One of the most entertaining lectures I've been to involved
a Physicist attempting to explain Einstein's theory of relativity. It was entertaining for two reasons; the
first being that few people can wrap their minds around the same things
Einstein wrestled with, and the lecturer wasn't one of those people. The other point of entertainment can best be
summed up with the following quote: "Neither
of the two great pillars of modern physics — general relativity, which
describes gravity as a curvature of space and time, and quantum mechanics,
which governs the atomic realm — gives any account for the existence of space
and time" (Merali). Scientists
painstakingly search for answers to fundamental questions, ignoring the
explanation of Creation.
Let me be clear, science is extremely useful for
understanding the intricacies of our universe.
Considering the relationship between space and time to be a fourth
dimension is intuitive. I believe that
God is not constrained by it or any of the other three dimensions. By that rationale I must conclude that there
is a fifth dimension. With his newest
film Interstellar, Christopher Nolan
takes us into this fifth dimension. I
guess ultimately I don't necessarily have a problem with there being a fifth
dimension, only with how Nolan gets us there.
I wanted to seriously address the science behind this film,
because I get the feeling that Interstellar
will be held up as a "realistic" example in discussions about
relativity and spacetime phenomena.
Nolan previously explored the complexity of human memory in one of my
favorite films Memento. In that film we saw the world in brief,
disoriented segments, simulating the short term memory loss which plagued the
protagonist. Nolan is equally successful
in portraying the complexity of spacetime theory through the eyes of a heroic
farmer. That's saying quite a bit,
because the challenge undertaken in Interstellar
is far greater than that of Memento.
It is unnecessary to
comment on the film's technical merits, because they are flawless. Upon first glance, certain sequences, such as
the spinning earth or box robots may seem odd – but it's all amazingly spot-on. The effects have been carefully designed to
match the theory discussed by the characters; this is the film's strength and
its weakness. As with any work of
fiction, it is important that the visuals support the dialogue to effectively
tell a story. On the other hand, if your
premise is lacking, if the science is full of holes, then the matching visuals
will come across as hokey. Nolan's film
doesn't become absurd due to poor filmmaking; on the contrary, it's excellent
filmmaking that follows an absurd idea to its logical conclusion.
What I don't like about Nolan taking us into the fifth
dimension, is the suggestion that man can achieve the position of God, without
even acknowledging the existence of God.
I would suggest that certain parts of the Bible offer a view free from
the constraints of time and space. The
idea that God existed before creation informs me that both time and space are
elements which have origin… and I don't pretend to understand what "before
time" looked like. Nolan's
exploration of these concepts without the inclusion of God may look pretty
amazing, but ultimately it is an exercise in futility.
Merali, Zeeya Theoretical Physics: The Origins of Space
and Time Nature.com
