As a species, we have come incredibly far in our journey towards knowledge and understanding.
We know how to propel rocket ships into space and land them on other planets. We know how
to measure something as minute as an atom. We know how to open up a human body, repair
its heart, and then close the body back up, nearly as good as new. However, there is still
so much missing. So much still on the table. After 200,000 years of modern human existence,
we remain eluded by some of the most important and fundamental things that affect us. Things
that might make one wonder how we’ve lived this long without this information, acting
as if everything is ok. Question one, why do we sleep?
Common theories about why we sleep suggest things like conserving energy and restoring
parts of the body, similar to how we might reset a computer. However, when asleep, we
only burn around 100 fewer calories compared to when we are awake and most of the same
biological restorations that we do while asleep also happen while we’re awake, so its inconclusive
to what degree sleep is actually necessary for these functions. There are a variety of
other theories for why we sleep, but ultimately, all we know for certain is that we need sleep.
We don’t actually know why. This essentially means that we all spend 1/3 of our lives doing
something without any clear reason for doing it. We just don’t have a choice.
Two; why do we dream? Dreams could very well mean something important
about who we are and who we become. They could be a result of our brain organizing memories
and strengthening skills and understandings. They could be a way for us to prepare for
negative situations, or an attempt to fulfill desires. Or dreams could mean nothing and
have no purpose or meaningful cause whatsoever. We simply don’t know. We just live in spite
of this important information and continue to have around 4 dreams per night, hoping
that they aren’t negatively messing with our life too much.
Three, what is consciousness? The human brain is regarded as the most complicated
object in the known universe. It’s accepted that the brain is what provides consciousness,
which provides you with your sense of “you” and your ability to discern the world.
We understand a lot about the different parts of the brain and what it means to be conscious,
however, the source of consciousness itself and what consciousness fundamentally is or
isn’t remains entirely unclear. The very entity of consciousness, which allowed you
to click on this video and want to learn about what you don’t know, can’t figure out
why it itself even exists in the first place or how it’s forming an internal experience
out of this moment. This issue is described by “The Hard Problem of Consciousness,”
which is our inability to understand the relationship between physical phenomena and our personal
experience of it. This means that we all identify with our consciousness without knowing what
we are actually identifying with. Four, do we have free will?
There are lots of theories concerning whether or not we have freedom of choice or if our
lives are predetermined by the sequencing of cause and effect patterns. In the case
where we do not have free will, described by the concept of determinism, even though
it feels like we are making choices for ourselves, the string of events preceding our actions
are what actually cause us to do what we do, not our willfulness. Alternatively, in the
case where we do have free will, we are not constrained to the conditions of the past,
everything in the future is uncertain and random, and we posses the ability to influence
it with our volition. No one knows for sure what’s true when it comes to freewill, or
to what extent it may be some paradoxical combination of both free will and determinism,
or perhaps something completely different. Five, is anything objectively real?
We primarily sense the world through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. All of these
sense organs transmit information from the physical world into our brains. We then analyze
the information and form conclusions. However, every piece of information is received by
sense organs that no one else can have in the exact same form in the exact same place
at the exact same time. And one’s evaluation of the sensory information is entirely based
on their unique, prior understanding of the world. No one can ever be in your head and
truly see the world from your perspective, just like you can never be in anyone else’s.
And so, one’s experience of reality is and will always be subjective. Not only that,
but our sensory perception is constantly being tricked by the outside world, making us experience
things that aren’t always there, or miss things that are.
All of this raises the following; in order for something to be observed, like the universe,
it needs an observer. But an observer requires a means of observation, like sensory organs
and a conscious brain to make discernments. But how can something observe while not being
limited to the conditions of its means of observation? It can’t.
This raises at least two possible answers to the questioning if anything is objectively
real. Either there is an objective truth to the nature of everything, which is indifferent
to observation, but current humanity can simply not access it. Or nothing is objectively real
and what appears real is relative to the nature and abilities of the observing party.
All we have is our own brain and we can never experience the world from outside it. According
to the concept of the egocentric predicament, this means everything outside of one’s brain
is impossible to ever prove as real or not. All we can do is hope that at least something
is. It’s clear that no matter how far we have
come, or how smart and powerful we may feel, we’re still embryonic in the birth of knowledge
and understanding. There is mystery in us every time we go to bed and every time we
wake up. Every time we perceive something. Every time we make a decision. Every time
we think about the world or the universe or our self.
The fact that we are aware enough to ask questions, and self-honest enough to admit when we don’t
know the answers is a testament to the beauty of being a human. Perhaps being a human is
to reside somewhere in the space between knowing and unknowing. A space that allows us to speculate,
consider, learn, and create stories, art, and videos like these. To have something incredible
to talk about with lovers, friends, and family. Something to pursue. Something to be humbled
by. Arguably, to be a human is the most fascinating
experience in the history of the universe. Not because we have all the answers, but because
we will always have enough to ask about the ones we don’t.
Or maybe we’ll find all the answers one day, and then life will be even better. Who
knows?