Letter #7: It’s all about perspective.
Letters from an Internet Traveler
November 25, 2015
Dear reader,
Way back in ancient times, the earth was believed to be the center of the universe. This is known as geocentrism. It wasn’t until the 17th century that Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that, in fact, the Earth and planets revolve around the sun, aka Heliocentrism, the solar system model that we now teach in elementary schools. The moral of this brief astronomy lesson? Sometimes it pays to look at something from a different perspective. It’s easy to get caught up in the norms and believe what we’re told to believe. But looking at something in a different light is the key to opening doors to new possibilities and enlightening minds.
This installment is for those with open minds. Discover new perspectives on what we know about addiction, cosmic existence, and our perceived reality.
[Video] Something on addiction.
Addiction has always been a difficult issue for humanity, especially in a fast-paced culture that inspires compulsive behavior and stimuli abuse. By stimuli, I mean substances, devices, goods, and services that cause our minds to release crazy amounts of dopamine and other chemicals that our brain associates with pleasure. We know that addiction develops from this association and that many people who are addicts are lonely, depressed, and generally knocked down by life. So we force them into prisons and rehabilitation facilities to get better, without really taking the time to assess the underlying problem: disconnection. What if we combat addiction with something more substantial than sobriety and rehab? Like human interaction and relationships, a staple for a thriving human being. I’ve always felt that addiction is more of a choice than a psychological disorder. This video really backs that up.
[Article] Something on cosmic existence.
Prepare your brain. The following is some heavy food for thought, but worth the read, especially if you enjoyed reading The Metamorphosis and Waiting for Godot in your high school AP Literature class.
The meaning of existence is something we’ve been chasing since forever. What makes us so special as humans? Why do we get to be the only living organisms (that we know of) with a higher state of consciousness, self-awareness, and cognitive abilities? Is life really as “special” as we make it out to be? The general consensus is that we are special because there is something unique within us that grants us these abilities, sometimes known as spirit or soul. But what if we take an alternative route of thinking? Let’s evaluate our uniqueness from a humbler perspective. Consider that we’re special because, by happenstance, all the elements required to create conscious life came together to create us to be the primary overseers of our imaginable universe. As the only organisms with the ability to do so, we have a natural obligation to observe, discover, and record our universe. Why? Considering that we are unable to escape our own minds to observe beyond our known reality, we are unable to do anything else but live and observe. Feeling small yet?
[Article] Something on reality.
Speaking of reality, how do we know, that what we know, is actually real? “Real” being subject to agreement; if a theory is widely agreed upon, it solidifies said theory in reality. But since a theory is just fact until proven wrong, everything around you could be an illusion and you don’t know it―a matrix-style computer simulation made of 1s and 0s, or maybe one giant hallucination induced by extraterrestrials as an experiment. How do we know that there’s not a reality exponentially bigger than ours? Like at the ending scene of Men In Black. Either way, it’s something we’ll never be able to prove. Take it from the professionals, whose answers will give you better insight on the possibility of these outlandish theories. At the very least, we can rest assured that what we know is real to us, because knowledge is the only way we can be sure of our surroundings.
Regards,
The Internet Traveler
This is an adaptation of Letters from an Internet Traveler, the irregularly scheduled newsletter from an overactive cybernaut — sending you thought-provoking tidbits and internet obscurities you’ve probably overlooked, one digestible chunk at a time. You can also follow the Medium publication.
