Book Summary - God's Debris

1. God’s Debris
Prof
Shivananda
R
Koteshwar
Director,
The
Amaatra
Academy
shivoo@pes.edu
/
Facebook:
shivoo.koteshwar
Oct 15th 2013
v1.0
BLOG: http://shivookoteshwar.wordpress.com
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2. The Book
2


God’s Debris
 By Scott Adams
 ISBN: 0-7407-4787-8
Free download:

http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/godsdebris/
This is for people who enjoy having their brains spun around inside their skulls. Author plays
with words and is a great mental gymnast.
Imagine that you meet a very old man who—you eventually realize—knows literally
everything. Imagine that he explains to you the great mysteries of life—quantum physics,
evolution, God, light, psychic phenomenon, and probability—in a way so simple, so novel,
and so compelling that it all fits together and makes perfect sense. What does it feel like to
suddenly understand everything? God's Debris isn’t the final answer to the Big Questions. But
it might be the most compelling vision of reality you will ever read The thought experiment
is this: Try to figure out what’s wrong with the old man’s explanation of reality.
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

3. Author’s Task to Readers
3

Skeptic's Creed
 Simplest

explanation is usually right
But I think
 In
this complicated world, the simplest explanation is
usually wrong but simplest explanations usually sound
right
 Try
to figure out what’s wrong with the simplest
explanations
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

4. Do you agree?
4


How can one part be more important if each part is completely necessary?
Scientists often invent words to fill the holes in the understanding. These
words are meant as conveniences until real understanding can be found


People say they believe in GOD because pretending to believe is
necessary to get the benefits of the religion


Sometimes understanding comes and temporary words can be replaced with
more meaningful words but most of the times, the patch words will take on life of
their own and no one will remember that they were only intended to be
placeholders
They don’t do things that a true believer would do. They do the things a true
believer would have to do
When the quantity and variety of the data is overwhelming, one would
eventually stop calling something theory and consider it a fact!
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

5. Religion as a roadmap
5

2 people decide to travel separately to the same place. One of them have
a blue map and another a green map


If both take the trips and return safely, they would spread the word of their
successful maps to others


Neither shows all possible routes but both shows an acceptable, yet different
route to the destination
Each would say in full conviction that their map was perfect and warn people to
avoid any other maps
Religions are like different maps whose routes all lead to collective good of
society

Some maps take their followers over rugged terrain and other maps have easier
paths

Some of the travelers of each route will be assigned the job of being the
protectors and interpreters of the map. They will teach the young to respect it
and be suspicious of the other maps
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

6. Human Brain: Delusion Generator
6

Humans for GOD


Human








Not bound by the limits of human practicality, every tiny part of our body would be as
action packed and meaningful as the parts of any rock or tree or bug. And the sum of our
parts that form the personality and life would seem nether special nor amazing to an
omnipotent being
The human brain is a delusion generator, not a window to truth
We believe that GOD must be more interested in our lives than in the rocks, trees, plants
and animals
Our arrogance causes us to imagine special value in this temporary collection of molecules
(Human being)
We are limited by our perception of time
We perceive more spiritual value in the sum of our body parts than on any individual cell
in our body
Practicality rules our perceptions
Unless you have both the engine and the steering wheel, the car is useless
Importance is not an intrinsic quality of the universe. It exists only in our delusionfilled minds
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

7. Human Brain: Delusion Generator
7

We have a bias for a binary world where
everything is either real or imaginary
 That
distinction lies in our perceptions, not in the
universe.
 Our ability to see other possibilities and our lack of
vocabulary are our brain’s limits and not universe’s

Clinical psychologists have proved that ordinary
people will alter their memories of the past to make
them fit their perceptions
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

8. GOD’s Motivation
8





What could stimulate the mind of GOD, who knows
everything?
Everything that motivates living creatures is based on
some weakness or flaw
GOD’s nagging question is “What would happen after I
cease to exist?”
He might be motivated to find the answer in order to
complete his knowledge. And having no fear and no
reason to continue existing, he might try it
Since only the challenge of self destruction could
interest an omnipresent GOD, we are GOD’s Debris!
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

9. We are GOD’s Debris
9




Probability is an infinitely powerful force
Humans are born with an instinct to create and embrace things
One might see randomness in the outcome of an individual coin toss,
but as the number of tosses increases, probability has firm control of
the outcome
Our language and our minds are too limited to deal with anything
but a fixed reality, regardless of whether such a thing exists.




