Posted in Science & Nature

Centre Of The Universe

We often meet people who act as if they are at the centre of the universe. These egocentric people behave as if they are the most important people in the world and that their words and actions are more meaningful than they actually are, while assuming that they play an important role in other people’s lives. This is a common belief in children who are still learning to differentiate the world and other people from their own minds, but in adults, it is almost pathological.

Speaking of which, where is the centre of the universe?

In ancient times, the concept of “universe” was very different. Many cultures imagined the universe as consisting of the Earth where we lived, plus the heavens and the underworld (often supposedly where the good and bad end up after death respectively). These worlds would be connected by a central axis mundi, or world axis. An example of this is the mighty Yggdrasil, the World Tree, found in Norse mythology. It is said to be a gigantic tree that connects the Nine Worlds and is the centre of all life.

As the science of astronomy developed, we realised that we are not at the centre of the universe. Geocentrism – the model where Earth is at the centre of the world with the Sun, Moon and planets orbiting it – eventually gave way to heliocentrism – the modern model where the Solar System orbits around the Sun.

It took brave scientists such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei challenging the Church and Aristotelian science establishments to show that our understanding of the universe was wrong, despite pressure and punishment. Through scientific observation and inquiry, it was shown that we are not at the centre of the world, but the Sun is.

But as we discovered more about the heavens, we realised that the universe is far vaster than the Solar System. With the advent of the Big Bang Theory, we realised that the universe is expanding, with every object moving away from each other in all directions. This is an extremely difficult concept to visualise, but because the universe is expanding infinitely in all directions, it technically has no centre.

On a final note, the concept of the universe being infinite may not be relevant to us because we cannot observe the infinite universe. Instead, we often talk about the Observable Universe, which is the portion of the universe that we can physically observe with our eyes, telescopes and other instruments. The centre of the observable universe, like anything observable, is the observer.

Therefore, in some sense of the phrase, you are technically at the centre of the universe.

Posted in Life & Happiness

Communication

What I am thinking,

What I want to say,

What I think I am saying,

What I say,

What you want to hear,

What you think you are hearing,

What you hear,

What you want to understand,

What you think you understand,

What you understand,

Because there are ten possibilities between what I think and what you understand, there is great difficulty in our communication.

But even so, we must try.

Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Mind Reading

Here are ten facts about you:

       1. You are reading this right now.
       2. You are thinking that is a stupid fact.
       4. You did not notice I skipped 3.
       5. You are checking now.
       6. You are smiling.
       7. You are still reading this even though it is stupid.
       9. You did not realise I skipped 8.
       10. You are checking again and smiling about how you fell for it again.
       11. You are enjoying this.
       12. You did not realise we have passed number 10.

    Posted in Philosophy

    Prisoner’s Dilemma

    The prisoner’s dilemma is a famous example of how game theory functions. It predicts the behaviour of two people when forced to cooperate. The story goes as follows:

    Two accomplices in crime are arrested by the police. They are interrogated in separate rooms. As the police have insufficient information, they offer a deal to each prisoner to confess that the two committed a crime (or deny). The deal is:

    • If you confess and your partner denies taking part in the crime, you go free and your partner will serve ten years (and vice versa).
    • If you both confess you will go to prison for four years each.
    • If you both deny taking part in the crime, you both go to prison for two years.

    Assuming the prisoners act rationally (i.e. for their best interest and minimising their jail time), the prisoner will obviously choose the “confess” option as this is hypothetically the best choice (minimum time = 0 years, compared to only 2 years minimum for denying). However, because both prisoners are thinking this, the result is almost always that both confess and end up with four years each. Therefore, because human beings are unable to trust another human being enough, people always end up acting irrationally (benefit not maximised).
    If the two had been trusting (assuming the other would deny too) and cooperated, both would have served half the time. But people always assume (correctly) that the other person will betray them for their selfish gain and this win-win result is unattainable.

    But what if the other prisoner was yourself? Let us assume that the prisoner’s dilemma game was played by you and an exact copy of you. A copy that thinks like you, acts like you and identical to you in every single way. Can you trust yourself? Do you trust yourself enough to deny the crime, when it is entirely possible that he or she rats you out to walk free while you suffer for 10 years? How do you know that he loves you more than himself? 

    Your greatest enemy is you.

    Posted in Philosophy

    The Difference Between You And I

    If you do it, it’s verbal abuse;  if I do it, it’s humour.
    If you do it, it’s an affair;  if I do it, it’s romance.
    If you do it, it’s graffiti;  if I do it, it’s art.
    If you do it, it’s showing off;  if I do it, it’s romance.

    If you do it, it’s being drunk;  if I do it, it’s entertainment.
    If you do it, it’s foolish;  if I do it, it’s romance.
    If you do it, it’s a lie;  if I do it, it’s the truth.
    If you do it, it’s a scandal;  if I do it, it’s romance.

    If you do it, it’s wasting time;  if I do it, it’s resting.
    If you do it, it’s stalking;  if I do it, it’s romance.
    If you do it, it’s your fault;  if I do it, it’s your fault.
    If you do it, it’s insane;  if I do it, it’s romance.

    If you do it, it’s impossible;  if I do it, it’s possible.

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