Psychedelic Apes

by Alex Boese

  Russell argued that we actually can’t know this for sure. One could arrive, like René Descartes, at the conclusion that existence itself is the only thing we can know with certainty: ‘I think, therefore I am.’ Outside of that, all is potentially illusion.

  Almost all scholars reject this kind of thinking as an intellectual dead end, which of course it is. It rejects the very possibility of evidence, because in theory it could all be artificially manufactured. And yet, if you want to go that route, there’s nothing to stop you. If you’re willing to question everything, then you have to admit as a logical possibility that the past never existed.

  Epilogue

  We’ve covered a lot of ground. We’ve explored the earliest moments of the cosmos, investigated the origin of life, witnessed the evolution of the human species and have finally arrived at the rise of civilization. Now we can see the dim outlines of the modern world emerging: the formation of nation states, the establishment of the great religions of the world and the creation of universities that will foster scientific and technological progress.

  But this is where we’ll bring our journey to an end. The intent of this book was to offer a broad introduction to the genre of weird theories. Having sampled from all the great eras of cosmic history, we’ve achieved that aim, although our investigation could easily continue, as there are numerous odd hypotheses left to explore. There are many that address present-day concerns. What if, for example, global warming is making us fatter? There’s a theory that the rise in global levels of carbon dioxide is both heating the planet and stimulating appetite-related hormones in our bodies.

  We could also look beyond the present, to the future. What will become of humanity if we survive our careless management of the planet? Some speculate that our destiny is to miniaturize: our descendants will find ways to access the inner space of the microscopic and even quantum realms, until they finally transport themselves into a ‘black-hole-like destination’.

  And how will the universe itself end? Or will it ever? One unnerving possibility is that the entire cosmos could undergo a sudden random change in its energy state, much like an atom undergoing the process of radioactive decay. In which case, absolutely everything in existence might abruptly vanish without warning, at any moment.

  In fact, the scope of weird theories is as wide as curiosity itself. It encompasses all disciplines and domains of knowledge. Such speculations reflect our restless urge to make sense of this world around us, to discern the hidden connections lurking beneath the surface of reality, coupled with the suspicion that current explanations may not suffice.

  Of course, these weird ideas may be no more than mad flights of fancy. They could be sending us on fool’s errands, down blind alleys. Most of them probably are. That’s a definite risk. But, on the other hand, isn’t it also a risk to ignore them entirely? After all, science has repeatedly shown the world to be far stranger than anyone would have expected.

  Unfortunately, no algorithm exists that can reliably pick out the hidden gems from among the larger mass of misguided notions. There’s simply no substitute for analysis, debate and the constant evaluation (and re-evaluation) of evidence. And, on occasion, ideas that initially seemed absurd do emerge victorious from this process.

  I believe this demonstrates one lesson above all: remain curious! Be willing to consider strange ideas that challenge mainstream opinion. That doesn’t mean embracing every wacky notion that comes along. Scepticism is important as well. But it does mean that one should never be afraid to ask questions, even seemingly stupid ones. Those are often the very best kind.

  Acknowledgements

  It would be weird to imagine that authors write books alone. They don’t. They need lots of help, and this book was no exception.

  I’m deeply indebted to Charlotte Wright at Pan Macmillan who patiently guided the manuscript to completion. Her many suggestions and critiques were invaluable.

  My family and friends, meanwhile, helped to keep me sane and focused during the entire process. My parents gave constant encouragement from afar, as did Kirsten, Ben, Astrid and Pippa. Charlie offered comic relief, and kept me humble about my Scrabble skills. Thanks to Danielle for being such a great daughter-in-law, and introducing me to the world of IPAs. Kingston, my first grandchild, arrived just as the manuscript was almost complete, but has already provided much love and many smiles. Pumpkin made sure I was up every morning on time and sat with me every day in my office. Stuart and Caroline provided helpful advice about British terminology. Anne and Diana hosted relaxing Yuma getaways – in addition to other times just spent hanging out. But most of all, thanks to Beverley for lovingly putting up with my long journey through the land of weird theories.

  Bibliography

  Introduction

  Kuhn, Thomas S., The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (3rd edn.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1996).

  Chapter One: Cosmological Conundrums

  WHAT IF THE BIG BANG NEVER HAPPENED?

