Inkwellery by Abhi

Tag: science

  • What If Reality Is Nothing Like We Think It Is?

    Have you ever wondered, ‘What is reality?’ Reality can be defined as whatever exists independently of what we wish or believe, or our subjective experience of interacting with it. Can humans ever truly see reality as it is, without relying on abstract concepts?

    The question arises because human abstract concepts highly impact how we see reality. Abstract concepts are deeper, more interesting, and play a major role in our lives than we realize. An abstract concept can be understood as a set of mental frameworks, labels, and interpretations we created for survival and understanding. For example, some abstract concepts that are widely accepted include money, time, religion, nations, borders, morality, beauty, and even love. The foundation for any of these abstract concepts is, I believe, language.

    To understand abstract concepts, we need to understand the importance of LANGUAGE because that is where it all started. Language is the most important tool humans have created, and it influences our lives more than we realize. It not only enables us to communicate, move from place to place, survive, and invent, but it is also the primary tool we use to think about our thoughts. I wonder whether there is anything we can think beyond the language we know. Even if there are feelings or thoughts I experience, I cannot express them beyond the capability or limitations of language. So language not only helps us in external communication, but also acts as a basis for our internal communication, without which it would be impossible to even align our cognitive processes.

    Now let us see some of the concepts that I believe can be considered abstract.

    WISDOM. The last time I had a discussion with my friends, I observed that every person at the table had a different opinion on certain aspects of wisdom. That is when I realised that wisdom is one of the abstract concepts created by humans. There is no physical object in nature called “wisdom” that exists independently, and it is not directly quantifiable. Humans observe certain behaviors, patterns, and outcomes, and then create a concept to describe them. Language, as I said, compresses complex experiences into labels, and “wisdom” is one of those labels. Societies observe that certain ways of thinking or acting tend to lead to better outcomes, and then they call those patterns “wise.”

    Similarly, I believe SCIENCE is also an abstract concept. There are thousands of theories that exist that have not been proved, and hundreds that have been proved. We never truly know whether they are absolutely true or false; some are simply accepted, and others are not. I once read in a book in which the author says that NASA is sending rockets into space using the theories of people who could prove their ideas using their social skills, while others with equally valuable ideas may have remained unheard because they lacked the ability to convince society. Whether this statement is entirely true or not, it raises an interesting point: human knowledge is not shaped purely by objective truth, but also by communication, influence, acceptance, and collective agreement.

    When I was in school, my maths teacher always used to say, “Mathematics is not invented; it was discovered.” That sentence always felt mysterious to me. But eventually, I began to understand that mathematics is something humans discovered through the pattern-recognition, meaning-making, and dot-connecting abilities we possess. Mathematics, Physics, Biology, any subject you name, the fundamental foundation of these branches of science lies in observation, thinking, and the cognitive abilities that humans developed through the process of evolution.

    Language itself is something we created, and all scientific terms are human-made constructs. We collectively agree on how the universe, the planets, and the science behind them work based on what we have discovered, but the universe is not something small enough that we can fully measure and define through evidence alone. Just because something is working does not necessarily mean it is ultimately true. Humans often imagine and create frameworks that are convenient to them and accept them as long as they are useful.

    Science, in itself, is a tool that we use to understand the Universe; it is not the Universe itself. We created science for our convenience, and because it works for us, it continues to be used, but that does not automatically make it the absolute truth. We are living our lives entirely based on systems like earning, paying, and exchanging money, using it as a functional tool, but that does not necessarily mean that money is “real” in a physical sense.

    Similarly, I believe Science is also not the ultimate truth. This planet and the universe are far older than the scientific models we currently have. Science is a method humans developed to model, predict, and explain observations. Scientific theories are representations, not reality itself. For example, gravity is real as an observable phenomenon, but the models explaining it have changed over time. Isaac Newton described gravity one way, and Albert Einstein later described it differently through relativity. Both models worked within certain conditions, even though one later proved more accurate than the other.

    This illustrates an important point: science often progresses not by finding absolute truth, but by creating models that explain observations better than previous models. In fact, one of the foundations of modern science is the idea that any theory could potentially be wrong if better evidence appears later. So even if science appears to progressively approach objective reality, it may still remain within the limits of human interpretation and may never fully escape the subjectivity required to understand reality “as it is.” At the same time, if you step off a cliff believing gravity doesn’t exist, you’ll regret the decision. So I’d say science may not be the “absolute truth,” but it is the most reliable method we have for approximating reality.

    One more interesting concept that fascinates me is CONSCIOUSNESS, and I believe this is also an abstract concept that humans have created. Consciousness is a multifaceted concept that encompasses awareness, self-reflection, and the ability to engage with the world. These are the cognitive capabilities that humans have adapted over time through evolution. We collected a set of capabilities that we got during the evolution and termed them as Consciousness, which has no physical proof or quantifiable. We analyse our own actions, like I shouldn’t have taken that decision, I made a mistake, etc., and call it consciousness, while it is simply a process in our brain. Again, isn’t it useful? Yes, of course, it is useful, so is the concept of time; it is useful to us in every possible way, but that does not make it real.

