# I am the center of the universe!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773 "2014-04-23T15:00:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/1 "2014-04-23T15:00:26Z")
Reading **LifeSucks** ’ [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=715059) on his fear of anesthesia and his belief that one dies when they are unconscious reminded me of an idea I developed when I was about 7 or 8. That my being is actually the center of the universe. That God or other supreme being constructed the world around me as an experiment to see how I would deal with it. The rest of you are just physical representations for me to interact with. You all have no souls or really any existence except when I interact with you. Even to the point that if my senses don’t interact with the world around me then there is nothingness. When I interact with you your own history fills in magically where needed to create the illusion that we are all together, when in reality it is just me. This idea is nothing that I have ever dwelled on or obsessed about, but a mere idea of my own existence. I don’t truly believe it but from time to time wonder about its possibility. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/2 "2014-04-23T17:15:59Z")
“I’m a solipsist, but I have never been able to convince anyone else that I am right.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/3 "2014-04-23T17:30:15Z")
That’s more or less the premise of _The Truman Show_, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/4 "2014-04-23T17:34:03Z")
This is the first time I ran across that notion: I think I was about 8 when I read it. The short story ‘They’ by Robert Heinlein. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They\_%28Heinlein%29](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_%28Heinlein%29) ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/5 "2014-04-23T17:36:38Z")
That’s why post-apocalyptic fiction is so fascinating to people: They presume that the world ends when they do. Everybody is the center of their own universe. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/6 "2014-04-23T19:44:07Z")
> [@MrKnowItAll](#): > > That’s more or less the premise of _The Truman Show_, isn’t it? It is nothing at all like the premise of _The Truman Show_. Have you seen it? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/7 "2014-04-23T19:45:14Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Reading **LifeSucks** ’ [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=715059) on his fear of anesthesia and his belief that one dies when they are unconscious reminded me of an idea I developed when I was about 7 or 8. That my being is actually the center of the universe. That God or other supreme being constructed the world around me as an experiment to see how I would deal with it. The rest of you are just physical representations for me to interact with. You all have no souls or really any existence except when I interact with you. Even to the point that if my senses don’t interact with the world around me then there is nothingness. When I interact with you your own history fills in magically where needed to create the illusion that we are all together, when in reality it is just me. … I made you believe this. ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/8 "2014-04-23T20:07:21Z")
Geez. Only been back a couple days, and already getting attitude. Yes, Boyo, I have seen _The Truman Show_. And I maintain that the premise is similar. Truman discovers that his world, his whole life, revolves around him and what he does. Granted, we aren’t talking about the universe, but the similarities are quite definitely there. A better questioin is: Have _you_ seen it? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/9 "2014-04-23T20:18:43Z")
It just means we have you surrounded. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/10 "2014-04-23T22:02:24Z")
> [@MrKnowItAll](#): > > Geez. Only been back a couple days, and already getting attitude. > > Yes, Boyo, I have seen _The Truman Show_. And I maintain that the premise is similar. Truman discovers that his world, his whole life, revolves around him and what he does. Granted, we aren’t talking about the universe, but the similarities are quite definitely there. > > A better questioin is: Have _you_ seen it? The OP describes a belief that the entire universe, including everyone around him is a product of his own imagination and has no existence outside his own mind. Neither Truman or anyone else in the movie believed anything even remotely close to that. A better example would be Groundhog Day. Bill Murray wonders, for a while at least, if he is God, or maybe a lesser god. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/11 "2014-04-23T22:33:16Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I made you believe this. Who knew Boyo Jim was God? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/12 "2014-04-23T23:04:12Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Reading **LifeSucks** ’ [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=715059) on his fear of anesthesia and his belief that one dies when they are unconscious reminded me of an idea I developed when I was about 7 or 8. That my being is actually the center of the universe. That God or other supreme being constructed the world around me as an experiment to see how I would deal with it. The rest of you are just physical representations for me to interact with. You all have no souls or really any existence except when I interact with you. Even to the point that if my senses don’t interact with the world around me then there is nothingness. When I interact with you your own history fills in magically where needed to create the illusion that we are all together, when in reality it is just me. > > This idea is nothing that I have ever dwelled on or obsessed about, but a mere idea of my own existence. I don’t truly believe it but from time to time wonder about its possibility. Sorry, but this is a normal part of child development. We all did this. Shortly after birth, a baby’s internal world consists of itself and its mother. As time passes, others, father, siblings etc, are assimilated. At about age 5-7, the child realizes he is part of a much larger world. Since the child has, from birth seen himself as the center of his universe, he has no reason to change that view. The only change, in his mind, is the recognition of a larger, and more populated universe. At about age 10 most children realize they are only a small part of the larger scheme of things. ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/13 "2014-04-23T23:10:56Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > The OP describes a belief that the entire universe, including everyone around him is a product of his own imagination and has no existence outside his own mind. Neither Truman or anyone else in the movie believed anything even remotely close to that. > > A better example would be Groundhog Day. Bill Murray wonders, for a while at least, if he is God, or maybe a lesser god. Hm. Sorry. That’s not how I read it. He doesn’t say anything about t being the cause of the creation around him, just that he’s the only one in it that matters. Probably the best analogy would be Zaphod Beebelbrox in the Total Perspective Vortex in _The Restaurant at the End of the Universe_, but that’s kind of obscure. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/14 "2014-04-23T23:16:10Z")
Also, remember, out here on the fringes, there are only a few stars, so each one is important. Being the center of the universe, with so many other stars standing so very close, you become, one among many. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/15 "2014-04-23T23:24:14Z")
Out here we is stoned immaculate. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/16 "2014-04-23T23:54:57Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Who knew Boyo Jim was God? Sorry, that was my idea. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/17 "2014-04-24T00:19:36Z")
I am the Master Of The Universe The Wind Of Time is blowing through me And it’s all moving relative to me It’s all a figment of my mind In a world that I’ve designed Charged with cosmic energy Has the world gone mad, or is it me? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GawSInPwShI/hqdefault.jpg "Nik Turner - Masters of the Universe") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GawSInPwShI) ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/18 "2014-04-24T00:55:24Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > “I’m a solipsist, but I have never been able to convince anyone else that I am right.” 😛 “Of course I believe that solipsism is the correct philosophy, but that’s only one man’s opinion.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/19 "2014-04-24T05:19:24Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Reading **LifeSucks** ’ [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=715059) … This idea is nothing that I have ever dwelled on or obsessed about, but a mere idea of my own existence. I don’t truly believe it but from time to time wonder about its possibility. Anything is possible on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773/20 "2014-04-24T05:26:03Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > “Of course I believe that solipsism is the correct philosophy, but that’s only one man’s opinion.” A friend of mine has a tshirt I love - “Is it solipsistic in here, or is it just me?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-center-of-the-universe/686773.md?page=2)