The Third Law Of Unfairness
Daily Post prompt: Tell us about a time you did a 180 — changed your views on something, reversed a decision, or acted in a way you ordinarily don’t.
Hm. This prompt would require me to admit that I am not always right, which as we all know, couldn’t possibly be the case. The Goldfish is the very definition of perfection.
Alright, so maybe that last sentence is a little more than a little false.
I’ve actually changed my mind a lot of times, but probably the biggest turnabout is the concept of a fair universe.
There was a time when the justice system failed me so completely that I fell back on the old concept of universal justice. The universe takes care of its own, right? I convinced myself that even if human justice was wholly incompetent and basically downright shite, the universe had laws of its own. Namely, the laws of physics! As with all big questions in life, I turned to science; Sir Isaac Newton, to be specific.
Sir Isaac Newton to be specific.
Newton came up with three laws of motion:
- The law of inertia: Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia. The key point here is that if there is no net force acting on an object (if all the external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant velocity. If that velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. If an external force is applied, the velocity will change because of the force.
- The second law defines a force to be equal to change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time. For an object with a constant mass m, the second law states that the force F is the product of an object’s mass and its acceleration a:
F = m * a
For an external applied force, the change in velocity depends on the mass of the object. A force will cause a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in velocity will generate a force. The equation works both ways.
- The third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal force on object A. The third law can be used to explain the generation of lift by a wing and the production of thrust by a jet engine.
Or in layman’s terms:
- An object in motion will stay in motion, vice versa.
- The heavier the object, the more force it takes to move it.
- For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For example, if you punch a wall, the wall exerts an equal amount of force back at you and breaks your fingers. I wouldn’t recommend punching walls. I applied Newton’s third law of motion to the concept of universal justice or “karma.” You cannot commit evil acts without an equal amount of evil coming back at you. Or, conversely, you cannot commit evil acts without an equal or opposite, i.e. amount of good, going out into the world.
It’s a nice hypothesis and it got me through some really tough times, but I don’t believe that anymore. I’ve never seen it work. I’ve seen monsters go unpunished. I’ve seen poor people locked up for good while rich people buy their way out. I’ve seen the unfairness of the universe personally and have lived the results. Neither one of my monsters has ever seen the inside of a courtroom for what they did to me. Both of them are still out there, free to create more victims.
You can’t apply the laws of motion to the acts of people. Physics only applies to certain human behaviors, like motion and gravity, but not to our minds. Humans are responsible for governing human minds. The laws of physics can’t touch intent.
Humans either tip towards evil or good, and we all are capable of both. The only thing that controls which side we lean towards most is ourselves. There is no higher punishment for evil. There is no karma coming back to you. There is only you and your brain and the laws of man.
It’s a shitty deal if you ask me. It means that so many evil monsters out there go unpunished. I’d like to believe there is a form of universal justice, but I can’t. I’d like to believe there’s a universal scale on which justice is measured, but there isn’t. The laws of man and the laws of physics are inadequate to govern the human mind. We have to take care of ourselves. It’s a lousy, unfair world, which makes it even more imperative that we take care of each other.
27 Responses to “The Third Law Of Unfairness”
so true, sadly…
Sadly indeed. I would really love to believe it isn’t, but I can’t.
Me neither, this is a fucked up world. Lots of beautiful things going on, but monsters and darkness are around every corner, getting away with it…
Sigh.
Don’t judge the story until the ending is written
I have a difficult time believing in ANYTHING these days.
Except the Easter Bunny. I will always believe in the Easter Bunny. Hoppy, we luv u. ;)
I still believe in chocolate bunnies. :)
Always.
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Awesome post and with science no less. Sorry to hear about your sudden frustrations with Newton, but not all of his rules have stood the test of time or translate well into the real world. In our physics class we used to joke that F does not equal MA, because mass changes at light speeds and is no longer a constant. My friend continually pointed this out during our physics courses to the disappointment of the professor who had to deal with him for three more years as he went on to complete his masters in physics. The statement was true but totally inappropriate for our introductory physics course and my friend continually brought up statements like this to watch the teacher squirm his way out. Now he teaches physics himself. I guess this long winded comment does prove that Newtonian justice can boomerang back and bite some people, but ironically those people may be physics instructors themselves who have their own frustrating students to deal with.
