As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter. – Max Planck
“I don’t believe in anything I can’t perceive,” a friend told me the other day.
“Really?” I asked him. “Not anything?”
This important subject came up during a deep discussion between my friend and I about the nature of belief and faith, sparked when we both read a wonderful novel named Lila. In the book, part of a trilogy of novels by the great American writer Marilynne Robinson, one of the main characters questions some of the dogmas of his faith. An aging Christian clergyman, he has come to doubt the existence of hell and its supposed punishments—but still believes in the numinous and mystical rewards of heaven.
My friend took the character’s doubts to heart when he read the book, and thought we should extend those doubts to whatever we can’t perceive with our five senses. Essentially, he was espousing the reductive materialistic philosophy—that nothing exists beyond matter. I thought he might be missing the point, so I asked him about radiation.
“It’s invisible, but it can kill you. Do you believe in radiation?”
“Of course,” he said.
“OK, do you believe in the penetrating influence of ideas?”
“Sure,” he said. “I wouldn’t read books if I didn’t.”
“Where do ideas come from, then?”
“The human mind.”
“You’re sure about that? Every idea we have, every artistic inspiration, every one of our thoughts?”
He considered that question for a while.
“No,” he said slowly. “Actually, I’m not so sure about that.”
“Me neither,” I agreed. “Everyone who has ever discovered anything, any artist looking for a creative impetus, has felt inspiration from some source outside themselves.”
“That’s true,” my friend said. Then I showed him this powerful passage from the Baha’iteachings:
Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere revelation of the word “Fashioner,” issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except them whose sight is sharp. – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, pp. 141-142.
This essentially mystical concept—that all of humanity’s creative energies originally come from the animating influence of the Word of God—has enormous resonance with the modern science of quantum physics. The father of quantum physics, Max Planck, found that everything our senses perceive as real comes from the force of a “conscious and intelligent Mind,” which he called “the matrix of all matter.”
The power of the Word of God, from a Baha’i perspective, actually creates reality. It forms the generative force necessary to set new ideas into motion, much like the unknown force that “brings the particle of an atom to vibration,” as Planck put it. You can’t touch it, but you can certainly see it in the holy scriptures of all the great Faiths, and you can read it directly from the source in the Baha’i writings.
When you read the creative Word, try to understand it as more than mere words. Instead, try to see it as the underlying architecture of reality itself:
Every thing must needs have an origin and every building a builder. Verily, the Word of God is the Cause which hath preceded the contingent world — a world which is adorned with the splendours of the Ancient of Days, yet is being renewed and regenerated at all times. Immeasurably exalted is the God of Wisdom Who hath raised this sublime structure. – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 141.
Next: Two Calls to Success and Prosperity
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BahaiTeachings.org or any institution of the Baha’i Faith.
WRITTEN BY
David Langness writes and edits for BahaiTeachings.org and is a journalist and literary critic for Paste Magazine. He and his wife Teresa live in the Sierra foothills in Northern California
Jim Wallis, Christian pastor and founder of Sojourners, wrote “Ours is a shallow and selfish age, and we are in need of conversion — from looking out just for ourselves to also looking out for one another. It’s time to hear and heed a call to a different way of life, to reclaim a very old idea called the common good.”
We need a new paradigm for living in which the well-being of the whole is necessary for the well-being of the part.
We have erroneously been led to believe, based on Darwin’s work on evolutionary theory, in the survival of the fittest, that competition and winning is the goal of life. But Darwin was grossly misrepresented and misinterpreted.
In “The Origin of the Species,” Darwin mentioned survival of the fittest only twice, but mentioned love 95 times. He described competition nine times, but mutual aid 24 times. Darwin observed that organisms that work together for the common good have better evolutionary outcomes. We are hard wired for cooperation, not competition.
If we consume too much media, we may begin to believe the messages that seek to divide us. We may start to see the world as us vs them. We may begin fearing or hating the poor, the immigrants, the refugees, the police, the protesters, the gays, the whites, the blacks, the Republicans, the Democrats, the Muslims, the Others. We may find ourselves believing we are superior, more virtuous, more deserving, the Chosen Ones.
