Italo Calvino

[MMI]

This is a kind of Thought for the Day posting, and I suppose this is as good a forum to post it in as any.

According to Italo Calvino in All at One Point, the "Big Bang" was the result of the first generous impulse :

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93376041

Maybe the continuing expansion of the Universe is the result of there being somewhat more generous thoughts than ungenerous ones (just as matter is believed to outweigh anti-matter); and if unkind sentiments ever exceed compassionate emotions, then Gravity will take over and the "Big Crunch" will be inevitable.

I have heard it said that the mysterious "Higgs Boson" particle is life itself: if not, then maybe, when it is found, it will be found to be Goodness anyway, so that Calvino's fiction becomes true fact.

[Thorne]

Say what?

I'm sorry. I'm sure you believe what you said, assuming you actually understood it. And I guess this kind of "philosophy" is no worse than believing in fairies and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

There is no kindness in the Universe, no goodness, but no cruelty or evil, either. The Universe is cold, heartless, dangerous, unfeeling, indifferent and deadly. And it's all we have. The brief flicker of life on Earth will one day be wiped out by natural processes (if we don't do it ourselves, first) and there will be nothing left to tell anyone that we passed this way. Everything we believe, everything we've done, everything we are, will amount to no more a minuscule hiccup in infinity.

[MMI]

As they used to say where I grew up, "Awa and boil yer heid!"

How dare you assume I don't understand what I say. Go back and re-read the post ... and follow up the reference too.

It's one thing to realise what a God-awful place it is we have to live in (as you make abundantly clear). It's another to wish it were otherwise, even if it's based solely upon a fictional Italian Mamma making pizza for the boys.

Actually, the world, and the Universe are breathtakingly beautiful - and safe enough for life to flourish for millions of years. Hopefully, millions more, too.

[Thorne]

As they used to say where I grew up, "Awa and boil yer heid!"
Now thatI understood!:)


It's one thing to realise what a God-awful place it is we have to live in (as you make abundantly clear). It's another to wish it were otherwise, even if it's based solely upon a fictional Italian Mamma making pizza for the boys.
I suppose that's no worse than any other fiction upon which so many philosophies are based.


Actually, the world, and the Universe are breathtakingly beautiful - and safe enough for life to flourish for millions of years. Hopefully, millions more, too.
You're right, it is beautiful. And deadly. The two are not necessarily exclusive. Look at a satellite view of a hurricane and it, too, is breathtaking. Look at what they are capable of doing, as in Galveston, New Orleans, the Caribbean, and the devastation can be just as breathtaking, but for a different reason.

And perhaps the universe is safe enough to nurture life, or perhaps life is just nasty enough to defy the universe and survive in spite of it.

I am not a big fan of philosophy, any philosophy. I prefer to take things as they are, rather than try to devise some inscrutable hidden meaning in everything. Life's a bitch, and then you die. It's that simple.

[MMI]

Well, despite all that, my little fantasy tickled my fancy, so I thought I'd suspend reality and share it.

[DarkPoet]

I'm a big fan of Calvino's subtle humor, and I find the thought you cited above quite entertaining and - in a strange way that I don't completely understand myself - comforting. Maybe it's the fact that the universe is still unknown enough so that there's room for such wild speculations - in spite of all the hardships and cruelties Thorne pointed out :)

[Thorne]

Maybe it's the fact that the universe is still unknown enough so that there's room for such wild speculations.

I think that is something we can all agree on!

[Thorne]

Well, despite all that, my little fantasy tickled my fancy, so I thought I'd suspend reality and share it.

You're right, it's perfectly within your rights to share your thoughts, as it is for everyone here. I apologize if I have insulted you. That was never my intention.

My own views tend to be more scientifically oriented, and less fanciful, as you can probably see.

[MMI]

You didn't insult me - you surprised me.

And, as you know, I love to over-act. It keeps things lively.

MMI

[lucy]

Off topic: Italo Calvino definitely is worth reading, his stories are radiating a love for life and something i cannot name other than "warmness". Dunno if the universe is good or bad or cruel or whatever, but Calvino's writings sure made it a little bit nicer :)

[ThisYouWillDo]

:) @ lits