OR to show what the center I got it from said:
Level 1: Throwing away remembered thoughts
Level 2: Throwing away images of myself, images of human relationships, and myself
Level 3: Throwing away the body of my self
Level 4: Throwing away the body of my self and the universe
Level 5: Throwing away the body of my self and the universe
Level 6: My self disappears and Become the universe
Level 7: Throwing away the picture world and myself living in that world
Gotta look into that bulk discount on irony meters…
I’ve never heard this phrase before in my life. Who says this?
I am the Universe.
I used to be but then I went on a diet.
I predict the answer will be “they.” I’m not clairvoyant. I’ve just read enough of his threads to have they-ja vu.
No, Steven is the Universe.
This is almost certainly true. Once the universe cooled sufficiently for atoms to start forming, the vast majority of matter was in the form of hydrogen, with tiny tiny amounts of helium and lithium. I should say the majority of “normal” matter, because there’s all the dark matter as well, and who the hell knows what that is.
Larger atoms started to form largely once stars came into existence (something on the order of 500 million to 1 billion years) and started merrily engaging in fusion in their cores. In general, that allows for atoms up to iron size, meaning basically everything that you are made of. The really big honking stars would (and still do) occasionally go supernova, produce even bigger atoms and then blow up, seeding the universe with more massive elements. So the trace amounts of copper and nickel and whatever that you have floating around in you came from the corpses of exploding stars.
The upshot is this: your physical, chemical makeup isn’t that special. Your body is made up of the same kinds of atoms as everything else, but the proportions are different than the Universe as a whole because you happen to be standing on one of the very, very rare chunks of dense matter.
True, and yet important.
[QUOTE=Italo Calvino]
Marco Polo describes a bridge, stone by stone.
“But which is the stone that supports the bridge?” Kublai Khan asks.
“The bridge is not supported by one stone or another,” Marco answers, “but by the line of the arch that they form.”
Kublai Kahn remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds: “Why do you speak to me of the stones? It is only the arch that matters to me.”
Polo answers: “Without stones there is no arch.”
[/QUOTE]
You must have missed “Semolina vs. Farina”
Macchinaforce, is this your first time smoking pot?
I am Iron Man!
You are part of the universe, so when you ask if I’m the universe you are asking if you are the universe.
My mass is a part of this galaxy and the mass of this galaxy interacts with other galaxies. There may even be quantum phenomenon in space that emit two photons that can be detected in different galaxies, but the results can only be confirmed at the speed of light so it wouldn’t be known about in the lifetime of our race.
The thing is, this thread was created and there were already many replies to it before I was ever aware of it. That’s good because not knowing everything makes things interesting. Perhaps what you are getting at is things would be better if it was all under one central control. That would be kind of boring and do away with free will. Besides, if say you wanted to orchestrate a few billion people it would take the brain power of a few billion people to process all the things they are doing. All those brains in one head would be an inconvenient solution. Instead, the universe put all those brains where their needed and I’m sure they are doing the best they can.
So, whether we are all part of a fully connected whole or not it may not matter much. We each have awareness of a limited part of the universe around us and our influence on it isn’t all that strong on a cosmic scale. But that doesn’t mean what we do isn’t important. We can be either a positive or negative influence on the universe around us and that is especially important to the bits of the universe that are other people. As usual the best thing to do is keep an open mind, be kind and act honourably. It might make it one of the better parts of the universe. That’s the privilege the living bits of the universe have over the inanimate bits. And you don’t even need quantum detectatron to do it.
I am the highway.
If you have to ask, you’ll never know.
It’s your OP.
Level 8: Women’s wear
Level 9: Linens and bedroom furnishings
Level 10: Customer service and returns
Level 11: Throw away your computer and go outside for a walk.
I am large, I contain multitudes, does that count?
You know, you should really try to recycle more.
I am a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.