and symmetries—a harmonic Uni- confront it head-on. its summit will be breath- verse that is mathematically beau- from takingly beautiful. The challenge tiful. It is this theoretical beauty survey what more than any hard evidence facing us will be to and assess what it that convinces them they are on we see us emotionally, spiri- the right track. And it's not hard means to — scientifically. In doing so, to see why. tually, ourselves confronted Today, according to physics, we will find with a choice of whether we the Universe is a multidimension- want to stop there, atop the al force field, and everything that of Mount Everything, or if exists is a concentrated vibration peak wish to press on—and if so, in this field. All things come from we is not just It where? That challenge the field, and to it they return. is for all. DO it is for scientists; it us is everything that is, and yet FDRUfin VOTE FOR VISION: Are there visionary candidates? Are there politicians who know what space exploration means to the nation and the world? technol- system. This is affordable vision J^^ s we enter Election Year ing. It's tough to create bureaucratic design, al- at its best. M^k 1992, it would be nice ogy to certainly tried in Third, is some sensible, firm, # m if our officials—those though we've past time to comfortably funded plans for the in office and those seeking to this country. Now it's humans beyond our grav- be—gave some serious thought try something different: a space future of well. Are we or are we not build- to the future of our space pro- program based on engineering re- ity ing a space station, and what is gram. Nice, but unlikely, alities, commercial needs, scien- Past its primary purpose? Is our next We're in the heart of a reces- tific goals, broad vision. long-term goal a return to the sion that may in actuality be a de- time, but not yet too late or trip to Mars? Will we pression. Certainly we are beset How about a modest, four- moon a these journeys on our by domestic challenges that legged proposal for getting our be making international partner- more dreary every week. space program in motion again, own or in and maintaining ship? These questions must be an- its momentum swered; firmly and with some in next 24 once it begins sense of finality, the going. to move? Funda- months so that we can get mental to the pro- And once we're going, funding treat posals is the must remain constant: Let's idea of steady these as engineering and scien- state funding. En- tific challenges, not political foot- gineering pro- balls constantly in motion from jects work best one committee to the next. and most eco- Fourth is a schedule of substan- nomically when tial tax incentives for private invest- they are under- ment in the commercial and indus- taken with funds trial development of orbital for in hand, rather space. Serious tax cuts than having to space investment will bring seri- busi- take hat in hand ous investors into the space every year to ness. And that will mean jobs, beg for continui- which the country sorely needs. this implies a willingness Health- V-W(?are, housing, ty from Congress. All of .part of the people to take education, unemployment, AIDS, The first leg is a revamping of on the I the peo- and more—can we afford to con- our launch systems. Already un- a long-range view.
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