We are the Universe experiencing itself

“To sleep, perchance to dream … ”

— Hamlet (Act III Scene 1)

When the existence of the Higgs Boson particle was confirmed almost one year ago by researchers at CERN, I wrote at the time that “where my scientific knowledge plateaus, my inbuilt sense of aesthetic wonder rises exponentially”.

What was so fascinating about the confirmation of the Higgs Boson was that it so powerfully highlighted the extreme mystery and enormity of the Universe and reality. Our minds are forever reaching into that darkness, so that we may illuminate it with knowledge.

You don’t need to be a particle physicist to understand that basic truth.

Someone very kindly gave me a telescope for my birthday this year, and staring up into the night sky on a clear evening has been a welcome distraction from the petty human squabbles below.

I had the same feeling looking out at the cityscape from Northcliff Hill one night, last weekend. The street lights forming complex constellations in the dimness and golden rivers of traffic lights imitating the fluidity of shooting stars.

Moments like this, where one gazes into the distance with feelings of astonishment and delight and awe, are incredible and life affirming in so many ways.

We are the Universe experiencing itself.

It unsettled me slightly me that a commenter on my last blog tried to suggest that this type of philosophising or deep rumination on the nature of being is a worthless activity. I can think of few things that make us more fundamentally human.