Continuum
In the beginning, there was nothing but a vast, empty void – endless space. With the rapid increase of entropy in the system, something we colloquially know as time came to be. This quickly accelerated into the Big Bang and our current understanding of the formation of the universe. With time, space evolved, eventually creating fascinating phenomena, most prominently the observers of it all: us humans. We went on to assign meaning to things we observe in space - over time - forming identity. All of these fundamental concepts encompass, according to our view, everything that was, is and will be. Reality.
What’s fascinating about the universe is that we only hold a specific perspective of it all. We have created axioms to govern logic, which govern mathematics, such that it inherently works. Axioms are something created by the human mind, because our brains are hardwired to work on logic, and funnily enough, for say the axioms of set theory – they seem to be true because they are logical. This forms a tautological loop, where we accept something to be true by our own understanding, to govern our own understanding. This works for us, and with it we’ve certainly created both spectacles and chaos based on logic (or the lack thereof), but there’s no way to know if it is the intended “language” of the universe. We know no real truth.
Our minds are constrained by both our intellect - for some more than others - but also our capacity for observation. We can observe in four dimensions, three encompassing space and the fourth, time. Together, we can observe the change of things over time. We assign an identity to something, to be able to do just that – comparing object A (this is an identity) at time = 0 to time = x. But as we are constrained by our four dimensions, we have no way of proving that these four dimensions are the only dimensions of the universe. A rock “lives” in the present, occupying its assigned space. It observes, but it does not and cannot do anything with that information – it just is. It knows nothing of time. Similarly, we exist constrained by our four dimensions, knowing nothing of other dimensions possibly affecting our existence. What is real then?
For the purposes of the following thought experiment, ignore biological living constraints for a human. Imagine a human specimen plops into existence into the vacuum of space. It has no womb to be nurtured in, and no nurse to help it out during birth. This specimen is blind, deaf, mute and its nervous system is not connected to its brain – it cannot feel. Unlike infants born into our world, this specimen cannot see around it, does not have parents and does not have school to teach it about the world. Suppose this specimen can live without breathing, eating or drinking and it cannot think. Thinking is something created by evolution to act on observations to beat your competitors. The specimen has no inputs for observation and no competitors. What is its understanding of existence? Probably the same as the rock. It is what we make of it with what we have.
The fabric of reality is precisely that – a fabric that we can observe in the vast collection of other fabrics – similar to the fabrics on display at a suit-tailors collection. But maybe this is enough for us. We can just live happily with our own understanding of the universe without having to worry about what lies in higher dimensions. After all, it’s quite comfortable to not have to think about the universe – just enjoy a beer and watch the sunset, listening to the leaves rustling and birds chirping. Life is good.
But is it really? I mean, wouldn’t it be fascinating to know what we really are, why we are here and what else is out there? Sure, this may sound very optimistic both based on the past text and our limited lifetime, but the notion of it all keeps a very bright light at the neverending tunnel of understanding – at least for me. Just thinking of things like these polishes your understanding of yourself and what is around you. There are so many unanswered questions, which may just need you as the final missing piece to answer them. The final frontier of it all is our own understanding.
What is more important than understanding the fundamental forces of the universe, is understanding yourself. For some, purpose is found quickly and for others, sadly, purpose is sought after through a lifetime but never found. Sometimes people forget what they are and get affected by others so much that they no longer are themselves. What one also needs to ascertain is their worth. Every human being is worth equal, including the hypothetical human specimen on the other page.
So maybe there is something to us more than just absent minded observation. Maybe there is a continuity to who we are, who we once were, and who we will become. The atoms and molecules that make me up might not have memory but in their coalescence I do. And what am I to make of that memory than pretend that it is meaning in and of itself.
