1
Choice
Posted by
karmakazi
,
07 November 2012
·
353 views
Yesterday, a thought happened upon me and I couldn't stop pondering it for some time...
What if everything we do, every choice, since the dawn of time, was predetermined by everything that has come before it?
I'm not talking about destiny, fate or god; I'm talking about something akin to the laws of physics - action and reaction, gravitation, inertia. The universe is shaped the way it is because of these constants, and one could theorize that at the point of the big bang (or whatever the start of the universe was) that with this set of laws being what they are, the result could only be what it is.
All of nature displays some type of pattern reminiscent of fractals, there are even plants that look shockingly like fractal art. Even the paths that humans take in their lives and their decision making are reminiscent of fractal patterning. We may feel that we are making decisions, that we each go our own way, but maybe that's an illusion.
Our choices in life are affected by who we are... who we are is the sum total of everything that we have experienced and our genetic makeup. What we have experienced is the result of actions set in motion before we were born. The way our parents raised us (or didn't raise us) is also the result of actions set in motion before they were born. Who the first humans were was set in motion by the creatures that came before them, and the way the earth formed was set in motion by cosmic events billions of years ago.
If you could convert all of the decisions or changes that have ever occurred, every chemical reaction and every lack of reaction, all the way back from now until the beginning of the universe, would it look like a fractal? The more you examine it the more complex it becomes, but it is so predictably complex that once you have an image of it, and you know what to expect as you dig deeper (or proceed through time), you become able to see the paths that will form before they form.
This isn't an entirely new idea to me, but what really struck me was the realization of a far more important question...
If we are living in a reality where everything that has happened and everything that we are going to chose is predetermined by all that has come during and before our lifetimes, and free will is a myth, what choice do we have left? The only one I can see is acceptance. Choosing to be happy, regardless of what life hands you. Regardless of the choices you're forced to make, regardless of the way the world revolves onward.
What if everything we do, every choice, since the dawn of time, was predetermined by everything that has come before it?
I'm not talking about destiny, fate or god; I'm talking about something akin to the laws of physics - action and reaction, gravitation, inertia. The universe is shaped the way it is because of these constants, and one could theorize that at the point of the big bang (or whatever the start of the universe was) that with this set of laws being what they are, the result could only be what it is.
All of nature displays some type of pattern reminiscent of fractals, there are even plants that look shockingly like fractal art. Even the paths that humans take in their lives and their decision making are reminiscent of fractal patterning. We may feel that we are making decisions, that we each go our own way, but maybe that's an illusion.
Our choices in life are affected by who we are... who we are is the sum total of everything that we have experienced and our genetic makeup. What we have experienced is the result of actions set in motion before we were born. The way our parents raised us (or didn't raise us) is also the result of actions set in motion before they were born. Who the first humans were was set in motion by the creatures that came before them, and the way the earth formed was set in motion by cosmic events billions of years ago.
If you could convert all of the decisions or changes that have ever occurred, every chemical reaction and every lack of reaction, all the way back from now until the beginning of the universe, would it look like a fractal? The more you examine it the more complex it becomes, but it is so predictably complex that once you have an image of it, and you know what to expect as you dig deeper (or proceed through time), you become able to see the paths that will form before they form.
This isn't an entirely new idea to me, but what really struck me was the realization of a far more important question...
If we are living in a reality where everything that has happened and everything that we are going to chose is predetermined by all that has come during and before our lifetimes, and free will is a myth, what choice do we have left? The only one I can see is acceptance. Choosing to be happy, regardless of what life hands you. Regardless of the choices you're forced to make, regardless of the way the world revolves onward.
This one is a sketch I did at a party the other night...just kinda raw and unfinished.
..and I miss the old avi!