#Einstein decision matrix | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

denimbex1986 · 1 year ago

Text

'In some ways, Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s biggest non-superhero movie, was a product of the pandemic. Until the winter of 2020, the director had been loyal to Warner Bros., and their logo was to be found on every film that Nolan either wrote, directed or produced.

While he was never formally tethered to that studio, Nolan had been monogamous as its cornerstone tentpole filmmaker, ever since his 1999 breakout indie film Memento led him to create Insomnia there.

That year, however, everything changed. The usually mild-mannered director was outraged by the decision of former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar to perpetrate a blindside dumping of the studio’s entire slate onto its HBO Max streaming service. This attempt to build subscribers for its streaming service at a time few were going to theaters incensed Nolan and many others. The filmmaker was still wounded by the studio’s decision to release Tenet while the world had yet to fully emerge from lockdown.

In fact, he didn’t even have a film in the bunch being dumped, but he was nevertheless upset to see films made for the big screen — like Dune, The Matrix Resurrections, Wonder Woman 1984 and future Oscar-winner King Richard — drop day and date. As much a warrior for the traditional theatrical experience as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, Nolan decided he would look elsewhere; no idle threat when you consider that the movies he directed there grossed north of $6 billion (more when you consider the DC films he produced or godfathered).

When Deadline revealed that Nolan would make Oppenheimer, and that Cillian Murphy — still riding high on the success of showrunner Steven Knight’s period gangster series Peaky Blinders — would likely play the title role, the news landed like a bombshell. Every studio responded by chasing it, and there were rumors that Warner Bros. might not even get a meeting. The lucky winner was Donna Langley, NBCUniversal Studio Group Chairman, who, like several other studios, agreed to Nolan’s ask for $100 million to make his movie, along with creative control and a massive global theatrical release.

“I’d wanted to be in business with Chris for a long time,” she says, “and he was always near the top of my blue-sky wishlist of directors. Just as movie fans, whose movies do we love? Chris’s name was always close to the top of that. And from a strategic standpoint, as we were coming out of the pandemic, it was very clear to us that the cinematic experience needed to be undeniable in order to get people back into movie theaters. Chris’s work is undeniably cinematic. He makes films for the audience to see in the movie theater. And so that became a strategic imperative for us.”

Her determination to land the project increased when she read the script. Juggling multiple timeframes, Oppenheimer explains how the work done by scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the early 1940s — the top-secret Manhattan Project, based in Los Alamos — led to the creation of the atomic bomb and the end of the Second World War. It also deals with Oppenheimer’s guilt, and how the American establishment turned on him once he’d served his purpose.

In there were two career roles, one for Irish actor Murphy as Oppenheimer, and another for Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, the bureaucrat nominated to be Eisenhower’s Secretary of Commerce. Strauss was so insecure about being snubbed by Oppenheimer, Einstein and other geniuses while a member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission that he would try to play silent assassin to Oppenheimer’s reputation by staging a controversial hearing to revoke his security clearance and render him a pariah.

“I was just transported by it,” Langley says. “I was so relieved that it wasn’t a mind-bending, twisty-turny, science fiction extravaganza that I needed an encyclopedia to understand. This was a story about a living person and a moment of time and history. It’s one of the best screenplays I’ve read in my career.”

It was a script with all the trappings of a Christopher Nolan movie — shifting timeframes, complex characters — and it had an emotional core that struck Langley deeply. “It’s very intimate on the one hand, but it also has a giant scope,” she notes. “The world is on the point of collapse, there’s technology and innovation being chased after by multiple countries, and America has to be first in the race to get there. At the time, being deep into the Ukraine war, I was really struck by how resonant and relevant the story was. And as Chris put it to me, ‘This is the greatest American story never told in cinema.’”

Kilar is long gone now, and Warner Bros. is a more theatrical-friendly place, as theatrical has become the priority for event films once again. Nolan won’t say whether this was a one-time fling, but it is hard to deny he saved his best film for Universal. Unusually for a three-hour, non-franchise film released in July, it has made a near-billion-dollar gross, won seven awards at the BAFTAs (including Best Film and Best Director), and is widely believed to be the Oscar favorite, receiving 13 Oscar nominations that put the film in the frame for the same key categories, while recognizing Murphy, Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt for their work in the acting categories.

Nolan vividly remembers the time first he ever saw Murphy: it was a photograph in a newspaper, probably the San Francisco Chronicle. The director was staying in a hotel in the Bay Area, writing and rewriting the script for Batman Begins, while at the same time scheduling screen tests for the lead role. At the time, he didn’t know who was going to play Batman. He was, he says, “just looking to see who was out there.”

What caught his eye was an image from Danny Boyle’s apocalyptic zombie thriller 28 Days Later: though Murphy was covered in blood, the actor’s bright blue eyes provided stark contrast to the bleakness of a new reality spent eluding flesh-eaters. “It was a cool photo,” says Nolan, turning to Murphy. “You could see your eyes, and your presence. I was just very struck by it.”

“Had you seen the movie then?” asks Murphy.

“No,” says Nolan. “I literally just saw a picture. I then watched the movie, but the truth is, I already was interested. These things are very instinctive, and that’s the relationship that an audience has with an actor as well. It’s an instinctive and instant connection. So, yeah, love at first sight. I see the picture and I’m like, ‘Man, that guy’s got something.’”

Nolan invited him to LA for a meeting. They met, connected, and suddenly Murphy was on the Caped Crusader shortlist of actors Nolan tested for the role that ultimately went to Christian Bale. “But I think at the time you were quite a bit… more slight than you are now,” recalls Nolan. “You walked in, and I remember thinking, ‘Are you really going to be able to be Batman?’”

Still, Nolan was interested to see what Murphy was capable of, shooting a screentest with the actor reading some of Bruce Wayne’s scenes. He shot them in 35mm on a Warners soundstage with full, professional lighting — “Because I really wanted the studio to really be able to see what this was going to be” — and the results surprised him. “I just remember a sort of ripple of excitement going through the crew,” he says. “Hollywood crews, particularly, they’re very professional, but quite jaded. They’ve seen a lot of stuff, so you don’t often get that kind of thing where you feel everyone is paying attention.”

Murphy wasn’t expecting to get the part. “I remember knowing it was a test,” he says. “From my point of view, I was already a fan of Chris’s work and I just wanted to get in the room and audition. That would have been enough. I was totally content at that stage of my career just to say, ‘Oh man, I was in a room with Christopher Nolan, and we worked on some scenes.’ And then he called me out of the blue. I did not expect him to say, ‘Well, how about this other part?’”

That other part was the film’s main villain, the Scarecrow, which marked a significant shift in the Batman franchise. “I don’t remember having any resistance whatsoever to having a relative unknown take on a big part like that,” Nolan says. “And previously all those villains were played by actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jack Nicholson. They were the biggest stars in the films. But no, [the studio] got it. They were all blown away by the test.”

So, what made him right for the villain but not Batman? “I don’t think he had the physicality at the time,” says Nolan. “We tested everyone as Bruce Wayne and we tested them as Batman, and the thing that Christian had that was so striking was that he understood that so much of acting is about reality. So much of acting is about emotional truth. And when you put on a costume like the Batsuit, you have to become this icon. Christian had this crazy energy that he just directed. He’d figured out how that worked and what that would be — the way Bruce Wayne does in the film. He adopts this persona. It’s a very specific thing. And he tore a hole on the screen as Batman. It was like, there was no question.”

Nolan turns to Murphy. “But it was interesting watching Peaky Blinders years later and seeing you play Tommy Shelby,” he says. “Whatever it is we’re talking about here, you’d figured it out. That’s an iconic character with an oppressive presence, where he walks into the room, and everything goes quiet, and he owns that space. In the way Batman does, or an iconic character of that kind. There’s a physicality that’s extremely confident and strong in everything he does, in every gesture.” He pauses. “Is that a conscious thing you’ve developed over the years, or was it just looking at that part and thinking, ‘How do I do that?’”

