Tag: universe

ᴬ PORTAL ᵀᴼ ᴬᴺᴼᵀᴴᴱᴿ DIMENSION

(Animation from GIPHY.com)

I was falling asleep on a train, drifting in and out of consciousness. The cascading droplets of rain against the glass would momentarily catch my eye. The realest, truest thing in the world to me, in that moment, was the cold of the glass against the side of my forehead, the ice-cold collision came with the words of my inner-monologue, reminding me “don’t fall asleep”.

With each thud of my skull against the train window, with each jolt to my slipping consciousness, I found myself remembering, reliving similar moments. Different trains, different destinations, different times, different understandings of self. The blur of the outside world and the cascading droplets, rushing and colliding down and across the glass. Like the water droplets that form as one when they collide, when memories are so similar, the mind (under certain circumstances) might momentarily lose its bearing on exactly where, when, or (in some extreme cases) even who it is. A cascade of consciousness, altering, questioning the perceivable reality.

It’s like waking up in the middle of the night, and not knowing where you are. You’ve changed houses, changed beds multiple times but the subconscious mind can be caught off guard. Driving for five hours, with almost no recollection of how you actually got to your destination. For one moment, it’s as though a former self, by some miraculous means has taken the helm of a future/current self, bewildered by the changes that have come to pass. Until better senses return and you are living in the moment, once more (some of these experiences can be caused by serious conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, Amnesia).

In my experience of human cognition, the mind doesn’t always want to live in the moment. Sometimes it seeks to traverse memories past, conjure events yet to come, or entertain some things that may never unfold in this reality. At this juncture in my existence, I’ve forgotten a great many details from my own life, let countless memories slip through the cracks of time. Even some of the chaotic, (relatively) cataclysmic moments, carelessly discarded. Yet strangely, sometimes I truly wonder, am I still falling asleep on that train to god-knows-where, soon to come to my senses, when my head next collides against the glass?

The ghost of a former self perpetually drifting in and out of consciousness?

Are we all essentially amalgamations of our many former selves?

To illustrate my point, you might ask yourself the following question:

Where are you right now? At this very moment?

You might tell yourself a geographical location, along with a juncture in time. But the relative geographical location, is fixed upon a planet that is moving (Earth orbits the sun at approximately 67,000 mph/107,000 km/h. 365 days for a full orbit. The sun and the solar system appear to be moving at 200 kilometers per second, or at an average speed of 448,000 mph/720,000 km/h —Space.com). The time you refer to, is also quite relative to where you are in this entropic universe. In fact, the relative time it’s taken to read to this point, the answer originally proposed, has already drastically changed.

Then there is the philosophical element, when asked where and when you are, your future self perpetually shed to join the amassing former selves, as every moment passes. Are the former selves, which for all of us, inevitably outnumber the current self, merely doomed to be lost to oblivion for all eternity? Outside of memory, outside of the physical implications, the footprints left behind, does/can anything truly last forever? Or is everyone, everything we’ve ever known like the particles of chalk temporarily marked on a blackboard, inevitably wiped astray?

As previously suggested in ᴛʜᴇ ILLUSION ᴏғ TIME, ᵀᴴᴱ WORMHOLE ᴬᴺᴰ ᵀᴴᴱ TIME PARADOX, TIME TRAVEL ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ 2ɴᴅ ʟᴀᴡ ᴏғ THERMODYNAMICS, I’ve slowly found myself veering further and further away from such an absolute, ultimately universal declaration.

So putting philosophy aside, putting psychology aside, removing the concept of a former-self “theoretically” returning (purely in the mind), due to some memory impairment etc. Is the past, the physical elements comprising what we consider to be a “past reality”, including our former selves, truly lost to oblivion?

Theoretically, no.

“Approximately 13.8 billion years ago, our comprehensible universe in its entirety existed in a fraction of time and space many, many times smaller than a single atom. Some have theorized the existence of parallel universes, a direct ‘shadow universe’ (connected/veiling our own and connected by gravity since and attributing to the beginning of our universe) and an entire multiverse linking/spawning universes and or dimensions. One theorized means of connecting two isolated points in space and time, universes, or junctures throughout the multiverse are naturally occurring ‘wormholes’.”

