IMPERFECTION

This book is about perfection and its opposite, imperfection. One might infer that it is about the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the wanted and the unwanted. However this would be an erroneous inference. The very reverse may be true. In fact, it is imperfection, not perfection, that lies at the heart of our great universe. It is the moving force behind all of nature’s diversity and the key events that have shaped our world. Without it there would have been no galaxies, no stars, no world, no living creatures and no us. Truly it can be said to be the workshop of creation. As we understand more about our universe, two special features stand out; the richness and beauty of nature’s endless diversity and the elegance and simplicity of the laws and systems that oversee and guide this diversity. In both features, imperfection plays a leading role. It is the source of all diversity. Without it there would have been a universe of numbing uniformity. No complex organisms or structures would ever have evolved. A Galaxy of Flaws Imperfection appeared early. In the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang the infant universe inexplicably turned lumpy like sour milk. The lumps turned into galaxies, stars and worlds. Without the initial imperfection, structures like these would have appeared. Since then, this pattern of events has repeated itself over and over again. A series of co-incidences and accidents created our world. The living world is characterised by decay, death and rebirth. The living cell on which it is based has a life cycle full of errors, random fluctuations and accidents. Yet it has produced the wonders and beauty of nature. Man himself is a flawed creature. Like the rest of the living world, he is subject to disease, decay and death. To constrain his wayward behaviour, society has had to invent a myriad of restraining systems such as laws, social conventions and religious guidelines. Man’s mind finds itself housed in a body and environment that it does not fully comprehend and which can present constant threats and dangers. Its responses have given birth to the great disciplines of art, science and philosophy. In spite of, perhaps because of, his flaws, man has given rise to a Mozart and an Einstein. . . Perfection Perfection, on closer examination, plays no significant role in creation and can lead to many paradoxes and illusions. The concept of perfection is an invention of the human mind which does not exist outside that domain. In a sense it is an illusion, a rainbow that we chase but never catch. We know a lot about it since the pursuit of it has been a driving force in our civilisation for over 2000 years. We can trace its origins back to ancient Greece. In the 19th century, the Age of Perfection reached its zenith. It was based on ideals of design, purpose and conformity. As modern science reveals a universe that is driven, not by purpose and design, but by chance, errors, accident and other imperfections, the concept of perfection becomes more and more out of step with the deepest realities. This is increasingly reflected in modern science, art and social institutions. We are now entering the Age of Imperfection. Imperfection It is with imperfection that the real power lies. All the great processes in our universe are driven by it, from the dynamics of the heavenly galaxies to the proliferation of life and even our own ever-evolving world of thought. It works by creating a cycle of disturbances and imbalances and waits for the inevitable responses that these give rise to. Evolution in the living world is a good example of how this works. From rudimentary beginnings, it produced the teeming life of the rain forests. Creation Many theories of creation have, at their core, ideas of perfection. These must now be reviewed. Perfection was clearly never part of the grand design. Instead, imperfection is everywhere and influential. Many may find it hard to associate imperfection with deeply-held concepts of a perfect God. Did God deliberately create a less than perfect universe? When He created the universe, was He too driven by a sense of incompleteness? Was imperfection in action even then? These are some of the deep waters into which the trail of imperfection leads. A New Theory Observing the constant presence and influence of imperfection, a new theory of creation can be put forward. This envisages creation as a continuous process. It proceeds in two cycles - the cycle of kingdom creation and the cycle of kingdom evolution. Typical kingdoms are the kingdom of life and the kingdom of the human mind. There are others, some of which we do not have access to - past, present and future. A new kingdom grows out of a previous one. A kingdom evolves over time from initial simplicity towards diversity and the building of ever more complex structures. Complex structures need a multiplicity of diverse components with which to build and it is the task of imperfection to provide these components. Its workshop has been busy for billions of years. Living with Imperfection Man’s instinct is, at times, to attempt to suppress diversity and to impose conformity. Many isms of the past have arisen from this base - clericalism, communism and fascism. These have attempted to force whole populations to conform to certain beliefs and ideals. This passion for order and perfection is deeply at odds with the reality of nature and has led man down many cul-de-sacs. It is now time to accept the centrality of imperfection and to make it a cornerstone of our thinking. We will experience a new sense of liberation and a freedom from futile perfection-seeking.