Darwin vs. Wallace—Music—Southern Cross

Posted on June 3, 2019 Leave a Comment

One of the greatest Biodesign discoveries was that Darwin contemporary, Lord Alfred Wallace, described music as a quintessential component in human spiritual growth and development. Each day Biodesign students were greeted at the bio-lab door with music from quadraphonic speakers. The music could have been Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Folk, Opera, Reggae or Gospel, etc. I had access to 1000s of selections and a variety of genres, melodies and lyrics were used to pique student interest in the correlation of music and Nature; e.g. Verdi’s, “Four Seasons,” Grofe’s, “Grand Canyon Suite,” John Denver’s, “Country Roads.” Sometimes the music was so poignant or appropriate that we had to modify the lesson in order to discuss what the composers and performers were communicating. In some cases the lyrics, apart from the melody, were dry and not inspiring. Conversely, there were times when instrumental versions of a song lacked vibrancy and meaning. Truly great songs often result when great melodies are combined with great lyrics to launch the song into the soul-stirring level.

The song, “Southern Cross,” is one of those songs. Whenever it was played, students would stop talking and were entranced by the magical union of the melody and lyrics. The song actually began as, “Seven League Boots,” composed by Rick and Michael Curtis. They entrusted it to Stephen Stills who rewrote and renamed it and it became a hit for Crosby—Stills—Nash.

Whether the actual “Southern Cross” conjures up a Christian epiphany or is simply a utilitarian navigational “asterism” (not a constellation) there are countless stories of jaded sea-salts who were humbled by their first view of the mysterious phenomena. It represents a focal point that inspires and guides travelers in the southern hemisphere.

The song might have joined a long list of also-ran lamentations of unrequited love, but the lyrics, rich harmony and soaring crescendos create a triumphant celebration of the healing powers of Mother Nature. It was a perfect fit for the Biodesign goal of seeking Truth, Beauty and Goodness. Alfred Wallace would be proud.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Darwin—Mozart—Sunny Choi—Spiritual Gifts

Posted on July 24, 2017 Leave a Comment

It is a rare human being (especially male) who is not vexed by being shown that his logic is faulty. Charles Darwin did not belong to that group and reportedly became furious when Alfred Wallace pointed out that his Theory of Evolution did not explain the origin of exceptional human talents involving music, mathematics and creative arts.

Over 150 years after Darwin’s, “On the Origin of Species” was published scientists reluctantly concede that the origin of Wallace’s triad is still completely enigmatic.

Like Darwin and Wallace, they understand that the three extraordinary talents are not genetically transferred or controlled by instinct and cannot be predicted. Therefore, intellectually honest scientists are obligated to regard these talents as “gifts,” thereby allowing that they must come from beyond the recipients. For devout scientists, this realization can be quite disturbing and require acquiescing to the real probability that, if “gifts” are involved, there must be a “giver.”

Serious “birders,” meticulously maintain a “life list” that records every species of bird they have observed first hand. Likewise, serious “seekers” maintain a spiritual list of wisdom, stories, and events that point to the existence of the “intelligent design” of the universe. This lofty approach of striving for greater spiritual awareness was reflected in the 1954 Audubon Society statement of their philosophy, which began with:

“We believe in the wisdom of nature’s design.”

All of these thoughts gushed forth as I watched Sunny Choi perform a beautiful interpretation of John Denver’s, “Annie’s Song.” Choi is not only a highly gifted musician; she is capable of using a piano as an extension of her body, mind and soul. And if her recital were not enough, to further showcase her gift, about half way through the performance she closed her eyes and silently commanded her fingers to find the notes “in the dark.”

Although it is highly unlikely that 99.9% of the world population will ever be able to do what Choi can do, her gift is not unprecedented.

Wolfgang Mozart lived only 35 years, but demonstrated a level of musical genius that many musicologists regard as “superhuman” and predict will not likely ever be equaled. Although his lifespan was only half of the average of 70 years, he composed an estimated 600 works of music. His music has been featured in over 300 movies. He composed 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos, 27 concerto arias, 26 string quartet opuses, 103 minuets, 15 masses, and 21 opera works. Some of his most famous operas include “Don Giovanni”, “Magic Flute”, “The Marriage of Figaro”, and “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or (a little night music)”.

