Did Nahmanides predict tachyons? (No, really)

I know how this sounds, right off the bat. a man born at the end of the 12th century, knew about a particle that wasn't even named until this century? Ridiculous.

Provisio: This thread deals with the big bang being explained through ID. If this idea seems absurd to you, please make your derogatory comment & go home. But don't expect a reply.

As some may have gathered from some of my posts/threads, I love the idea of science & religion mixing.

Truth can be found in both, providing agendas don't get in the way. I don't believe in a God that gives man a logical mind, and then punishes him for using said mind, I find that offensive. I also blame alot of my fellow brothers/sisters in Christ, for not educating themselves enough to actually debate their friends that have a scientific mind. The Bereans were noble b/c they searched daily.

Anyway back on topic, the point of this thread is to show an interesting correlation I found over the weekend while I was looking up rather or not science had found physical proof of tachyons yet. (Sometimes I just gotta get my geek on.)

Tachyons are basically faster than light particles, with little to no mass. This idea sounds ridiculous on the surface b/c the mass needed for a tachyon is a negative integer (-1) and therefore imaginary. As silly as that sounds to most ppl, I don't have a problem with it, b/c physicists have their own problems with Singularities & Infinity. And yes the title sucks, but the info is fascinating. (I love Dr. Kaku)




So tachyons have little to no mass, where does Nahamanides fit in? Glad you asked. Here's the wiki bio:

From Wiki: Nahmanides[Nah-man-nid-ez], also known as Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman Girondi, Bonastruc ça (de) Porta and by his acronym Ramban (1194 – 1270), was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Spanish Sephardic rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator. He was raised, studied, and lived for most of his life in Girona, Catalonia.

And here is the paragraph I read which inspired this thread:

There's only one physical creation, and that creation was a tiny speck. In that speck was all the raw material that would be used for making everything else. Nahmanides describes the substance as "dak me'od, ein bo mamash" - very thin, no substance to it. And as this speck expanded out, this substance, so thin that it has no material substance, turned into matter as we know it. Nahmanides further writes: "Misheyesh, yitfos bo zman" - from the moment that matter formed from this substance-less substance, time grabs hold. Time is created at the beginning. But time "grabs hold" when matter condenses from the substance-less substance of the big bang creation. When matter condenses, congeals, coalesces, out of this substance so thin it has no material substance, that's when the biblical clock starts.

A speck with no substance, making the universe, from a man born over 800 years ago.

This explains so much for both sides. The question about how did light happen one day one, when the stars weren't formed till day four. (Which turns out to be a misnomer actually) And it also combines the YEC & the OET groups. (Young Earth/Old Earth)

The source for the ex-text can be found here

And yes some of you will argue that Schroeder has his own agenda too, that isn't the point of this thread so please respect it.

I am not a scientist, I don't pretend to be. I don't have any letters after my name. If i am wrong, and you point it out to me, please don't mock my faith, or my reasoning for putting it out there. This was something that caught my eye and I thought I would share.

Warm regards.

reply to post by schadenfreude


Think of everything as a tachyon and you're closer to what Schroeder is saying. As far as Nahmanides knowing, he must have had a lot of faith for God to have given him the understanding - same goes for Schroeder.