A Thief In The Night

“Death never comes at the right time, despite what mortals believe. Death always comes like a thief.” Christopher Pike

I am in a bit of shock. I received word this morning that one of my employers passed away yesterday. It appears to have been an accident, meaning, this is all very sudden and unexpected. He leaves behind a beautiful wife and precious daughter.

Death rarely hits so close to home for me and as such, I rarely get to be reminded how fragile life is. With more than seven billion human beings on the planet and counting, the species hedges against this fragility by playing the numbers. But this doesn’t speak to any of us on a personal level. We tend to consider only our own lives. And this is a frightening prospect. Time waits for no man; when it is your time is up, your time is up as a friend likes to say.

“We must conquer life by living it to the full, and then we can go to meet death with a certain prestige.” Aleister Crowley

I had a dream (twice actually) a few years ago that I received a note that said, “In 2015 your dead.” My first reaction to the note in my dream was that whoever wrote the note misspelled ‘you’re.’ Beyond that I have been a little wary of this year, wondering if there is a specter lurking nearby. Yet I go about my business not so afraid that it keeps me from doing possibly dangerous activities. This aside, if I were to die this year, would I be satisfied with the totality of my life? “What if tomorrow never came? / Could I live with myself as I lie in my grave?” I once wrote in a song. This bothers me because I feel I haven’t gotten around to doing anything significant with my life.

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin, Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.” Emily Dickinson

I try to take a solace in Emily Dickinson’s poem. If the point of life were to help others, then I feel I have contributed much. Maybe not as much as I could possibly have, but a fair enough amount for me to be satisfied with. But I haven’t done much for myself. As I have complained before, despite being one of the greatest thinkers to ever live, if I died tomorrow the world would go on without the major contribution to the world I wish to make. (Not that any of us really matter when you consider how vast the universe is, but the universe has nothing to say about how we feel about ourselves.) So what if I did die tomorrow? I suppose I’d be happy I’d get some damn sleep. But I fear I’d leave a world of people behind who have no ambition to accomplish anything. I believe this default setting for human beings has been the bane of humanity’s existence.

Fortunately my employer did accomplish much. He founded two schools so that people could receive the education needed to serve people in a meaningful way. Running a school increases and spreads knowledge exponentially. I am glad to be around people trying to accomplish something. As an educator myself, I hope I am doing a good job of helping people achieve their goals. It should inspire me to achieve my own. Everyone else may bide their time until death but perhaps there has been enough of that throughout history. While there may not be enough of celebrating life, there is even less celebration of achievement.

I will raise a glass to my departed employer. Then I will raise a glass to my own life. Then I will get to work.

…I leave you with these words from Plato’s Socrates, “To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know. No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils.” Perhaps we should not mourn the dead, but it seems we have all mourned living too much. In the immortal words of the pop-duo Wham, choose life!...

The Dream of Reality

[Author’s note: Continuing with my exploration of metaphysics and consciousness, I am going to use the word ‘I’ in lieu of the word ‘we’ since I do not actually know the experiences of others much less be completely convinced of the existence of other minds despite how obvious it may seem. That said, I begin this blog with a key question that you may ask yourself, assuming you exist…]

Does it make sense that I can question reality when I am awake but not when I am asleep? When I dream, I often do not recognize that the storytelling is not linear or that the world is not obeying the laws of physics, but by the same token, does it make sense that in the ‘real’ world people should be so irrational? (Or that I should ever behave irrationally?) Moreover, does it make sense that so many aspects of nature be counter-intuitive, particularly when it comes to the observations made of the quantum world? Could I have ever arrived at the way in which quantum mechanics works by the use of reason without experimentation? [While, ahem, ‘others’ have arrived at some conclusions through mathematics, their mathematics did not predict something like wave-particle duality. And, mathematics indicates that the laws of physics breakdown beyond the event horizon of a black hole, but what does that actually mean?]