“There is a story that Mozart once said, ‘when the angels sing for God, they sing Bach; but when they sing for themselves, they sing Mozart’”. (Googlesearch.com). There are also reports that some of his works were “note-perfect” on the first draft, which meant that not a single note had to be changed.

Like Mozart, Charles Darwin was spiritually gifted and at the tender age of 19 began to see that the Genesis story of Creation must be allegorical and more profound than man had guessed. He eventually arrived at the conclusion that Creation and evolution must be the result of cybernetic interaction. Evidence of this can be found in, “The Autobiography of Charles Darwin:”

“Another source of conviction in the existence of God, connected with reason and not feelings, impresses me as having more weight. This follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity for looking backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist”

Although I don’t recall him citing Wallace’s triad, he did accept his failure to explain human evolution, which includes the wonderfully mysterious origin of musical, mathematical and artistic gifts.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Music and Biodesign: Who Turned On the Tunes? Part I

Posted on September 10, 2014 Leave a Comment

“You know what music is? God’s little reminder that there’s something else besides us in this universe; harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars.” – Robin Williams in August Rush (2007)

It may be surprising for music lovers to hear modern biologists describe music as superfluous, biologically useless, or the result of random collateral events associated with Darwinian evolution. In 1859, when Charles Darwin published, On the Origin of Species,he was irritated with Alfred Wallace who suggested that his theory did not explain the origin of music. Wallace claimed that music, along with artistic and mathematical talents were “gifts” with a spiritual origin. Although Darwin did not agree, in 1871 in, “The Descent of Man,” he acquiesced by writing:

“As neither the enjoyment nor the capacity of producing musical notes are faculties of the least direct use to man in reference to his ordinary habits of life, they must be ranked among the most mysterious with which he is endowed.”

The terms “gift” and “endowed” are similar and suggest that a “giver” is involved. The subtle distancing himself from his own theory was probably prompted by Wallace who spent years working with native tribes in the Amazon Basin and Malay Archipelago. His studies showed that those people possessed musical talent, even those who Darwin described as “the most savage.”

Music is one of the truly mysterious spiritual gifts and it is impossible to imagine the Biodesign Class evolving without it. We think we understand it, but we do not. The wavelength of the sound from a drum is determined by the drum’s diameter, depth and type and quality of the tympanic membrane stretched over its head. Although those are variables, the sound is not and is mono-tonic. This raises two splendid riddles. Why does the human ear drum not send a mono-tonic signal to the middle ear? We should be only able to hear a tap-tap-tap, boom-boom-boom or tum-tum-tum. And, conversely, how can a single tympanic membrane sort out over 300,000 tones and send each to the brain? Darwin didn’t have a clue and according to Meister Eckhart (13th century mystic) the answers will not be found by science. Not surprisingly, the human ear is regarded as an organ of “extreme perfection,” however, hearing does not occur in the ear, but in the auditory lobe of the brain. Therein lies the mystery.

It is possible that the evolution of music is, in itself, a perfect audio record of the physical, mental and spiritual evolution of man. Newton said that he described the motion of the planets, but not how the planets were put into motion; perhaps the same can be said about music. Who turned on the tunes and why? It began with primal grunts, groans and screams; banging sticks together, banging on hollow logs, making primitive drums and flutes, and eventually led to mastering the mathematics of music enough to be able to create a Stradivarius violin, 6600-pipe organ or an opera diva’s voice. The evolution of music recapitulates the boggling evolution of the modern human brain. Starting from elementary rhythms and tones, according to Wikipedia, music has evolved into 1650 genres.

The Biodesign Classes used music for many reasons; instruction, inspiration and slide-shows, but the most common use was as a welcome to the students for each new day. With over 400 CDs, LPs and cassette tapes, I literally had over 5000 songs, musical solos, concertos and opera arias to choose from. With only 175 teaching days, I had to be very selective. The students entered the room hearing Clark’s “Trumpet Voluntary,” Pavarotti singing the magnificent aria from “Turandot,” or Johnny Cash croaking out, “Ring of Fire.” Or they may have heard Vivaldi’s, “Four Seasons,” Nat King Cole singing, “Nature Boy,” or Bob Dylan’s, “Blowing in the Wind.” The greater the variety the better as each selection became an elixir that helped them become more aware that they were creatures of excellence and that each day’s lessons were mystically launched by music.

Lowell H. Young, Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk