Parallel
I was laying on my bed (well, mattresses in Room 1) today, contemplating the existence of parallel universes.
Okay, so maybe that's not how it started. I didn't get bored, then suddenly go, "Hey, this is a good time to contemplate the existence of parallel universes." No, it started much more vaguely than that. However, the origin of this self-conversation is unimportant. It's only the end results that I feel like discussing.
Back to it then.
This whole parallel-universe thing mystifies me. In theory, every decision made by any singular person could spur one "universe," while the opposite decision is played out in a separate universe, all of which overlap in a sense. This is something of a paraphrased version of the the premise behind the Michael Crichton book Timeline. (The book, not the movie; the book is far more in-depth and you hardly get so much as a taste in the movie. After all, that's the purpose of a book made into a movie -- shorten and simplify for entertainment in a two-hour time slot.)
I like Crichton's idea of being able to observe such universes. Who wouldn't? See how everything you could have done instead would have played out. For instance, what if I had never emailed my boss from this past summer? What if I hadn't agreed to the Valentine's Day date freshman year? What if I had missed the hike up Harney Peak that first week I was at Tech? What if the coin had landed heads up back when I was trying to decide where to go to college?
These would have been life-altering. I wouldn't have worked at Storm, wouldn't have dated Jesse, wouldn't have joined InterVarsity, wouldn't have gone to Tech. Or maybe a future decision would have led to those events after all ... another possibility with the universe anomaly.
Egads. What if the night I was conceived, my mother had a headache?
Excusing the icky thoughts that spurs, that's a grave situation.
Then again, there might not be any parallel universes. Everything happens exactly as it's supposed to, without other options ever actually being there, everything for a specific reason and purpose.
Personally, I do believe everything happens for a reason, that nothing is truly random. That this particular universe that my conciousness resides in is here for a purpose.
I suppose this is why I could never be an Atheist. I cannot believe there is no purpose for this world, and I definitely cannot believe that there is no higher power than the human race. It strikes me as extremely arrogant.
But I digress.
If, in fact, all possible actions behind a decision are played out in different universe, what about the first true decision faced by mankind? What about if Eve hadn't taken a bite out of that damn apple? What if the world had continued in perfection? Perhaps that particular universe is this Heaven we've heard all about.
Then again, using Crichton's ideas, Heaven would then be a place that could be travelled to.
Hmm.
As for me ... Well, with God, things are different. Kind of like that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" line. People want to apply that to God, but they forget -- human rules don't always apply to the non-human. And folks, God ain't human.
Heaven is ... different. Heaven is a place for souls to reside, a place our time-travelling bodies couldn't visit. But perhaps it is strikingly similar to this missing Garden, this beautiful Eden our ancestors lost us, this perfect place we can't even begin to imagine.
I suppose none of this applies if you don't share my religious beliefs, and to you I say -- oh well. My blog, not yours.
Ah, the pseudo-intellectualism of the wandering college mind. Good stuff.
c:>... File not found. Should I fake it? (Y/N)
Okay, so maybe that's not how it started. I didn't get bored, then suddenly go, "Hey, this is a good time to contemplate the existence of parallel universes." No, it started much more vaguely than that. However, the origin of this self-conversation is unimportant. It's only the end results that I feel like discussing.
Back to it then.
This whole parallel-universe thing mystifies me. In theory, every decision made by any singular person could spur one "universe," while the opposite decision is played out in a separate universe, all of which overlap in a sense. This is something of a paraphrased version of the the premise behind the Michael Crichton book Timeline. (The book, not the movie; the book is far more in-depth and you hardly get so much as a taste in the movie. After all, that's the purpose of a book made into a movie -- shorten and simplify for entertainment in a two-hour time slot.)
I like Crichton's idea of being able to observe such universes. Who wouldn't? See how everything you could have done instead would have played out. For instance, what if I had never emailed my boss from this past summer? What if I hadn't agreed to the Valentine's Day date freshman year? What if I had missed the hike up Harney Peak that first week I was at Tech? What if the coin had landed heads up back when I was trying to decide where to go to college?
These would have been life-altering. I wouldn't have worked at Storm, wouldn't have dated Jesse, wouldn't have joined InterVarsity, wouldn't have gone to Tech. Or maybe a future decision would have led to those events after all ... another possibility with the universe anomaly.
Egads. What if the night I was conceived, my mother had a headache?
Excusing the icky thoughts that spurs, that's a grave situation.
Then again, there might not be any parallel universes. Everything happens exactly as it's supposed to, without other options ever actually being there, everything for a specific reason and purpose.
Personally, I do believe everything happens for a reason, that nothing is truly random. That this particular universe that my conciousness resides in is here for a purpose.
I suppose this is why I could never be an Atheist. I cannot believe there is no purpose for this world, and I definitely cannot believe that there is no higher power than the human race. It strikes me as extremely arrogant.
But I digress.
If, in fact, all possible actions behind a decision are played out in different universe, what about the first true decision faced by mankind? What about if Eve hadn't taken a bite out of that damn apple? What if the world had continued in perfection? Perhaps that particular universe is this Heaven we've heard all about.
Then again, using Crichton's ideas, Heaven would then be a place that could be travelled to.
Hmm.
As for me ... Well, with God, things are different. Kind of like that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" line. People want to apply that to God, but they forget -- human rules don't always apply to the non-human. And folks, God ain't human.
Heaven is ... different. Heaven is a place for souls to reside, a place our time-travelling bodies couldn't visit. But perhaps it is strikingly similar to this missing Garden, this beautiful Eden our ancestors lost us, this perfect place we can't even begin to imagine.
I suppose none of this applies if you don't share my religious beliefs, and to you I say -- oh well. My blog, not yours.
Ah, the pseudo-intellectualism of the wandering college mind. Good stuff.
c:>... File not found. Should I fake it? (Y/N)
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