—ᵀᴴᴱ WORMHOLE ᴬᴺᴰ ᵀᴴᴱ TIME PARADOX

Theoretically, it would only take one single accessible ‘wormhole’ (located anywhere in this universe), even if it was only stable for a fraction of a second, for a highly technologically advanced being/machine to potentially have access to every single second of this universe, not excluding every moment that ever passed comprising the history of this planet (and your entire lifetime). If you could successfully get back to a starting point, the natural linear progression of the passing of time could be replayed over and over to access a certain event in history.

Such a wormhole could be a connection of time and space within this universe from the distant future, to the distant past (formation of earth). Or it could be a wormhole/portal naturally forming or technologically created connecting this universe (prior the formation of earth) to another dimension, where time as we understand it, may not exist.

The existence of inter-dimensional “portals” that have a constant or fixed entry point connected to a momentary conjuration in our universes history that collapsed in seconds, would still be a theoretical fixed portal to a very specific juncture in time (though problems would arise, if multiple objects arrive/exit at the narrow window of time output).

A highly advanced being/machine (some speculating UFOs to be traveling through time and dimensions, not just our atmosphere or space) may at some stage (or currently) possess the capability of creating dimensional portals at will, to travel through both dimensions and what we perceive as time relative to this universe (and beyond).

Immediately, traversing both dimensions and time would cause all kinds of theoretical temporal paradoxes to arise. The grandfather paradox, does an action committed by a (future) time traveling entity in the past, change the future from whence the traveler came? Does the Multiverse theory, allow for the possibility of so many (infinite) variations of universes/dimensions indistinguishably close to our own, that every single conceivable variation, is playing out in unison?

It’s so far removed from our understanding of time and reality, we come up with all sorts of answers to the paradox. If you travel back in time and assassinate yourself as a child, some might suggest you would immediately “vanish” or cease to be. But the physical being that committed the murder had to exist for the murder to take place. Perhaps, if time is a linear structure, played out like a game of chess, going backwards, every single time, has consequences that ultimately change the version of reality the time traveler left. Ultimately changing the arrangement of the pieces on the (shared) board. Meaning, while the individual entity of matter, and instrument of time alteration is unscathed in the past (now relative present), the future/time-line from whence the traveler came, no longer exists (connected to the current linear trajectory of time).

Aside from theoretically disconnected dimensions of the multiverse, there is also suggestions of a theoretical shadow universe/mirror universe, intrinsically linked with our own:

“If mirror matter is present in the universe with sufficient abundance then its gravitational effects can be detected. Because mirror matter is analogous to ordinary matter, it is then to be expected that a fraction of the mirror matter exists in the form of mirror galaxies, mirror stars, mirror planets etc. These objects can be detected using gravitational microlensing. One would also expect that some fraction of stars have mirror objects as their companion. In such cases one should be able to detect periodic Doppler shifts in the spectrum of the star.There are some hints that such effects may already have been observed.”

—R. N. Mohapatra, Vigdor L. Teplitz “Mirror matter MACHOs”, 1999

Right now, this very second, whenever that second may be, when whoever you are might be reading this. Is there currently, within this universe, a portal (naturally formed, or synthetically created) that leads to another dimension?

There isn’t currently, an authority on this Earth that could in all honesty give you a definitive answer to that question. But perhaps you could search yourself for the answer, in the form of yet another question.

Is there a limitation fixed upon infinity?

