I just came across an interesting thought today. What if the laws of physics are there only because our minds are only capable of perceiving reality a certain way?
To begin this thought, let’s mention freedom. This is a free world, isn’t it? But it has to obey the laws of physics. We haven’t been able to observe anything that doesn’t obey the laws of physics. So does that mean that any phenomenon that doesn’t obey the laws of physics is impossible? Or does it mean that our minds, our brains can’t see reality in any other way than obeying the laws of physics? Perhaps our brains are wired so that they see only parts of a certain phenomenon that make sense.
But if we think about magicians or optical illusions or anything that can trick the human mind, it usually happens that such a trick seems very believable, prompting us to believe that what we see is really happening. Take, for example, a woman being sawed in two. Your rational thoughts tell you that she’s really not getting sawed in half, that it’s just a trick. But your mind also enjoys being tricked, so you let go and let yourself be amazed. So you allow your brain to be in awe of this magic, but at the same time there’s the safety net of knowing that there are laws of physics that keep this world safely predictable. But how about when you see something outside the context of a magician’s show? If you see a UFO? Or you hear weird noises in your house? These kinds of things prove scary to those whose belief in a reality ‘safety net’ is shaken, and not so scary to those who keep insisting that our mind is just being tricked.
So there seems to be a wall that restrains the kinds of things that can happen, and anything that exists inside this wall has to obey the laws of physics. But what if there’s more outside of the wall? What if there’s stuff that we will never be able to perceive? And what if the only reason for us not perceiving it is our brain’s limitation? What if a woman is being sawed in two in front of us and she keeps on living? And we can even touch her? But we are unable to be aware of her because our perception filters out anything that breaks the laws of physics? In other words, what if the thing that defines the laws of physics is not the fabric of our universe, but our brain?
I’m not taking this writing too seriously. When I started typing it, I didn’t have any expectations of a powerful realisation or sudden insight that would blow my mind. I just wrote down these words to see where my imagination could take me. Imagination is a powerful thing. It has led to the creation of stories, books and movies full of things that are outside the walls of our safe reality. Knowing the difference between reality and imagination lets us keep feeling safe. That may be why the unfortunate people with a mental disorder severe enough to hinder the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy seem to feel so uneasy and scared. So their mental abilities don’t diminish. They just lose one small but important ability: to distinguish reality from fantasy.
These writings are a selection of writing exercises that I began doing to practice my writing and typing skills. Basically, I set a timer to 10 minutes and just type away without self-judgement and without editing. Thus, these writings may contain wacky or inexplicable bits, as well as poor paragraph division. Don't worry about those things - just follow my train of thought. I only publish the writings that end up containing an interesting realisation or a strong point concerning life. You can find more at the OOmpah radar blog. Enjoy!
