My father, Gordon William Greene, was a scientist. I'll come back and revisit that statement a little later, but for now I'm sticking with that as my opening. When I was growing up it came as a shock to me when someone asked what my dad did and one of my five older brothers said that he was a scientist. I can remember pride, then bewilderment--"My Dad, a scientist?" To be more precise he was a Geophysicist. After graduating with a degree in Geology from what is now Fresno State University he went to Stanford University to get his Masters in Geophysics. Upon graduation he went to work for the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, right next door in Menlo Park, CA. During my early childhood years he would disappear for the whole summer, as soon as school let out. He was in Point Barrow, AK. He would reappear right around the time that school started again in the fall. As a side note, I now realize that my mother qualified for sainthood during those years, as she had to handle 6 boys and then 2 girls by herself, all summer long, not able to send any of them off to school for a few hours of respite.
I had no idea what my father did in Alaska until later in life when I learned about all of his major assignments. In Alaska he was working on the team trying to figure out how to get the oil from Point Barrow to Juneau without destroying tundra or permafrost. It is the work that lead to the Alaska Pipeline. Later, he was transferred to USGS HQ in Arlington, VA. That meant that I saw him year round. He helped develop a method to track underground coal mine fires in PA through the use of infrared aerial photography. Then a transfer to Denver, CO to help in the lab set up to examine moon rocks that were starting to come in from the Apollo moon missions. Finally, a transfer back to Menlo Park to work in the National Earthquake Research Center, trying to figure out a way to measure earth activity and predict or give earlier warning of a seismic event.
All significant projects, none of which I would ever be qualified to do. But I digress, for this is not a post about my Dad's work achievements, it is a post about how he taught me that the scientific method was not only useful in science, but also in religion.
I was 30 something years old, married with my own children when I came to realize that I did not need to write the odometer reading of my car on each gas receipt, because I, unlike my father, would never use it. As I reached the ripe old age of 16, and tried to earn my way into driving privileges, my father let me know that whoever put gas in the car, either by his credit card or by my meager cash, he required a record of it. How many gallons went in, and the odometer reading. With that information he would keep meticulous maintenance logs on each car, and dutifully record the gas mileage. Whether that gas mileage data was ever used to diagnose problems, or used to see if some had heavier lead feet than others, I do not know. But I do remember the feeling of freedom when I realized I no longer had that obligation!
As I went through my father's effects after his death, I found at least a dozen notebooks, filled with neat (he had meticulous writing) daily handwritten entries, with the date, the day, the time of day, and his blood pressure reading. Tens of thousands of entries. Why? Because my father was a scientist. The scientific methodology was a part of his very being. He taught me this methodology both verbally and in practice. And though at the time I was not all that grateful, as I reflect back it was one of the greatest things he did for me.
Observe, measure, record, analyze, hypothesize, measure, record, analyze, refine, repeat. That is what he taught me. And more. He taught me how important the measure part was. Many times it was the hardest part and required the most effort. Many times it required a significant invention of a new measuring device before anything else could go on. I now have a collection of some of my father's measuring devices. The older ones that were replaced by more refined and advanced models. I have slide rules, thermometers, surveying tools, compasses, measuring tapes, gauges and other crude or manual measurement tools that a geophysicist might use. Of course, I also remember him talking about tilt-meters, and seismographs and other measurement devices that I am sure he did not keep when they were improved or outdated--if they even now are outdated. But what I want to highlight is that measuring correctly and accurately was vital in the scientific methodology. Without good data experiments were not replicate-able, and without accurate data no amount of analysis could be done that could lead to a trust-able conclusion. Indeed without the ability to observe and measure well, there was really no point in continuing any sort of study.
Why do I mention this? Was it because my father was trying to make a scientist of his sixth son? No, it was because that is how he approached all learning and all knowledge, and my father was not only brilliant academically, he was also spiritually advanced. Conflict with science and religion? Not with my father. He felt they complemented each other beautifully. He saw the scientific methodology as a sound way to arrive at any truth. It just all depended on the tool you used to measure. For geophysics you used tilt-meters and seismographs, for religion you used spiritual tools, tools of the soul. He had a deep conviction that the body and the spirit of man united to make his soul. Since each of us was not a physical being searching for spiritual experiences, but rather a spiritual being in the middle of a grand physical experience, then it only stood to reason that the measurement tools would be spiritually based. Some may say that it is a big A priori leap of faith to assume that man has a spirit. But dad first experimented there as well. If man has a spirit then it would stand to reason that that spirit would be able to manifest itself in certain ways, and be able to feel or perceive things that weren't physical. In other words it would not be measured by physical senses, sight, smell, touch, but by spiritual senses. But what are spiritual senses and how do you measure them? He turned to the holy scriptures and studied those who had worked in this field before him. He read that the fruits of the spirit are "...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,..." (Galations 5:22). He decided he needed to try to measure those feelings. He experimented, he read, he prayed, he measured, recorded, analyzed, repeated. He came to the conclusion that there truly was a spirit in man, and there were measurement tools that could lead to truth, through the same methodology he used in his scientific work. He taught that to me, and I have measured and recorded, and analyzed and concluded. And though I am not a scientist I have arrived at the same conclusions following the same methodology. In a sense, I, like my father before me, am a spiritual scientist.
There are those in the world today who would mock and scorn all things spiritual. How can you know what you cannot see or touch or feel? What they are really asking is how can you measure time with a thermometer? And the answer is obvious, you cannot. But you can measure time with a clock, and you can measure temperature with a thermometer, and you can measure earth movement with a tilt-meter. And you can measure spiritual things with spiritual tools, tools that tap into your spirit, part of your soul. Those who deny things that can only be measured and known through spiritual means are really only denying themselves of sublime experiences. Those who use only a thermometer can measure some things well, but are completely blind to phenomena that require other instruments to see or measure. How will you measure wind speed with a thermometer or a tilt-meter? How can you discern color with a barometer? Mock or scorn if you will, but when the time comes to open your minds to new measurement tools, then try some of my favorites: Prayer, meditation, scripture study, fasting.
Now that my father has died, and I am learning more of his scientific and spiritual legacy, I feel his influence more and more in my life. It is time to revisit my opening statement: My father is a scientist, and I am sure his learning continues, in another realm of existence. And my hypothesis and measurements and learning continues. Miss you Dad, see you (relatively) soon!