The best we can do is to update the delusions to fit the times.
We live in an increasingly rational, science based society and the
religious metaphors of the past are no longer comforting.
Humanity needs a metaphor that allows GOD and science to coexist, at
least in our minds
We can only act on our perceptions, no matter how faulty. The best
we can do is to periodically adjust our perceptions and our delusions
to make them more consistent with our logic and common sense
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

10. Physics of GOD’s Dust
10
Infinity is a useful tool for math but it is only a
concept. It is not a feature of our physical reality
 Universe is big but finite

Q. If you take a rocket to the edge of the universe and
kept going. Where will I be if not in the universe?
A. You are always a part of the universe, by definition. So
when rocket goes beyond the current boundary, the
boundary moves with you. You become the outer edge for
that direction. But the universe is still a specific size, not
infinite
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

11. Physics of GOD’s Dust
11

If everything in existence disappears and then reappears. How
much time expires while everything is gone?


No time passes! It cant because time is human concept of how things
change compared to other things. If everything in the universe disappears,
nothing exists to change compared to other things, so there is no time
What if everything disappears except for me and my
wristwatch?


Then you would experience the passing of time in relation to yourself and
to your watch. And when the rest of universe reappeared you could check
on how much time had passed according to your watch. But people in the
rest of the universe would have experienced no time while they were gone.
to them, you instantly aged!.
Their time and your time were not the same because you experienced
change and they did not. There is no universal time clock; the time differs
for every observer
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

12. Physics of GOD’s Dust - GRAVITY
12



The universe is a probability graph. The heaviest concentration of
dots are the galaxies and planets, where the force of gravity seems
the strongest. But gravity is not a tugging force, it’s a result of
probability
God’s dust disappears on one beat and reappears on the next in a
new position based on probability. If a bit of God’s dust disappears
near a large mass, say a planet, then probability will cause it to pop
back into existence nearer to the planet on the next beat.
Probability is highest when you are near massive objects. Mass is a
physical expression of probability
Though the God’s dust near the Earth would look as its being sucked
towards the planet, the dust is continuously disappearing in one
place and appearing in another, with each location being nearer the
Earth
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

13. Physics of GOD’s Dust - INTERTIA
13

Though the dust is unimaginably small, it has some
probability of popping into existence exactly where
another piece of God’s dust exists.
 When
that happens, one of the particles has to find a
new location and alter its probability
 To the observer, it looks like the particle collides and
then change direction and speed
 The new speed is determined by how far from its
original spot the dust appears with each beat of the
universe. If each new location is far from the old spot,
we perceive the object to be moving fast
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

14. Physics of GOD’s Dust
14

Dual probability influencing each particle of God’s dust. All
apparent motion in the universe is based on these 2 competing
probabilities
1. One probability makes all dust pop into existence nearer to other
God’s dust
2. Second probability is that the dust will appear a straight line drawn
from its past

E.g.: Moon has a certain probability of coming towards the earth and a
certain probability of moving in a straight line. The two probabilities
are by chance in balance. If gravity were a tugging force, there would
be some sort of friction, slowing the moon and eventually dragging it
to earth. But since gravity is nothing more than probability, there is no
frication or tugging. The moon can orbit almost indefinitely because its
position is determined by probability not by tugging or pushing
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

