Part 6: Bohm's Holographic Model of the Universe

BOHM'S HOLOGRAPHIC MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE

Having now failed twice in our attempt to accurately represent Bohm's concept of the implicate order, where (except in our imagination (Bohm, 1984b) or our transpersonal experience, which includes dreaming) can we hope to discover a model or appropriate method to solve our present dilemma? A new kind of photography called holography has provided Bohm with another model (Briggs & Peat, 1984; Keeping, 1993; Sharpe, 1983). Unlike ordinary photography which uses a lens (similar to the lens of our eye) to record a light image comprised of a one-to-one correspondence with the object, holography uses an instrument known as a holograph. The holograph, whose name derives from the Greek words holo, meaning whole and graph, meaning to write, is a device invented in 1964 by Dennis Gabor. The purpose of the holograph as the name implies is to write the whole. This writing of the whole is made possible using another device called a laser. A laser produces a highly ordered and regular beam of light. Using a holograph we can create a holographic image through the following operation. A beam of light is projected from the holograph onto a half-silvered mirror splitting the beam. This process allows part of the beam to shine directly on the object being photographed while the other half is rerouted using mirrors to form an interference pattern with the original beam. This interference pattern creates the illusion that the object being photographed is three-dimensional, which is then projected onto a photographic plate. But the photographic image of these interference patterns is too fine to be seen in detail because it exists below the threshold of visual perception. Thus the image continues to be seen as an ordinary photograph. The technology of holography provides us with the means to transcend the threshold of visual perception by allowing us to perceive the complex wave motion of our target object created by the holograph. This is accomplished by re-illuminating the photograph with a laser thereby producing a three dimensional holographic image. Still the most interesting aspect of holography is yet to be revealed. To demonstrate this we must break our photograph of the target object leaving us with only a small portion of the picture undamaged. What do you think will happen if we project a laser beam through the remains of this photograph? Common sense tells us only a partial image of the original will be visible. Surprisingly what we see is the target object's complete three-dimensional image, although the quality of the image is dimmer than our unbroken photograph. It is this feature of holography summed up in the phrase each part contains the whole; that provides us with another visual metaphor of Bohm's implicate order. Holograms therefore do not represent an object in terms of a one-to-one correspondence, implying space and therefore division. Thus (on first inspection) Bohm's use of the hologram as another theoretical example of the implicate order appears to have overcome the limitations of his ink drop model and my television model. It also seems to transcend time order constraints because the relationship of information in a holographic image is enfolded within the whole image. Nevertheless the question that remains to be answered is this. Does the holographic model provide us with an accurate representation of Bohm's theory of the implicate order? The short answer is no (Schroll, 2005a, 2005b). I am constructing a workshop to discuss these questions in more detail; special attention will be given to explaining the limits of the holographic model.