“I think it was both,” says Murphy. “But I also think I felt, back then, that that was a part I hadn’t really explored before, that kind of physically imposing character. I’d never been offered those parts. But I always think, Chris, that one of your underrated strengths is casting. Everyone knows all of your amazing strengths, but you cast things exquisitely. And I think the Scarecrow was the right part for me to be in at that time in my career.”

So, what makes an actor right for the type of role he was wrong for earlier? “I’ll tell you a story,” says Nolan. “I was talking to one of the crew, Nathan Crowley, who designed the Batman films. He told me he had seen Peaky Blinders. I hadn’t. And he said to me, ‘Yeah, Cillian put on all this weight for the part. He’s big.’ I watch it, and I’m like, ‘That’s not what it is, it’s not that.’ I mean, maybe he did put some bulk on, maybe he’s just getting older and more filled out. But that’s not what I saw. I was like, ‘No, this is physically the same guy, but he is using his gift, his instrument, to project scale in a way that I hadn’t seen before.’”

While it took him time to summon that presence, Murphy agrees that it had more to do with craft than physical bulk. “When I was a kid, about 16, I had the great privilege of seeing Jonathan Pryce play Macbeth at the National Theatre in London,” he says. “I had only seen him in films like Brazil, and he was a fairly slight guy. I watched him in real life play this huge role and he just seemed like this enormous force. It was about projecting.”

“I don’t know how you do that,” says Nolan. “And it’s probably something you don’t like to be too self-conscious about, but what I saw you do, what Tommy showed me, that’s what I saw, was an ability to transcend your own physicality, your body, and work beyond that and make people see this character in a different way. I mean, that’s the gift of great actors. And I don’t know how it works, but I’ve seen it.”

“I don’t know what it is either,” says Murphy.

Whatever that elusive quality was, Nolan knew he needed it to tell the story of Robert Oppenheimer. From his feature-length debut, the sleight-of-hand thriller Memento, to the Dark Knight Trilogy, and the boundary-bending likes of Inception, Interstellar and Tenet, Nolan has always been unafraid to tackle ambitious and complex narratives. But framing Oppenheimer’s story was to be the biggest challenge of his career.

Nolan grew up in the U.K. in the 1980s, during the Cold War and the continued concern over the danger of the arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. His curiosity about Oppenheimer began with a lyric in Sting’s 1985 song “Russians”, in the which the singer asks, “How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy?”

“I’m a little older than Cillian here, but he probably remembers growing up in the U.K. in the ’80s,” says Nolan. “It was a time of great fear of nuclear weapons. I talked to Steven Spielberg about this. It was like growing up in the ’60s, with the Cuban missile crisis. The ’80s were a very similar thing. There were protests, and there was a lot in the pop culture about nuclear weapons. But it was Sting’s song ‘Russians’ where I first heard Oppenheimer’s name, and there was this very palpable fear of nuclear Armageddon.”

The 2005 book American Prometheus, by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin, captured Nolan’s interest further (in Greek mythology, Prometheus defied the Olympian gods by giving man the gift of fire). “It was after reading American Prometheus that I started to see a way in which you could tell this as a story, by taking on Oppenheimer and seeing it really from his point of view. And everything else followed after that. With something like the fear of nuclear weapons, you have to have a human way into that, and, for me, that was Oppenheimer.”

What struck Nolan in reading the book was hearing that Oppenheimer and his brother would go to Los Alamos as children to camp. “The connection between Los Alamos and the nuclear weapon he was developing, that comes from Oppenheimer’s childhood,” he notes. “He wanted to combine his interest in New Mexico — playing cowboy like he did, that love of the outdoors — with physics, and that’s what he did with the Manhattan Project.”

More so than the propulsive elements of the story, that the Americans were in a race against time to beat the Nazis, it was that element that convinced Nolan he, indeed, had a movie. “Once I’d read that, that’s where I started to see a personal connection,” he says. “And once you have the personal, then you start looking at the events, this thriller aspect to it that just kept coming in with everything that happened to Oppenheimer after 1945. It was a bunch of different things coming together.”

Indeed, Oppenheimer was later subjected to a politically charged tribunal that stripped his security clearance and rendered him a pariah, adding to his burden of having unleashed a weapon that, in the wrong hands, could destroy the world and had already cost over 100,000 lives when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII.

“American Prometheus is such a remarkable book,” Nolan muses. “Martin Sherwin worked on it for 20 years before Kai Bird joined. They did another five years. It’s a quarter of a century of research and interviews. I got the benefit of that, which was wonderful.”

Key to the story’s attraction was Oppenheimer himself, and Nolan was determined to unravel the scientist’s enigma. We’ve seen depictions of the fragility of genius in films like Shine, A Beautiful Mind, even Good Will Hunting, and how the brightest intellects can come unstuck. But Oppenheimer seemed to enjoy his post-WWII fame on the covers on Time and Life magazines, and in speeches. Was he a narcissist or a hero?

“I think he was definitely a hero, definitely a narcissist,” Nolan concludes. “He was a lot of different things. Very theatrical. What I got from American Prometheus, and what I started to get interested in is, he was someone who had a lot of neurosis and a lot of trouble very early in life, as he came of age at the same time that he was wrestling with these incredibly abstract concepts. We tried to fuse those things, show this kind of energy inside him and show how he masters that. And all the imagery of atoms and splitting atoms to me, they’re very related to his internal state, as a young man in particular. There’s a lot of dangerous tension inside this guy. A lot of dangerous mental energy.”

Murphy proved to be a strong physical match for Robert Oppenheimer; his handsome looks lent themselves to the theoretical physicist’s status as a womanizer, and those blue eyes were an ideal cipher for the wildness of those early scholarly years, when Oppenheimer was trying to harness his genius. All this came as a surprise to Murphy, back when Deadline revealed that Oppenheimer was Nolan’s next secret project and that he wanted Murphy to be number one on his call sheet, after five other movies with the director.

“I tried to ignore your story because I hadn’t heard from Chris or Emma [Thomas, Nolan’s partner and producer],” Murphy says. “It came out, everyone was texting me, and I said, ‘No, there must be some sort of mistake,’ or, ‘It’s just a rumor,’ because I hadn’t heard from those guys. A day or two later, Chris called me. This was out of the blue. Because Chris doesn’t write the script with actors in mind, which, when you think about it, is really, really smart because he doesn’t put any limitation on himself as a writer, or on the actor. So, it came out of the blue, and in the best way possible because I was unemployed. I hadn’t any work lined up.”

“It was perfect timing,” says Nolan. “He could have easily said, ‘Well, I’ve got a thing…’”

Murphy remembers that he had just finished up work on Peaky Blinders. “Bear in mind I said yes before I read the script,” he says, “because I always do that with Chris.”

Then it was Nolan’s turn to sweat, when he showed Murphy the script. “I said, ‘How about it?’ After Cillian said he was in, I flew to Dublin, and he came to my hotel and sat and read the script. I went off to the Hugh Lane Gallery and looked at Francis Bacon’s Studio, which I’d always wanted to see. And then we came back, and we had a chat about it. I remember doing this with Heath [Ledger] on The Dark Knight. He’d signed up for it, and then I showed him the script. There’s that moment of, like, ‘Are you going to feel good about that commitment?’”

He turns to Murphy. “But you seemed very into the script. You seemed very… I wouldn’t say relieved, I’d say you seemed excited.”

At this, Murphy breaks into a big smile. “It was one of the greatest scripts I’d ever read,” he says. “It was just astounding. But I knew it was huge. I knew this wasn’t just a part you could turn up at next week and get going. I was immediately going, ‘All right, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck. I’ve got to do all of this. This is huge.’ And, in fact, I was already working, getting going before I read the script. I knew I just had to go at it meticulously and make a strategy to go at it because there was just so much to do, emotionally, physically and intellectually.”