We may be in danger of believing the lie that we are in a competition that must be won to ensure our own survival.
But we must not allow ourselves to believe this lie. Every person is our brother and our sister, no matter their country of origin, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation or race. Now more than ever in the history of humanity. We must learn to work for the common good to ensure our collective survival.
The Golden Rule, treat other people the way you want to be treated, is taught in every religion. Jesus said that to “Love your neighbor as yourself” is second only to the command to love God. When asked, “Who is my neighbor?,” he told the parable of the Good Samaritan – purposefully elevating the despised foreigner as the hero of the story, the only person to help a man in need after the religious leaders passed him by. By Jesus’ definition, we are not following God’s law if we do not have compassion for others and demonstrate that compassion through deeds.
On a societal level, we have to come to terms with how to elevate the state of each member. The current system is not sustainable. We cannot continue to allow the accumulation of great wealth by a few while millions of others cannot meet their basic needs of food, shelter, health care or education.
Tom Shaydac, in the documentary “I Am,” said, “The redwood tree doesn’t take all the soil and nutrients, just what it needs to grow. A lion doesn’t kill every gazelle, just one. We have a term for something in the body when it takes more than its share, we call it: cancer.”
One of the principles of the Baha’i Faith is the eventual elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty, so that every person’s basic needs may be met and they may live a more self-actualized life.
Abdu’l-Baha wrote in “The Foundations of World Unity,” “If conditions are such that some are happy and comfortable and some in misery; some are accumulating exorbitant wealth and others are in dire want—under such a system it is impossible for man to be happy … God is kind to all. The good pleasure of God consists in the welfare of all the individual members of mankind. The purport is this: that we are all inhabiting one globe of earth. In reality we are one family and each one of us is a member of this family. We must all be in the greatest happiness and comfort, under a just rule and regulation, which is according to the good pleasure of God, thus causing us to be happy, for this life is fleeting.”
Dee Dombach and her husband, Scott, are members of the Carlisle Bahai Community. They welcome comments at carlislebahai@yahoo.com. Visit them on at www.bahai.us. The views expressed are the author’s own.
One Physicist’s first Look at Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet of the Universe
Abdu’l-Baha in the Holy Land
Introduction
Tablet of the Universe written by Abdu’l-Baha has been translated into English in a provisional form here. It is primarily a piece on spirituality and therefore not an exposition of physics. However as Abdu’l-Baha states in the Tablet :
“These are spiritual truths relating to the spiritual world. In like manner, from these spiritual realities infer truths about the material world. For physical things are signs and imprints of spiritual things;”.
Thus perhaps something can yet still be deduced about the physical universe from this tablet. It is my opinion that the words of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha’s exposition represent a profound source of knowledge. Humanity has only barely touched the surface of this great ocean. This article represents my flawed initial attempt to try and correlate what relates to my training as a physicist with my understanding of this Tablet. I see this as perhaps the start of a dialogue on this work which hopefully will in the future lead to responses from scholars of Baha’u’llah’s revelation and experts in Persian and Arabic, who can help us move towards what should be properly regarded as unachievable goal: a full and correct parsing of the ideas contained therein. In fact we should from the outset understand that the meanings hid in this Tablet will only reveal themselves fully through passage of time:
“As weakness and evanescence are inherent in the nature of the contingent world, it was not possible that it should sustain a complete manifestation of the signs and evidences of this Revelation, which hath shone forth from the Summit of Sinai, except in a gradual manner.”
What follows are selected extracts from the Tablet which struck me and my attempt to relate them to current understandings of physics.
Tablet of the Universe Comments:
3rd paragraph
“Divine and all-encompassing Wisdom hath ordained that motion be an inseparable concomitant of existence, whether inherently or accidentally, spiritually or materially. This movement must be governed by some check or rein, some regulator or director, otherwise order will be disrupted and the spheres and bodies will fall from the heavens. For this reason God brought into being a universal attractive force between these bodies to hold sway over them and govern them, a force deriving from the firm ties, the mighty correspondence and affinity that exist between the realities of these limitless worlds. By the operation of this attractive force those holy and resplendent suns, with their luminous worlds, satellites and planets, circling and orbiting in their heavens, at once exerted attraction and were subject to it, induced motion and were themselves moved, began orbiting and set into orbit other bodies, shone forth and caused others to shine.”
