In Brian Greene’s essay, “Our Universe Might Be a Giant
Hologram,” he brings up the idea of another universe. A universe that is in
another dimension and that we live in. Like for example our reflection in our
mirrors could be a whole other dimension we live in. Just imagine how crazy and
scary that would be. It would be crazy because we would have no idea when we
are switching between universes; and it would be scary because we are basically
being controlled. He describes it like a string puppet, someone always calling
the moves the puppet is going to make and controlling its every step. If his
theory of us being holograms were correct, then our reality of life would be
completely wrong. Edward Abbey’s essay talking about the relationship between
creatures and humans was rather beautiful. He did talk about how humans and
animals possibly could have different emotions all together, but that since we
are on earth we have to learn to live with each other and except one another.
He first let mice live in his house, which most humans would want to trap and
get rid of right away. He then noticed rattlesnakes appearing and instead of
killing them, which I knew would have been my first instinct, he goes to get a
gopher. The gopher and him then form this bond together, which in my mind is a beautiful
thing. By letting the mice live in his home, he formed a different kind of bond
with the creatures that lived around him. He is able to connect with nature through this
experience and at the same time knows that he may never know exactly what each
creature is thinking, it leaves him guessing and wanting to know more. This relationship shows that there is much that we don't know about the universe that might be just in front of our eyes. It leaves room for us to learn and explore into greater depths by just noticing the small things, for example the creatures that we might normally be afraid of like the snakes and mice.
In Brian Greene’s article he talks about our universe being an exact parallel of another universe. That everything we do is a replication of what is happening in the parallel universe, so basically that even though we think we have complete control of our reality, it could all just be us imitating something else out there without consciously knowing it. I think, assuming that Greene’s theories of our world are correct, that this gives a lot less meaning to our actions and lives as a whole. I like to think that when I do something beneficial for myself or others, that I came up with the idea, worked for it and made it successful, not that someone else has already done it and I am just repeating the process. I also think that this theory would take away a lot of our individuality and our will to do things, because ultimately it seems as if the decisions are already made for us.
ReplyDeleteAbbey is a man who cherishes the environment around him. He lives out in the wild, is a park ranger and even states “I’m a humanist; I’d rather kill a man than a snake.” This shows that he has almost more love with the creatures and world around him than for other humans more similar to himself. Maybe it is because he believes they just do what they must to survive so even if they kill something, it was only done for survival reasons, whereas humans do things to be evil and get attention. I think majority of the time Abbey feels close to nature but sometimes he feels separated, like when he was watching the snakes “dance”, he couldn’t quite grasp what their purpose was. I have never been able to admire animals in such a curiosity as he has but I think it would be a beneficial eye opening experience. I also think that Abbey may not know everything he wants to about his environment but he is okay with that, as long as he can live in peace.