| Introduction | Contents |
| Attitude is a Start | Contents |
Being a pilot myself, having attained getting my private pilot's license from my training I know attitude is very important. Now there is the attitude of the pilot and the attitude of the plane itself. We can all identify with the former. But the attitude of the plane needs some clarification.
Attitude for a plane in simple terms is observed by looking at the nose or front of the plane in relation to the horizon. To climb, the plane has to be in a nose up attitude, or the nose is pitched up. The other key is power. Attitude in itself is not enough.
| Power the Companion of Attitude | Contents |
The power of the engine is used to provide the thrust to get the plane moving and in turn this provides the lift.
There are two crucial times when flying, the taking off and the landing. Usually maximum power is needed when taking off. But for landing especially light planes this is not so much of a problem. By contrast descending requires little, if not no power, to get a plane safely onto the ground. However power can be helpful to have in emergencies such as wind changes or misjudgements of approach.
Once the plane is flying, say cruising, it doesn't take much power to keep the plane in the air, something like 80% of maximum thrust.
So What does that have to do with life?
If we want to be a high flyer, not just settling for the status quo, we need to get up
there which requires attitude + power
| Why get up there? | Contents |
I remember flying over the sounds of the north of the South Island in New Zealand. When we were flying at 1000 feet above sea level all the capes looked the same and I could see, and was shown by the instructor, that navigation could be difficult especially when going from one sound to another as you may not be sure where you are without notable landmarks. Am I really in that particular location or is it just a similar looking sound.
The alternative to low flying is high flying as it has the following advantages:
- You get a much better perspective of the situation
- Navigation is easier with the big picture in mind
- There are less obstacles
- If someone goes wrong you have more possibilities for taking corrective action
So would you rather fly like the Eagles or run with the Turkeys. Its up to you.
There are however the following disadvantages:
- Like the Eagle it can be lonely at times when you stick to your high morals
- Sometimes you need to come down on the ground
- The conditions are more extreme up there requiring alertness
Attitude by itself is not enough, like the rudder of a boat without the engine !!!
and
Power by itself is also not enough because it is aimless !!!
Power can come from two sources, from within and from
without. Tap into God through Jesus
Christ, the only true source of power and He will give
you the correct attitude so that you will get to the altitude
you need to be in for the situation you are currently in. Not
only that but you will have direction and purpose because He
will reveal the bigger picture for your life.
| Interdependence or Dependence | Contents |
Are you a person who is independent of others as you go about your life, or do you contribute and interact with others. We as human beings are made to interact with others. People in a team often complement each others abilities. Take a look at the animal kingdom. Who ever heard of a solitary ant. Each individual ant has a task to do and they are part of a community of ants, with one purpose, to sustain, ensure the survival of their colony, and perpetuate their species. Similarly we as human beings work best in teams where we cooperate with each other. The principle of synergy is that as a group of people we can achieve much more than we could as individuals.
To illustrate the principle of synergy I have two examples:
(1) Team building exercise
|
I have been on many team building exercises at work.
They are all generally based on the same criteria.
|
(2) Software project
| As an adult student doing a Computer
Science paper I attempted to write the code for this software project
all by myself. The project was on concurrency using the programming
language C++. Now it was very difficult, to say the least, as
we had to make an operating system where someone started the code and
we had to fill in the gaps to make it work. This is analogous to having
a jigsaw puzzle with only some parts and it is your job to
figure out what the big picture is and design the extra pieces that
fit together and complete the jigsaw puzzle. What I learned from this exercise:
|
Independence equates to selfishness and you do not reach your full
potential
But
Interdependence equates to selflessness as both you and others benefit from your liaisons so you have a win win situation
Even a person who is dependent on others such as those who are handicapped in some way can contribute to the lives of those they are dependent on.
Choose Interdependence you will have a more fulfilled
life if you do. Everyone can make the lives of others a joy to be
around. The other key of course is to be a positive influence
on others, even strangers.
| Creation versus Evolution as it relates to life. | Contents |
In schools we are taught that evolution is fact, even though the theory has only been around less than two centuries. Even Darwin had doubts about his theory. Below is a comparison using some key questions.
| Question |
Creation |
Evolution |
| Where did we come from? |
Ans.
From God. God created (from outside the time donain) every living creature, adult male
& female and commanded them to multiply (in number). He also created the whole universe
and placed all the celestial bodies in their rightful place. |
Ans.
Apes. Qu. Where did they come from then ? Ans. Lesser developed animals. Qu. So where did they come from then ? ..................... Ans. Single celled animals Qu. So where did they come from then ? ..................... Ans. Non life Hydrogen atoms |
| What
came first The Chicken or the Egg ? |
Ans.
The Chicken, or more precisely the adult hen & rooster, which were created by God. Qu. Where did God come from then? Ans. He has always existed, Revelation 4v8b "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME" (Bible New American Standard Version) i.e. God existed from eternity past to eternity future, and in fact lives outside of space and time, which he also created. |
Ans. No
answer as natural selection presupposes a diversity from a large "gene
pool" which have mutated to form different species Qu. Is there any evidence of a species changing from say the first specie to other species Ans. No but they are still looking e.g.. the link from Apes to Humans has not been found. |
| What
about Natural Selection? |
Ans.