Posted on by ᵀᴴᴱ ARGONAUT 0

ᵀᴴᴱ GOLDEN RATIO φ

(Animation from GIPHY.com)

\varphi ={1+{\sqrt {5}} \over 2}

or

1.6180339887498948482045868343656381177203091798057628621354486227052604628189024497072072041893911374847540880753868917521266338622235369317931800607667263544333890865959395829056383226613199282902678806752087668925017116962070322210432162695486262963136144381497587012203408058879544547492461856953648644492410443207713449470495658467885098743394422125448770664780915884607499887124007652170575179788341662562494075890697040002812104276217711177780531531714101170466659914669798731761356006708748071013179523689427521948435305678300228785699782977834784587822891109762500302696156170025046433824377648610283831268330372429267526311653392473167111211588186385133162038400522216579128667529465490681131715993432359734949850904094762132229810172610705961164562990981629055520852479035240602017279974717534277759277862561943208275051312181562855122248093947123414517022373580577278616008688382952304592647878017889921990270776903895321968198615143780314997411069260886742962267575605231727775203536139362107673893764556060605921658946675955190040055590895022953094231248235521221241544400647034056573479766397239494994658457887303962309037503399385621024236902513868041457799569812244574717803417312645322041639723213404444948730231541767689375210306873788034417009395440962795589867872320951242689355730970450959568440175551988192180206405290551893494759260073485228210108819464454422231889131929468962200230144377026992300780308526118075451928877050210968424936271359251876077788466583615023891349333312231053392321362431926372891067050339928226526355620902979864247275977256550861548754357482647181414512700060238901620777322449943530889990950168032811219432048196438767586331479857191139781539780747615077221175082694586393204565209896985556781410696837288405874610337810544439094368358358138113116899385557697548414914453415091295407005019477548616307542264172939468036731980586183391832859913039607201445595044977921207612478564591616083705949878600697018940988640076443617093341727091914336501371576601148038143062623805143211734815100559013456101180079050638142152709308588092875703450507808145458819906336129827981411745339273120809289727922213298064294687824274874017450554067787570832373109759151177629784432847479081765180977872684161176325038612112914368343767023503711163307258698832587103363222381098090121101989917684149175123313401527338438372345009347860497929459915822012581045982309255287212413704361491020547185549611808764265765110605458814756044317847985845397312863016254487611485202170644041116607669505977578325703951108782308271064789390211156910392768384538633332156582965977310343603232254574363720412440640888267375843395367959312322134373209957498894699565647360072959998391288103197426312517971414320123112795518947781726914158911779919564812558001845506563295285985910009086218029775637892599916499464281930222935523466747593269516542140210913630181947227078901220872873617073486499981562554728113734798716569527489008144384053274837813782466917444229634914708157007352545707089772675469343822619546861533120953357923801460927351021011919021836067509730895752895774681422954339438549315533963038072916917584610146099505506480367930414723657203986007355076090231731250161320484358364817704848181099160244252327167219018933459637860878752870173935930301335901123710239171265904702634940283076687674363865132710628032317406931733448234356453185058135310854973335075996677871244905836367541328908624063245639535721252426117027802865604323494283730172557440583727826799603173936401328762770124367983114464369476705312724924104716700138247831286565064934341803900410178053395058772458665575522939158239708417729833728231152569260929959422400005606266786743579239724540848176519734362652689448885527202747787473359835367277614075917120513269344837529916499809360246178442675727767900191919070380522046123248239132610432719168451230602362789354543246176997575368904176365025478513824631465833638337602357789926729886321618583959036399818384582764491245980937043055559613797343261348304949496868108953569634828178128862536460842033946538194419457142666823718394918323709085748502665680398974406621053603064002608171126659954199368731609457228881092077882277203636684481532561728411769097926666552238468831137185299192163190520156863122282071559987646842355205928537175780765605036773130975191223973887224682580571597445740484298780735221598426676625780770620194304005425501583125030175340941171910192989038447250332988024501436796844169479595453045910313811621870456799786636617460595700034459701135251813460065655352034788811741499412748264152135567763940390710387088182338068033500380468001748082205910968442026446402187705340100318028816644153091393948156403192822785482414510503188825189970074862287942155895742820216657062188090578088050324676991297287210387073697406435667458920258656573978560859566534107036...

Is it possible that a ratio could exist, which is geometrically applicable to countless formations across the natural world? An almost blueprint-like commonality in design, spanning across the perceivable universe?

The short answer to that question, is yes, sort of.