    Now comes the biggest question I have had all my life. I keep asking people, and I keep thinking deeply about it: What is life? I realised that LIFE itself may also be an abstract concept without us fully realising it. For billions of years, countless organisms have existed on this planet and disappeared. All of these organisms, including us, are ultimately made of cosmic dust. We are all reactions within the larger processes of the Universe.

    Our existence itself is a collection of processes: breathing, functioning, moving from one place to another, and surviving. From the micro level to the macro level, countless processes are constantly happening around us and within us every single day, including our physical capabilities and mental processes. Maybe humans simply observed this complex collection of processes and gave it a name: “Life.”

    Our bodies are physical and measurable, of course, but where exactly is “life”? Is life something objectively real, or is it a conceptual framework created inside the human mind? Did humans create the concept of life as a way to understand existence and survive evolution more effectively? Life is a complex, dynamic phenomenon defined by a combination of biological functions (like metabolism, energy transformation, growth, reproduction, and responsiveness to the environment), organization, and evolutionary potential, making it both a scientific and philosophical concept.

    One of my friends, during our last discussion, said that he believes we might all be part of a game or simulation created by some higher intelligence, and that we simply do not recognize it. But I personally do not believe in this concept, and the reason is this: there might definitely be a higher intelligence somewhere in the universe, and that intelligence may or may not know about our existence, but I do not think we are a simulation because I believe life is simply the ongoing process of reaction, experience, change, awareness, relation, and becoming.

    These processes are just unfolding on this planet, which itself is only a tiny part of this massive universe. Humans observed these processes, gave them a structure, organized them, and eventually named them “life.” We then made life appear more certain by turning it into a socially accepted cycle: birth, education, employment or business, marriage, children, old age, and death.

    But whether life is an abstract concept or not, one thing is clear: we are all here, and we know that we are here. So in the end, we seem to have only two choices: either live through it or end it. Most of us do not truly want to end it, so why not simply live it? Why not live with a little more happiness instead of constantly stressing over things that are not working out? Why spend every day crying over something that was never truly ours? Why worry endlessly about every single thing?

    When we begin to understand that nothing is permanent and that life itself is a reaction, a process that will someday end on its own, many things stop feeling as heavy as they once did. Even negative emotions and thoughts begin to lose some of their power.

    If we remove all these concepts, what else remains? So is it ever possible for us to see reality as it is? Maybe or maybe not.

  • When Nature Became Self-Aware: The Strange Story of Humans

    For more than 250 million years, life on Earth followed a fairly predictable script.

    From ancient reptiles to Dinosaurs to reptiles or animals to humans, male animals fought for attention. Female animals chose the strongest mate. Life reproduced, survived, and repeated the cycle again and again.

    Male deer locked antlers.

    Peacocks spread dazzling feathers.

    Lions battled rival males for pride and territory.

    Nature had its rules, and almost every creature followed them.

    Then something unusual appeared on this planet: humans.

    For thousands of years, humans followed the same pattern. Then the script slowly began to change.

    The Old Rules of Nature

    In the natural world, survival and reproduction are the two main goals. The theory of Natural Selection, first explained by Charles Darwin, tells us that animals evolve traits that help them pass on their genes. That is why male animals often compete fiercely for females. It is simple biology: the strongest, fastest, or smartest male wins the chance to reproduce. For millions of years, this system worked almost like a law of nature. Animals did not question it. They simply followed instinct. But over time, for humans, Freedom and Power have become core instincts now.

    The Moment Nature Did Something Different

    But humans evolved something extraordinary: a brain capable of questioning instinct itself. The human brain, especially the part responsible for planning, imagination, and self-control, became unusually powerful. It allowed humans to do something no other species does consistently: pause and choose.

    Animals act. Humans think before acting. A lion does not wake up one morning and decide it wants freedom instead of mating. A dolphin does not debate whether having children fits its life goals. Humans do. That ability to reflect on our own behavior changed everything.

    The Rise of Culture

    Humans also developed something animals rarely build at large scale: culture.

    Culture means shared systems of knowledge: language, traditions, laws, education, science, and technology. These systems shape behavior just as strongly as biology.

    Over time, humans learned to store knowledge outside the brain through inventions like the Printing Press and eventually the Internet.

    For the first time in Earth’s history, information could accumulate across generations. Each generation didn’t have to start from zero.

    A human child could learn thousands of years of discoveries in a few decades.

    No other species on Earth operates this way.