Non-existence of Absolute Rest
The first sentence is an idea Abdu’l-Baha has reiterated in many other tablets, that absolute rest is impossible. This is a well understood consequence of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle: the fact that absolute zero Kelvin is impossible to reach.
Gravitational Attraction as Entanglement?
Studies of Hawking radiation from Black holes and information preservation has lent support to the idea of space-time being product of quantum entanglement
The third sentence, although seemingly trivial, when carefully parsed actually might contain some very profound insights. He relates that the universal attractive force is derived “ from the firm ties, the mighty correspondence and affinity that exist between the realities.” One might understand firm ties, correspondence and affinity between realities to represent the nature of quantum entanglement. At its heart quantum entanglement ensures a correlation or correspondence between entangled particles over arbitrary distances. On this point I would be very curious to have experts in the original language and culture weigh in. The question is, how would an individual from Persia in the 19th and early 20th century describe entanglement with the language at his disposal? Furthermore, how would he go about explaining this to an audience of individuals scientifically illiterate by the standards of today?
Entropy Equation for a Black Hole
Most are probably aware from general relativity, that gravity is currently understood as being a result of space-time distortions created by mass-energy. One of the most exciting developments of recent theoretical physics has been the conjecture that space-time is actually a product of quantum entanglement. This idea is supported by the consideration of information preservation in black holes as well as work done in condensed-matter physics and quantum information theory. This has now blown-up into an area of study which has attracted the brightest minds of our day. An excellent introduction to this new idea is here.
Stellar Formation
Baby stars are forming near the eastern rim of the cosmic cloud Perseus, in this infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.
The fourth sentence is interesting here due to the fact that he links the universal attractive force to the process of sun’s shinning forth. From a physics point of view gravitation of course is what drives stellar formation and causes suns to shine, a fact which was not known until the process of nuclear fusion was well understood.
Paragraphs 5 and 6
“Know thou that the expressions of the creative hand of God throughout His limitless worlds are themselves limitless. Limitations are a characteristic of the finite, and restriction is a quality of existent things, not of the reality of existence.
This being the case, how can one, without proof or testimony, conceive of creation being bound by limits? Gaze with penetrating vision into this new cycle. Hast thou seen any matter in which God is bounded by limits which He cannot overstep? Nay, by the excellence of His glory! On the contrary, His tokens have encompassed all things and are sanctified and exalted beyond computation in the world of creation.”
Cosmos or Universe is infinite
This theme of limitlessness is repeated several times in the Tablet as well as in other writings of both Abdu’l-Baha and Baha’u’llah. It would seem that even if we discover a bound to our current universe the existence of multi-verses would needs exist. Further he says a very interesting thing; “restriction is a quality of existent things, not the reality of existence” . This makes me think of something like the relationship between the quantum wave equation and a particle. The quantum wave in theory permeates all space and thus can be thought of as unlimited while its expression as a particle is limited in space. I have a sense that there is much more to this idea though that relates back to Plato’s ideal forms, which underlie the true nature of existence.
Paragraph 7 and 8
“These are spiritual truths relating to the spiritual world. In like manner, from these spiritual realities infer truths about the material world. For physical things are signs and imprints of spiritual things; every lower thing is an image and counterpart of a higher thing. Nay, earthly and heavenly, material and spiritual, accidental and essential, particular and universal, structure and foundation, appearance and reality and the essence of all things, both inward and outward — all of these are connected one with another and are interrelated in such a manner that you will find that drops are patterned after seas, and that atoms are structured after suns in proportion to their capacities and potentialities. For particulars in relation to what is below them are universals, and what are great universals in the sight of those whose eyes are veiled are in fact particulars in relation to the realities and beings which are superior to them. Universal and particular are in reality incidental and relative considerations. The mercy of thy Lord, verily, encompasseth all things!
