29 將欲取天下而為之

老子道德經第二十九章

將欲取天下而為之
吾見其不得已
天下神器
不可為也 不可執也
為者敗之 執者失之
故物或行或隨 或噓或吹
或強或羸 或載或隳
是以聖人去甚 去奢 去泰

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TWENTY-NINE

Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.

The universe is sacred.
You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it, you will lose it.

So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind;
Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily;
Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness;
Sometimes one is up and sometimes one is down.

Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.

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twenty-nine (dr. physics)

if you want to find a grand unified theory of the universe,
i don't think it's possible.
the universe is beyond science.
you can never fully formulate it with math,
no matter how complex your theory is.
if you try to observe it, quantum mechanics says you will alter the observed;
if you try to measure it, you get a completely different state.

so, sometimes a theory seems complete and sometimes it's inadequate;
sometimes you get data and sometimes you get noise;
sometimes you see waves and sometimes you see particles;
sometimes physics is sound and sometimes it is invalid.

therefore, the real smart ones do not build their belief on science solely,
they don't hope to understand the universe with logic,
and they don't fool themselves with a ph.d. in physics.

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ST (not physics maybe philosophy)
29.

Want to take over the world?
Think again.
The world's a holy place.
You can't just fuck around with it.
Those who try to change it destroy it.
Those who try to possess it lose it.

With Tao, you push forward,
or maybe you stay behind.
Sometimes you push yourself,
other times you rest.
Sometimes you're strong,
sometimes you're weak.
Sometimes you're up,
and sometimes you're down.

A Master lives simply,
avoiding extravagance and excess.