Simple Machines 3-2-08
When I was in the seventh grade I was introduced to the science of physics through a class called Physical Science. In this class, one of the fundamentals of physics that I learned was the study and application of the six simple machines: the lever, the wheel and axle, the screw, the inclined plane, the pulley, and the wedge. I learned that these six simple machines provide examples of all of the ways in which mankind performs work through the application of a single force (such as torque on a pulley), and making use of a mechanical advantage so that the work performed is greater than that which man could do alone (such as lifting an engine block out of a truck using a combination of pulleys).
They are called “simple” machines because they are elementary: basically, all machines performing work can be broken down into these types of machines. A bicycle uses a wheel and axle, levers, and pulleys to allow the rider to turn the rear wheel much faster than the rider is pedaling. Many people feel intimidated by machines that they feel are too complicated to understand; but what they do not realize is that complicated machines are just organized groups of smaller, simpler machines.
Many things in life are like machines in this way: what appears complicated can often be explained in a simplified manner when boiled down to its basic elements. In fact, this is how most subjects are taught. In an English class, you would not try to teach a beginner by having them read books by Jane Austen or Henry James, but you would instead start them reading “Dick and Jane”; learning the smaller component parts (such as nouns and verbs, or subject and object) and slowly revealing more of the complexity of the interactions between the parts is how we learn.
The object of this simplification is not to “dumb-down” reality. Someone who is starting out may write in the “Dick and Jane” style and format, but anyone who did not develop the ability to form complex sentences would be seen as retarded. A motorcycle is far more complicated a machine than a bicycle, even though they share the same rough morphology of two wheels, a seat, and handlebars; the more complicated structures (such as the engine and disc brakes) of the motorcycle add together to allow the rider to far exceed the speeds attainable on a bicycle. The complexity is important for operation and effectiveness; simplicity is important for understanding and learning.
This principle is alive and well in Biblical doctrines. If looked at as a whole, God’s plan is incredibly complicated: tens (or even hundreds) of billions of people, interacting over the course of perhaps 6,000-8,000 years, and mostly following plans they did not even know were laid out for them. And that is just humanity’s side of things – when you add into the scenario the existence of a whole host of heavenly beings, along with the Devil and his angels, things get extremely complex. But Jesus knew the ways to make the complicated plans of God simple for us to follow. The Sermon on the Mount is a great example of Jesus taking the complex and boiling it down to where people could understand it.
Many Christians hold to beliefs that come more from traditions and man’s teaching than from God’s Word; this is not because some great conspiracy has taken over the church, and its not because these people have been duped. Many Christians simply do not know what the Bible says because they do not read it for themselves, and if they do read it they do not engage in profitable discussion about what they read with others. So these Christians develop truly bizarre beliefs, not knowing the error of their ways. This is so unnecessary, as many of the Bible’s most important principles are laid out plainly. One example is when Jesus is questioned about which commandment is greatest, he gives us the principle for being able to follow God:
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NIV)
The apostle Paul said that all of Christianity could be broken down into three component parts: faith, hope, and love (with love being the greatest). Paul is not saying that there is nothing in the Word of God except for these three, but that these three are the basic building blocks of our true existence. For example, Baptism involves a confession and burial beneath water. But looked at from another perspective, it really involves faith (that God has the power to free us from our sinful life), hope (that just as Jesus was raised, so too we will be raised to eternal life), and love (just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, we too must love him and become his disciples).
Today, some teachers seem to think that everything has to be complicated, that the Bible is hard to understand; I think that the Bible is as easy to understand as we let it be – following its guidance is the hard part.
-Charles Peterson