Know then that the all-embracing framework that governs existence includes within its compass every existent being — particular or universal — whether outwardly or inwardly, secretly or openly. Just as particulars are infinite in number, so also universals, on the material plane, and the great realities of the universe are without number and beyond computation.”
Scale Invariance or Self Similarity
zooming in on the mandelbrot set
What Abdu’l-Baha is describing I believe is the principle of scale invariance and the related idea of self similarity which underly the notion of oceans being like drops. In physics this is well recognized and actively studied. In fact Fractal mathematics has been applied as powerful tool to model and study this phenomena. For more in depth discussion of this phenomena see self similarity or scale invariance.
However what is perhaps beginning to be understood is how it might apply to the hierarchy of physical laws, moving from particular laws to increasingly universal laws. An example of this would be the discovery of the particular physical laws such as Ampere’s law for moving charges and Faraday’s Law for magnetic flux. Then several years later Maxwell and Einstein with relativity, unified them in such a way that they could be expressed as a single field represented by a single four dimensional tensor. Then later quantum field theory demonstrated that this field arose from the application of a rotational phase symmetry of the quantum field.
There is also an old idea, that our universal constants like the speed of light or planck’s constant actually might have changed over the deep time of the universe and are properties given by some as yet not understood underlying geometry of space-time (e.g. see “New varying speed of light theories”). Paul Dirac, one of the developers of Quantum Field theory, was a proponent of such ideas.
Whether or not the physical constants have varied over the life of our particular universe is one question which may or may not be true. However personally I am more inclined towards the idea that the value of our constants are probably related to each other and a product of some sort of geometry or an overarching structure inherent in reality. This seems an antidote to arguments about the fine tuning of the universe’s constants. Some may promote fine tuning as evidence of divine design, however I have an instinctual distaste for this viewpoint since I think the divine hand is much more subtle and works through the universal laws of nature and not like a watch maker. As Baha’u’llah says in the Tablet of Wisdom, “Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator”.
P.A.M. Dirac at the blackboard
What is not yet appreciated and seems new is the idea that this progression from particular laws to more general laws might be an infinite process and could never terminate into some final theory of everything. For example I could imagine the day may come where we understand all the major forces as manifestations of single field in a so-called unified field theory, however there still might be principles which govern how the underlying field and its constants are created and sustained which will remain unanswered. Thus one could imagine a process of infinite progression towards greater and greater universal laws which Abdu’l-Baha seems to be referring to.
Paragraph 20
“Know then that, as hath been clearly handed down in the accounts of old, these great orbits and circuits fall within subtle, fluid, clear, liquid, undulating and vibrating bodies, and that the heavens are a restrained wave because a void is impossible and inconceivable.”
Electron Orbitals
This sentence describes the great orbits in a manner which reminds me of how the electron orbitals are understood. Electron orbitals, are described mathematically as spherical harmonics or a kind of standing wave bound by the attraction of the force generated by the electric field of the atom. Now Abdu’l-Baha appears to be describing the physical heavens and not the atomic orbitals or the spiritual realm, though given the nature and process of the Tablet he could be also be speaking of any number of grades of existence.
However if we proceed taking it at face value, both quantum field theory and general relativity are field theories, in that the forces arise from the effects of the continuum. As a result both sustain the propagation of waves. More recently the prediction of gravitational waves given by general relativity has been demonstrated in the groundbreaking LIGOexperiment. Thus strictly speaking the heavens or space-time could be understood as a ‘restrained wave’ held by the mass-energy of the universe and acted on by dark energy.
Non-existence of a void
A graphic representation of Wheeler’s calculations of what quantum reality may look like at the Planck length. By Jarrokam (Own work)
This idea is repeated several places in the tablet and I would claim it is supported by current quantum field theory for which empty space is not really empty, underlying it is a field from which particles pop in and out of existence. It is bubbly or foamy thing. Actually the vacuum can never reach absolute zero energy. In all space there exists what is called ‘zero-point’ energy. This again is a direct consequence of quantum mechanics. Incidentally it has also been speculated that the zero point energy is somehow related to dark energy which drives the accelerating expansion of the universe. However zero point energy is orders of magnitude too large to account for the observed cosmological constant. This actually represents one of the big unanswered questions of physics.
