Meme Power

The Huge Entity: Excruciatingly Large Things
Some Big Thinkers Figuring out StuffThursday, July 14, 2005

Some big thinkers got together this week at the annual TED Global conference to figure out some stuff. You know the kind of thing 'big' thinkers grapple with don't you? The future; the moral implications of new technologies; reality and all that jazz. Famous biologist and science writer Richard Dawkins opened the event in his characteristically British style claiming that the universe might just be too 'queer' for us to comprehend. The BBC website gives more on the meet:

"Professor Dawkins, the renowned Selfish Gene author from Oxford University, said we were living in a "middle world" reality that we have created.Professor Dawkins' opening talk, in a session called Meme Power, explored the ways in which humans invent their own realities to make sense of the infinitely complex worlds they are in; worlds made more complex by ideas such as quantum physics which is beyond most human understanding."Middle world is the narrow range of reality that we judge to be normal as opposed to the queerness that we judge to be very small or very large.......Are there things about the Universe that will be forever beyond our grasp, in principle, ungraspable in any mind, however superior?" he asked.Experts in design, technology, and entertainment have gathered in Oxford to share their ideas about our futures." - link

Definitely give the article a read, members of the meeting cover such diverse topics as G8, technology and the imagination. I like Dawkins, he has an easily digestible style whilst still grappling some pretty complex topics in his work. I like the idea that in some sense the universe is more complex and yet more substantial for this generation than the last. Compared with the perspectives of a few decades, a few centuries ago the universe as we now know it is increasingly bizarre. With each evolution of human understanding surely reality itself is given new depth, new colour? Reality grows more rich as our conscious mindscape expands. There are many areas of modern life where studying this idea could bring benefit to the world community. Take for example the differing realities of the scientist and the conservative priest, or even more relevant is the difference in perspective between the fundamentalist Muslim and the Westernised individual. Where do their realities intersect? How can the conflicts between the two be resolved? Where is the shared ground? I doubt many people would claim there is such a thing as a definitive perspective. Each multitudinous universe is as distinct as the individual who perceives it. It's finding the common beliefs, the shared 'middle world', that we should concentrate on. Humans might live in slightly differing realities, but we all have to share the consequences of each other's actions. We might never fully understand the true nature of reality, but we all still have to share the same planet. Just a thought... Like the idea of infinite realities? Here's a quote from Hindu Mystic Sri Aurobindo you might ponder:

"What, you ask was the beginning of it all?And it is this...Existence that multiplied itself for sheer delight of being and plunged into numberless trillions of forms so that it might find itself innumerably..."

For more on reality, perception and all that other crazy philosophical nonsense check out their tags below. Keep perceiving....Thanks Portension!Categories: Reality, Perception, Technology, News, Philosophy, Thought, Future, Existence, Nonsense? Link posted by Danieru @ 10:17 AM postCountTB('112130181456680274'); No Trackbacks --> « Home © The Huge Entity 2005 - Subscribe via RSS