Is Cosmology Becoming Art at the Limits of Scale?

Conjecture: There are multiple if not an infinite number of mathematically self-consistent descriptions of physical reality at both ends of scale (cosmology and quantum events), a subset of which which has predictive and/or postdictive utility. It cannot be assumed a priori that any one self-consistent mathematical model of physical reality (which can be processed by the brains of homo sapiens and their artifacts) can map isomorphically physical reality at all levels of scale. That is, one complete self-consistent mathematical description of physical reality may not in principle exist to be discovered, even potentially. The limits of cosmological and quantum modeling may necessarily be only an emerging art form, the medium of which is pure mathematics, neurologically species-limited, rather than a complete, self-consistent description of physical reality. The limits of our physical theories at the extreme ends of scale approach analogs of mathematical paintings or mathematical musical descriptions of the landscape or spacetimescape of the universe, rather than the theoretical models of classical physics.

May-Tzu

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Traditionally when a successful conformist retired, he became an existentialist.

May-Tzu

The Laputans

The Laputans found composing plays to be far too practical and randomness, itself, excessively ordered. Yet they accomplished the most complex tasks by seemingly random actions, which depended upon a perfect utilization of the butterfly effect.

Before the concept of order and the measurement of time, it was not uncommon for Laputans to inhabit mirages, in order to better appreciate the more substantial world of illusion and shadow. Some dwelled invisibly in ancient cities which had long since vanished from the Earth.

Among the Laputans it was not considered true that a house built of metaphors was not as strong as a house built of straw. It had been said since time immemorial that a house built of metaphors was stronger than a house built of bricks and mortar. It’s not known if they meant this metaphorically or literally.

But it has been noted that the Laputans left no relics or artifacts of their past glory and were said to have had no shadows. This absence of evidence for the existence of the Laputans is, in fact, the most enduring monument to the greatness of their achievements.

The Laputan space program attempted to determine the location of their ancestral planet, Earth. There was no consensus among even the most pragmatic on how to determine which direction was “down,” in order to reach the Earth. But, as an expression of unity, their plan was to launch exploratory spacecraft at more or less random times from the island of Laputa in all possible directions. At some later time the astronauts planned to regroup somewhere and then construct a complete model of the cosmos on a larger scale than the cosmos itself, in order to gain precision.

Among the Laputans endurance breathing was considered a lifetime sport and one that they were truly motivated to play, usually on highly competitive endurance breathing teams, but sometimes in solitude among the clouds. The games were, of course, televised 24 -7.

But often the uninitiated had difficulty differentiating sportsmen from spectators. The games continued until everyone within range of camera deceased either of old age or from the intense excitement of the sports competition itself.

Viruses and bacteria were honored as homeless beings seeking food and shelter and as great spiritual teachers. The Laputans abhorred any use of force by the government or by Nature, herself, and spent their days from time immemorial attempting to abolish the forces of gravitation and electromagnetism, seeking to substitute a susurration of tautologies.

Among the Laputans it is not uncommon to absentmindedly lose something one is holding in one’s hand, but the reason is different. When lost in thought, Laputans will generally still remember that the lost object is in their own hand, but be unable to recall the location of their hand or physical body, itself, in relation to them.

In the past it was not uncommon to come upon large caravans of the most grounded and practical Laputans, who were on quests to find their own body again. Traditionally many Laputans have spent their entire lives fruitlessly attempting to re-locate their bodies, often not seen since childhood, only in order to have access to something quite ordinary that they were holding in their hand.

But now post-modern Laputans use Google Earth for this. Sitting at their computers for unending days without rest, Laputans will scan high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface in search for their own body. Sometimes a passersby may hear a Laputan shout joyfully, “Eureka! There I am sitting at a computer!”

May-Tzu

The Holy Land

According to the One-and-Only-One True Revelation, the entire surface of the Earth, and even below the surface to a considerable depth, was given forever by the Landlord to the Chosen Bacteria. Even today, unnoticed amidst the Arabs and the Jews, bacteria continue to live quietly and worship within their Holy Land, according to their ancient traditions. Only the Chosen Bacteria received a Revelation of pure signal with no noise.

May-Tzu

Security Check

From now on I’m going to do a Security Check
between each of my so-called thoughts,
to verify that they’re really mine.
But can I trust myself to do the Security Check?
There are so many levels of encryption and security
that I’m no longer sure that I’m not an impostor, impersonating an impostor . . .
Maybe if I were capable of becoming a hacker,
I could hack my own brain,
actually just a rental unit, and steal my ontological password.

May-Tzu

On Our Increased Longevity

A profoundly depressed person may well not be capable of suicide. This could account for the increased longevity of modern Western man, rather than public health measures and medicine alone. More modern humans than in the past are simply too depressed to commit suicide. But every so often there is a cycle of collective improvement in the mass psyche. Perhaps it is occasioned by a slight reduction in the mass consumerism and endless striving after wealth and status. More individuals become less depressed and this improvement in the mass psyche is generally manifested as a mass suicide-homicide movement, perhaps a local conflict or major war.

May-Tzu

Seeing dead people

When I was a small child I could see living people all around me. I could see my mother and father and people in the street, all living and moving about. I thought everyone could see them. So I happened to mention it to my mother and father, who were quite disturbed by this. They told me to stop talking such non-sense. There were no living people, they themselves were not living or present, and even if they were, I certainly could not see them. So I learned not to talk about this subject. As I got older sometimes I had in-the-body experiences and imagined that I remembered glimpses of a present life. But now I only see dead people like everyone else.

May-Tzu