The nature of reality.

Since my childhood, I was intrigued by the nature of reality and existence.
I was told that everyone has these existential thoughts, and that they will fade away eventually. Concepts such as creation of the Universe, time, quantum physics and consciousness can be mind-boggling. “It’s best not to think about it for too long”. I disagree, it makes much more sense to challenge ideas, think for yourself and to grow individually and collectively.

Over a decade later, these thoughts are still stuck in my head. Why is there reality over nothing? How did the Universe come to be? Is there a ‘void’ outside of the Universe? And many more similar questions.

The main goal of this article is to share my thoughts about the mentioned concepts. And to hopefully offer new perspectives about topics you wouldn’t normally think about every day.

1. The creation of the Universe.
   As far as we know, the Universe had a starting point: the Big Bang. A massive explosion, roughly fourteen billion years ago, in which all matter (dark and regular) and energy came into existence at a single point in the form of a massive explosion. From there on out, it began to expand rapidly, and slowly cool down over time. If we assume this theory to be true, then I still have two questions: what caused this Big Bang to happen, and where did it come from? (Or in other terms: where was the Universe expanding in to?)
   My theory is that there exists a sort of ‘Void’: truly infinite, timeless, non-existence. Maybe as a natural law of reality, this realm has always been there, with no passage of time and no matter. However, maybe by chance or under certain conditions, universes can be created in this realm, in which they violently come into existence, expand and slowly dissipate. This means that the multiverse theory is plausible aswell. The birth of our Universe is simply the same as the birth of a planet, or the birth of a human: a very tiny fragment of experiencing existence until it fades out again. It doesn’t explain what triggers the creation of a universe, but it would explain what it is expanding into, and why there’s a beginning and an end.
2. Time and Space.
   Albert Einstein discovered that Time and Space are closely related. To explain it simply: information travels across the Universe in the form of light, which has a maximum speed of roughly 300.000 km/s. That means that traveling that distance from Earth means you go back one second in time. (Note: I am using rounded numbers and easy examples for simplicity). This is significant if you think about the way the Universe works. It is simply so astronomically large that, if a certain planet got destroyed in a fiery explosion, we would not know until many years later. Even better: some galaxies are so far away, they lie outside our Observable Universe. We cannot know of their existence, because their light hasn’t reached our planet yet, and the Universe is expanding faster than the speed of light. There is not much else to add, I just find the way this works fascinating.
3. Quantum Physics
   Quantum physics deals with the physics of particles at the subatomic level. Humans discovered a while ago that protons, neutrons and electrons are not the smallest particles: there exists a plethora of particles that are significantly smaller. What is interesting to me is that matter at this level looks much different than at the ‘normal’ level. This is true for anything that has matter: you can pick up any object in your house and zoom in until it becomes unrecognisable. This teaches us that things aren’t always as they seem, and interactions and structures at the subatomic level can change the way objects behave and appear at the regular level.
   What is also interesting is that we discovered that, at the very smallest level, particles can seemingly ‘appear’ out of nothing. This is a huge discovery and it’s crucial that we learn more about this behavior, because it can teach us about the birth of the Universe, the creation of matter and it will shape our view on quantum physics.
   It is easy to forget about the quantum world. We need special tools to see it, and it doesn’t affect our day to day lives. But it’s important to remember that this quantum world decides and shapes everything in our reality. All the laws of nature are in place because of the interactions in the quantum world.
4. Consciousness and human existence.
   Now to the main point: consciousness. Consciousness allows us to experience life and reality, albeit for a very small amount of time. The complex workings of the brain is a topic for another time, but nevertheless fascinating. Unfortunately, our brains aren’t really developed enough to truly understand the mysteries of the Universe. We are animals and have evolved via natural selection, which means our ancestors that survived could pass on their genes. My theory is that intelligence was a favourable trait, and our larger brains could affect behavior in ways that go against our DNA and instincts. Eventually, this developed into something we call consciousness: the awareness and rationality of the self, our world and the intelligence to learn, discover and build things that no other animal could.
   And, many years later, you were born, gifted with this consciousness and intelligence to experience the world and to learn, discover and build on your own. Being human is special, despite the billions in population, because we have consciousness that allows us to learn and understand the world around us, in a way that no other animal can.
   When you think about the birth of a new baby, this person will eventually achieve consciousness and be ‘its own person’. Like you and I are now. When you die, this consciousness fades out; it was only temporary after all. However, new life gets created every day, each of us obtaining consciousness. This is why I do not fear death, I am simply a vessel for my DNA and am experiencing it temporarily. Death will end it, birth will create it. I also highly recommend the book ‘The Selfish Gene’: it will offer a very interesting and different perspective on DNA and what it means to be a human.
5. Closing thoughts.
   Most of us are pre-occupied with our daily lives. We think about schooling and work, hobbies, exercise, social life, and so forth. I want to empathize on the importance of philosophy, especially the significant topics. Don’t forget to stop, breathe and think. Learning and discovering about the nature of our reality is important, because it can help shape meaning and a sense of purpose in a very chaotic and complex world.