if we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended
This has got to be my new favorite theory in physics: the universe may be a giant hologram.
Take that, Plato! He had it totally backwards: the wall in his cave is where "reality" actually happens, the utterly distant edge of space-time, and everything else in our experience is just scattered particles inside the great hollow space that is the universe. It explains a lot, for instance why the universe is so blurry and grainy and seems to have some smudgy spots on it; not very realistic at all, really.
Take comfort in your picture shows and pop-up books, 3D horror movies and "immersive" video games; the same thing may be happening on a cosmic scale, and we're all just projections in a universe-sized IMAX 3D Experience. (Anyone else remember the OMNIDOME in Seattle? There aren't even any pictures of it online!)
This also gives more credence to all of those vaguely fruity-sounding ideas about the universe being essentially unreal or a dream, perhaps in the mind of God, where "God" is equivalent to "the edge of the universe." And by "vaguely fruity-sounding" I mean "stuff that really appealed to me when I was 16, before I decided that for all practical purposes, reality is more than real enough to kill you, and that's good enough."
Take that, Plato! He had it totally backwards: the wall in his cave is where "reality" actually happens, the utterly distant edge of space-time, and everything else in our experience is just scattered particles inside the great hollow space that is the universe. It explains a lot, for instance why the universe is so blurry and grainy and seems to have some smudgy spots on it; not very realistic at all, really.
Take comfort in your picture shows and pop-up books, 3D horror movies and "immersive" video games; the same thing may be happening on a cosmic scale, and we're all just projections in a universe-sized IMAX 3D Experience. (Anyone else remember the OMNIDOME in Seattle? There aren't even any pictures of it online!)
This also gives more credence to all of those vaguely fruity-sounding ideas about the universe being essentially unreal or a dream, perhaps in the mind of God, where "God" is equivalent to "the edge of the universe." And by "vaguely fruity-sounding" I mean "stuff that really appealed to me when I was 16, before I decided that for all practical purposes, reality is more than real enough to kill you, and that's good enough."