15. Free will
15

If the penny which is being tossed had a conscious like
humans, it would analyze the situation and conclude it
had free will
 When
it wanted to come up heads and heads was the result,
the penny would confirm its belief in its power to choose
 When it came up tails instead, it would blame its own lack
of commitment or assume God had a hand in it

Simplicity is not a proof of truth. But since we can never
understand true reality, the two models both explain the
same facts, it is more rational to use the simpler one. It is
a matter of convenience
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

16. Skeptics’ Disease
16


As human mind is a delusion generator, all including
skeptics, will generate delusions that match their views
Scientific approach also makes people think and act in
groups. They form skeptical societies and create
skeptical publications
 They
breathe each other's fumes and they demonize those
who do not share their scientific methods

It is a human tendency to become what you attack.
Skeptics attack irrational thinkers and in the process
become irrational
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

17. ESP-Extra Sensory Perception
17
Never being wrong is no proof that the method of
testing is sound for all cases
 Math geniuses often report knowing the answers to
problems without being aware of having made a
calculation
 At the highest levels of performance, people are not
aware of the processes they are using

Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

18. Light
18

If you were in a spaceship racing a beam of light and you were moving at 99% the speed of
light, Einstein proved that the light beam would be faster than your rocket not by 1% but by
the speed of light. Its always by the speed of light, no matter how fast you are traveling


Time, motion and speed of light are different for all observers. We don’t notice it in daily life
because the difference is very slight for the slow-moving objects. But as you approach the
speed of light, the difference become evident.




If two rocket ships were racing the light bean and one was 99% as fast as light and other was 50% as
fast, the light is faster than both of them by exactly the speed of light!
No two people share the same reality. Einstein proved that reality is not one fixed state. Instead its an
infinite number of unique realities, depending on where you are and how fast you are moving
Like the horizon, light appears to move away from you at a constant speed no mater how fast
you are moving
Light is a messenger of probability, but neither the light nor the message has mass
Speed of light is simply the limit to how far a particle can pop into existence from its original
location. If the particle pops into existence a short distance from its original position, the
perceived speed of that particle will be slow. If each new appearance is a great distance
from the starting point, the perceived speed will be much faster. There is a practical limit to
how far from its original distance a particle is likely to upper. That limit is what gives light an
apparent top speed
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

19. Energy
19
Light is zones of probability that surround all things
 A star, by virtue of its density, has high probability
that two of its dust particles will pop into existence
in the same location, forcing one of them to adjust,
creating a new and frantic probability
 This constant adjusting of location and probability, is
what we perceive as energy

Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

20. Fighting God
20


Probability is the expression of God’s will. It is in your best
interest to obey probability
God’s reassembly requires people-living, healthy people.



When you buckle your seat belt, you increase your chances of
living. That is obeying probability
When you love and respect others and procreate
responsibility, you are living within the safety cone of
probability. You are fulfilling God’s will
Stress is a result of fighting probability and the friction
between what you are doing and what you know you should
be doing to live within probability. You can reduce stress by
being in harmony with probability
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

21. Relationships
21



There are 2 types of people – People oriented and Idea oriented
Humans are only capable of receiving information. They create their
own advice. If you seek to influence someone, don’t waste time giving
advice. You can change only what people know, not what they do
Two people have different information and hence disagreements
occur. Most people would share your opinions if they had the same
information



If you spend your time arguing about the faultiness of other people’s
opinions, you waste your time and theirs.
The only thing that can be useful is examining the differences in your
assumptions and adding to each other’s information. Some times that is
enough to make viewpoints converge over time
Root of misunderstandings in humans is because of the viewpoint that
each gender is a defective version of the other
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

22. Relationships
22


Women define themselves by their relationships and men by whom
they are helping
Women believe value is created by sacrifice



Men believe value is created by accomplishments and they have
objectives for women in their lives


If you are willing to give up your favorite activities to be with her, she
will trust you. If being with her is too easy for you, she will not trust you
Men can accomplish sacrifices symbolically at first by leaving work early
to buy flowers or canceling softball game to make a date
If a women meets the objectives, he assumes she loves him. If she fails to
meet the objectives, he will assume she does not love him
A Woman needs to be told that you would sacrifice anything for her. A
man needs to be told he is being useful. When the man or woman
strays from that formula, the other loses trust. When trust is lost,
communication falls apart
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

23. 23
Relationships –How can you be
more trusted?



