In the unfathomably vast physical universe around us, mankind finds the play of science and reason abounding sans constraint. Looking up into the stars on a cold evening has transgressed from being a simple glance of spirited wonderment to a symbolic gaze of hope and redemption, for we who think are we who live and the universe, our home at least if not for the non-existence of another of its kind, was, is and will continue to be the one inexorable source of every question and answer.
Civilization, a great cycle with an infinitely long radius that governs the minds and stomachs of the billions under its titanic umbrella, did not begin on a presupposed morning amongst a group of men, women and children. It began in the mind, as did every revolution, as did every scourge, a seedling of an idea, a miniscule ray of hope beamed at a different future, for the good or for the bad, driven in purpose to assuage the pain of the heart, driven in will to alleviate the pain of the soul.
- Rene Descartes (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650)
In the continued employment and belief of one man in these beginnings, and therefore his peers, and therefore his kingdom, lay hidden in the shadows of the infinite pores of curiosity and rebellion the embryos of innovation, discovery and understanding. This universe, the cosmos, may perhaps not have been existent at all for the now-supposed 15 billion years. For, all that is visible, audible and perceptible around is and is only because I can see, hear and perceive them through the translucent veils of my mind. Another mind, another omniscient force at play other than my own, does exist only when my mind itself does. Therefore, you exist because I do, and I do because my mind does, and my mind does because I think it does. In conclusion, I think and, therefore, I am (“Cogito ergo sum”, Rene Descartes). Thus, in my mind the womb, in those embryos of innovation, discovery and understanding, the scientific method that is the very proof of the existence of the triumvirate is questioned; essentially, a young thinker will tell you, it is a paradox. I conclude, “The universe is only as old as I am. When I was but an idea in the mind of Mother Nature, the universe itself was but an idea in my mind.”
And the scientist will lunge, provoked like the majestic eagle when the security of its nest is threatened, his penetrating stare seeming to bore burning holes through the walls of space and time, his mind racing to argue, to oppose and prove, to contradict and disprove. And he does, for is he not the child of science himself, gaunt and proud, sober and mystique, unwavering in his beliefs and willing to expand the confines of that which he construes scientific? And he spake! “The winds that blow, the leaves that dance – how would you know the cause, understand the effect, and learn, ultimately, your lesson were it not for the knowledge of the mobility of air, the physics of a frail leaf, and ultimately, the mechanics of the eye that beholds the wonder and the mind that remembers it?” We have studied the universe, together with the entities of space and time that contain it, through the lens of science, that sorceress. Her spells let us stray afar seldom; she is an empress even. Her kingdom is mighty and beautiful, with power in the hands of those who deserve it, and naught can they hold on to, they who desire too much for it. It is, therefore, a just empire. There is but right and wrong, and she abhors uncertainty. To the curious, to the inquisitive, to the young, her laws appeal straight to the heart. For, do you think they will not? Between that chance conception, between that singular ignition that gave birth to everything this universe houses, and that mathematical aberration that preceded its occurrence, that localized blackness which we must all collapse into one day, all that is is a product of science. “Would you, then, say science is not an absolute methodology itself but a “chance” conception of the mind – minds that will soon cease to exist?”
But whatever you chose, remember to look to your own efforts to make this world a better place to live in before looking up at a god.
Clathration Therapy 