    Humans Didn’t Just Adapt, They Reshaped the World. Most animals must adapt to their environment. Humans do the opposite. At some point, humans began doing something no other species had done before, influencing the elements themselves. Fire was tamed. Rivers were slowed by dams. Bridges rose over waters that once separated civilizations. Instead of simply adapting to the world, humans began quietly redesigning parts of it. Instead of evolving thicker fur in cold weather, we invented jackets. Instead of growing wings, we built airplanes. Instead of stronger immune systems, we created medicine. Human intelligence allowed us to harness natural forces like electricity and magnetism: phenomena explained by scientists such as James Clerk Maxwell through the science of Electromagnetism.

    In other words, humans learned how to use the rules of nature.

    But Power Came Faster Than Wisdom. This is where the story becomes complicated. Human intelligence gave us extraordinary power. It gave us antibiotics, satellites, and global communication. But it also gave us nuclear weapons, environmental destruction, and global conflicts. The physicist Albert Einstein once warned that technological progress could outpace human wisdom. And sometimes, it feels like that warning is coming true. Our brains evolved for small tribal communities, yet we now operate massive civilizations with billions of people.

    The Strange Evolution of Human Behavior

    Today, we see behaviors that seem unusual compared to the natural world.

    Some people delay or avoid marriage. Some choose not to have children. Some prioritize freedom, identity, or personal exploration over reproduction. From a biological perspective, this seems almost contradictory. No other species consciously debates whether reproduction fits their life plan. But humans are not guided purely by instinct anymore. We are guided by culture, technology, and personal choice. Nature created a species capable of understanding and manipulating its own natural environment.

    Unlike any other creature on Earth, humans possess the ability to reflect on their own actions. We can recognize our mistakes, feel guilt or regret, and consciously choose to change our behavior in pursuit of a better future. No other animal is known to pause and question its past decisions in the same way.

    Humans also have a unique ability to collectively believe in ideas that exist only in imagination. Concepts such as money, laws, and nations are not physical forces of nature, yet billions of people agree to treat them as real and powerful. Money, for example, holds no inherent value in the natural world, yet humanity has collectively assigned meaning to it. Today, it shapes societies, determines status, influences survival, and even drives wars.

    This remarkable ability to create meaning and believe in shared ideas is something no other species has demonstrated. In many ways, it is one of the defining traits that separates human civilization from the rest of life on Earth.

    Are Humans the Only Intelligent Species?

    Humans are not the only intelligent animals.

    Dolphins communicate in complex ways. Chimpanzees use tools and show social strategy. Crows solve puzzles and remember faces.

    But these species did not develop three abilities together:

                   1.           advanced language

                   2.           large-scale cooperation

                   3.           cumulative knowledge across generations

    Humans did.

    And that combination created civilization.

    The Paradox of Humanity

    Humans may be the most paradoxical species that evolution has ever produced. We are capable of destroying ecosystems, yet also capable of protecting them. Our intelligence magnifies everything, both our brilliance and our mistakes.

    In a strange way, humanity represents something remarkable.

    Through humans, nature has become aware of itself. In a deeper sense, humans may represent something even more extraordinary. The human brain is made up of atoms. These atoms were forged inside ancient stars, long before Earth existed. Over billions of years, the universe formed galaxies, stars, planets, and eventually life. Through evolution, that life developed consciousness in the human brain, which means a part of the universe became capable of observing itself. When humans study the stars, question their origins, or search for meaning, it is almost as if the universe is reflecting on its own existence through us. In that sense, humanity may not just be another species on Earth, but a moment when nature itself became aware.

    The universe evolved a species that can look at the stars, study its own origins, and question its own future.

    The Unfinished Story

    Human civilization is incredibly young.

    Agriculture began only about 10,000 years ago. Industrial society is just a few centuries old. The digital world is barely a few decades old. From an evolutionary perspective, humanity is still in its early chapters.

    We are a powerful species learning, sometimes clumsily, how to handle the intelligence we were given.

    Whether that intelligence becomes our greatest strength or our greatest danger is still an open question.

    But the fact that humans can even ask that question may be the most extraordinary thing about us.

    We became so profoundly self-aware that we question our evolution itself and try to manipulate death itself. We became so advanced that the technology we created is going to dominate us in the near future. But this raises an unsettling question. Is all of this truly an advancement, or are we slowly moving toward the end of our own civilization and the beginning of another? Technology continues to grow at an extraordinary pace, yet the same intelligence that creates progress also carries the seeds of self-destruction.

    For most living beings on earth, in the past or present, survival depended on overcoming external threats, predators, harsh climates, disease, and scarcity. Humans have reduced many of those dangers through science and technology. Yet the greatest threats to humanity no longer come from the outside. They are increasingly intrinsic.

    The modern human struggles with anxiety, depression, and the possibility of collective self-destruction. In many ways, the most dangerous forces humans face today are not natural disasters or predators, but the consequences of their own intelligence, ambition, and choices.