HA! Physics, like grammar, has exceptions to nearly every rule. I hope your friend has a smart ass student who constantly points that out, too. :)
I’ve never taken physics. All of my knowledge is self-taught because science is goddamn fascinating. Yay science!
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This is a really intriguing post. I especially agree with your sentiments in the second to last paragraph, where you say, “Humans either tip towards evil or good, and we all are capable of both. The only thing that controls which side we lean towards most is ourselves.” This duality of human nature has been a topic that fascinates me to no end. One of my favorite poems, Vultures by Chinua Achebe, really does a great job of capturing the thought in art.
His point is basically that you can either rejoice that even the worst person has the capacity for good, or despair because every human mocks goodness with their evil.
I suppose I’m one of the first camp. I’m not sure how open you are to religion, but I thought I’d just mention what gets me through this “lousy, unfair world” where monsters go free. I believe in God, and perhaps it’s my youth and naive inexperience, but I still believe in your Newtonian law of justice. While good men suffer and monsters roam the earth, I suppose there’s some hope to be found in the idea that everyone will get what they deserve . . . just maybe not in this life. Your thoughts?
Great post :)
There is good and evil in everyone. Your poet is right that it’s just a matter of perspective. I’d like to believe that everyone gets what’s coming to them (good or bad), but I just can’t. That was kind of the point of this post.
Oh, I recognize that that was the point. I guess all I was trying to say was that I really liked your way of articulating your old point of view, and that I identify with it . . . even though you’ve since abandoned it.
Gotcha. Well, there’s nothing saying I’m right. :)
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The world is an unjust place, it’s true. I take every opportunity I have to point that out to my children in the hopes that they’ll be prepared for just how cruel reality will be once they are actually out in it. Reality blows.
Good. I am not a fan of this “every child gets a prize” type of parenting. That’s not how the real world functions.
Not at all. I’d rather my kids be prepared for what lies ahead than be totally unable to cope with life when it’s time for them to do so.
Newton’s 3rd law=karma is an interesting concept. I gave up on fairness long ago (is that unfortunate, or realistic, I wonder?), and started trying not to be the pool ball that is hit who then gains velocity and bumps into another pool ball, etc. I try to break the cycle, I guess, when its nastiness hits me, instead of taking it out on someone else. I try to put good into the world when I see an opportunity, and hope that gains some momentum of its own. That’s my personal theory, that I can’t change what other people do, but maybe I can be a breaker for the pain and a spreader of the good, and that eventually my tiny contribution will spread something better a ring or two out (which might spread–who knows?). Do I fail? All the time. I’m not perfect, and it’s difficult to be a breaker, and the stress gets to me sometimes, and I let some not so wonderful things spread on. It still feels better to be doing something, rather than stretching myself to a point where I’ll break (trying to do something massive and life altering for many), or sitting here and accepting that I can’t do anything.
That was the most freakishly optimistic thing I’ve ever said, I think, so now I’m going to have to go brood. After I finish reading your blog posts, of course (I’ve been a hermit for far too long).
That’s a pretty good philosophy. We can’t change the bad other people do, but we can change our own. It doesn’t really matter what others do as long as we can live with our own actions.
Good luck with your brood. :)
Wonderful post – wouldn’t “Newtonian Justice” be cool! After getting mugged we could stumble away thinking “Ha, now you’re screwed”!
However, the moment you add humans to the universe I think chaos theory rules.
It would be nice, wouldn’t it? It would certainly make the world more interesting.
I do believe in justice – but I also believe, as you said, that it is a shitty world and a lot of monsters go unpunished – that’s why I’m going to start a vigilante club when I turn 70!! Anyhoo, I’m a little late in this topic but wanted to throw my two bits all the same – hope you can stop by my place soon. cheers!
Nice! Can I join? I’m really surprised there isn’t more geriatric crime.