Art can heal us, inspire us, and alter our brain chemistry
With so much talk about the evidence of the positive effects of yoga and meditation, you might be surprised at what scientific research also says about how art effects the brain. Long before modern neuroscience, artists were creating works to inspire people and today complex brain imaging scans can show us just how art changes the physiology of our brains. Contemplation, observing, and taking in beauty all stimulate pleasure centers within the brain while increasing blood flow by up to 10% in the medial orbitofrontal cortex. This can lead to an elevated state of consciousness, wellbeing, and better emotional health.
Mirror Neurons are neurons that fire both when a person acts and when the person observes the same action performed by another. This brings us back to a very basic concept in human evolution which involves modeling. When you observe a profound piece of art you are potentially firing the same neurons as the artist did when they created it thus making new neural pathways and stimulating a state of inspiration. This sense of being drawn into a painting is called “embodied cognition”.
Art accesses some of the most advanced processes of human intuitive analysis and expressivity and a key form of aesthetic appreciation is through embodied cognition, the ability to project oneself as an agent in the depicted scene,
– Christopher Tyler, director of the Smith-Kettlewell Brain Imaging Center
Detail of Banks of the Siene at Jenfosse by Claude Monet
This explains why we might feel like we are dreaming when we look at impressionists like Claude Monet, or having an ecstatic vision while looking at a painting by Alex Grey. The ability of art, combined with our own imagination, to transport us to other realms is astounding. Artists have the ability to show us new worlds but we shouldn’t put them on a pedestal because each of us is an artist.
Making art activates the whole brain and can foster integration of emotional, cognitive, and sensory processes.
– Joan French MA NCC LCPC
The act of creating art is also therapeutic which has been the impetus for the art therapy movement. Every one of us lived like artists as children and we have the ability to bring back this powerful form of expression and self-healing if we allow ourselves to. You don’t need to be an expert to enjoy smearing paint on a canvas and letting your pleasure centers light up like a child!
Art therapy, sometimes called expressive art or art psychology, encourages self-discovery and emotional growth. It is a two-part process, involving both the creation of art and the discovery of its meaning.
– Paula Ford-Martin
Modern Visionary Artists are applying the idea that art inspires community, is educational, and has the capacity to elicit spiritual revelations. Painting together in groups and painting live at musical events, these artists are allowing participants in on their creative process. Seeing and understanding that even the finest pieces of art have many moments when the artist isn’t satisfied or needs to paint over something is revealing for each of us on our spiritual journey.
Artist Alex Grey has opened Cosm in New York which is being called a Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. Within the Visionary Art Movement is the idea that creativity itself is a path to the divine. This includes creating art, gathering around/celebrating art and creating communities that foster creative expression in all of its forms. Creativity may be one of the greatest things about being human and art can be a great teacher for us on this evolutionary journey.
To awaken and catalyze the spiritual path of each person by providing access to the highest mystic truth through art and creative action.
– Cosm Core Value
We are surrounded by billboards and advertisements which utilize art to persuade us to purchase things that we usually don’t need. There is currently a large movement towards beautifying public places with murals that contain cultural and community relevance. Imagine how we might create a more peaceful, vibrant world by surrounding ourselves with beautiful art…
I’d like to see a world where scientists, politicians, and spiritual practitioners gathered around art to learn and share with each other towards creating a better world. Visual art can heal us, inspire us, and alter our brain chemistry leaving us filled with inspiration and love. We don’t need science to prove this to us but now that it has what are some ways that you will invoke art and creativity for your own spiritual journey?
Your Brain Has A “Delete” Button—Here’s How To Use It
This is the fascinating way that your brain makes space to build new and stronger connections so you can learn more.
JUDAH POLLACK AND OLIVIA FOX CABANE
There’s an old saying in neuroscience: neurons that fire together wire together. This means the more you run a neuro-circuit in your brain, the stronger that circuit becomes. This is why, to quote another old saw, practice makes perfect. The more you practice piano, or speaking a language, or juggling, the stronger those circuits get.