To reiterate the primary question: Does it make sense that I can question reality when I am awake but not when I am asleep? Of course, I am generalizing; most of the time I do not question the reality of a dream in much the same way I usually do not question the reality of the waking world when I am awake (assuming I am awake). However, there are instances in each situation when I do, and when I do, that is where the differences between the two realities lies. What happens when I am dreaming and I question whether or not what I am experiencing is real? I am able to take immediate control of the reality I am questioning in some fashion; I may wake myself up or literally change the situation more to my liking or materialize an object I need for the situation I am in. I may even fly. On the other hand, there have been times that I have questioned the reality of a dream because I did not want what I was experiencing to be a dream and I did not want anything to change. While I cannot always change (or keep from changing) everything that happens in the dream world, I cannot always change (or keep from changing) everything that happens in the waking world. But, I can change some things in both realities with the difference being the immediacy with which I can them. In the dream world, I can change things drastically, immediately. In the waking world I can change things drastically, but usually not immediately. What might this situation imply?

A wise man once remarked, “Dreams are real while they last. Can we say more of life?” That quote has led me to ponder that each reality may be equally real [definition below] although each may be obeying different laws of physics. Many theoretical physicist I’ve read seems to agree that when it comes to considering the possibility of a multi-verse in which my universe is one of many, there’s no telling what the laws of physics are in other universes. But, having never experienced what the laws of physics are in another universe, how am I able to imagine defying the ones I know in the universe in which I exist? How can I imagine the impossible unless what I imagine is possible somewhere? (Although, I might ask that even if I could imagine what is possible with a different set of physical laws, how could I possibly have access to that information?) If I give any credit to the theory that my imagination is an evolutionary trait that helps me ‘problem solve,’ I’m still bound to ask how such a trait evolved to the fantastic lengths that allow me to fly in my dreams. If there is a weakness in any such evolutionary Theory of Imagination, that’s it. At any rate, the difference in physics is the foremost difference between the dreaming and waking reality.

[‘Real’ meaning a world of extended objects that exists outside of the mind. Hence, the problem; I cannot prove the existence of extended objects when I am awake. How then can I be sure I am ever awake?]

Another assumed difference is the strengths of my ability to remember my dreams. When I wake up, whatever happened in my dreams flee from memory like water overflowing the edges of a bowl, except that almost all the water leaves. On the other hand, I’ll be the first to admit that my memory of events that have taken place in my waking life are not particularly accurate either. Furthermore, assuming the existence of other minds, numerous studies have revealed how notoriously unreliable people’s memories are. But both my dreams and waking experiences are remembered in some fashion, to a variety of degrees. If dreams were not in some sense real, why is there any recall of them to begin with? While there is no reason to assume I have evolved flawlessly (assuming evolution to be a correct in its theory), the ability to recall dreams seems rather odd. I can begin to accept that dreams may be an evolutionary tool for learning, though I have never seemed to learn anything from them. However, I don’t see the sense in recalling dreams if their supposed lessons can be stored unconsciously. Frankly, to recall dreams seems like a waste of memory resources, unless how real they are is in some way important. Isn’t that exactly what might be thought of on the importance of memories to the waking world? Memories of the waking world beget a third difference between dreaming and being awake – consistency.

It appears as though when I am awake, my reality is consistent. The same people, the same places, familiar situations; I have memories of them all from yesterday and before yesterday. Problematically, all of my memories may have been implanted by Descartes’ Demon mere moments ago and I would be none the wiser. In supposing this to be true, such an event would make my ability to question reality when I am ‘awake’ even more bizarre since it would not seem to be advantageous to any such spirit to allow me such a line of questioning (at least no advantage I can think of). Meanwhile, while dreaming, I find myself in many unfamiliar situations while my relationships are reimagined against scenery that is as often strange as it is known to me. When I dream, reality is less consistent, sometimes much less. This could be caused by the random firing of neurons triggering the memories they contain. When such memories clash, so to speak, it would make sense that my mind would attempt to construct a narrative based on conflicting reports, thus providing an explanation to the strangeness of dreams. But again, from an evolutionary perspective, the random firing of neurons seems inefficient. (Not that the process of evolution should provide efficiency necessarily.) While evidence supports the assertion that a good night’s sleep assists learning, it would seem more efficient for dreams to be somewhat more consistent (and/or memorable) when reinforcing what I learn. Since this is not the case, I must then ask ‘why do I dream?’ Do I not get enough of processing information when I am awake? Perhaps I am making connections I would not normally make when I am awake due to competing stimuli or that the strangeness of dreams allow me to think more abstractly, which allows for problem solving. In such a case, I can accept the strangeness of dreams but not why my memory of them is so weak.

