by James Thomas Lee, Jr. 11/06/96 Copyrighted 1995 by James Thomas Lee, Jr. Copyright Number: TXu 704-227
Chapter 27. List of Facts and Observations {590 words}
a. Keeping It Simple {179 words}
b. Focusing In On The Most Logical Solution {218 words}
c. Reviewing The Facts {183 words}
d. Facts and Observations - System Around Us {213 words}
e. Facts and Observations - The Theory of Evolution {170 words}
f. Facts and Observations - The Big Bang Theory {521 words}
g. Facts and Observations - System Impact {477 words}
h. Facts and Observations - God's Existence {495 words}
i. Facts and Observations - Jesus as Lord {288 words}
j. Facts and Observations - God's Word {309 words}
Chapter 27. List of Facts and Observations {590 words}
Have you heard the one about the two scientists and the little Fifth Grader? Well, these two scientists had just moved into a new apartment. They were very close friends and had decided to share a place together. Right after moving in, they were walking around their new home, checking out all the rooms.
When they came to the kitchen, one indicated to the other that a drink of water would sure be nice, but when they looked at the sink, neither knew what to do because they had never seen such a contraption. The idea of faucets and running water were totally foreign to these highly learned individuals. So, each carefully studied the problem and came up with their own respective solution. One grabbed a hacksaw, the other a pipe wrench! From their analysis, both had concluded that water was just on the inside the pipes. They only had to get to it! But as scientists are sometimes prone to do, these two began to argue about who had the better solution. One said that he thought he could saw through the pipe and quickly have all the water he wanted. The other said that that may be true, but the pipe wrench would work better.
About that time, there was a knock at the door, and the two scientists laid down their tools to see who was there. Upon opening the door, they discovered a young child who lived just across the hall. After a few moments of casual conversation, they soon learned that the kid was in the Fifth Grade and attended a local Elementary School. They invited this young person in and began to visit. After a couple of moments, the child indicated a thirst and headed for the sink. Since both tools had been carefully laid in front of the sink, both scientists looked with great interest to see which the child would select. Perhaps, they thought to themselves that this innocent youth could solve their argument. Yet, to their surprise, the Fifth Grader did not take either tool. Instead, he simply turned on the faucet, got his water, and then returned to the two embarrassed scientists who were waiting in the Main Room!
What is the lesson or moral to this story? It is not about getting water or using faucets. It also is not about being kind to one's neighbor. This story contrasts complexity and simplicity. In the illustration above, all three individuals had valid solutions for obtaining water. The two scientists were absolutely correct in their analysis. Moreover, had both used their tools to break into the pipes, both would have discovered water! However, while being legitimate and relatively logical solutions for individuals who did not know anything about faucets and running water, theirs certainly would not have had a very nice consequence. Either scientist, in fact, would have had a huge mess to clean up, and both would have probably regretted their action had they actually followed through on their plan.
Even though the two scientists would have both gotten water, neither would have been completely satisfied with the results from their legitimate and logical, but not necessarily smart, approach! The Fifth Grader, on the other hand, as we all know, really did have the best solution. He had the simplest, least complicated, and most straightforward method for dealing with this rather commonplace, everyday situation. Given the same options and outcomes, most of us would quickly choose this little child's easy approach every time!
In the final part of this book, I do not want to be like the above two scientists. I want to be thorough and accurate in my analysis. I want to carefully evaluate all the data. But I do not wish to overly complicate what I believe to be a relatively simple problem. At various points in this work, I have implied that the truth is difficult to find and hard to know, and it is! Now, I am shifting gears just a bit to suggest that maybe this whole thing is not nearly so complicated, after all. In fact, to know the truth, all one really needs to understand is where to look! Over the next few pages, I plan to be like that Fifth Grader in the above illustration. I want to turn a subject, which has in the past been treated as difficult and complex, into something which is simple enough for even a Fifth Grader to grasp!
This analysis will consist of three steps. First, in this chapter, I will list what I believe to be the easy-to-accept facts that have been developed in earlier chapters. Along with those facts, I will share some observations from those chapters which, in my opinion, also lend to the overall discussion. After that, in Chapter Twenty-Eight, I will introduce some new information which will be a significant inclusion to all that has already been shared. In a sense, the new evidence will be like our "Missing Link" to the truth! With this added evidence, the third and final step of the analysis will be to put all the data, new and old, together and derive what I consider to be the most logical, yet still trivial and straightforward solution. That effort will take place in Chapter Twenty-Nine.
While many would like to use high-level mathematics and sophistocated algorithms to explain the mysteries of the universe, I do not believe that those mysteries are nearly so mysterious. In fact, to understand these next few chapters, one will not even need a calculator!
The first step towards getting to the truth is to list those facts and observations which have already been presented. In doing this, a special notation will be used so that a quick reference to the original material can be performed as necessary.
Each Fact or Observation will begin with the chapter number of where the information is found. Following that number will be a letter, such as "A", "B", or "C", to designate the section within the chapter. "5A", for example, will indicate Chapter Five, Section A. If the Fact or Observation was originated in the Introduction portion of a given chapter, then the letters "INTRO" will follow the chapter number, hence "5INTRO" or "6INTRO", to again point to the appropriate material. Following the section designator will come a dash and the chronological number of that particular entity within the respective chapter and section. In accordance with this notation, the list of what I believe to be the easy-to-accept facts, plus a few significant observations, is given below. These facts and observations are also listed in Appendix A.
This concludes the list of Facts and Observations, and a final point should be made before leaving this chapter. Since the above information will be used further as this discussion develops, two basic definitions are required. First, a Fact will be treated like an element of truth. This means that it has either been proven, that it can be proven, or that it represents information which has been widely accepted by others as truth. Second, an Observation is a point which might be true. But it has not been proven, and it may not be possible to prove. Observations will automatically be given a lower status than Facts. In the following pages, the above Observations will only be treated as opinions.
1. Gribbin, pages 229-241.
Chapter 28. Some New Information
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