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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

I Was A Teenage Adolescent!

                                                  {Normaphoto of early universe}

In its quark-gluon plasma phase, the universe cooled and fundamental forces took their present forms.  The first neutral atoms, mostly hydrogen, began to mingle and wander farther from the nozzle in nothing that was their home. Still, because all electrons are identical, there was no variety in the universe until their orbits interlocked. That is when reality expanded into adolescence.

When I entered the same climacteric, I imagined the universe looked like this and rather liked me:

As each electron was --and will always be-- surrounded by a virtual charge of possibility, I wondered if the process extended to our persons. I wondered if each real particle of us is the most probable of a cloud of virtual particles. I wondered if the mind could not only direct us toward knowledge and maturity, but also seek umbrageous shelter that protects us from ignorance. I still don't know, which proves my point in almost all directions at once.

So I asked Norma to go out and take some new photos of the universe, stipulating she stay on Earth --which is asking a lot from people who levitate-- and see what sort of overhead protection we have. Here's Monday's:
Then, she went out to the same place in the yard 24 hours later and got this:
The obvious variation in celestial shielding from Monday to Tuesday indicates a radical mood-swing consistent with cosmic adolescence. This could cause my own ignorance to increase in the same time-span (but how should I know?).  Atmospheric changes reflect the formation of complex mass and subsequent dominance of gravity as a fundamental force. Things got all mixed up and sporadically rebellious. So  yes, I was a teenage adolescent but so's the universe.

31 comments:

  1. We're all in good company, eh? Or maybe the universe leads us in mood changes!

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    1. I sure hope so, Sage. I kind of like Mevlana's poetic treatment of the universe as a beloved companion, one that can take some teasing sometimes.

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  2. What do you know? I was a teenage adolescent too! You and Norma are a talented twosome what with levitating and being affected by gravity.

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    1. Thanks Emma. I believe adolescence was a pretty common affliction when we were teens.

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  3. Well....it's fascinating to see a manifestation of this process....the cognitive process works in interesting side channels in delusional disorders.
    I liked the labeling of the source at the beginning as the 'nozzle', good touch.
    I can't say I can identify with adolescents...in any of the forms. I'm not really sure I can relive that time of unlearned hope, of the time when possibilities were unlimited.
    I haven't got the retrospection part down yet, but if I find there is any wisdom to be found, I'll let you know.

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    1. I live in a crazy old farmhouse, Mike. If it weren't for cognitive distortions I couldn't find my way to the bathroom. As to wisdom, I can only quote Jimi Hendrix: "Knowledge speaks; wisdom listens." I have no idea what he meant but I'm working on it.

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  4. Much like the perpetual charge of possibilities that surround the electrons in the universe, our own adolescence is eternal: never-ending, ever-changing.

    I've always envied the ability to levitate, which I've only succeeded to occasionally do in my dreams.....waking up can be painful without a parachute.

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    1. Some adolescents are so rebellious they even defy gravity --in dreams especially. Many must be peeled off the ceiling every morning.

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  5. Things are still all mixed up. The universe is wearing a red jacket and doing its best Jim Stark "…so you better live it up because tomorrow you'll be nothing."

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    1. I suspect the universe is asking us for a cause, Tom. Why else would it burden us with these brains?

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  6. I have levitated a few times in my life. The air up there is sweeter.

    My mood as a teenager was more Norma's first picture. I have now settled nicely into her second one.

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    1. Beautiful Arleen, I believe you could levitate. My own attempts have had poor results, but I learned "Here, hold my beer" are not the right magic words.

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  7. George, you make me very happy.

    And I'm glad to be in on at least THIS part of your adolescence.

    Pearl

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    1. You make me happy right back, Pearl. Glad you're here.

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  8. I have no idea if we're of the same age, but occasionally after reading your posts I think about how fun it would have been to have gone to high school together. You've a weird mind, my friend. Weird meaning really entertaining.

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    1. Thanks Geezer, I feel the same way. We could have formed a campus club, FGA --Future Geezers of America. Internet has happily made up for some of that scholastic omission.

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  9. You never fail to make me smile ...
    Thanks Geo ....

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  10. On a related note I just read that the Big Bang theory may be all wrong, that the universe is just endlessness with no birth, no adolescence, no old age. Boring!

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    1. Too much motion and expansion out there to think the universe is static. Besides, it's irritable --a sure sign of life.

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  11. I could do with some umbrageous shelter today. As usual, we blame the weather and the weather blames the universe. But the view from earth is lovely regardless :-)

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    1. Indeed, blaming is a major form of adolescent communication and substantiates the Living Universe Theory.

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  12. I have a hard time thinking of the universe as anything but ancient. It is still expanding, though, isn't it? No doubt eating its cosmic family out of house and home. What happens when it starts dating?

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    1. When it starts bringing home other universes, there will doubtless be new quantum entanglements to identify and deal with --and they will want to borrow the car.

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    1. Excellent idea, Chicken. Here, hold my beer. Dang, I still can't levitate!

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  14. As it is said that the universe is expending at an ever-increasing rate, I wonder if adolescence has yet been reached. It is a taxing problem because as the evidence you bring forward for our perusal suggests, adolescence has indeed arrived. Then there is the problem of delayed adolescence to cope with. Is it possible, I ask, that what we are experiencing as that upsetting cosmic experience is simply a leftover from a previous cycle of development before the so-called Big Bang happened? There are just so many questions to ask.

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    1. You're right, there are so many questions. So long as we keep asking them, I believe we'll be doing our job.

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  15. Come to think of it, there are a number of similarities between the universe and adolescence. Anyone who's ever raised teens is well aware of their black hole-like behavior when it comes to food.

    Another fun post, dude. We may all be growing old, but I see no reason to ever grow up. Life's much more enjoyable when seen through the wondering eyes of youth.

    Happy Valentine's Day to you and Norma.

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    1. You're right, Susan. Teens can be high maintenance sometimes but there's no better investment in the future. Happy tomorrow to you and Smarticus, and happy Friday the 13th too --it's always a lucky day when I hear from you!

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