If something is
never to be known as true, to ponder it is a simple waste of time. As humans,
to wonder about the vastness of the universe is to drown us in curiosity that
will never be satisfied because of how much we don’t know and cannot discover
logically. From the two articles, Is
Everything Determined? By Stephen Hawking and Our Universe May be a Giant Hologram from physicist Brian Greene,
the universe itself is contemplated and from these I have concluded that while curiosity
motivates the human race to discover, there is only so much we can actually
discover. The idea of our Universe being subject as a mere hologram of other
parallel realities and questioning if life is determined in the universe is
basically all a bunch of theories to ponder but never be able to conclude. From
Is Everything Determined? Stephen
Hawking concludes with, “Is everything determined? The answer is yes. But it
might as well not be, because we can never know what is determined.” Therefore,
stating the fact that human beings will never know the future, creating the
idea that it is a pointless for one to believe that life is predetermined and a
waste of time to ponder such an idea. From physicist Brian Greene, the idea of
black holes illustrates the concept of parallel universes, creating the idea
that the reality we live is merely a shadow of another reality and so on. This
concept brings me to believe that, as well as Stephen Hawking’s article lead
to, it is pointless for one to think too hard about our reality because it will
honestly just make one crazy because there seems to be no real answer out there
for us to find. I think that pondering the vastness of the universe is not
beneficial because there are no answers to find. The curiosity is one of
entertainment and it is certainly interesting to ponder these questions but I think
in the long run it has no benefit to humans; it just creates more imagination
for us.
No I do not think that pondering the vastness and unknowability of the universe is beneficial because no matter how hard an individual tries to know, it would be impossible. For example, in the article “Is Everything Determined” Stephen Hawkins explains that “If everything is determined by the laws of science then free will is an illusion” meaning that if our lives are pre-determined that means we have no control over our actions but people go to prison because of “bad choices” which that means that they have free will so that is an unsolved paradox to even try to think about. Another reason is till this day questions about our universe are unsolved. In addition, in the article “our Universe may be a Giant Hologram” it is debatable to where the information in a black hole is stored and those questions have been going on for years so it would be unlikely for someone to have the correct answer now.
ReplyDeleteI agree that humans should not contemplate topics such as vastness and unknowability because they are not things that are applicable to everyday life. Stephan Hawking wrote an essay called Is Everything Determined? In this essay Hawking spends the whole essay going in a circle explaining both sides of the question to only end on the conclusion that the answer to his question was yes. Then he goes on to say “But it might as well not be, because we can never know what is determined” (Hawking). He evaluated the unknowability of the universe but never actually found a real answer to his question, so he just went in a circle. Physicist Brian Greene talks about the vastness of the universe in his essay. Greene says that, for example, a black hole stores information but it depends on which way you look at it, the way it stores information looks different from the inside compared to the outside. Both Hawking and Greene seem to agree through their writing that both topics are not really worth contemplating.
ReplyDeleteI believe pondering the universe is somewhat beneficial. When it comes down to myself, pondering the universe allows me to see things in a different perspective, but if I look at the bigger picture I do not see why pondering the world would be beneficial. In the very last paragraph of “Is Everything Determined” by Stephen Hawking, he states that everything is in fact determined but we will never know what is determined. Therefore, why even try? I think we need to stop trying to find reasoning for every single thing on this world and just accept the fact that it is happening. I feel as if even if we do find out information, it is a slight chance that we actually will react upon it. Just as NASA is exploring MARS. We will only hear about it as it is popular but I do not see anyone making an effort to actually find other living objects out in the galaxy.
ReplyDeleteI do not think us humans should ponder the universe. I will start with the cliché, “curiosity killed the cat.” I believe this applies to humans in a way that if we keep looking for answers for questions with no certain exact answers then we will all go insane looking for something that truly does not exist. In the story “Is Everything Determined” by Stephen Hawking he brings up an interesting point about free will and if it really is free. Hawking states, “we don’t punish people for crimes if they are insane, because we have decided that they can’t help it. But if we are all determined by a grand unified theory, none of us can help what we do, so why should anyone be help responsible for what they do?” This point raises so many questions because I completely agree but thinking about it too much might drive me insane myself.
ReplyDeleteI agree that pondering the vastness and unknowability of the universe is not beneficial to us as humans. All the ideas that people are coming up with are just theories with no way of being able to be proven. Physicist Brian Greenest talks about just how outrageously long it take for one of these theories to form in his essay “Our Universe May Be a Giant Hologram.” Greenest states that “The strangest version of all parallel universe proposals is one that emerged gradually over 30 years of theoretical studies on the quantum properties of black holes.” Over 30 years studying this and all they have to show for it are possible theories about how the universe might work. I just don't think that is a good use of time. Another reason why I think this is not helpful to us is because even if we were able to find out everything about all the possible universes there still is not much we can do with this knowledge. Stephen Hawking talks about this in his essay “Is Everything Determined” when he says “is everything determined? The answer is yes, it is. But it might as well not be, because we can never know what is determined.” We benefit nothing from knowing this beside the fact that our curiosity is fulfilled.
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