Awake and Dreaming - Finger Eleven (31)

Awake and Dreaming

As long as I can remember I've questioned everything. Look around at things it the room you are in. There are probably 1500 things that you do not understand. There are the obvious things like what the hell is the internet and how does it work? Who was smart enough to invent a cell phone? How does a remote control turn on the TV? These are basic questions. If you haven't ever taken the time mull them over I strongly advise you stop reading and return to your peaceful numb state.

These are incredibly complicated technological devices that miniscule amounts of people truly understand (myself not included). What if, for some reason, all cell phones were destroyed or disappeared from existence. How long would it take for you and your 5 closest friends to invent the first cell phone. You probably never would. It's scary to think that you don't understand the things in your life that you use the most.

Most of the mystery surrounding technology comes with the inability to see how things work. This cloud of invisibility makes us oblivious to the fact that these devices have been thousands of years, millions of people, and billions of ideas in the making.

Let's consider something less complicated. Socks. A relatively simple idea I suppose. But how many years did cavemen go without socks? Why don't chimps wear socks? How many different materials were used before we settled on cotton? Why not just wear shoes? Some trickier questions I suppose. If I provided you with a sheep and machinery could you make a sock? I sure as hell couldn't. What I'm getting at is that this world is incredibly complicated if you take the time to think about it. It's almost depressing at how little you know about every single thing in your life.

With all of this complication and numerous cloaks of invisibility surrounding innovative ideas how is it possible to invent something that has never been invented before?

I often use language as an example. I feel that it is impossible to create a language. The first and only thing you could do in attempt to start a language is to point at an object and make a sound. Your companion would undoubtedly look at you and think "what the fuck is wrong with this person"? But in what language is he thinking if there is no language? Can you think without language? Whoa. What came first the chicken or the egg? Let's assume you can think... you repeatedly point at an object and make the same sound and maybe...MAYBE you may agree upon calling said object said sound. So you can theoretically establish a "language" in which there are nouns. "Rock". "Fire". "Bird-Poop". Even verbs are possible because you can demonstrate them. "Jump". "Somersault". "Barrel-Roll". But there is absolutely no possible means of communicating adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, or feelings. These are subjective interpretations whose meaning cannot be agreed upon without a means of communication that can "describe" them. Nouns and verbs cannot be used describe the nouns and verbs you created yourself right? Regardless...even if you could...there is definitely no way to positively confirm that the other person understands what you mean. Of that I am sure.

So am I implying that language isn't real? Sort of. But we have it right? I don't fucking know. Let's assume language is made up. Are math and physics made up? In the way we discuss them, yes. These are "concepts" that exist but we try to explain using our made up language. How can you trust the "laws" and "explanations" that are described using a language that you can't prove anyone understands.

These are arguments for another day (or every day in my case). Let's pretend language, physics, and math are real. How does an individual expand upon their particular knowledge set? Discover novel ideas and concepts?

I see two possible ways. Drugs or dreams. Both of which bring you into a state of altered consciousness. One person "experiments" with psychedelic drugs or has a dream that enlightens them with original idea. They gain an "understanding" previously not attained--neigh--an idea impossible to attain otherwise. They may or may not be able to explain this enlightenment to others. When they can, others become privy to this novel way of thinking and can expand further. Teamwork! When they can't, you accuse them of witchery and stone them to death. Oh wait, that's just what used to happen...

You may be thinking, "you are an idiot". That's okay, I'm thinking the same thing about you. You argue that one does not need to be on drugs or in a dream to think outside the box and innovate. And to you naysayers, I leave you with this metaphor.

Normal you will be represented as an automobile. You are enlightened to everything inside your car. Language, math, physics are seats, stick-shifts, and fuzzy dice. I'm not calling normal you dumb. You are intelligent. Your intelligence can be represented by what you can see through the windshield. Your intelligence is vast! Dead skunks! Litter! Impressive. Now let's assume that you are fucking brilliant (give yourself a chance!). One day you notice that you can see your face in your windshield. Holy shit. I can see something in the windshield that is behind the windshield. Mind blown. Well fuck, you think, lets make something out of that material to look behind me. Boom. Rear view mirror. Your knowledge has doubled! Give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it. Side mirrors. More knowledge. Life is good. You see everything!

This is where you lose the common folk. Normal you thinks you know everything. I'm here to tell you know that you do not. You are caged in the way you think. There are obstacles in perception that you don't understand. You have "blind spots" Mr. Automobile.

Normal you thinks you are ready to pass the school bus in front of you... you check the rear view, you check your side mirror, good to go. Then you get fucking crushed at 85 mph by 2 tons of metal driven by a terrible female driver that was in your blind spot. Sidenote, if this hasn't almost happened to you then you are outright lying or unbelievably oblivious.

It's not your fault. Your doors (the government), the roof (your priest), and your headrest (society) confine you to the box you are in. It was impossible to see her coming.

All I'm saying is that outside of your confined automobile-way-of-thinking there is an expansive new world where new ideas sprout up like weeds and mushrooms do in the forests outside of your car.


Wow, weird fucking dream I had last night.


Repeat Offender: Falling On (12), I'll Keep Your Memory Vague (21), Temporary Arms (10)

BRYtunes Genius Recommendations: A Dream-Jay-Z (87), Sweet Dreams-Eurythmics (55), Dream On-Aerosmith (69), Comfortably Numb-Pink Floyd (78)