Foggy windowssteemCreated with Sketch.

in #dropintheocean6 years ago (edited)

I sat up, blinked, wiped my eyes. Glanced at the window... what the?

Why is it so unclear? I want to be able to see outside.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I quickly get up, walk over to the closet where I keep the new window cleaner that... no, don't think about it!

Walk over to the window, give it a quick spritz. Wipe, and... nothing.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Well, this cleaner is a piece of garbage. Unless maybe... I quickly walk to the door, step outside.

And the entire street is filled with fog, the world seems absolutely coated in the stuff. It's like something out of a dream.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Well. I wasn't expecting that. But maybe, maybe this could just speel out the answer. The meaning of life, the secret of the universe, the -

Beep! Beep! Beep!




pixabay

That stupid alarm! And just when I thought I had it. Well, there goes my chances of figuring out the secrets of the universe today.

I need to... get a coffee, get an aspirin. I've been drinking too much right before bed, I feel like the drunkenness gets me in the right state of mind for my search for the meaning of life.

Right. That's it. It has nothing to do with her

Shut up! We are not thinking about her.

Maybe I should just stay like this. Skip the aspirin, skip the coffee. It just feels so much easier. When I walk around like this, with this fog in my mind, life just seems so much clearer, so much easier...

Wait a second!

That's it! I've got it, I've finally figured out the meaning of life. I can’t believe it took me so long to realize it, it’s been staring me in the face this whole time.

It’s –

Wait a second. If I know the meaning of life, why would I share it with you? I’ve already had enough betrayals.

Don’t talk about it!

-hyperbole out.

Ok, fine. You really want to know? I don’t think you really do, but if you insist…

The secret is rather simple – the clearer something is, the vaguer it is. The more lucid, the less so.

Think of the dream – the only reason everything looked so foggy was because the window itself was clear. Had the window been a bit less clear, had it had a little bit of metal in it, it would have just been a mirror, would have clearly shown the inside of the room.

Or perhaps a better example – had the window been colored, been intentionally fogged, been a little more opaque – I would have seen the same view, whether there was a fog or not.

The more you see, the less you do.

Without the aspirin, without the coffee, I may go through life without thinking, without understanding, but I also don’t have to feel all of life’s complications, don’t have the ability to be confused by them.

Honestly, I think Alexander Pope described it in his Poem A little learning is a dangerous thing by describing how after each success, one just finds another mountain beyond, the more one knows, the more there is to know.

Actually, the whole first stanza probably describes it best:

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
Fired at first sight with what the Muse imparts,
In fearless youth we tempt the heights of Arts,
While from the bounded level of our mind
Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind;
But more advanced, behold with strange surprise
New distant scenes of endless science rise!
So pleased at first the towering Alps we try,
Mount o'er the vales, and seem to tread the sky,
The eternal snows appear already past,
And the first clouds and mountains seem the last;
But, those attained, we tremble to survey
The growing labors of the lengthened way,
The increasing prospects tire our wandering eyes,
Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise!

Or perhaps the quote from Aristotle - 'The more you know, the more you know you don't know.'

We need only look to the science of everything to understand it. Einstein wondered how the world worked, came up with general relativity. That seemed to contradict Newton’s understanding of gravity, so he came up with special relativity (It’s very special. Though aren’t we all?)

Then scientists wanted to understand how little things fit together, so they came up with quantum mechanics.

But… that contradicts general/special relativity, so they came up with superstring theory, which is missing more than it has.

At the end of the day, the clearer our view, the more fog we see.

Now actually

-hyperbole out.

Sort:  

I hate superstring theory. Its like a clutching of straws to make them fit a gap

Ah, but aren't the straws quite useful in their own write rite?

If not for they, what would we use to start the fire?

Oh wait. I forgot.

Sticks!! Lol, that is a catchy song though

What exactly sticks? Have you been overusing the glue again?

We certainly don't want to burn that - It's been known to be toxic. And we've got enough toxicity around as is.

Sticks not straws, for the burning!!

So the straws aren't sticking? Perhaps we need more string. Or maybe it's not super enough.

Straws stick, more importantly straws suck. But don't?

What are these straws sucking? Pipes?

The more you see, the less you do.

The object in the mirror doesn't have a clue that the mirror exists! Its entire universe is encapsulated in that rectangle of glass.

Deep shit!

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I wonder... did you read @youhavewings' post from last week?

It seems to me that she touched on the next stage of knowing everything and is a good follow on from your post.

https://steemit.com/dropintheocean/@youhavewings/perception-is-everything

Nice I was about to mention that.

Scanned it, didn't actually have a chance to read through the whole thing until now. I do see where he's coming from though, I've read a coupla books which touch upon that point, and Paul likes to comment on it.

Thanks for the link to Paul, @hyperbole. Yet another steemian for me to lose myself in. ;)

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This sums up a lot concerning moving forward and learning more to not be complacent with what we know but accept that we know nothing and just enjoy the moments when the little we do makes complete sense.

Well written, and I like my window cleaner by the window just as a warning to it, stay clean because I think it would be very boring if it was a mirror.

Oi where are you.

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Everywhere... nowhere.

I'll probably post later tonight, I missed Tuesday because I desperately needed a nap, yesterday just wasn't creative.

Ah me too, I just went through somewhere, did not stay long it was too specific for my taste

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Ah me too, I just went through somewhere, did not stay long it was too specific for my taste

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