Sometimes I think about the fact that to the bacteria in my stomach, my other organ systems are essentially other galaxies. And then it leaves me wondering whether we are just critters living inside something’s belly with no idea what the context is.
people have argued that society at large behaves like a huge organism since at least antiquity. it’s even stereotypical of hippie groups to say “the whole world is alive, we’re just tiny cells inside it”. i think that people do have that concept quite well-spread. it’s more modern society where this has been suppressed in favor of “rugged individualism” etc.
for an example, see the Blind men and an elephant. the world is like the elephant: a huge organism. by only inspecting a small local part of it, we are led to believe that “the world” is either a trunk, a leg, a tusk, etc. meanwhile the world is not only all of these parts, but more importantly a huge organism that connects all of these parts into an organized whole.
Sometimes I think about the fact that to the bacteria in my stomach, my other organ systems are essentially other galaxies. And then it leaves me wondering whether we are just critters living inside something’s belly with no idea what the context is.
people have argued that society at large behaves like a huge organism since at least antiquity. it’s even stereotypical of hippie groups to say “the whole world is alive, we’re just tiny cells inside it”. i think that people do have that concept quite well-spread. it’s more modern society where this has been suppressed in favor of “rugged individualism” etc.
for an example, see the Blind men and an elephant. the world is like the elephant: a huge organism. by only inspecting a small local part of it, we are led to believe that “the world” is either a trunk, a leg, a tusk, etc. meanwhile the world is not only all of these parts, but more importantly a huge organism that connects all of these parts into an organized whole.
Beyound our event horizon, like, planets being atoms? Unlikely.
In our event horizon? No.