Murphy did more than just try on Oppenheimer’s signature hat. “I immediately started reducing calories,” he says, “which was a stupid thing to do, like, six months away from shooting. But I wanted to start feeling like him. I watched all the historical materials. I read the book, obviously. I started looking at all his lectures online. Any other stuff that was around. All the accounts from people that knew him were really, really interesting to me. Talking to [physicist] Kip Thorne, who was the scientific advisor on it. He had been lectured by Oppenheimer, which was really, really useful.”

Nolan interrupts. “That was a good thing,” he says, “because I’ve done a couple films with Kip; Interstellar was Kip’s original idea. I’d called him because I needed his help on the whole quantum physics thing. And in the course of the conversation, I realized that when he was at Princeton, he’d attended Oppenheimer’s lectures at the IAS. So immediately I was like, ‘Well, will you get on the phone with Cillian and talk to him about how he taught?’

Those testimonials helped Oppenheimer capture gestures and mannerisms that most of the audience for the film wouldn’t register.”

Says Murphy, “Kip talked about how Oppenheimer held his pipe on stage, and how he had the cigarette in one hand and the chalk in the other hand; We talked about how he was very aware of his presence, his legend, and his theatricality, all of that stuff.”

“I remember you telling me after you spoke to Kip, and we incorporated it into the staging as well,” says Nolan, “that Oppenheimer would let people talk. He was very good at summarizing a discussion. Which I think became absolutely key to the whole, to all of the Manhattan Project scenes.”

“He was an excellent synthesizer and manager,” Murphy agrees. “He didn’t seem the obvious choice for it, but he was.”

Together, Nolan and Murphy found the physical style for the lanky Oppenheimer, and one of the style influences was David Bowie, circa 1976. “Everything about him was constructed,” says Nolan. “Oppenheimer constructed his entire persona, his entire self. That’s why I threw the David Bowie photographs at you, Cillian. This was the Thin White Duke era. David Bowie has these crazy high-waisted trousers that were very, very similar in proportion to what Oppenheimer would wear at the end of Los Alamos. Bowie was always the ultimate self-constructed pop icon, and I think Oppenheimer was similar, in his own way. Obviously, it’s a completely different world, but he used his persona to achieve a mass of things.”

Murphy, who started out with the intention of a music career until he turned down a record deal and chose the acting life, sparked to the influence. “When Chris sent me that, I printed that picture out and I put it on my script,” Murphy says. “He sent it to me with no context, and I knew exactly what he meant, because I’m a music nerd and I could see the crossover. So, it was there in the back of my script for the whole shoot.”

More important, however, was getting Murphy ready for the emotional toll that playing Oppenheimer would bring, particularly after his triumph in Los Alamos. History hasn’t been kind to war heroes, as was seen when British mathematician/computer scientist Alan Turing cracked the Nazi enigma machine code — a breakthrough that shortened the Second World War — only to be punished for his homosexuality, which was illegal at the time. Similarly, Oppenheimer became a punching bag in a politically charged kangaroo court.

“I’m plagued by a line from The Dark Knight, and I’m plagued by it because I didn’t write it,” says Nolan. “My brother [Jonathan] wrote it. It kills me, because it’s the line that most resonates. And at the time, I didn’t even understand it. He says, ‘You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.’ I read it in his draft, and I was like, ‘All right, I’ll keep it in there, but I don’t really know what it means. Is that really a thing?’ And then, over the years since that film’s come out, it just seems truer and truer. In this story, it’s absolutely that. Build them up, tear them down. It’s the way we treat people.”

Murphy believes that the security of 20 years working together emboldened him. “If you don’t have that history, or that level of trust, with a filmmaker,” he says, “I don’t know if you can be as brave or can dive in like I was able to on this one.”

Nolan has his own theory. “Maybe I’m wrong,” he says to Murphy, “but I feel like, after finishing Peaky Blinders, you were in a peculiar place in your career, because you’d been playing the same character for a lot of years. Very, very well with massive success, creative success and artistic success, and also people recognizing the success. You must have felt very comfortable in that character. Steven Knight’s writing is beautiful, and is always challenging the character, but it’s still a second skin that you’d developed that you were slipping into. But then you’re moving to an arena where all that’s gone. This was a true ‘out of the hot tub and into the cold plunge’ moment.”

Nolan appreciated the effort it took. “For me, particularly with such a big cast, Cillian was the element I was able to completely take for granted,” he says, “to the point where on Downey’s last day, he came up to me and said, ‘Do you understand how hard this guy is working for you?’ It was towards the end of the shoot. He was like, ‘He’s exhausted.’

And I said, ‘Thanks, Robert, he’ll be fine.’ And he was fine. But the point was taken that, yeah, I was able to take what he was doing on set for granted because I knew how great the work was. But the reality is, I didn’t realize the magnitude of the performance until I put it together in the edit suite. This is true, I think, of all great performances; you see what you see on set. But then, in the edit, you actually see it the way the actor has performed it. Even though you have been shooting in a crazy order, he’s figured out how all these pieces go together, and then you start to see it come together. It’s a really pretty magical thing.”

One of the first filmmakers Nolan showed the film to said something that really stuck with him. “There’s never that moment where you see the actor realize how great the part is,” he recalls this director telling him. Nolan knew exactly what he was talking about. “Because that’s the thing,” he says. “Particularly with serious movies, or when an actor has a great opportunity, you see them enjoying the taste of it a little too much. There’s always that moment. And that is not in this performance. This performance is totally pure. To me, this performance is much more about the real world, the way people are flawed, continuously flawed. There’s not one little thing they do wrong — we’re all good and bad, and there are layers of that. Oppenheimer is the absolute essence of that. The performance embraces that and carries the audience. But if the performance didn’t unselfconsciously embrace that, it wouldn’t work at all.”

Murphy is flattered. “It’s the nicest thing you could say,” he smiles. “But for me, I remember when I was doing it, if at any point I ever felt, I don’t know, anxious or insecure, I would always think, ‘No, Chris has seen something in me, and he’s drawing something in me out that I didn’t know was there really before.’ And I remember saying to him before we started shooting — because he’s always really pushed me in the best way, and he pushes all his performers in the best way — ‘Push me as hard as you possibly can on this one,’ because I knew we had to do that.”

The payoff comes in the ending, when the audience learns what Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) actually says to Oppenheimer. Strauss looks on, but Einstein walks past and ignores him. That Strauss was insecure and petty enough to believe their chat was about him, instead of being an intimate moment between geniuses who each bore the burden of creating weapons of mass destruction that pulled the world into a dangerous new age, is… Well, let Murphy describe it.

“I’m all about third acts and endings,” he says, “and when I read the script, that time in Dublin, knowing that’s one thing Chris always nails, I remember thinking, ‘What a f*cking ending.’ It’s extraordinary. And that’s from Chris’s imagination. It’s not from history, but it’s just genius. You can write an extraordinary script, but you can write yourself into a corner and the audience feels shortchanged if you don’t nail the f*cking ending.”

Says Nolan: “We talked very carefully about the moment where Kitty [Emily Blunt] says, ‘Did you think if you let them tar and feather you the world would forgive you? It won’t.’ I love the way Cillian performs in that moment, it was so important to me that it hit this exact note. And I didn’t know what that exact note was. I just knew that I’d know it when we hit it, because it needed to be sort of self-conscious in a slightly more open way.

“In the rest of the film, everything Oppenheimer does that’s a little bit vain or a little bit self-conscious, it’s almost as if he’s unaware of it,” Nolan says. “And I feel like in that moment, he opens up to the audience just a hair more, and says, ‘We’ll see.’ Because he puts the question to the audience, in a way. ‘Do you think the world will forgive you?’ ‘We’ll see.’ And I think the jury’s still out very much, but I think he’s definitely better thought of than he would be if he hadn’t been made to suffer.”

