To Infinity - and Beyond

Most of my friends are intellectuals. Many will scoff at that and declare themselves to be otherwise but the fact remains that they are ‘thinkers’.

It may be that, sometimes, I disagree with their views on life but the idea that they are able to form an independent opinion is refreshing.

It is of no consequence, to me, if they read the ‘right’ books or that they see the ‘right’ films. It is of even less consequence if they appreciate the ‘finer’ arts. It is of no consequence whatsoever what their personal beliefs might be.

In a brief and light-hearted exchange with a friend of a friend of mine an image lurched into my head that needed careful consideration.

His idea was that I had, potentially, conceptualised ‘God’ as a small girl. This idea came from a ‘Blog’ that I wrote on the 24^th July, this year, called ‘Acorn’.

Interesting thought and not the one that was intended.

It made me realise that, however carefully one writes, there is always latitude for interpretation.

We shall set to one side interpretation in the books that are considered ‘Holy’ as being too sensitive an issue for the purposes of this ‘Blog’ and, instead, look at other ways in which the World can be seen.

From the previous ‘Blog’ entitled ‘Acorn’ the idea was one of scale.

When we look at something we are seeing what is, to us, an item of substance. Whatever that substance might be it is manufactured from molecules that are made up of atoms. Then the atoms are made up from electrons, protons, neutrons that further resolve down into quarks and all sorts of other things that the likes of the brilliant Neil deGrasse Tyson would be able to list in detail.

But what are those smaller things made up from? Will we get down to the point where we look into a microscope and see universes? Galaxies?

Is there, somewhere out there, a giant eyeball peering down at us from far removed orbit?

Infinity is fantastic. ‘Fantastic’ really means that the human mind is unable to grasp it. For this reason I cannot fathom how Britney Spears and her ilk might be regarded as ‘fantastic’ since it seems that grasping is...

We shall let that die.

We cannot imagine infinity. It is beyond the scope of the human intellect to do so.

What is beyond infinity? There is, by definition, nothing beyond infinity. If it is circular then what is it that is outside of that circle?

There must be other universes. There cannot be an infinity of blankness beyond our universe. The idea that this universe, our universe, is the sole island of matter in an unlimited ocean of vacuum is preposterous. Worse, it is extreme arrogance.

Universes are limitless; they are infinite. As is, almost certainly, life. In many forms.

Let’s look at something else but we will return to the previous thought line.

Mayflies are ephemeral. Many insects and small creatures are in existence for a blink of an eye.

Some give us great pleasure in their brief lives and others less so.

There is a theory (mine, really) that everything on the Earth has the same number of heartbeats. Once those heartbeats are used up then it is time to draw the curtains and hold a wake.

Of course, there is a flaw in this theory; it does not allow for diseases and the fact that I am not medically qualified to form such an idea. Nevertheless, I hold dear the right to consider all concepts no matter how churlish, childish or pathetic they might be to ‘normal’ people.

Elephants’ hearts beat at around the same rate as ours so they live about the same span as us. Giant Tortoises have a slower heartbeat—they live longer.

Humming birds have short lives, their hearts beat at an alarming rate.

Does this heart rate coincide with a concept of time?

Consider that a fly will remove itself from the place where your hand is about to strike in ample time to prevent it dying of shock. Birds will flap into the air in a trice—well ahead of any impending danger that you may threaten them with. The only way we can compensate for that is with some sort of weapon.

Dogs live short lives. The thing is that their lives may be seventy years to them. They may see time as moving much more slowly than we do.

We are aware that, in times of great stress, the rate of the passage of time will change for us. We understand that a week can take a month at work but that the weekend is gone in a flash. Clearly time is flexible.

Do the ephemeral creatures of the World see their lives as being seventy years? Do they see us as great, slow, lumbering beasts with deep booming voices?

This idea is just for us on Earth. The difference in size may be miniscule compared to other creatures that form the bulk of the unknown universes that comprise ‘infinity’.

To them it may be that our entire galaxy is just a mere flash as the energy release from splitting one of their ‘atoms’.

How do we know?

How will we ever know?