Physical dimensions allegedly applicable to this “golden ratio” range from the shell of a snail, to the shell of a nautilus (most logarithmic spirals are linked to the golden ratio, regardless of accuracy), to the tail of a seahorse, to the formation of a rams horn. The proportions of human limbs, the formation of cyclones and even the celestial alignments of galaxies millions of light years away. (There is no shortage of alleged examples of the golden ratio.)

Some have claimed that this reoccurring ratio found throughout the universe is a mathematical sign of the divine. That the mere existence of such a reoccurring pattern behind what many would assume to be utterly random, defies their preconceptions of what is logical. That the very thought that the same 1:1.6 ratio that is found from the tip of a humans head, to their belly button, then down to their feet could be found in the circular dispersion of seeds on the face of a sunflower: to many, that seems absolutely irrational.

Irrationality, however, may be precisely why this occurs.

Irrational Numbers: (of a number, quantity, or expression) not expressible as a ratio of two integers, and having an infinite and non-recurring expansion when expressed as a decimal. Examples of irrational numbers are the number π and the square root of 2. —Oxford Dictionary

Imagine you have a spinning wheel, with a flat white circular front. You mark a dot in the center of the wheel. You could mark this wheel to show segments displaying the degrees of revolution. As seen below:

If you were to start at the point marked 90° and rotate the wheel exactly 90° clockwise, the part of the wheel marked 180° would now be centered at the top. Another 90°, the point marked 270°, and once more, finally, the point marked 360°. Doing this over and over again, regardless of how many times you do it, you will always land on those 4 specific points marked on the circle.

Again, if you instead turned the wheel 1°, starting at 90°, you would first land on 91°, 92°, 93° and so on. In all, making 360 1° turns until arriving once more at the starting point marked 90°.

But what would happen if instead of moving 90° each rotation, you moved φ, which could be expressed as 360°/1.618… which is equal to = ~222.5°

Unlike the original 90° rotations, always arriving at the same 4 specific points, over and over again, with these ~222.5° rotations, we notice something interesting occur. These much wider gaps, are far less likely to overlap, almost resistant to the notion. Time after time, with each rotation, off-centering from the last. Due to the nature of the irrational number, converted into ~222.5°

Even the leaves of a plant apply this formula to the directions in which they grow, because if they can systematically stagger their leaves not to overlap, they can absorb the maximum amount of sunlight.

(Source http://www.natures-word.com)

The problem for many of us, when we find this Golden Ratio in all sorts of places, we immediately assume this formula, this ratio was taken into consideration at the formation/design of whatever we’re looking at in the natural world. When in actuality, what we are looking at, is as close as we can currently perceive, to what could be regarded as perfect mathematical irrationality.

The Golden Ratio appears on the face of a sunflower in the arrangement of its seeds, because evolution discovered the optimum means to distribute seeds, which happens to be perfect mathematical irrationality. The leaves of a plant grow in the formation of the Golden Ratio, because evolutionary, those which stumbled upon (through genetic deviations) the formation received the most sunlight and were the most successful in reproducing themselves. The process could only refine itself, further and further with time and natural selection.

It is generally regarded (with varying accuracy and significance) that the Golden Ratio appears in physics, chemistry, biology and even (controversially) the topology of space-time. Are we simply conflating perceivable irrationality, of unrelated data due to broad similarities of dispersal/proportional arrangements? (due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle) Or is the Golden Ratio far more intrinsically linked with the nature of our universe than we currently understand?

Posted on by ᵀᴴᴱ ARGONAUT 1

ᴛʜᴇ ILLUSION ᴏғ TIME

Unless you hold some sort of remarkable disinterest in the natural world, or possess a visual impairment, thus far in your lifetime it’s highly likely you would have noticed stars. Shining, twinkling and adorning the darkness of our planet’s night skies. Unbeknownst to some of us however, is that a great many of these twinkling little lights extinguished in many cases, millions of years ago.