To Nolan, putting Oppenheimer, and Murphy, through the wringer in the latter part of the film evoked many higher themes. “When I showed it to Kai Bird for the first time, I said, ‘Look, this is my idea of who he is. This is who I feel he is. I feel that he’s ahead of those people in that room who are torturing him. I feel like he does have a vision to the world beyond that. And it’s partly a vision of fear, and a vision of the idea of the chain reaction. But it’s also partly how history will judge him. And if he fights too hard, or even if he won that fight…’

“It’s a bit Christ-like really, isn’t it?” he suggests. “It’s sort of knowing that the way to win is actually to lose. That was what I felt was inside him, and then the way you played it, Cillian. But there’s also great suffering. And I thought, I mean, Jason Clarke does such a wonderful job in the scene. And what nobody knows, because they weren’t there, but when we were filming your side, he just went nuts.”

Murphy interrupts. “Well, you f*cking made him go nuts! I thought at one point he was actually going to punch me out. It was like this big push in on me, each one, and I said to Chris, ‘I don’t know what you said to him, but he was like a f*cking animal, man.’ And then you used that take.”

Nolan lights up at the memory: “He was throwing stuff, and that’s mostly the take we used. It’s a combination of different takes, but that one was absolutely key. I just thought it was wonderful, but he hadn’t shot his side yet, and I worried he was going to lose his voice. But we came back the next day to do his side.”

“This is a case in point,” says Murphy, “where we were doing that big push. I remember going, ‘Do you think we got it, Chris?’ And you were like, ‘Eh. Let’s go again.’ I love that. You could say, ‘We can all go home now,’ but instead, you said, ‘Let’s just go again.’ Sometimes it doesn’t work, but that time it did.”

When the atomic bomb test succeeds, Oppenheimer is carried on the shoulders of others like a football coach who’s just won the Super Bowl. There’s even a scene in which Harry Truman (Gary Oldman), the president who dropped Oppenheimer’s bombs on Japan, is shown to be disgusted by the physicist’s remorse. But his role in the destruction and massive loss of life in Hiroshima and Nagasaki must have left Nolan with a real balancing act.

“As you put a script together,” he says, “you try and focus in on things like, what’s the key idea that has to work here? What are the key shifts that you need the audience to be struck by? And in the case of Oppenheimer, it was very clear to me that the whole purpose of the screenplay is to go from the absolute highest high of triumph, with Trinity, to the sheer lowest low of the realization of Hiroshima, in as short a time as possible.

“That was always going to be just a crazy shift,” he continues. “We talked about this a lot, in the moment where, earlier in the film, the atom is split. And then when Luis Alvarez [Alex Wolff] reproduces the experiment, in the script Oppenheimer immediately, as he did in real life, jumped to the idea that, you could make a bomb from this. The way in which Cillian performed that, it was very precise because it couldn’t be portentous. Obviously, he’s playing an intelligent man and he’s talking about bombs, but we couldn’t signal to the audience the negativity of where that was going to go, in terms of his frankly existential dilemma, the burden he’s going to carry later. You don’t want to foreshadow that in the performance. It was very important that the performance not foreshadow that, that it’d just be part of his journey that he’s interested in. To him, it’s actually exciting.”

In Nolan’s mind, the job is to paint a picture to help the audience form its own opinion about nukes, rather than betray his own morals and have it amount to feeding the audience cinematic spinach. “For me,” he says, “cinema can never be didactic, because as soon as it tells you what to think, you reject the art, you reject the storytelling. You see that a lot, particularly this time of year. It’s like people want movies to be able to send messages. But the truth is, I’m with whichever mogul who said, ‘Call Western Union if you want to send a message.’ In taking on Oppenheimer’s story, I don’t think there’s anyone who thinks that nuclear weapons are a good thing, so there’s not much point in telling the audience that.”

He pauses. “I’m sorry I’m going on a bit about this, but it’s a really interesting question. I had to explain this to everybody very early on: I’m not interested in making a story about how naive scientists accidentally created something that’s terrible for the world and then felt bad about it. Oppenheimer was one of the smartest people who ever lived. He knew exactly where this was going. The point is, they had to do it. They were put in a position where they believed that if the Nazis got the bomb, it would be the worst thing imaginable for the world. And so, they had to do what they had to do. But they did it knowing that the consequences would be potentially awful.

“That’s what makes the story so compelling from a human point of view. It’s not that they didn’t realize where this was going. It was that they felt they had no choice.”'

4 notes · View notes

sciencestyled · 8 months ago

Text

Neuroaesthetics: The Brain's Bizarre Ballet in the Circus of Art

Ladies, gentlemen, and sentient algorithms, gather ‘round for an expedition into the wacky, wild world of neuroaesthetics! Picture, if you will, an arena where Salvador Dalí is arm-wrestling Albert Einstein while Banksy spray-paints their shoes with quantum equations. Yes, my friends, we’re diving headfirst into the baffling brain circus that is the science of how we perceive art and beauty!

Now, what in the name of Groot's left boot is neuroaesthetics, you ask? It's the delightful mash-up of neurons and aesthetics, the study of how our gray matter throws a rave every time we lay eyes on something pretty. Imagine your brain as the DJ, mixing beats of visual stimuli with a heavy bassline of emotional response, crafting a psychedelic experience that’d make even Doctor Strange need an aspirin.

Our cerebral DJ starts spinning tracks when we encounter art. Imagine gazing at the Mona Lisa; your neurons start throwing a party like it’s Coachella. This brainy bash involves the visual cortex, which processes what you're seeing, and the limbic system, your emotional epicenter, going “Oh la la!” faster than a cat video goes viral. It's a neural conga line, people!

Let’s geek out with an example, shall we? Imagine stepping into an art gallery. You saunter past a minimalist canvas that looks like a toddler's spaghetti accident and boom—your brain lights up like Times Square. Researchers have discovered that different art styles trigger unique neural patterns. Your noggin has a sophisticated palate, appreciating a Picasso with the same nuanced delight it shows for a perfectly executed TikTok dance challenge.

But wait! This isn’t just about the highbrow art snobs nodding sagely at a Pollock splatter. No, even the hilariously kitschy dogs-playing-poker paintings are in on the act. Studies show that familiar and nostalgic images can zap our brains with more dopamine than a Black Friday sale at a comic book store. It’s like your neurons are high-fiving each other, yelling, “Remember that!?”

Neuroaesthetics isn’t just about looking at pretty pictures, though. Oh no, it’s about how art tickles our brain in the most delightful ways, influencing our perceptions, emotions, and even our decisions. Ever wonder why you can't walk past a donut shop without drooling like Homer Simpson? It's all in the neuroaesthetic sauce, my friends. Visual cues can trigger hunger, happiness, or even existential dread—like when you realize your favorite show got canceled after a cliffhanger finale.

Now, let’s talk impact. The study of neuroaesthetics is like giving the Hulk a paintbrush—it’s smashing! It deepens our understanding of the connection between the brain and art, transforming both how we create and appreciate it. Artists can now craft pieces designed to provoke specific neural reactions. Imagine a painting that makes you feel like you've just downed an espresso shot with a side of inspiration. That’s the neuroaesthetic magic at play.

Art is no longer a passive experience; it’s an interactive, brain-bending escapade. Think of immersive VR art installations where you’re not just looking at the art; you’re inside it. Your brain's response isn't just a “Hey, that’s cool,” but a full-on neural mosh pit. It's like stepping into the Matrix, but instead of dodging bullets, you’re dodging abstract concepts and emotional revelations.

And let’s not forget the therapeutic potential. Neuroaesthetics can help in mental health treatments, using art to rewire the brain in positive ways. It’s like having Bob Ross as your personal therapist, gently coaxing your mind into happy little trees of thought. Studies have shown that engaging with art can reduce stress, boost creativity, and even enhance cognitive functions. It’s brain yoga with a paintbrush!

But what’s the deal with science and art? They’re like the ultimate power couple, merging logic with creativity, and neuroaesthetics is their love child. This field bridges the gap between two realms often seen as polar opposites, showing us that the analytical and the artistic aren’t just coexisting—they’re collaborating like Avengers assembling against Thanos.