You should lie about your talents and accomplishments,
describing your victories in dismissive terms as if they were
the result of luck and you should exaggerate your flaws
Honesty is like food. Both are necessary, but too much of
either creates discomfort. When you downplay your
accomplishments, you make people feel better about their own
accomplishment. It is dishonest but its kind
Conversation is not a way to exchange information. Its more
than the sum of the words. It is also a way of signaling the
importance of another person by showing your willingness to
give that person your rarest resource -TIME. It’s a way of
conveying respect
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

24. 24
Relationships –Ingredients for
successful social living

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Express gratitude
Give more than is expected
Speak optimistically
Touch people
Remember names
Don’t confuse flexibility with weakness
Don’t judge people by their mistakes; rather judge them by
how they respond to their mistakes
Remember that your personal appearance is for the benefit
of others
Attend to your own basic needs first; otherwise you will not
be useful to anyone else
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

25. Affirmations -Goals
25




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The ability to work hard and make sacrifices comes
naturally to those who know exactly what they want
Most people have wishes, not goals
Writing down your goals everyday, gives you a higher level
of focus. It tunes your mind to better recognize opportunities
in your environment which is essential to success
A person who does affirmations takes mental tuning to a
higher level. The process of concentrating on the goal every
day greatly increase the likelihood of noticing an
opportunity in the environment
Willingness to do affirmations is a good predictor of success
but not necessarily a cause of success
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

26. Intelligence and Awareness
26



People will exist at different levels of awareness
Intelligence is how well you function within your level of
awareness. It remains about the same over one’s life
Awareness is entirely different than intelligence.
Awareness involves recognizing one’s delusions for what
they are
 Your
intelligence didn’t change the moment you realized Santa
Claus was a harmless fantasy but your awareness increased.
From that day, you could never see the world the same way
because your awareness of reality has changed

Awareness if about unlearning. It is the recognition that
you don’t know as much as you thought you knew
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

27. Five Levels of Awareness
27
1. First level of awareness happens at Birth. You first become aware that you
exist
2. In second level of awareness, you understand that other people exist. Here
you accept the belief system in which you are raised
3. At the third level of awareness, you realize that humans are often wrong
about things they believe. You believe you must be wrong about some of
your own beliefs but don’t know which ones. Despite your doubts, you still
find comfort in your beliefs
4. The fourth level is skepticism. You believe the scientific method is the best
measure of what is true and you believe you have a good working grasp
of truth. Thanks to Science, Logic and Senses. You are arrogant when it
comes to dealing with people in levels 2 and 3
5. Fifth level is the Avatar. The Avatar understands that the mind is an illusion
generator, not a window to reality. The Avatar recognizes science as a
belief system, although a useful one. An Avatar is aware of God’s power as
expressed in probability
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

28. Awareness – Final Notes
28





Awareness does not come from receiving new information. It
comes from rejecting old information
There is no good or bad about one’s level of awareness. No
level is better or worse than the other. People enjoy happiness
at every level and contribute to society at every level
There is no good or bad in anything, just differences in
usefulness. People at all levels have the same potential of
being useful
Happiness comes more easily at other levels. Awareness has its
price. An Avatar can find happiness only in serving
You cant wake yourself from a dream. You need someone who
is already awake to shake you gently, to whisper in your ear.
In a sense, that is what I do
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©

29. Thank You !
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar
shivoo@pes.edu
BLOG: http://shivookoteshwar.wordpress.com
SLIDESHARE: www.slideshare.net/shivoo.koteshwar
Prof Shivananda R Koteshwar ©