The ability to learn is about more than building and strengthening neural connections.
For years this has been the focus for learning new things. But as it turns out, the ability to learn is about more than building and strengthening neural connections. Even more important is our ability to break down the old ones. It’s called “synaptic pruning.” Here’s how it works.
YOUR BRAIN IS LIKE A GARDEN
Imagine your brain is a garden, except instead of growing flowers, fruits, and vegetables, you grow synaptic connections between neurons. These are the connections that neurotransmitters like dopamine, seratonin, and others travel across.
“Glial cells” are the gardeners of your brain—they act to speed up signals between certain neurons. But other glial cells are the waste removers, pulling up weeds, killing pests, raking up dead leaves. Your brain’s pruning gardeners are called “microglial cells.” They prune your synaptic connections. The question is, how do they know which ones to prune?
Researchers are just starting to unravel this mystery, but what they do know is the synaptic connections that get used less get marked by a protein, C1q (as well as others). When the microglial cells detect that mark, they bond to the protein and destroy—or prune—the synapse.
This is how your brain makes the physical space for you to build new and stronger connections so you can learn more.
WHY SLEEP MATTERS
Have you ever felt like your brain is full? Maybe when starting a new job, or deep in a project. You’re not sleeping enough, even though you’re constantly taking in new information. Well, in a way, your brain actually is full.
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When you learn lots of new things, your brain builds connections, but they’re inefficient, ad hoc connections. Your brain needs to prune a lot of those connections away and build more streamlined, efficient pathways. It does that when we sleep.
Your brain cleans itself out when you sleep—your brain cells shrinking by up to 60% to create space for your glial gardeners to come in take away the waste and prune the synapses.
Have you ever woken up from a good night’s rest and been able to think clearly and quickly? That’s because all the pruning and pathway-efficiency that took place overnight has left you with lots of room to take in and synthesize new information—in other words, to learn.
Thinking with a sleep-deprived brain is like hacking your way through a dense jungle with a machete. Its overgrown, slow going, exhausting.
This is the same reason naps are so beneficial to your cognitive abilities. A 10- or 20-minute nap gives your microglial gardeners the chance to come in, clear away some unused connections, and leave space to grow new ones.
Thinking with a sleep-deprived brain is like hacking your way through a dense jungle with a machete. It’s overgrown, slow-going, exhausting. The paths overlap, and light can’t get through. Thinking on a well-rested brain is like wandering happily through Central Park; the paths are clear and connect to one another at distinct spots, the trees are in place, you can see far ahead of you. It’s invigorating.
BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU’RE MINDFUL OF
And in fact, you actually have some control over what your brain decides to delete while you sleep. It’s the synaptic connections you don’t use that get marked for recycling. The ones you do use are the ones that get watered and oxygenated. So be mindful of what you’re thinking about.
If you spend too much time reading theories about the end of Game of Thrones and very little on your job, guess which synapses are going to get marked for recycling?
If you’re in a fight with someone at work and devote your time to thinking about how to get even with them, and not about that big project, you’re going to wind up a synaptic superstar at revenge plots but a poor innovator.
To take advantage of your brain’s natural gardening system, simply think about the things that are important to you. Your gardeners will strengthen those connections and prune the ones that you care about less. It’s how you help the garden of your brain flower.
Judah Pollack is the co-author of The Chaos Imperative, and Olivia Fox Cabane is the author of The Charisma Myth.
Do you know what’s happening in this picture? Literally one of the most important events in human history.
But here’s the most amazing part of the story: Hardly anyone paid attention at the time.
Wilbur and Orville Wright conquered flight on December 17th, 1903. Few inventions were as transformational over the next century. It took four days to travel from New York to Los Angeles in 1900, by train. By the 1930s it could be done in 17 hours, by air. By 1950, six hours.
Unlike, say, mapping the genome, a lay person could instantly grasp the marvel of human flight. A guy sat in a box and turned into a bird.
But days, months, even years after the Wright’s first flight, hardly anyone noticed.