  Bondi, H., Cosmology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1961).

  Gregory, J., Fred Hoyle’s Universe. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2005).

  Hoyle, F., Steady-State Cosmology Re-visited. Cardiff: University College Cardiff Press (1980).

  Hoyle, F., Burbidge, G. & Narlikar, J. V., A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe Through the Big Bang Towards Reality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2000).

  Narlikar, J. V. & Burbidge, G., Facts and Speculations in Cosmology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2008).

  WEIRD BECAME TRUE: RADIO ASTRONOMY

  Jarrell, Richard, ‘Radio Astronomy, Whatever That May Be: The Marginalization of Early Radio Astronomy’ in The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding our View of Planet Earth. Dordrecht: Springer (2005).

  Kellermann, K. I., ‘Grote Reber (1911–2002)’ in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 116, pp.703–11 (August 2004).

  WHAT IF OUR UNIVERSE IS ACTUALLY A COMPUTER SIMULATION?

  Bostrom, Nick, ‘Are you living in a computer simulation?’ in Philosophical Quarterly 53(211), pp.243–55 (2003).

  Hanson, Robin, ‘How to live in a simulation’ in Journal of Evolution and Technology 7(1) (2001).

  Hossenfelder, Sabine, ‘No, we probably don’t live in a computer simulation’ in Back Re(Action) (15 March 2017). Retrieved from http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2017/03/no-we-probably-dont-live-in-computer.html.

  WHAT IF THERE’S ONLY ONE ELECTRON IN THE UNIVERSE?

  Feynman, Richard P., ‘The Development of the Space–Time View of Quantum Electrodynamics’ in Science 133(3737), pp.699–708 (12 August 1966).

  Gardner, Martin, ‘Can time go backward?’ in Scientific American 216(1), pp.98–109 (January 1967).

  Halpern, Paul, The Quantum Labyrinth: How Richard Feynman and John Wheeler Revolutionized Time and Reality. New York, NY: Basic Books (2017).

  Schwichtenberg, Jakob, ‘One Electron and the Egg’. Retrieved from http://jakobschwichtenberg.com/one-electron-and-the-egg/

  WHAT IF WE’RE LIVING INSIDE A BLACK HOLE?

  Carroll, Sean, ‘The Universe is Not a Black Hole’ (28 April 2010). Retrieved from http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2010/04/28/the-universe-is-not-a-black-hole/

  Luminet, Jean-Pierre, Black Holes. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1992).

  Pickover, Clifford A., Black Holes: A Traveler’s Guide. New York: Wiley (1996).

  WEIRD BECAME TRUE: DARK MATTER

  Bertone, Gianfranco & Hooper, Dan, ‘A History of Dark Matter’ in Reviews of Modern Physics 90(4) (October–December 2018).

  Hooper, Dan, Dark Cosmos: in search of our universe’s missing mass and energy. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins (2006).

  Rubin, Vera C., ‘Dark Matter in the Universe’ in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 132(3), pp.258–67 (September 1988).

  WHAT IF WE LIVE FOREVER?

  Byrne, P., The Many W
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  DeWitt, B. S., ‘Quantum mechanics and reality’ in Physics Today 9, pp.30–5 (1970).

  DeWitt, B. & Graham, N. (eds.), The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. Princeton: Princeton University Press (1973).

  Lewis, P. J., ‘Uncertainty and probability for branching selves’ in Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 38, pp.1–14 (2007).

  Tegmark, M., ‘The interpretation of quantum mechanics: many worlds or many words?’ (1997). Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9709032.

  Chapter Two: A Pale Blue Peculiar Dot

  WHAT IF THE EARTH IS AT THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE?

  Clifton, T. & Ferreira, P. G., ‘Does dark energy really exist?’ in Scientific American 300(4), pp.58–65 (2009).

  Davies, P. C. W., ‘Cosmic heresy?’ in Nature 273, pp.336–7 (1978).

  Ellis, G. F. R., ‘Is the Universe Expanding?’ in General Relativity and Gravitation 9(2), pp.87–94 (1978).

  Ellis, G. F. R., Maartens, R. & Nel, S. D., ‘The expansion of the Universe’ in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 184, pp.439–65 (1978).

  WHAT IF PLANETS CAN EXPLODE?

