existence – Page 3 – Harmonia Philosophica

Massive filaments fuel the growth of galaxies and supermassive black holes

Photo by **Spiros Kakos** from **Pexels**

Based on direct observations researchers have discovered massive filaments between galaxies in a proto-cluster, extending over more than 1 million parsecs and providing the fuel for intense formation of stars and the growth of super massive black holes within the proto-cluster. (1)

A filament fit for space: Silk is proven to thrive in outer space temperatures

The scientists who discovered that natural silks get stronger the colder they get, have finally solved the puzzle of why. (2)

Delicate structures in space.

Delicate creatures on Earth.

Holding together.

Patiently watching.

Afraid to break.

But it is not the unbreakable that God dreams of.

One day you will break.

And realize that that was what the cosmos was afraid all that time…

Delicate silk. Delicate humans.

Breaking apart.

And within their weakness.

With their cries and despair.

Rising together.

To hold the cosmos in their fragile arms…

Harsh sounds…

Neuroscientists have analyzed how people react when they listen to a range of different sounds, the aim being to establish the extent to which repetitive sound frequencies are considered unpleasant. Their results showed that the conventional sound-processing circuit is activated but that the cortical and sub-cortical areas involved in the processing of salience and aversion are also solicited. This explains why the brain goes into a state of alert on hearing this type of sound. (1)

We used to live in Paradise.

Afraid of nothing.

Then we learned new things.

And fear is in our soul ever since.

We used to listen to everything.

Standing alone in the forest, being afraid of nothing.

But we couldn’t bear the silence. And we closed our ears.

Destroyed the forest and started listening closely.

Of the footsteps approaching.

Within the safety of love.

We are afraid of our self…

Shhhh…

Are you brave enough to look down to your own feet on the dirt?

Mountains!

Life on Earth is amazingly diverse, and exhibits striking geographical global patterns in biodiversity. A pair of companion papers reveal that mountain regions — especially those in the tropics — are hotspots of extraordinary and baffling richness. Although mountain regions cover only 25% of Earth’s land area, they are home to more than 85% of the world’s species of amphibians, birds, and mammals, and many of these are found only in mountains. (1)

But can mountains exist without the sea?

Can the highest peaks be, without the wind and the air?

Would Everest ever reach its highest height without the worm crawling in its feet?

Could Olympus be, without people staring at it in awe?

How can the forest be without someone walking in the forest?

How could a tree grow, without the rain?

How could rain fall without a mountain?

Could there an ocean exist without that mountains?

Could the mountains be without any ocean?

Think of a dry world with no life in it. A world full of nothing but mountains. A dead world. Dominated by high peaks and imposing highlands. No rain. No sea. No ocean. No worms. Just mountains. Great high mountains. Everywhere. An empty world. With no mountains…

Self-reference. Beauty.

Photo by Spiros Kakos from Pexels

When something pleases us visually – whether it’s a fine piece of artwork, a beautiful feat of architecture, or an untouched natural landscape – new research demonstrates there is a pattern of activity in what’s known as the default mode network (DMN).

The DMN is a large-scale system of interacting regions in the brain that appears to play a role in how we regulate our sense of self; this network is most active when we’re self-reflecting, remembering, or imagining.

That’s what makes its emerging role in aesthetics so interesting, since the findings of this latest study suggest – a deeply moving visual experience is processed by the same brain network that’s strongly involved in who we are as individuals. (1)

We believe we see the cosmos.

But we see nothing.

Except our self.

An abyss of existence.

Flickering in the mirror.

We like our self.

But only at the last moments of our life will we understand.

That it is not our self we stare at.

But that existence is staring at us!

You are not looking at any mirror.

But we are the mirror…

Do you dare to break yourself?

Organoids. Brain waves. Death…

Some years ago, two hundred and fifty miles over Alysson Muotri’s head, a thousand tiny spheres of brain cells were sailing through space. The clusters, called brain organoids, had been grown a few weeks earlier in the biologist’s lab here at the University of California, San Diego. He and his colleagues altered human skin cells into stem cells, then coaxed them to develop as brain cells do in an embryo.

The organoids grew into balls about the size of a pinhead, each containing hundreds of thousands of cells in a variety of types, each type producing the same chemicals and electrical signals as those cells do in our own brains.

What, exactly, were they growing into? That was a question that had scientists and philosophers alike scratching their heads.

Dr. Muotri and his colleagues reported that they had recorded simple brain waves in these organoids. In mature human brains, such waves are produced by widespread networks of neurons firing in synchrony. (1)

Brains observing other brains.

Fascinated by what they see.

A world full of light.

A world full of shadows.

Do not try so much to stay awake.

You are meant to sleep. And dream.

Of a cosmos somewhere else.

A cosmos casting shadows over shadows.

Which generates no brain waves to detect.

An invisible cosmos.

Penetrating this one.

Through all the brains and brain waves.

Yes, you can detect the waves some-How.

But it is the Why which makes you doubt if that really means something…

Do your brain waves mean anything?

Do you dare question yourself?