Here’s the front page of The New York Times the day after the first flight. Not a word about the Wrights:
Two days after. Again, nothing:
Three days later, when the Wrights were on their fourth flight, one of which lasted nearly a minute. Nothing:
This goes on. Four days. Five days, six days, six weeks, six months … no mention of the men who conquered the sky for the first time in human history.
The Library of Congress, where I found these papers, reveals two amazing details. One, the first passing mention of the Wrights in The New York Times came in 1906, three years after their first flight. Two, in 1904, the Times asked a hot-air-balloon tycoon whether humans may fly someday. He answered:
That was a year after the Wright’s first flight.
In his 1952 book on American history, Frederick Lewis Allen wrote:
Several years went by before the public grasped what the Wrights were doing; people were so convinced that flying was impossible that most of those who saw them flying about Dayton [Ohio] in 1905 decided that what they had seen must be some trick without significance – somewhat as most people today would regard a demonstration of, say, telepathy. It was not until May, 1908 – nearly four and a half years after the Wright’s first flight – that experienced reporters were sent to observe what they were doing, experienced editors gave full credence to these reporters’ excited dispatches, and the world at last woke up to the fact that human flight had been successfully accomplished.
The Wrights’ story shows something more common than we realize: There’s often a big gap between changing the world and convincing people that you changed the world.
Jeff Bezos once said:
Invention requires a long-term willingness to be misunderstood. You do something that you genuinely believe in, that you have conviction about, but for a long period of time, well-meaning people may criticize that effort … if you really have conviction that they’re not right, you need to have that long-term willingness to be misunderstood. It’s a key part of invention.
It’s such an important message. Things that are instantly adored are usually just slight variations over existing products. We love them because they’re familiar. The most innovative products – the ones that truly change the world – are almost never understood at first, even by really smart people.
It happened with the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell tried to sell his invention to Western Union, which quickly replied:
This `telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a practical form of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us. What use could this company make of an electrical toy?
It happened with the car. Twenty years before Henry Ford convinced the world he was onto something, Congress published a memo, warning:
Horseless carriages propelled by gasoline might attain speeds of 14 or even 20 miles per hour. The menace to our people of vehicles of this type hurtling through our streets and along our roads and poisoning the atmosphere would call for prompt legislative action. The cost of producing gasoline is far beyond the financial capacity of private industry… In addition the development of this new power may displace the use of horses, which would wreck our agriculture.
It happened with the index fund – easily the most important financial innovation of the last half-century. John Bogle launched the first index fund in 1975. No one paid much attention to for next two decades. It started to gain popularity, an inch at a time, in the 1990s. Then, three decades after inception, the idea spread like wildfire.
It’s happening now, too. 3D printing has taken off over the last five years. But it’s hardly a new invention. Check out this interview with the CEO of 3D Systems in … 1989. 3D printing, like so many innovations, had a multi-decade lag between invention and adoption. Solar is similar. Photovoltaics were discovered in 1876. They were commercially available by the 1950s, and Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House in the 1970s. But they didn’t take off – really take off – until the late 2000s.
Big breakthroughs typically follow a seven-step path:
First, no one’s heard of you.
Then they’ve heard of you but think you’re nuts.
Then they understand your product, but think it has no opportunity.
Then they view your product as a toy.
Then they see it as an amazing toy.
Then they start using it.
Then they couldn’t imagine life without it.
This process can take decades. It rarely takes less than several years.
Three points arise from this.
It takes a brilliance to change the world. It takes something else entirely to wait patiently for people to notice. “Zen-like patience” isn’t a typical trait associated with entrepreneurs. But it’s often required, especially for the most transformative products.
When innovation is measured generationally, results shouldn’t be measured quarterly. History is the true story of how long, messy, and chaotic change can be. The stock market is the hilarious story of millions of people expecting current companies to perform quickly, orderly, and cleanly. The gap between reality and expectations explains untold frustration.
Invention is only the first step of innovation. Stanford professor Paul Saffo put it this way:
It takes 30 years for a new idea to seep into the culture. Technology does not drive change. It is our collective response to the options and opportunities presented by technology that drives change.
