Science vs Religion and the Maxim

 The Art of the Maxim 

Wisdom is often carried along through maxims, aphorisms, proverbs, and truisms. They are often stated in vague terms or in vague ways that resonate differently with different readers but carry a similar message. In this short note, we’ll consider a maxim from one of the great mathematicians and cryptographers of the 20th century, Alan Turing (1912-1954). The problem with this maxim is that without familiarity with advanced mathematics, it might not have genuine meaning to a general audience. We will look for a similar meaning through re-expression. 

So, from Turing we have,

"Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition."

Looking for some wisdom, this maxim suggests that everything (e.g. science) in the world is a contained mechanism, with science on the inside, while it is bounded from the outside by conditions we may not know. However, the inside and outside are strongly linked with the boundary conditions specifying what happens inside. Any resonance so far? Possibly not.

 

                                                             Figure 1 Alan Turing

There are many ways to express this sentiment. I have thought of two alternatives that express this sentiment in different ways more understandable to the non-scientist. They are,

“Science is the realization. Religion is the imagination.”

“Science is to know from the observable. Religion is to know from the unknown.”

In the first of these, we reference your imagination, which upon reflection is an unknown or alien part of you. It’s yours, of course, but you can’t control it. It is something like your involuntary muscles. It most certainly affects your realization. In the second, the unknown of course is the personal or other unknowns.  Both and even Touring’s make use of relatively vague terms. 

Writing maxims or aphorisms is an art form we should all learn. I wrote a blog on this some years back. They should be short and all contain vague terms or those that can readily be converted into the situation at hand. Economy of language is essential. Often they use the same word twice, once as the subject and then as the object. Some of the best can be used regardless of politics or religion. Example: “At stitch in time saves nine.” That one is well known. Here are a few more amateur efforts I cooked up.

• “Justice will come in time, provided time still allows for justice.” 

• “She knew she could overcome the challenge but didn’t know the challenge would overcome her.”

• “Fixing the problem created more problems than the problem fixed.” 

©2024 G Donald Allen