In Brian Greene's article "Our Universe May Be a Giant Hologram" his argument is that our universe is just a mere reflection of another universe. I find this ver confusing since I don't believe that there is any other universe. But IF there were to be another universe that in some way we reflected from then I would believe that our reality would no longer be up to us. This is something that I find scary because who would ever want to not be in control of their own life? Basically our realities would already be chosen. I honestly feel as if we would have no reality for ourselves since we would only be a reflection of something else that is making our choices, therefore we would not be living our own lives.
In Edward Abbey's reading "The Serpents of Paradise" he gets along with the creatures that live in his house because they don't cause him harm so he doesn't cause them harm. He lets these animals throughout his story do as they please since they too have a right to do what they want to. He seems to be connected with these creatures throughout the whole story even though he can't understand them fully.
Bewilderment shows up in both stories. In Greene's it is obviously when people do not have control of their own lives. Living a life that is actually yours would certainly cause some bewilderment. In Abbey's reading the bewilderment is him not knowing exactly what the creatures are thinking but still accepting them anyways. Just as Abbey accepts the creatures without knowing their full intentions, we should do the same. Bewilderment is in many cases a good thing because it causes us to get more involved and interested.
I like how you use the perception of bewilderment in both of the essays chosen to read. All through out us talking about bewilderment and the confusion that comes with it, I have thought in the back of my head, "Does it always have to be in the case of a bad thing?" You also see this and see how abbey uses this sense of bewilderment in a good way. Edward Abbey is telling the story of a park ranger stationed at some national park somewhere. The view he has towards life is to accept every living thing on this planet, because to him we must share this planet with them for as long as we are inhabitants here. He knows nothing of what each animal or being wants or what they are thinking, but accepts it anyways because it brings the idea of curiosity into the picture; what are these animals doing and why?
ReplyDeleteI think Abbey feels a connection with these animals because he is physically as close to them as you can be, (the snake wrapping up around him and sitting on his belt) but then he is also completely isolated from them because in the mental sense of things he has no idea whats going on with them and like wise for them. A very odd predicament.