"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable...
- Douglas Adams
But the truth is, if you think the way the world works is weird, it's not the world that's wrong, it's you. It's not the world's fault that your model of reality doesn't correspond to what reality actually is. You have a bunch of extremely limited senses, that give you access to some information about the world - about enough to keep your ancestors down the long line to homo erectus (and before) alive long enough to produce offspring (and eventually you) - but that is far from sufficient to really understand the world. Can you see x-rays? I can't. I sorely wish I could sometimes. I wish I could look at the sky at night and see all those parts of the spectrum that have to be "regularized" in the Hubble images for me to be able to see them. That's not to say the night sky isn't beautiful on it's own, but imagine having access to that kind of perception... Given how limited we are, isn't it weird of us to expect to understand it all directly through our senses? Or without definite effort?
But we don't like to be told we're weird. It's much easier to be indignant and blame the world for it's apparent weirdness.
Or maybe we just don't like not knowing. Maybe there's something within us that is inherently curious. Or maybe curiosity isn't enough, given our tendency to jump at the easy answers. Maybe we just don't like admitting we don't know (even to ourselves). Maybe that's why when we don't know an answer, we try to come up with the best to fit the information. Maybe it's not that at all, and I'm way off - that's why I'm saying maybe - I need to be conscious of the possibility of being wrong, because it's so easy to jump at one specific answer and build fences around it. The scary part is how easy it actually is to jump to the wrong conclusions, or make them up as you go along. Maybe that's why when people saw lightning in the sky and couldn't fathom where it came from, they decided there was a big hairy man in the sky throwing shiny spears around. Maybe that's why magic is one of the human universals, because saying it's magic is the same as saying God did it - it's the easy answer.
And at the same time, I have to acknowledge that there is something fundamentally magical about the feeling that wind and snow and rain and so many weather phenomena conjure inside you.
So I accept it feels magical, that my perception of the world appears beautiful (and so intricate you can get completely lost in it!). My natural tendency is to exult in the exquisite splendour of the universe. That doesn't make the magic real (in the traditional sense of magic, I mean). That doesn't make it more likely to get good weather and a good harvest if I killathousandbunnies to propitiate the residentweathergod. I'd be better off offering those bunnies to the local weatherman, though only marginally, and, maybe, only if it generated enough goodwill for a youscratchmybackandIpredictmoreaccurately sort of thing. Any magical feelings inside me are just that, inside me (except when expressed) - they are not a facet of the universe, they are my reaction to it.
Knowing that lightning is actually a cascade of electrons takes nothing away from the almost mystical feeling that a good lightning show generates in you. In fact, the knowledge, of what exactly each of those lightning bolts is, adds nuances to any awe I feel. Hell, even the phrase a cascade of electrons is beautiful - makes me think of waterfalls in electric blue.
Understanding the world, even when it goes against everything your sense data seems to be saying, takes nothing away. I find it adds layers and meaning and mental bridges to other thoughts and other ideas that can be so beautiful - taken separately or together.
But we don't like to be told we're weird. It's much easier to be indignant and blame the world for it's apparent weirdness.
Or maybe we just don't like not knowing. Maybe there's something within us that is inherently curious. Or maybe curiosity isn't enough, given our tendency to jump at the easy answers. Maybe we just don't like admitting we don't know (even to ourselves). Maybe that's why when we don't know an answer, we try to come up with the best to fit the information. Maybe it's not that at all, and I'm way off - that's why I'm saying maybe - I need to be conscious of the possibility of being wrong, because it's so easy to jump at one specific answer and build fences around it. The scary part is how easy it actually is to jump to the wrong conclusions, or make them up as you go along. Maybe that's why when people saw lightning in the sky and couldn't fathom where it came from, they decided there was a big hairy man in the sky throwing shiny spears around. Maybe that's why magic is one of the human universals, because saying it's magic is the same as saying God did it - it's the easy answer.
And at the same time, I have to acknowledge that there is something fundamentally magical about the feeling that wind and snow and rain and so many weather phenomena conjure inside you.
So I accept it feels magical, that my perception of the world appears beautiful (and so intricate you can get completely lost in it!). My natural tendency is to exult in the exquisite splendour of the universe. That doesn't make the magic real (in the traditional sense of magic, I mean). That doesn't make it more likely to get good weather and a good harvest if I killathousandbunnies to propitiate the residentweathergod. I'd be better off offering those bunnies to the local weatherman, though only marginally, and, maybe, only if it generated enough goodwill for a youscratchmybackandIpredictmoreaccurately sort of thing. Any magical feelings inside me are just that, inside me (except when expressed) - they are not a facet of the universe, they are my reaction to it.
Knowing that lightning is actually a cascade of electrons takes nothing away from the almost mystical feeling that a good lightning show generates in you. In fact, the knowledge, of what exactly each of those lightning bolts is, adds nuances to any awe I feel. Hell, even the phrase a cascade of electrons is beautiful - makes me think of waterfalls in electric blue.
Understanding the world, even when it goes against everything your sense data seems to be saying, takes nothing away. I find it adds layers and meaning and mental bridges to other thoughts and other ideas that can be so beautiful - taken separately or together.
About the first part, i like to think that we can aim to find some way of overcoming our own senstive limits with what we already have. That is, use what we know so far to EXPAND OUR SENSES, to make them grow and perfect. I don't really have a clear target other than just "sense" my surroundings in a more accurate way.
ReplyDeleteAbout the second part, punctually the very last paragraph, there's something there that bugs me, but i can't pinpoint it right now (i'm rather off tonight :P...). I'll be back later when i'm a little more awake and see if i can see what's bothering me xP.
Be well, in the meantime.
First part: Sure... that's what we do with microscopes and radio telescopes and sensory equipment to make up for our limits... all of these things designed by our minds.
ReplyDeleteSecond part: Missed commas can make things not flow right.. but yeah, I need to rephrase that all...