Reflex Cube and the Nature of the Universe: How the Universe Was Made (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780615402659)

As a young person I was very spiritual and idealistic, and this was due mostly to my Catholic upbringing. The Vietnam War began to escalate, and no one wanted to explain why we were there. I couldn't understand why the older generation didn't seem to care about the war, but the truth was, we were young people and didn't know our history. The fear of induction into the Vietnam War began to loom over me as a teenager, and I became increasingly defocused from my education. I began to get into minor trouble, such as ditching school, and staying out after curfew. Rather than being shipped off to military school for disciplinary reasons, I decided to hitch a ride with older friends who were going to Canada to avoid the draft. I was fourteen at the time. After six months I returned home and got a job. I got my GED and enrolled in music school at Columbia College in Chicago. I also studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. I took academic courses at the Music school's affiliated University, Roosevelt University of Chicago. By the time I turned nineteen and was eligible for the draft, we had gone to a draft lottery. My number was 353. I may seem an unlikely source for some of the best scientific information on the planet today, but let's remember, this is only theoretical physics, and I am over fifty years old. Theoretical physics is not a concrete subject. It is more less a subject filled with ideas, dreams, and possibilities. It is the creative side of science, and all one really needs in order to participate is a good imagination and plenty of spirit. This of course must accompany years of study. You can get credit for attending school for study, or you can free lance and do independent study yourself, and at your own pace. Many people continue their education in this way. It's called a hobby. It means you allow recreation time for study in a specific area. My hobby became the science of cosmology, and quantum physics. They are still my favorite subjects today. I don't sight read music well, but I can play the piano by ear, and continue to write music for piano from memory. I have even written the piano part for a concerto. These creative skills have come in handy for much of the science work that I am doing today.