Pearce ch.5-6

The 5th and 6th chapter of the book The Crack in the Cosmic Egg begins explaining how science is a creative art and how it’s a “joining of hands with all human endeavors, learning by its mistakes,” according to Sir Cyril Hinshelwood. Science is creative, but I would also say that all of science is not a creative work of art. Some things that science brings into existence are lethal and deadly. Imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have the weapons out in the world today or illegal drugs that science has created. There are many pros and cons. In one aspect, if we didn’t have scientific discoveries like medicine, more people would still be dieing of common sicknesses like pneumonia, colds, malaria, or even the flu. Things that are mostly controlled today by medicine that people didn’t have back then.
I don’t understand where Pearce went with this though. In one paragraph he says “ What a thing is is to an unknowable extent determined by or influenced by what we think it is.” What does that mean? Did he crack his egg again when he wrote this? It’s a very broad “pulled out of no-where” statement. He begins his writer explanation hopping shortly after. I am taken to a different author every paragraph. People I’ve never heard of making exclamations about art, about atoms, protons, neutrons, planets, God and religion, Hindu’s, voodoo, sacrifices, and fire burning. A mary-go-round of writers who state without any support for how they came up with their conclusions. Writers such asTeilhard, Singer, Michael Polanyi, Jung, Descarte’s, Apropos, Popper, Warren Weaver, Whitehead, McKellar, Brunar, Claude Bernard, Paulim Gerald Feinberg, David Bohm, James B. Conant, Max Planck, Leonard Feinberg, Gilbert Grosvenor, Arnold Kreschmal, and Eric Neumann.
Throughout the two chapters, Pearce makes a touchdown on controversy. He begins by saying possible reasons or purpose for Hindu’s and other people getting themselves in a spiritual state and walk over fire. Not only that, but how people are being able to withstand being stabbed, have hooks jabbed into their back, and not suffering from any bleeding, or have marks/blisters at all.
I do believe there are certain people out in the world that can get themselves in a state of mind, so focused on a goal, that they can overcome physical pain and feelings. Take Lance Armstrong for existence. A celebrity and pro-athlete who has overcome testicular cancer and a brain tumor, given a 40% chance to live, and he does. Not only that, but he trains for the Tour De France, while undergoing chemotherapy and surgeries. This just proves how faith and spirituality can put you at supernatural strengths. I believe that it is a person’s faith, in God, and in themselves, that equips them to be invincible. As Pearce described the people walking over the fire, he said how some burned to death, some suffered devastating burns, while others walked multiple times across the fire without so much as a single burn on their clothing, standing and dancing in fire, that was burning well over a 1000 degrees. This observation Pearce made was interesting. He definitely should have spent more of his time researching these fire ceremonies that take place, instead of talking about the other unsupported subjects.