Welcome, my friends, and thank you for joining me in this small corner of the Universe that I call Cosmic-books. This place is my sanctuary, where I explore ideas that pique my interest at any given moment. Typically, I focus on the World of arts and entertainment, discussing topics like popular new television shows and movies. The process allows me the opportunity to create art that accompanies the subject matter of my choice, which both challenges me and keeps my creativity flowing.
Sometimes I allow myself the opportunity to ponder different avenues of thought, not relying on someone else’s idea for inspiration, but exploring original ideas and things that no one has ever seen or heard of before. That is not an easy thing to do. Almost everything under the sun has already been done, and most original things these days are mash-ups of the tried and true.
It’s almost as if we all drank from the same well of ideas, and that well has dried up.
Some people believe that we are all connected through a cosmic consciousness, and this is why original thought is so challenging. Have you ever wondered how, sometimes, you can think of something that you only later discover has already been thought of? The concept that we are all connected at some energetic level to the same primordial ooze of collective awareness is a debated one.
Most find it hard to believe that our reality could be influenced through forces outside of our normal subjective perception.
Many believe that our connectedness to each other and the Universe at large is where one might find God, or where we may discover clairvoyance into higher reasoning and purpose. Some view this communion with the cosmos as divine. Some may view this only as the natural way of things, existing at the level of DNA and not to be tampered with or questioned. One thing is for sure: if all ideas flow from the same tap, it will become even harder in the future for original ideas to reach the collective mind, but when they do, they stand out.
These same concepts hold true for discoveries in science, where ideas and theories are tested against the established mindset, rarely breaking free of the expected constraints. Yeah, sure, actual data is collected in this fashion, but was that data always there to begin with and just waiting to be discovered, waiting to be solidified in the realm of reality.
Take for instance AI learning models, algorithms that formulate data connections not through a will of their own, but by sifting through predetermined variables and strata-data (strata-data, a term I just made up off the top of my head to explain the levels of data maturation in the equation process. My guess is someone else has already come up with it and copyrighted it).
Many do not believe that a mathematical equation can predict the most probable outcome of any event, but computers do this all the time. Is this because the event is simply unavoidable, or are we subconsciously connected to the source from which all things flow and since we program the computers, so are they?
Psychohistory predicted all of this, authored by the great mathematician Hari Seldon, who discovered that the algorithmic Universe is changing in a tempo that could be deciphered and read by the trained eye. Hari Seldon, through his rediscovery of communion with the source material, managed to establish a time frame for the gradual fall of the tyrannical Galactic Empire and set up a system to replace that regime with one of his own design. It did not end well for Seldon, but he knew it was coming.
At least according to Issac Asimov.
Perhaps you’ve guessed the theme of this month’s article, your mind gathering the clues, plucking them from the universal knowledge base programmed right into your melon, formulating the correct answer.
This month, I will briefly discuss the new Apple TV show, Foundation. In 1942, Issac Asimov sailed the ocean blue… sorry, wrong plug in, Issac Asimov first published a series of short stories called the Foundation trilogy. Asimov, a Russian immigrant, came from very humble beginnings to eventually earn his Doctor of Philosophy and a degree in biochemistry. It is safe to say that his long writing career was largely inspired by his education and the fact that he lived during the golden years of technology, witnessing the birth of many new inventions, from the nuclear bomb to computers and rocket science.
Asimov was also well known for his book series, the Three Laws of Robotics, where the famous question ‘Do robots dream?’ quickly grabbed the science fiction World by storm. Asimov’s love of science and technology was easily translated into his Foundation series, where he explores the topics I have raised in this article, along with, of course, many, many more. After all, it’s the book series that directly inspired Dune and Star Wars.
Well, that book series is now a loosely translated television show of the same name, and I think it’s glorious.
Of course, it has been updated to meet our present-day standards of wokeness, as most TV shows are, but still within acceptable parameters, the themes and story are, in my opinion, tight and highly enjoyable. In fact, the show is deep into its third season, so if you are into binge-watching, it’s a perfect time to start! In fact, it’s probably the best thing on the box right now, and I highly suggest you give it a chance, unless you’re a purest, then dig in and resist the change you cannot fight.
-Cheers