Greene and Abbey reflection

The argument that Greene make in his essay is that our three dimensional reality is actually a projection of physical processes going on in a two dimensional realm; he calls this his holographic parallel universe theory. He explains this by referring to black holes; we see them as a two dimensional surface, but what lies within is a three dimensional reality. He refers to physicists that explain that the physical processes within the three dimensional volume of the hole are measured by the size of the two dimensional hole. This would mean that the physics of the two dimensional surface govern what happens inside. I think he's arguing that we are a three dimensional reality that's a projection of a distant surface. This idea doesn't change my ideas of reality at all. It seems like the physicists and Greene are coming up with ideas about our reality and alternative ones at no gain; it doesn't change a damn thing even if we are a projection of an alternative world. The things we do have an immediate effect on our physical world and our reality, and we need to worry about those rather than speculate about what could be out there.

Abbey is essentially one with his environment and the creatures within it. He’s completely connected with the creatures, however he also is isolated from them in the sense that he’s an individual just as much as each of them is; he conveys this well by recognizing “that where and when they serve purposes of mine they do so for beautifully selfish reasons of their own.” It would be life changing and necessary to experience what Abbey experienced in the desert. Connecting to nature and being one among many animals who are out on their directionless adventure of life and seeing animals as more important than humans is humbling. Abbey is very comfortable with the unknown, yet he longs for the answers about the unknowns of nature. He wants to know if animals feel some emotion that humans are unaware of because he sees that as one of the greatest mysteries of all time, and it is one of the most interesting inquiries there is. A common ground between the two readings is people wanting to figure out the unsolvable. Greene wants to know if we’re merely a projection of some alternate reality, and Abbey wants to know “what the dolphins are waiting so patiently to tell us.” I’ve experienced bewilderment in this way, and over both of these topics. Everyone has stared up at the stars and felt cosmic bewilderment and wondered what else is out there, and everyone has looked into the eyes of their pet or some animal and wondered if they can understand or if they have emotions that they are longing for us to understand. The earth is all we know, yet every aspect up for study is full of mystery and bewilderment. I think we have to just accept how things are and not worry too much about the loads of knowledge that’s just out of our reach, and stay bewildered.