Still, this difference in consistency and memorizing what happens in the world of my dreams vs. the ‘real’ world is diminished in importance when considering the afore mentioned differences of the assumed absurdity of physical behavior in dreams. Only, isn’t waking reality often as absurd? It may be absurd in a different fashion, but absurdity is common to each world(s). And, for me, the familiarity of nature’s absurd behavior (and the behavior of my fellow human beings) is of little comfort. Moreover, if I am inclined to think about the waking world through multiple lenses and not just on facts alone, such a perspective further heightens the absurdity of the world in which I am awake. This situation makes it difficult for me to accept the existence of other minds when I afford myself the time to think about it; it appears as though I am one of very few people who care to consider what something like the dual nature of light means to the fabric of reality or my own consciousness. The fact of light’s dual nature would seem perfectly at home in the world of dreams, but not in the world in which I am supposedly awake. If I had discovered the dual nature of light in my dreams, I would probably not question it. Being awake, however, I must question it and try to make sense of it because it is so counter-intuitive, because it is dreamlike in quality. This is the problem that makes me consider dreams as real as any other reality I may be experiencing.

No, it does not make sense that I can question reality when I am awake but not when I am asleep. Little of either so-called reality makes sense. What conclusion should I then draw? I am either asleep when I dream and awake when I am awake, asleep in both the dream world and the ‘waking’ world, or awake in both the ‘dream’ world and the waking world. [I am relying on the traditional English definitions of these words.] Or, I am neither asleep nor awake; I am in a state for which obviously no word exists. Perhaps there should be. Clearly the either-or premise upon which the waking world operates is flawed. It is time to explore other options.

Solipsism vs Occum's Razor

I’ve been troubled for quite some time by the idea of solipsism, that only my mind exists and everything else is my imagination. While we, myself included, nonetheless deny solipsism as we go about our lives, the question is why do we – why do I – deny solipsism? No one, including myself, can prove a world outside of their mind exists. If there were such a proof, the word ‘solipsism’ wouldn’t exist.

Of course, we have to (I should stop doing that, huh?) I have to deny solipsism to get anywhere with any my other thoughts, supposing there is somewhere to go. I have to deny solipsism to give meaning to my interactions with the world. Don’t I? But suppose my whole life is a dream and at the end of my supposed life, I wake up and brush off the whole experience as it were the same as any other night’s dream. But don’t I act like what I’m doing in a dream has meaning, that my interactions in the dreamworld are just as real as my waking ones during the many instances I don’t realize that I’m asleep? Why should I act in such a manner in either the waking world or the dreamworld? Because the world appears as an extended set of objects to my senses – senses that oddly I use or seem to use in my dreams – despite the faultiness with which my senses may operate. So, isn’t the idea that there is an external world simpler than the idea that only my mind exists? It appears I am applying Occum’s Razor to my perceptions whether I am awake or asleep, assuming I’m ever asleep (or is it awake?). But, is it correct to apply Occum’s Razor?

Occum’s Razor is a philosophical tool that states when it comes to competing hypotheses, the one that is simplest in its explanation is the most probable explanation. When it comes to questioning reality, it appears that there is an external world because by comparison, my mind being the only reality doesn’t appear to make much sense. Why not? Because I can’t think of a reason why my mind would present the world to me in such a manner that it is easier for me to believe a world outside of my mind exists. Now, I can’t say such a reason doesn’t exist simply because I can’t think of it at the moment, but any explanation I could possibly think of would seem to require serious mental gymnastics. That is, I couldn’t see a simple explanation for my mind fooling me, an explanation that is simpler than the existence of an extended world of objects. (Even if I’m a brain in a jar somewhere, receiving data that is fooling me, there is still an external world of objects. In this case I am simply mistaken about which extended world of objects is real.)

