The Big Picture
The big picture
When I was 18, I went to University to study Theoretical Physics because I wanted to understand the nature of the universe. After 6 years of studying and experimenting, I had a pretty good idea of what we knew, how we knew it and what were the limits of our knowledge. At least as far as the physical part of the universe is concerned. I never chose a profession my Physics degree qualifies me for because I wanted to understand the human part of the Universe as well, so I spent the next 50 years reading, thinking, writing and debating with other humans pursuing this goal. The basic questions I wanted answers to were:
- What were the major steps in the evolution of our species (how did we get here)?
- What is the direction this evolution is taking us (where are we heading)?
- What is the most likely outcome of this evolution (what is our fate and destiny)?
- What, if any, meaning we can attach to an individual human life (how do we fit in the big picture)?
- How are life, death, love, and sex related in a human experience?
Close to the end of this journey, I am reasonably sure that I have my answers to my own satisfaction.
All these answers make up a worldview that, for me, explains the countless new items I receive daily about my species as it struggles with ideological, political, economic and psychological conflicts.
This worldview has a dual effect on my life.
On one hand, it gives me the peace of not having to quest any longer and the quiet satisfaction of knowing all the answers to my all-consuming curiosity. On the other hand it makes me feel isolated from my society because I can not get involved anymore in debates and discussions.
Very few people are interested in discussing basic principles, fundamental facts, logical structures and inevitable consequences of conflicting forces that are shaping our human universe. Most people are interested in the many, many small pictures we are surrounded with every day of our lives. There is nothing wrong with small pictures and minute details, of course – many artists have created masterpieces of art in literature, painting, photography and cinematic production.
However, arguing about small pictures in order to answer big questions inevitably reminds me of the often voiced cliché about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Our world, restricted to this dying planet, dominated by this hopelessly misguided species, hurtling toward some inevitable catastrophe at the end, renders all arguments about inconsequential details moot and pointless.
This is the curse that pursuers of the big picture have to endure.
When I was 18, I went to University to study Theoretical Physics because I wanted to understand the nature of the universe. After 6 years of studying and experimenting, I had a pretty good idea of what we knew, how we knew it and what were the limits of our knowledge. At least as far as the physical part of the universe is concerned. I never chose a profession my Physics degree qualifies me for because I wanted to understand the human part of the Universe as well, so I spent the next 50 years reading, thinking, writing and debating with other humans pursuing this goal. The basic questions I wanted answers to were:
- What were the major steps in the evolution of our species (how did we get here)?
- What is the direction this evolution is taking us (where are we heading)?
- What is the most likely outcome of this evolution (what is our fate and destiny)?
- What, if any, meaning we can attach to an individual human life (how do we fit in the big picture)?
- How are life, death, love, and sex related in a human experience?
Close to the end of this journey, I am reasonably sure that I have my answers to my own satisfaction.
All these answers make up a worldview that, for me, explains the countless new items I receive daily about my species as it struggles with ideological, political, economic and psychological conflicts.
This worldview has a dual effect on my life.
On one hand, it gives me the peace of not having to quest any longer and the quiet satisfaction of knowing all the answers to my all-consuming curiosity. On the other hand it makes me feel isolated from my society because I can not get involved anymore in debates and discussions.
Very few people are interested in discussing basic principles, fundamental facts, logical structures and inevitable consequences of conflicting forces that are shaping our human universe. Most people are interested in the many, many small pictures we are surrounded with every day of our lives. There is nothing wrong with small pictures and minute details, of course – many artists have created masterpieces of art in literature, painting, photography and cinematic production.
However, arguing about small pictures in order to answer big questions inevitably reminds me of the often voiced cliché about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Our world, restricted to this dying planet, dominated by this hopelessly misguided species, hurtling toward some inevitable catastrophe at the end, renders all arguments about inconsequential details moot and pointless.
This is the curse that pursuers of the big picture have to endure.
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