Adaptation to environment based
on pre-programmed ability to adapt. This ability is pre-programmed in
the created DNA which has the information for building and adapting to
life's challenges. The DNA structure is so complex that it requires
design and planning. Qu.Did mutations ever make things better ? Qu.Imagine changing code randomly in a computer's operating system Outcome.disaster/crash |
Ans. Only
occurs when there is an
advantage to be gained. Qu. Why isn't there only one super being, say for instance a flying elephant type creature? Ans. This contradicts the premise of natural selection as no immediate advantage of producing weak animals as it assumes predetermined gain down the line for the carnivore for instance. |
| What
about the 2nd law of thermodynamics? |
This
law states that the chaos in the universe is increasing Ans. The "gene pool" is getting degraded e.g. People are not living so long compared to pre Abraham times in the Bible. Siblings can no longer have normal children together which had to be as in the beginning. |
Ans.
So there must have been local areas of non chaos pockets in the
universe. Qu. Have we seen any areas where this happens? Ans. No, could only happen if time were to go backwards. |
| How old is the universe? |
Ans.
About 6,000 years on Earth and over 14 billion years at the remotest part of the universe. 1 billion years is 1,000,000,000 years. Qu. Why so short on Earth? Ans. Reference to time is only at our part of the universe, Earth, the centre of creation. Refer to question below What about the distant stars?
|
Ans.
About 14 billion years Qu. Why so long? Ans. Long times come out of the red shift from Hubbles Law, needed for chance for changes to happen. |
| Is the speed of light constant? |
Ans.
No. In nature here are some of the following changes found
|
Yes |
| What about carbon dating? |
Ans.
Carbon dating only has a half life of ~ 5,730 years, at present,
depends
on the speed of light. This value can also change depending on its
environment, e.g. cosmic rays influence its decay. Uranium half life There are three different isotopes of Uranium. They are: Uranium-234: half life = 244 thousand years, 0.0055% of all Uranium. Uranium-235: half life = 704 million years, 0.72% of all Uranium. Uranium-238: half life = 4.5 billion years, 99.28% of all Uranium. |
Although a lot of publicity is on
Carbon dating, the dating is mainly based on the radioactive Uranium
decaying to form lead left in rocks based on assumptions.
|
| What
about the distant stars? |
Ans. At
creation all mass is clumped together, and the Earth was at the centre of the deep (water). Genesis 1v2 "The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep" (Bible New American Standard Version) So according to the general theory of relativity time is slower with all this water. From day 2 to day 4 of creation God stretched forth the heavens and made the stars (possibly from the water), so time out at the distant stars is "ticking over" more quickly than on Earth, (in the beginning times) hence ~ one day on Earth (being inside the event horison) and billions of years for distant stars. Also the speed of light may have been a lot faster in these times. The Universe and all galaxies are in balance so that they don't collapse in on themselves. All galaxies have been "stretched" around a 4th or higher spacial dimensions and spaced with local variety, eg. each galaxy is unique in shape/size. |
|
| Is the universe infinite? |
Ans.
No unbounded, but finite. The fourth dimension is the radius. It is
analogous to our atmosphere where we have 3D freedom and the 4th
dimension is the Earth's radius |
Ans.
No unbounded, but finite in accordance with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. |
| Is there other life out there? |
Ans.
Probably not. There is nothing recorded in the Bible about life outside earth in
the heavens and everything was created for mankind. |
Ans.
Can't find it yet but still looking |
If you are not a product of chance or the result of an
impersonal designer, then get in touch with your creator through Jesus Christ,
the person who created you and wants/longs for a relationship with you.
Then
you can be all that he created you to be.
| The Earth | Contents |
| Attribute |
Value |
If smaller |
If larger |
| Distance Earth to the Sun |
92,900,000 miles |
Earth would get too intense radiation |
Earth would not get enough radiation |
| Earth's Diameter |
7,900 miles |
We would freeze |
We would roast |
| Ocean Surface Area |
Current |
Dry and uninhabitable desert |
Too much rainfall making it a swamp land |
| Average Ocean depth |
2 miles |
violent temperature excursions gradual
polar ice accumulation |
More Carbon Dioxide absorbed into the
ocean to the detriment of life |
Note that the magnetic field, which is produced by the liquid moving iron core at the centre of our planet Earth, protects the inhabitants from the hash cosmic rays in space mainly from our sun.
One of the building blocks of DNA are amino acids.
The proteins in living creatures consist only of left-handed amino acids
Refer to my powerpoint presentation
The Cell
Contents
The living cell has all the information encoded in it to reproduce itself. All living organisms reproduce after their own kind.
A rose reproduces another rose, it will not form a daisy for instance. This reproduction process is contained in a rose's DNA.
The same protein's left- (L) and right- (D) handed isomers.
Next time
Contents
The Coanda Effect