While I can look at a given situation or the state of my life in a positive or negative manner depending upon a variety of factors, I am manipulating a mental reality that only goes as far as my mind does. That said, I can’t change the external world’s laws of physics, no matter how imaginary I think the external world is. It is at this point that the external world becomes unlike the dreamworld. In the dreamworld, when I realize I am dreaming, I can take control of what happens in the dream and do fantastic things, such as fly. While I’m awake, though, I can’t say to myself, “Wait, I’m actually dreaming right now,” and magically take to the skies. True, this inability to recognize an external reality as a dream may be due to the external world being so ingrained in my imagination that I cannot “snap out of it.” (This is paraphrasing something Morpheus says to Neo in The Matrix.) But, the fact that I do not have an ability to “snap out of it” means my only alternative is to act like an external world actually exists, even if it doesn’t exist. Now I Now we can see that any explanation for our minds being all that exists gets even more convoluted, since now our minds will not allow us to snap out of the illusion of an external world. Now, any reason for our minds to fool us even when we do not want to be fooled gets less and less plausible the more we think about it. This doesn’t mean the possibility for our minds to fool us about reality isn’t there, but by comparing the hypotheses of an external world versus a world of pure imagination, applying Occum’s Razor appears all the more reasonable.

But there’s a problem with using Occum’s razor. Sometimes using it fails. If you’re at all familiar with Sherlock Holmes stories, imagine him using Occum’s Razor to try and solve all his cases. He’d be a pretty unremarkable – and often mistaken – detective.  Yet we apply Occum’s Razor to the question of an external world of objects for the sake of practicality, as we can’t unimagine the way the world is even if it is in our own minds. True, we can’t deny the possibility that the external world could be our imagination but it is our inability to unimagine the world the way it is that gives strength to the idea that an external world is actually there.

There’s one last cut Occum’s Razor can make upon Solipsism. If we actually consider that the external world is in fact not real, that our minds for some reason were fooling us, why would our minds allow us to contemplate the possibility that the world is not real? Again, the required explanation appears as though it would be convoluted compared against the simpler explanation that an external world of objects exists. In this case, an extended world of objects is required to consider that such a reality is actually not real. Why would our minds give us clues that the reality we sense is not actually reality?

At this point, Occum’s Razor wins via a technical knockout. He can’t quite kill Solipsism – I guess since Solipsism can’t bleed – but let’s face it, winning is all that matters. At least that what I…think.

The Basics of Pi-ism

[Ed.'s note: People think I'm making fun of religion through Pi-ism; Pi-ism is charged with being a parody religion. But is it a parody religion or is it a meta-religion? You be the judge.]

The Least You Need to Know About The Religion Based on Pi (As detailed in the book “The New Adventures of Pi.”)

• God chose philosopher and atheist Theory Parker to become His latest prophet because God feels that theist prophets are not adequately conveying God’s messages.
• To demonstrate God’s powers (and sense of humor) God used Her divine powers on Theory Parker to keep him from actually believing in the existence of a god.
• God’s existence appears to be contingent upon a question God has. The universe we live in is part of an equation God has devised to answer this question. Our universe was created to calculate the irrational number Pi to a finite number.
• All living things are variables in this calculation of Pi. Pi can only be solved by its variables acting in a particular manner, thus the need for The Suggestions, aphorisms God invites us to contemplate if we want to better ourselves as a variable.
• The Suggestions are: 1-Be Good, Be Happy 2-The Best Things in Life are not Things 3-Learn From Your Mistakes and .14-What You Will is the World.
• Due to Pi’s irrational nature, all things are possible, even the idea that God exists and does not exist at the same time. All religions are derivatives of Pi-ism with the exception of Scientology, which God specifically calls “retarded.”
• Dreams are sometimes glimpses of ourselves in other universes. These glimpses of our other lives are meant to be a learning tool.
• There is no free will as far as Pi-ism is concerned (meaning, there is no such thing as you having a free will). This is meant to be an encouraging idea and not the terrible idea everyone seems to think it is.
• Most importantly, God abhors violence and interference in the lives of others.

These are the most basic tenets of Pi and it associated religion, Pi-ism. Want to know more? Pick up “The New Adventures of Pi” on Amazon.com or Lulu.com today!