What we are gazing upon is the light that star produced during its prime, traveling at the speed of light, yet still only now reaching our visual senses. The speed of light in the vacuum of space, is 299, 792, 458 meters per second (186, 282 miles per second. 299, 792 kilometers per second). To put that in perspective, our Earth is also about 149, 597, 870 km from the Sun. The light from the sun takes 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach us on our planet’s surface. (149, 597, 870 km/299 792 km = 499 seconds/60 = 8.3168 = 8 minutes and 19 seconds).

So what this tells us, among other things, is that space is in fact, very, very big. So big in fact that even something as fast as the speed of light, takes quite a bit of time to get from one celestial body to the next. So what does any of this have to do with how we perceive time you might be wondering?

It is said that the speed of light as far as we can tell is a constant, but that doesn’t mean it’s a reliable source to suggest the existence of what we call “time”. Because while gravity does not effect light particles (directly), it does result in something called Gravitational Time Dilation. Gravitational Time Dilation is the differences in recorded time(s) observed at varied distances to a gravitational mass.

Essentially, while light is not directly effected by gravity, spacetime however, can be curved or warped by mass (gravity). This curvature of spacetime can in effect lengthen the distance required by light to travel to reach an observer. Meaning even though light travels at a constant speed, depending on the mass of the planet you find yourself on (along with many other gravitational factors), you may see the light sooner or later than someone perceiving the same light source on a planet further or closer to the same source.

This theory(?) is most commonly observed in Global Positioning System satellites which are positioned about 20, 197 km/12, 550 miles from the Earth. Being so far from the center of the Earth’s gravity, the clocks aboard the satellites systems measure (represent?) a passing of time faster than that on Earth. Which eventually led to the satellites requiring re-calibration with earth’s time to be able to function adequately.

To apply this concept of Gravitational Time Dilation in a way that is relative for us to understand (because in the end, that’s all time actually is). Scientists have discovered that if you should place two atomically accurate stop-watches at two locations, one stop-watch one foot higher than the other and left them ticking over in pristine isolation for 79 years, upon your return you would find that the stop-watch closer to Earth’s center would be 90 billionths of a second behind the stop-watch, one foot above.

To anyone reading this (assuming anyone did), you may scoff at 90 billionths of a second and think, in no way does that mean anything to me. But to you I will present this possibility: Imagine if everything that occurred in the formation of this planet (or one very similar), just so happened, by some chance, to take formation identically to Earth’s, only in regards to its collective mass being amplified, by 999, 999 , 999 billion, billion, billion, billion etc, etc %.

Mega Earth. Where there are copies of every one of us standing 999, 999 , 999 billion, billion, billion, billion etc, etc % larger than we are now. Out of curiosity how long do you think one of these colossal doppelgänger’s might live? An average lifespan? It theoretically correlates with gravity, so it goes without saying, that these beings, would live unbelievably long lifetimes. Nigh unfathomable to you or I.

The same principle could be applied to a microscopic world and the theory of evolution. Microscopic humanoids from a microscopic world would see a relative time almost uncurved by mass/gravity at all. Does this mean when compared to a much, much larger planet they are thousands of years of development ahead? Could there be microscopic highly advanced spacefarers traversing distances we can’t fathom, at sizes we cannot even detect with the naked eye?

All said and done, time is relative. Not even just in a scientific sense. It’s personal, we each perceive it differently. We wield it how we choose, some better than others. We even get allotted different amounts to spend in this world. But time as we generally come to know it, purely a man-made means of showing up on time for appointments, giving a name to something that doesn’t really exist.

The concept of TIME is brilliant, unique and very much needed for order and structure on this planet. But, it is also an illusion.

Posted on by ᵀᴴᴱ ARGONAUT 1

ᴛʜᴇ INFINITE MONKEY THEOREM

Imagine leaving a monkey alone in a room with nothing but a typewriter. In most instances, you might observe it inspect the contraption, then toss it carelessly against the wall (many humans might do the same under similar circumstances). Maybe in 10 recreations of this event, the typewriter is destroyed every single time. But with every recreation of this scenario and the unpredictable nature of monkeys, whether it’s the 10th time or 110th recreation, a monkey will eventually hit the keys of the typewriter as the device is intended to be used.