Let’s take a detour down the wild highway of pop culture. Remember the moment in Avengers: Endgame when Thor wields both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker? That’s your brain wielding science and art, harmonizing them into a force that’s both powerful and profoundly beautiful. And just like the Hulk, who’s both brains and brawn in Endgame, neuroaesthetics shows that our brains are as much about feeling as they are about thinking.

In conclusion, neuroaesthetics is like the secret menu at a brainy fast food joint, serving up a heady mix of the beautiful and the cerebral, the quirky and the profound. It’s a rollercoaster of neural fireworks, a mash-up of Van Gogh’s starry nights and Da Vinci’s anatomical precision, all orchestrated by the most complex organ in the universe. So next time you gaze at a work of art and feel your neurons do the cha-cha, remember, it’s not just pretty—it’s science, baby!

And there you have it, folks! A whirlwind tour of neuroaesthetics, where your brain and art have a cosmic dance-off in the grand arena of human experience. Until next time, keep those neurons dancing and the art appreciation flowing. Ciao!

#Neuroaesthetics #art #science #neurology #brain

0 notes

akshayroy123 · 1 year ago

Text

Features Of Salesforce CRM Analytics That You Should Know

In today's data-driven business landscape, customer relationship management (CRM) is more critical than ever. Salesforce, one of the world's leading CRM platforms, offers a robust suite of analytics tools designed to help businesses undergoing Technical Transformation gain valuable insights into their customer data. These Salesforce CRM analytics features empower organizations to make data-driven decisions, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth. In this article, we'll explore some of the key features of Salesforce CRM analytics that every business should be aware of.

Real-Time Data Monitoring:

Salesforce CRM analytics provides real-time data monitoring capabilities. This means you can track customer interactions, sales trends, and other critical metrics as they happen. Real-time data allows for quick reactions to changing market conditions and customer needs, helping your organization stay agile and competitive.

Customizable Dashboards:

Salesforce's customizable dashboards enable you to create visually appealing, easy-to-read charts and graphs that present your data in a meaningful way. These dashboards can be tailored to your specific business needs and Technical Learning, allowing you to focus on the metrics that matter most to your organization.

Predictive Analytics:

Salesforce CRM analytics leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide predictive analytics capabilities. This allows businesses to forecast future trends, customer behavior, and sales opportunities. Predictive analytics can help you allocate resources more effectively and proactively address customer needs.

Comprehensive Reporting:

Salesforce offers a wide range of reporting options, from standard reports to customizable reports and even matrix reports. These reports can be scheduled to run at specific intervals, ensuring that key stakeholders have access to the most up-to-date information.

Sales Analytics:

Salesforce CRM analytics includes features specifically designed for sales teams. You can gain insights into the performance of your sales representatives, track sales pipeline progress, and identify areas for improvement. If required, train them with the proper Technical Management Training. This data helps sales managers make informed decisions and optimize their sales strategies.

Service Analytics:

For customer service teams, Salesforce CRM analytics offers service analytics. This feature enables you to monitor customer service KPIs, such as response times, resolution rates, and customer satisfaction scores. By analyzing this data, you can enhance your support processes and provide better customer experiences.

Marketing Analytics:

Marketers can benefit from Salesforce's marketing analytics capabilities. You can measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, track lead generation, and analyze customer engagement across various channels. This data-driven approach allows you to allocate your marketing budget more effectively and improve campaign ROI.

Integration with External Data Sources:

Salesforce CRM analytics can integrate with external data sources, such as social media platforms and third-party data providers. This means you can enrich your customer data with external insights, gaining a more comprehensive view of your customer's preferences and behaviors.

Mobile Analytics:

In today's mobile-first world, Salesforce CRM analytics offers mobile-friendly features. You can access your analytics dashboards and reports on mobile devices, ensuring that you can make data-driven decisions following Technical Learning wherever you are.

AI-Driven Insights:

Salesforce Einstein, the platform's AI engine, enhances CRM analytics by providing intelligent insights and recommendations. It can automatically identify trends, anomalies, and opportunities in your data, helping you make faster and more accurate decisions.

Security and Compliance:

Salesforce takes data security and compliance seriously. With built-in security features and compliance certifications, you can trust that your sensitive customer data is protected. This is especially important in industries with strict regulatory requirements, such as healthcare and finance.

User-Friendly Interface:

Salesforce CRM analytics in the present-day environment of Technical Transformation, is known for its user-friendly interface. You don't need to be a data scientist to navigate the platform and gain valuable insights. This accessibility ensures that employees across your organization can utilize analytics effectively.

Endnote

Salesforce CRM analytics offers a comprehensive set of features that empower businesses to harness the power of data. Whether you're in sales, marketing, customer service, or any other department, these analytics tools provide valuable insights to enhance your operations and drive growth with proper Technical Management Training. By leveraging real-time data monitoring, predictive analytics, customizable dashboards, and more, organizations can stay ahead of the competition and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Salesforce CRM analytics is not just a tool; it's a strategic advantage in today's data-driven business world.

#Technical Management Training #Technical Learning #Technical Transformation

0 notes

thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 3 years ago

Note

Hi I replied to the post but I have to ask you too. I'm assuming his wish is to have a dinner with just his parents and brother. How did that wish "technically got us all killed"? And what's that about the Time Matrix?

Ohhhh so Jake's wish to the Ellimist that got everyone killed was in MM4. I think Ax survives, but all the other Animorphs get killed in that one — and only Cassie remembers that anything changed.

In MM3, it's Tobias who wants to use the Time Matrix to "fix" history and it's Cassie who points out that Visser 4's decisions all had unexpected ripple effects. Changing the Battle of Trenton prevented Einstein from coming to the U.S., changing the Battle of Trafalager caused a German-British alliance during D-Day, so on and so forth. Cassie points out that assassinating Hitler could do nothing to prevent the Holocaust, could even make it worse, and that they just don't know enough to risk it.

[Ask refers to this AU]

#animorphs #asks #jim hopper superhero

48 notes · View notes

snipehuntpotatosack · 4 years ago

Text

Vestigial

I regret to inform you that the most serious scientists in modern cognitive psychology have decided that what you call the human mind, i.e. “consciousness,’ self-awareness, the life going on in your head, is vestigial, like your appendix. It plays no causal role in your life.

Reams of punctilious study have demonstrated that all decisions, about everything, are made subconsciously, that is, within thousandths of a second as automatic reactions to learned categories of stimuli. This is far too quick for “thinking” to be playing any role; the only thing “mind” does is rationalize justifications for what you did.

It puzzles some researchers why consciousness evolved in the first place. One more charitable writer allowed that conscious thought may still be of value in the case of geniuses, e.g. Einstein. Others go further, pointing out that behavior patterns are entirely determined by the vast societal matrix which pervades your senses and creates your “world-view.” In a simpler, ancient world, individual thought was probably of sporadic survival value in the evolution of genus Homo; however, current data does not lie.

I would insert links to the authorities that spell this out, the professional citations, but since it’s absolutely true it would be too depressing.

#writerscreedchallenge

22 notes · View notes

excalibel · 5 years ago

Text

My unusual spiritual story p 13

When you spending time alone, there is something beautiful happening even if you’ll not understand how needed it was in your life. Always busy, with someone else or disconnected watching Netfix, we are sometimes years disconnected from our self. Now when smartphone is waiting to steal every second from your potential free time, necessary time to feel your own self inside, time alone when answers coming to your head from nowhere, or you can make best decisions in solitude as well. Most of geniuses was spending long time in solitude and finding best ideas,usually hidden somewhere and contemplating like Einstein and many more. In those days we are occupied most of time and unable to connect with our Soul in most of days. One because many people thinking that, they are a living Body with aspiration to have a six-pack and full stomach everyday, some sex sometimes and friends to go for a drink or drink a bottle. But we are a Spirit being, living Soul and that Soul is manifesting Body to operate in material world, learn, advance and progress, but some Souls are already evolved and have different goals to achieve here.