  De Meijer, R. J., Anisichkin, V. F. and van Westrenen, W., ‘Forming the Moon from terrestrial silicate-rich material’ in Chemical Geology 345, pp.40–9 (8 May 2013).

  Herndon, Marvin J., Maverick’s Earth and Universe. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford (2008).

  Ovenden, M. W., ‘Bode’s Law and the Missing Planet’ in Nature 239, pp.508–9 (27 October 1972).

  Van Flandern, Tom, Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books (1993).

  WEIRD BECAME TRUE: THE HELIOCENTRIC THEORY

  Gingerich, Owen, The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus. New York: Walker & Company (2004).

  Westman, Robert S., The Copernican Question: Prognostication, Skepticism, and Celestial Order. Berkeley, California: University of California Press (2011).

  WHAT IF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM HAS TWO SUNS?

  Davis, M., Hut, P. and Muller, R. A., ‘Extinction of species by periodic comet showers’ in Nature 308, pp.715–17 (19 April 1984).

  Muller, Richard, Nemesis: The Death Star. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1988).

  Schilling, Govert, The Hunt for Planet X. New York: Copernicus Books/Springer Science (2009).

  WEIRD BECAME TRUE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT

  Oreskes, Naomi, The Rejection of Continental Drift: theory and method in American earth science. New York: Oxford University Press (1999).

  Powell, James L., Four Revolutions in the Earth Sciences: From heresy to truth. New York: Columbia University Press (2015).

  WHAT IF TEN MILLION COMETS HIT THE EARTH EVERY YEAR?

  Dessler, A. J., ‘The Small-Comet Hypothesis’ in Reviews of Geophysics 29(3), pp.355–82 (August 1991).

  Frank, L. A., Sigwarth, J. B. and Craven, J. D., ‘On the influx of small comets into the Earth’s upper atmosphere’ in Geophysical Research Letters 13(4), pp.303–10 (April 1986).

  Frank, Louis A., The Big Splash. New York, NY: Birch Lane Press (1990).

  WHAT IF THE EARTH IS EXPANDING?

  Edwards, M. R., ‘Indications from space geodesy, gravimetry and seismology for slow Earth expansion at present—comment on “The Earth expansion theory and its transition from scientific hypothesis to pseudoscientific belief”’ in Hist. Geo Space. Sci. 7, pp.125–33 (2016).

  Kragh, H., ‘Expanding Earth and declining gravity: a chapter in the recent history of geophysics’ in Hist. Geo Space. Sci. 6, pp.45–55 (2015).

  Nunan, R., ‘The theory of an expanding Earth and the acceptability of guiding assumptions’ in Scrutinizing Science: Empirical Studies of Scientific Change. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic (1988).

  Nunan, R., ‘Expanding Earth theories’ in Sciences of the Earth: An Encyclopedia of Events, People, and Phenomena, Vol. 2. New York: Garland Publishing (1998).

  Sudiro, P., ‘The Earth expansion theory and its transition from scientific hypothesis to pseudoscientific belief’ in Hist. Geo Space. Sci. 5, pp.135–48 (2014).

  Chapter Three: It’s Alive!

  WHAT IF EVERYTHING IS CONSCIOUS?

  Goff, Philip, ‘Panpsychism Is Crazy, but It’s Also Most Probably True’ in Aeon (1 March 2017). Retrieved from https://aeon.co/ideas/panpsychism-is-crazy-but-its-also-most-probably-true.

  Shaviro, Steven, ‘Consequences of Panpsychism’ in The Nonhuman Turn. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press (2015).

  Skrbina, David, Panpsychism in the West. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press (2017).

  WHAT IF DISEASES COME FROM SPACE?

  Hoyle, Fred & Wickramasinghe, N. C., Diseases From Space. London: J. M. Dent & Sons (1979).

  Hoyle, Fred & Wickramasinghe, N. C., Evolution From Space. New York: Simon and Schuster (1981).

  WEIRD BECAME PLAUSIBLE: THE VENT HYPOTHESIS

  Corliss, J. B., Baross, J. A. & Hoffman, S. E., ‘An hypothesis concerning the relationship between submarine hot springs and the origin of life on Earth’ in Oceanologica Acta 4 (supplement), pp.59–69 (1981).

  Hazen, Robert M., Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life’s Origin. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press (2005).

