Today, my seven year old son Siddharth, looking at his reflection on the mirror reflected, 'appa, how do you know everything that is reflected off the mirror is correct?'.
Although scientific explanations exist, I did not want to quash his curiosity by giving a straight answer. Instead we moved on to other subjects essentially leaving this concept untouched.
I remember back in my childhood, I had a similar curiosity. I used to wonder if objects that we look at continue to be around when we don't see them. To clarify my doubt, I've tried looking away and quickly turning, or rotating my eyes towards the object in question. I never got to disprove or approve of my doubts. However I recently read a curious article (couldn't track back) that claimed scientific theories postulating non-presence of objects when there are no photons (light rays) reflected back by them or when there was no observer watching it by reading the photons so emitted or reflected from them. Their explanation is that the photons loose energy and drop off even before they were seen - but it wasn't clear where they may fall.
We live in a curious world that we may liken to be understood completely but there are certain things in life that are worth their mystery. That doesn't mean learning has to stop. Learning through observation needs our observation but not intrusion to know the reality. The moment we start observing the reflection could be different from reality. Can't it - how do we even prove it?
Think of the times you've seen your reflection on the mirror. Most of the time you'd see a bubbly smiling person looking back at you. Contrast that with a candid shot of yourself appearing in a photo magazine. I'm sure it would be hard to believe it's the same person. Well, that too might not be reality. Although candid, your sixth sense triggers a sense in you that something or someone is observing you. Left alone to yourself with no direct or indirect intrusive observation you may be a totally different thing.
Alone sitting by yourself tuned into your thoughts without making any judgment, just letting them pass by helps us get closer to the core of our own being. A reflective mind can cause the slightest disturbance that is good enough to cause pretentious alterations. A nonchalant moment between intervals of thought can give us that elusive opportunity to find our real self.
Coming back to Siddharth, I wonder what is going on in his mind right now and every time he looks into a mirror. It's an amazing feeling of wonderment that a grown mind can never tap into. So I'm going to let it stay with him and evolve with him as he grows.
I think I have a wall right behind me as I type this because I saw it was there when I started it. I dare not look back and alter it's reality! Share with me your experiences of wonderful things in life that you always wondered about and still continue to wonder. Keep wondering.
Although scientific explanations exist, I did not want to quash his curiosity by giving a straight answer. Instead we moved on to other subjects essentially leaving this concept untouched.
I remember back in my childhood, I had a similar curiosity. I used to wonder if objects that we look at continue to be around when we don't see them. To clarify my doubt, I've tried looking away and quickly turning, or rotating my eyes towards the object in question. I never got to disprove or approve of my doubts. However I recently read a curious article (couldn't track back) that claimed scientific theories postulating non-presence of objects when there are no photons (light rays) reflected back by them or when there was no observer watching it by reading the photons so emitted or reflected from them. Their explanation is that the photons loose energy and drop off even before they were seen - but it wasn't clear where they may fall.
We live in a curious world that we may liken to be understood completely but there are certain things in life that are worth their mystery. That doesn't mean learning has to stop. Learning through observation needs our observation but not intrusion to know the reality. The moment we start observing the reflection could be different from reality. Can't it - how do we even prove it?
Think of the times you've seen your reflection on the mirror. Most of the time you'd see a bubbly smiling person looking back at you. Contrast that with a candid shot of yourself appearing in a photo magazine. I'm sure it would be hard to believe it's the same person. Well, that too might not be reality. Although candid, your sixth sense triggers a sense in you that something or someone is observing you. Left alone to yourself with no direct or indirect intrusive observation you may be a totally different thing.
Alone sitting by yourself tuned into your thoughts without making any judgment, just letting them pass by helps us get closer to the core of our own being. A reflective mind can cause the slightest disturbance that is good enough to cause pretentious alterations. A nonchalant moment between intervals of thought can give us that elusive opportunity to find our real self.
Coming back to Siddharth, I wonder what is going on in his mind right now and every time he looks into a mirror. It's an amazing feeling of wonderment that a grown mind can never tap into. So I'm going to let it stay with him and evolve with him as he grows.
I think I have a wall right behind me as I type this because I saw it was there when I started it. I dare not look back and alter it's reality! Share with me your experiences of wonderful things in life that you always wondered about and still continue to wonder. Keep wondering.