Solitude is necessary to give you opportunity, and hopefully free your way of thinking if you were to much lost in the false matrix, and never questioning main stream pulp for example, but to rebuild your world in your head, you need to put more work and time in loneliness, without confronting anyone about stuff you’re working on, like don’t switch off your computer when updating. When you’re connected with your spirit, then is less risky to change fundamental believes without any supervision, it’s to easy to reprogram a human being and better to do that in good direction this time around.

I was expecting some revolutionary changes of course, but this shut down surprise even me. Reset was necessary anyway soon or later, this system was created to crash and had no choice to finish otherwise. I was expecting more just a financial crash, but this scenario is much more brutal and complex. Sadly it’s started and started because time is short and everything is quite ready in place to revolutionise already miserable existence of most population to prepared in last you can say twenty years, officially like for example by UN and most of countries, on local level mostly by large cities and agendas written on thousands of pages of instructions to work on. One of last stages was preparing bikes to rent for citizens in all western, eastern world all along. 5G is almost ready as well, last faze will by done when people will by still on lock down in my opinion. They are mapping where we live, how to setup transmitters while we are not running all around like use to be. They wished for total control, and like we can see they will use fear to imprison population, officially for peace and save the people from the danger, but it’s perfect storm precisely designated to close the cage with unsuspecting anything like this populations inside.

BABYLON IS FALLEN! FALLEN !.

#solitude #spirituality #soul

2 notes · View notes

thecafe23 · 6 years ago

Text

The link between “The Mandela effect and Simulation”

I do believe that there’s a link between the Mandela effect and simulation.

Why? Well you’re about to find out.

WE ARE LIVING IN THE MATRIX AND EVERYTHING AROUND YOU IS A LIE, LIKE THE MOON LANDING.

*takes a deep breath*

First of all let me define some terms:

Simulation

Too much text? I got you.

To sum it up:

You ever seen something that you swear you thought it was like that, but it turns out it NEVER WAS?!!

For example:

(There are many more examples guys.)

Anyway, simulation. It means that everything that is going on is being controlled by someone else.

Elon Musk believes it, so why don’t you??

The thing about it is, it’s just like the game “The Sims” you create a character, you play with life and you make decisions for them. Cause you’re in control.

So it makes sense when you hear “Life is a game, and we’re the players” doesn’t it??

The Matrix also starts to make more sense.

Not long ago, I was traveling to Amsterdam, Holland with my friends. The driver was pretty exhausted because we’ve been traveling all day, so in order to keep him awake, I asked him about a movie he believes could give us a deeper meaning and connection with the universe. (I don’t know how to communicate, perhaps. But I dislike small talk. And I believed asking him this question would make him think, and the conversation wouldn’t fall flat.)

Anyway, he told me about the Matrix and how the theory of a parallel universe aligns.

I gotta say that I was pleasantly surprised. The man talked about it as he really understood the meaning of life. He smiled and talked about the scenes that were very thought-provoking and suggested scenes I could take in consideration.-And make my own opinion of it.

Also, welcome to the philosophers club.

To begin, I’d like to mention the term deja vu.

In french, this stands for “something you’ve already seen.” A condition in which you dream of something happening and then it happens in real life.

In the matrix, this is described as a glitch. Hence the reason why you see it again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_KmNZNT5xw

So what is the reason we see things like the deja vu, that don’t necessarily have to be deja vu? Like the mandela effect? It’s named after Nelson Mandela after believing he died in prison, but he never did. What if the things we thought happened or things we thought we have seen were all a BIG GLITCH in the universe.

I know that psychology defines deja vu differently, but it honestly doesn’t make any sense to me. You just can’t tell me I see things that happen in my life just cause I felt like it. Sure, maybe most of the time you’re not doing anything to cause it, but still, listen, it makes sense, because the universe keeps expanding, and with our technology we can’t really go deeper into it.

I said I’ll mention UFOs.

I say that not every UFO is an alien. UFO stands for “Unidentified Flying Object”, so it could be a billion of things, and it’s possible that it could also be a form of simulation. Something that really isn’t there. We see it at that moment, but the news don’t really report any of it cause it’s traveling through its space and time.- Technology to far to really comprehend, and even Albert Einstein, the famous physicist for his “Theory of Relativity”, said that “time and space are conditions in which we think, and not conditions in which we live.” DEEP RIGHT??

So why are simulation and the mandela effect linked? It’s very simple. Not everything is as it seems. This opens a door to a parallel universe.

So the thing is,

if the “Theory of Relativity” is legit,

there could be a parallel universe existing. Hence the reason why we “glitch” at one point. Just like a malfunction in machines, we could also have this “error in code”, and we are being deceived. That’s why it’s easy to control us.

Someone out there is watching us and we never die. We just respawn like in some game. Except this ain’t just any game, but the Matrix.

Take a moment to think about all those philosophers trying to define life. No matter how you put it, it always feels like something is missing, right?? Life is much more than an definition. If we were in the Matrix, we’d all be Neo, and as life here’s the cast: Morpheus, Trinity, Agent Smith etc. Which in a deeper meaning, would define life as the good and the bad. Which is the reason why I think it’s so hard to understand the plot and the message it’s trying to send.

Okay, I just want everyone to know that I did not take any drug whilst writing about all of this. I am SOBER.

Nostalgia is that happy feeling of remembering how things were. But however, what if it really is remembering how things really were?

Let me know what you think.

Until next time.

#the matrix #thecafe23 #conspiracy #conspiracytheories #mandela effect #simulation

5 notes · View notes

fictionfactorygames · 6 years ago

Text

Arcade Spirits Pro Tips!

– Database system online. Iris personality matrix engaged. – Access protocol: 35:34:31:54:12:24:45:43 – File access: AS1_FAQ.TXT – Begin_Transmission

Testing, one, two, three… ahh, hello! My name is Iris, and I’m your personal digital assistant through the world of Arcade Spirits! Today, I’d like to discuss a few tips ‘n tricks to help you get the most out of your gameplay. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything!

Taking Photos! What better way to capture a moment than with a ‘selfie,’ as you flesh-based entities like to call them? In Arcade Spirits, taking a photo is easy! Just tap the “S” key on your keyboard to Snap! a photo, which will drop right into your game’s file folders. That way, your cherished memories are saved forever! And if that pesky text box is in the way, just “Right Click” first to hide the user interface, then “S”nap your picture! Perfect, pristine images of your friends, your favorite places, and other delightful moments in time.

Basic Isn’t Bad! Throughout Arcade Spirits, I’ll be offering assistance identifying your responses based on various personality archetypes: Quirky, Kindly, Steady, Gutsy, and Basically. You’ll almost always have a Basically option, so if you don’t like the other two, go ahead and be Basic! There’s nothing wrong with that, and sometimes, it’s the best possible thing to say! Don’t be afraid of exploring your choices. Speaking of which…

Save Your Game! So you have to make a biiiig decision, but aren’t sure what to pick? That’s okay! Hit your “ESCAPE” key to pop open the menu, and save your game! You can do this at any time during the game. Become a time traveler! Break the laws of physics! Burn a hole in the fabric of space-time that consumes all mankind has wrought in a sweeping wave of destruction! It’s all good.

Quick-Reference Your Personality! Did you know you can check up on your personality traits and your relationships at any time? It’s easy — just tap the “Q” key on your keyboard, or left click your score in the upper right corner of the screen! Use this to keep tabs on things and make sure you’re becoming the person you want to be.

New Game Plus! Arcade Spirits has replayability, thanks to all the different choices and romance options at your fingertips. Want to play the game again, but skip past any text you’ve already seen? We’ve got you covered! Click the “SKIP” button or the “TAB” key to start skipping past that stuff. Don’t worry, the game will automatically stop when it hits something you haven’t seen yet, or when you reach a decision point! Also, on your second playthrough, your mouse wheel will act as a time travel device — step backwards and forwards to see what different choices do! Why do we even have general relativity? Take that, Einstein!