  Radetsky, Peter, ‘How did life start?’ in Discover Magazine 13(11), pp.74–82 (November 1992).

  WHAT IF THE EARTH CONTAINS AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SUPPLY OF OIL AND GAS?

  Cole, S. A., ‘Which Came First, the Fossil or the Fuel?’ Social Studies of Science 26(4), pp.733–66 (November 1966).

  Glasby, G. P., ‘Abiogenic Origin of Hydrocarbons: An Historical Overview’ in Resource Geology 56(1), pp.85–98 (2006).

  Gold, Thomas, Power from the Earth: Deep-Earth Gas – Energy for the Future. London: Dent (1987).

  Gold, Thomas, The Deep Hot Biosphere: The Myth of Fossil Fuels. New York: Copernicus (2001).

  Priest, Tyler, ‘Hubbert’s Peak: The Great Debate over the End of Oil’ in Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences 44(1), pp.37–79 (February 2014).

  WHAT IF ALIEN LIFE EXISTS ON EARTH?

  Cleland, Carol & Copley, Shelley, ‘The possibility of alternative microbial life on Earth’ in International Journal of Astrobiology 4, pp.165–73 (2005).

  Davies, Paul, et al., ‘Signatures of a shadow biosphere’ in Astrobiology 9(2), pp.241–9 (2009).

  Davies, Paul, The Eerie Silence: Are We Alone in the Universe? New York: Allen Lane (2010).

  WEIRD BECAME (PARTIALLY) TRUE: THE GAIA HYPOTHESIS

  Lovelock, J. E., Gaia: a new look at life on Earth. New York: Oxford University Press (1979).

  Ruse, Michael, The Gaia Hypothesis: Science on a pagan planet. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (2013).

  Tyrrell, Toby, On Gaia: a critical investigation of the relationship between life and Earth. Princeton: Princeton University Press (2013).

  WHAT IF WE’VE ALREADY FOUND EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE?

  DiGregorio, Barry, Mars: The Living Planet. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books (1997).

  Klein, Harold P., ‘Did Viking Discover Life on Mars?’ in Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 29(6), pp.625–31 (December 1999).

  Levin, G. V., ‘The Viking Labeled Release Experiment and Life on Mars’ in Proceedings of SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering. San Diego, California (29 July–1 August 1997).

  Levin, G. V. & Straat, P. A., ‘Color and Feature Changes at Mars Viking Lander Site’ in Journal of Theoretical Biology 75, pp.381–90 (1978).

  Levin, G. V. & Straat, P. A., ‘The Case for Extant Life on Mars and its Possible Detection by the Viking Labeled Release Experiment’ in Astrobiology 16(10), pp.798–810 (2016).

  Chapter Four: The Rise of the Psychedelic Ape

  WHAT IF THE DINOSAURS DIED IN A NUCLEAR WAR?

  Magee, M., Who lies sleeping? The dinosaur heritage and the extinction of man. Selwyn: AskWhy! Publications (1993).

&nbs
p; McLoughlin, J. C., ‘Evolutionary Bioparanoia’ in Animal Kingdom, pp.24–30 (April/May 1984).

  WHAT IF OUR ANCESTORS WERE AQUATIC APES?

  Hardy, A., ‘Was man more aquatic in the past?’ in New Scientist 7, pp.642–5 (17 March 1960).

  Kossy, D., Strange Creations: Aberrant Ideas of Human Origins from Ancient Astronauts to Aquatic Apes. Los Angeles: Feral House (2001).

  Langdon, J. H., ‘Umbrella hypotheses and parsimony in human evolution: a critique of the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis’ in Journal of Human Evolution 33, pp.479–94 (1997).

  Morgan, E., The Descent of Woman. New York: Stein and Day (1972).

  WEIRD BECAME TRUE: THE OUT OF AFRICA THEORY

  Dart, Raymond A., ‘Australopithecus africanus: the man-ape of South Africa’ in Nature 2884(115), pp.195–9 (7 February 1925).

  Falk, Dean, The Fossil Chronicles: How two controversial discoveries changed our view of human evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press (2011).

  Tobias, P. V., ‘The life and times of Emeritus Professor Raymond A. Dart’ in South African Medical Journal 67, pp.134–8 (25 January 1985).