“849ty342hgrf8djssssdddddddfx”

— Hypothetical Monkey, 2019.

The desired outcome may not be immediate, you may not witness it in your lifetime, but the belief that it will never occur, is mathematically impossible. The means to achieve the outcome are possible, its only a matter of time, a matter of rolling the dice, over and over and over and over again, possibly times ∞.

That is not the Infinite Monkey Theorem, put forward by Émile Borel in 1913. The Infinite Monkey Theorem suggests a hypothetical situation where you have found a monkey (or even an ∞ amount of monkeys also, to speed up the variations), that is not only eternally interested in randomly striking the keys of a typewriter, but also an immortal. The monkey alike the experiment are completely unscathed by time and space. Our universe may/will not be as old as this experiment may/will go on.

This monkey does not sleep and does not eat. Eternally striking the keys of a typewriter for an infinite amount of time. Minute by minute, hour by hour, as the days turn into years and the years into centuries. Thousands of years fly by only to be followed by millions, then billions of years. But the monkey keeps typing, as it always had and may always do so.

So what is the monkey capable of randomly coming up with?

According to Émile Borel’s theory, as the variable outcomes stack up exponentially with the possibilities that infinity provides, eventually a monkey would write an entire page of comprehensible English. By the same logic, eventually a monkey would also type out the complete works of William Shakespeare, possibly the greatest human writer to ever exist.

In one computer simulation of this experiment carried out in 2004 by Dan Oliver of Scottsdale, Arizona, he discovered that after 42, 162, 500, 000 billion, billion years, one of the hypothetical monkeys typed:

“VALENTINE. Cease toIdor:eFLP0FRjWK78aXzVOwm)-‘;8.t”

Nineteen consecutive keystrokes that appear in Shakespeare’s ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’.

Another simulation was conducted by the website ‘The Monkey Shakespeare Simulator’, in 2003. Where after 2, 737, 850 million, billion, billion, billion years a simulated monkey typed:

“RUMOUR. Open your ears; 9r”5j5&?OWTY Z0d”

Identically matching twenty-four characters from ‘Henry IV, Part 2’.

It’s difficult for most of us to even contemplate the existence of a number like 2, 737, 850 million, billion, billion, billion. But as mind-numbing as it is to try (for me at least) that number doesn’t even scratch the tip of the iceberg with ∞. Even that reference is flawed, because the iceberg has a limitation to its size. Infinity has no limitations, it’s always beyond reach. By its very nature, it can have no end. It goes on eternally.

There are some, who believe that the Infinite Monkey Theorem is not purely limited to a hypothetical textual outcome. Throughout recent history in science-fiction literature the concept of infinite realities has been explored. The very instant the term ‘infinite’ is applied, then too, endless possibilities must also apply. Just as the endless variables have been addressed in reference to the Infinite Monkey Theorem. Which suggests there are infinite, slight variations of all things even remotely conceivable (or inconceivable! to quote Vizzini from the Princess Bride) throughout various realities or dimensions.

What this could mean, is that there is a reality exactly like this one, only 1 second behind our version of “time”. Then there is another reality, which is 1 second behind that second reality. This could go on infinitely, creating a relative constant of every moment of your (and my) existence, which actually lasts for an infinite amount of time collectively. Meaning, among other things, every second of every one of our existences is perpetually being lived in an incessant and infinite loop throughout the dimensions. That is one version of an infinite possible variations of realities.

Is there any link between the outcomes, the variations of events? Who knows. By the theory alone, no, there is not. Merely independent outcomes from purely random lines that have some significance to us, as humans. But mathematically, there is no sentimentality to any of this. There is no significant meaning or reason, it is merely the summation of all outcomes. Some of which just happen to mean something to us. But there are also an infinite amount of outcomes that mean absolutely nothing to us.

Whose to say definitely what (or who) controls the vicissitudes of fate? Or more puzzling still, why anything exists in the first place?

Que será, será,
Whatever will be, will be.

Posted on by ᵀᴴᴱ ARGONAUT 5