The Home Arcade Documentary! As a little bonus feature, you can also view a documentary prepared by Naomi that explains how YOU can make an arcade game for your very own home, using software and joysticks and carpentry and more — or less! She’s got tips for you to make a project of any scale, be it a little HDMI set-top box, or a full blown cabinet. Enjoy the classics of yesteryear the way they were meant to be played! To view the documentary, before starting or loading your game, go to the “PRIZES” menu and click on the Documentary option.

Music Too Loud? We’ve mixed the music to quiet itself whenever someone’s talking, but sometimes you just want it quieter still — especially if you’re streaming the game live on the Internet. In the Preferences menu, you can adjust individual sliders for Music, Sound Effects, and Voice. Click the “Test” button next to each to hear what they sound like working together! While you’re in here, if you don’t like our pink neon interface, you can change it to cool blue pixels or a simple grey box. It’s up to you!

And… that’s all for now! I hope you enjoy Arcade Spirits when it releases on the 12th, and I hope I’ve made your game experience just a little bit better. Have fun!

#visualnovel

13 notes · View notes

jonprocillustration-blog · 4 years ago

Text

Idea Generation with Emma Gregory.

In preparation for the Easter holiday zine homework, Emma Greggory held a zoom lecture which focused on idea generation. The aim was to learn some new tools and methods to help generate ideas. We began by discussing ways in which we generate ideas, more often than not it was through things we’ve read, watched or seen. After some reflection I found that a lot of my ideas were inspired by what other artists have done, making my work more of a homage to theirs. I tended to rely on this method of idea generation, and as a result not allowing time to think for myself. Having some idea generating tools will be extremely useful for future projects as well as life in general.

The idea of a morphological matrix was discussed as it is a great way to generate ideas by visually setting out a number of variants and allowing the user to combine and play around with them. Another method would be to change the context of the idea by using juxtapositions and parallels. Thinking about different contextual view points in regards to a new project is an easy way to generate ideas. How does the project relate to time, gender, nature, setting, history, philosophy, politics, religion, culture? By looking at a new project from lots of different angles is called Convergent thinking, by applying this to any stage of a project will help explore the possibilities of the project. Both of these methods have been covered during past lectures, which I find useful as it helps me understand how to apply ideas and techniques to a range of situations throughout the course of a project.

We looked at the Fluxus manifesto created by George Maciunas in 1961. We were tasked to pull out verbs and adjectives from the manifesto that stood out to us, placing them together to create new ideas that stemmed from the original source. These were easy and simple ideas that still count as artistic creation even if they aren't backed up with context or history. Much like the manifesto itself, which stated that a person doesn't need to be professionally trained or have specialist materials to create art. I promoted the idea that anyone can be an artist and that creating work out of cheap day to day material is just as valid as ‘High art’. Maciunas believed that art is the experience of life and we all have the ability to tap into it. This really resonated with me as I often find myself doubting whether I'm an artist or whether my work is ‘up to scratch’. Reading the manifesto and participating in the small tasks Emma set us, I realised that I don't have to justify my work to be art. Anything I make can be considered as art. I can refine my work and improve upon it, but it doesn't make the work any more or less valid as art.

Emma then gave us a number of other idea generating methods as seen below:

Challenge assumptions - Push the boundaries of limitation. E.g when given a size don't create to that format and allow the other to crop the image as they see fit.

List Attributes - Quality and characteristics

Biomimicry - A thing that exists in nature. Apply tasks, ideas, and projects to nature.

Personal Analogy - Apply a task to something that relates to your life, e.g emotion, hair, experience, memory.

Wishing - Apply desire, wishes can be an insight into a person.

Chance - use an element of chance, e.g roll a dice, blindfold.

The last idea generating method Emma gave us was Osborne’s checklist.

S - Substitute

C - Combine

A - Adapt

M - Modify

P - Put to another use

E - Eliminate

R - Rearrange

Each letter should give you at least four quick ideas, except for Combine which would spark many more ideas.

‘combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought’

- Einstein

We then applied some of Osborne’s checklist to Einstein's quote. We translated it into two languages, ripped them up and placed them back together. This was just an off the bat experiment but it showed that by ‘playing’ around with some basic ideas could lead to some great art. On closer reflection to this I think that the overall message of the lecture was to trust our instincts and to not overthink our decision making. Have confidence in the idea that mistakes will be made but to trust that they are all learning experiences and will perpetuate creativity. I'm going to keep this in mind when approaching a project as a reminder to be more free with decisions and ideas. To keep reminding myself to loosen up and explore more possibilities as this is where artist development is found.

