|
i died tonight — 8 july 2003 some direction — 21 march 2001 root of all knowledge — 8 february 2001 an angel — 12 september 2000 in the country — 6 september 2000 untitled — april 2000 thoughts at lunch — february 2000 another failed love poem — late 1999 what do i think of reality? — february 1999 winter — november 1998 |
ROOT OF ALL KNOWLEDGE -- 8 FEBRUARY 2001 Boredom is the root of all knowledge. In prehistoric times, mankind had no time to fathom the meaning of the universe. He was occupied with hunting and keeping his family safe. As time wore on, and the first hints of society began to appear, man was slowly transformed into a lazy creature. Villages were formed less of initiative than of necessity. People in positions of leadership, grunting and pointing, assigned jobs. Hunting parties provided meat, cooks prepared the communal meals. What if you weren't a hunter or a cook? This organization is what led to a degree of laziness, and thus boredom, among the general population. Extend this line of reasoning several thousand years, and arrive at modern times. Food and shelter are provided in the context of cities and states, and even further, empires. Upon these massive platforms of organization were built even more massive platforms of reason and speculation. With a relatively limitless amount of free time, man is able to focus on the only thing left to focus on: what he knows (and does not know). The only thing left to consider is what will happen when ultimate knowledge is attained. This, in the grand scheme of things, cannot be so far off. If our supposed curiosity has so far brought us to the point of decoding the human genome and calculating pi to the umpteen-millionth digit, where will it lead when all the answers are seventh-grade textbook material? Nowhere. Ultimate knowledge will simply bring about the end of the world. The same boredom that drove men to grasp in the dark for answers will, in due time, cause him to bring his quest to an end. Logically, there is no other "answer." Every start is bound to its finish, every beginning measured only by its end. As the whole of humankind reaches this inevitable consensus, it will find it necessary to bring closure to its accomplishments. The unavoidable destruction of the world should, therefore, not be shrouded in negativity. Rather, it should be seen in its true light: as the perfect end to a successful journey. As we reach closer and closer to true happiness, we will discover that such a thing exists only in nonexistence. --jw-- |
©2010 JW, all rights reserved.