Can A Mathematical Equation Explain Creation?
“The Thumbprint Of God”, Plato, Self-similarity, and a reason for the world around us
There’s something mind-blowing hidden within the picture above. But put it aside for now. I have an important question to ask.
How many times have you looked around you and asked “why” or “how?” For instance, how did this complicated world of people, animals, plants, and elements come into existence? But it’s not only your question.
It’s one every philosopher, and likely every human being throughout time has asked. And the question is a worthy one.
In his documentary The Secret Life of Chaos, theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili tries to answer it. He reveals ninety-nine percent of the human body is a mixture of air, water, coal, and chalk, with the combination costing only dollars to make.
Yet, the simple elements become us: a complex thinking, loving, destroying, and creating creature. It’s spectacular when you think about it. Philosophers thought so too.
It forced Plato to think more ethereally, focusing on perfect versions of what we see in the world. He called them “forms.” While a triangle we draw may be flawed, the concept of “triangle” is perfect and immortal. It also pushed him heavily into…