0 notes

madamlaydebug · 7 years ago

Photo

FLOWER of LIFE ~~~ TREE of LIFE ⚜🔥⚜ Ley Lines ~ The KEY To Unlocking The MATRIX ~ Yet again we come across another mysterious force of nature known as the electro magnetic fields of the earth, Shuman Resonance or better known as ley lines. The rediscovery of ley lines in this century is unveiling (apocalypse; greek for unveiling) the secrets of Nature. Ley lines are the luminous strands that many are pulling at today, hardly suspecting what riches lay at the end of these subtle light lines. All ley lines lead to the planetary Grid, the primary light and energy matrix, creating, enveloping, and maintaining planet Earth, our Gaia. What Are Ley-Lines? A ley-line is a straight fault line in the earth’s tectonic plates; this is a scientific fact. Through these cracks in the earth’s tectonic plates the magnetic energies released are very powerful indeed. Many people have claimed to have felt the energy surge up their body, and some have claimed that they have blacked out, as the surge was that powerful. How Long Have Human Beings Known About Ley Lines? Our ancestors have known about these lines for thousands of years. Every race and culture on the planet has known about these lines yet every one had different names for these lines. All we need to do is to look at the ancient cultures of the earth. Take the native Indians of the United States; they used to call ley lines spirit lines and their Shaman’s used to use the electro-magnetic energy in these lines to help them contact the spirits. They even designed their medicine wheel on the spirit lines, as they knew that these lines followed a straight round line. How did they know about these lines and the energies that they give off? The answer’s simple: the sky Gods told them. In Europe we are lead to believe that the druids called them mystical lines, in Wales they used the same name as eastern countries; they called them dragon lines. We know that Eastern countries called them dragon lines as the sky Gods flew in dragons along these lines. The aboriginal people of Australia called these lines “dream lines”, once again they claim that knowledge was passed on to them from the sky Gods. The Da Vinci Code was based on Rennes Le chateau in France, which is also on a leyline. It is documented that Alexander the Great was guided by Aristotle to take control of the major dome centers of these intersecting ley lines from dark forces. Which is why he put his top General, Ptolemy to rule Egypt. Interestingly Cleopatra, the last pharaoh along side with both of her husbands — Julius Ceasar and Marc Anthony of Rome, — were defeated by the Romans where they eventually destroyed the biggest library in Alexandria Egypt, before taking all the knowledge with them, sending us into the “Dark Ages”. During the medieval times anyone who had any knowledge of Hermetic’s was designated a Heretic and died a horrible death. This held true for anyone who knew how to read or write- a Heresy. Leaving only the royals and the monasteries literate. Throughout history all megalithic structures have been strategically built on top of these so called ley lines. From the pyramids of Giza to Stonehenge, Notre Dame, Solomon’s Temple, Parthenon, Oracle of Delphi, Rennes Le Chateau, Ziggurat, the Vatican, DC Capitol, Mecca, Agia Sophia, Aztec Pyramids, Bermuda Triangle, Coral Castle, Tesla’s lab in Shoreham NY, including all Nuclear power plants, military basis and stadiums — which are also used to harness energies — like giant batteries! Many of the sections where two or more ley lines intersect are marked with obelisks, such as Washington DC monument, Vatican Courtyard, and Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park. These electromagnetic lines of the earth are its veins and receive its energies from the sun that connects and effects, every living thing on this planet. We are electrical and our atoms are surrounded by electrons (electricity). Gregg Braden explains it best by asking us where does our heart get its electrical capacity form? We are connected to the earth’s electro magnetic fields and our heart is our battery. Many of our ancient spiritual figures knew this hidden knowledge and meditated or prayed on these lines or megalithic centers, which elevated their electrical auras, intellect, and connection to higher self, through the activation of the 7 energy centers (chakras). Could this in fact be what the golden halos depicted on all spiritual figures throughout history represented? Many of our top intellectual minds such as Tesla, Einstein and others all have something in common. That is, they all at some point have shared that their idea, invention, or formulation, came to them in a daydream or dream, which is in fact a meditative state of mind. For example Einstein was very knowledgeable on the physics of the Cabala and Tesla became very close with Swami Vivikanda – where through Swami’s teachings, realized that his ideas, that would come to him in a “Aha” moment, were coming from his close interaction with these ley lines, allowing him to access archaic records. Nikola Tesla who was born during a terrible thunder and lighting storm, used these ley lines to conduct his famous tower, which would give free energy to all. Of course there are dark forces as well, that are, and were knowledgeable of these ley lines such as, secret societies and Hitler who was very much into the esoteric realms, and worked very closely with Maria Orsitsch, also known as Maria Orsic, who was a famous medium who later became the leader of the Vril Society. Might I also add that days before the last Blood moon on September 28 2015, the Pope came to the US. He gave a speech at the Capitol, and then came to New York, where he went from Times Square up to Cleopatra’s needle in Central Park, and ended his trip at the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania. Coincidently, he went through key ley line points… hmmm… hidden esoteric knowledge? It is interesting and we should take notice that the Swiss Lab “Cern” and the “Brookhaven Lab” in New York, both sit on ley lines and both of these labs have a Hadron Collider that directly impact these ley lines negatively and/or positively. Cern Lab is the father of the Internet and if you look at the hadron collider at Cern, you will notice it strongly resembles a web. Outside of Cern sits a large dome with an opening on top, same as the dome at St Basilica in Rome as well as the dome on the Capital building, and same as the top dome of Nikola Tesla’s Tower. Nikola Tesla Tower In addition this lab has a large statue of the Hindu Goddess of destruction “Kali”, right in front of its greeting entrance. Seems that there is a concentrated effort, to effect and manipulate the earth’s electro magnetic fields using these technologies. In a JFK and Eisenhower speech they both warned the public, in detail and refer to this well coveted group of elites as “technocrats” – for a reason. By controlling or influencing the geo-electrical grid they can effect the earth, and also indirectly/directly can control our thoughts and emotions artificially, because we are all connected to Gaia. Registering, digesting and ultimately transmuting is the key. We can change the channel if we choose, turn down the volume, fine-tune the specific radio band. The Grid Engineer has the potential for transmuting (freeing the inherent energy by releasing it from its form of bondage) the solar/celestial energies by intelligent interfacing with the Electromagnetic 1746 Grid through any of the 144 planetary Round Table holograms, or terrestrial Zodiacs on Earth. This Grid, we must remember, is the Golden Alchemical Bowl of electromagnetic opposites, and the potential of our transfiguration from gravitationally bonded humans to Humans of Light also known as ascension. Just because our accustomed technocratic elite (Lucifer-light bearer – aka fallen angle of music), play their favorite tunes on their radio station, doesn’t mean we have to always dance to that rhythm. We can change the channel and learn how to use the electromagnetic grid to play a more harmonic tune. Maybe they need a machine because it is only a handful of technocrats attempting to control the masses. When enough are awake and aware the machine is- no match for us. Love and empathy for humanity is key, and right now we are still lacking this, due to the lack of true knowledge. Instead we are all quick to step on each others toes to get to where we think we need to be in business, our personal lives, and even within the spiritual communities. The bee hive is fragmented , programed, compartmentalized and not jiving together, which is needed to thrive together. The introduction and understanding of the reality of the local celestial Zodiac clock system, brings us to the possible interaction between the human and the Grid. This is where the Grid Engineer and Knight of the Holy Grail become one- “alchemy”. This unification of seeking the Grail and serving the Grid is played out in the local geomancy of the zodiac landscape, and our direct involvement in this terrestrial grid system through a heightened consciousness interaction, within a local Zodiac complex. It may sound like a sci-fi movie to you , but these energy points all exist and even more so these technocratic elite make all their decisions and agendas based on this celestial/terrestrial knowledge. So you better sit up, take notice and start your diligent research to unveil what they know, for we are in an informational war. If you don’t know the game then you are no match for the current architects and that is exactly what they plan on. But how does an ascended individual voluntarily, consciously experience this huge planetary Round Table? And how does the Grid Engineer make intelligent, compassionate, and timely adjustments in the geomantic web of this vast-revolving solar table on Earth? You are reading this because you are meant to unlock more hidden truths in order to better understand who we are, and how we relate to this planet. “As Above So Below” An overlay of Cabala’s Tree of Life with the mythic Round Table/Zodiac image is most illuminating. The Earth is one of the 12 resonating spheres, one of the 12 Round Table members, one of the 12 Notes in the solar octave, in the Solar Tree of Life. Thus we can picture these relations either in terms of the Tree or Round Table. Our Body of the Sun is expressed as a 12-sphered Tree of Life, with 12 Knights, or 12 Notes; Earth is Malkuth (the 10th Sephiroth) representing appropriately, Earth (the 7th Sephiroth, Hod, for example represents Mercury). In the human body we have the 7 chakras which are energetically interdependent and activated sequentially, beginning with the 2nd, proceeding to the 7th, then returning to the 1st, the Root, the seat of Kundalini, the fundamental creative cosmic evolutionary energy. Similarly in this model, the Earth, has a chakra system, arranged not in anatomical but energy sequence at 7 key Dome centers. An Earth chakra, such as at the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt, or at Glastonbury Tor, England, is a huge energy vortex, several miles in immediate diameter. Root (1st) Chakra – Mt. Shasta, California. Red; Raw biological life force energy- precursor to deviation into individual life forms. Sacral (2nd) Chakra – Lake Titicaca Peru (but also includes Machu Picchu). Orange; Creation of new species and positive evolution. Specification of pure life force into individuals. Solar Plexus (3rd) Chakra – Uluru and Kata Tjuta Australia (twin monolithic sites). Golden/Yellow; Maintenance of the vitality of earth and all of its species. Immortalization of life force. Heart (4th) Chakra – Glastonbury and Shaftesbury, England. Green/Pink; Representing the Holy Grail and the Sacred Spear of Purpose, Respectively. Throat (5th) Chakra – Great Pyramid, Mt. Sinai, and Mt. of Olives, Middle East. Blue; Voice of the earth emerging, listening to the will of the earth needs to be mastered Third Eye (6th) Chakra – Mobile Chakra, Shifts every 150-200 years, currently coincides with world heart chakra in Western Europe. Purple/Indigo; Moves 1/12th of the way around the world, westward, at the dawning of every new aeon. Distills gathered wisdom of life on earth for collective advancement of consciousness, aligned with astrological sequences. Crown (7th) Chakra – Mt. Kailas, Himalayan Mountains, Tibet. White; Broadcasts the earth’s purpose or true will. Each dome vortex carry through the Grid, some have been activated, but otherwise humankind has either not been aware of this divine potential or not bothered to make use of them to create the intended Earth Paradise. The option, however, still remains. Because of their heightened electromagnetic fields, the Dome enclosures were like immaculate, high consciousness meditation halls where human awareness could be healed, uplifted, even inter-dimensionally transported through the domed exit points in the Houses of the Gods, facilitated by megalithic engineering. All megalithic structures, famous estates, obelisks, and historical sites are on these lines and can be influenced and experienced in mass, to elevate and change the current matrix. The Hermetic Keys to the planetary Grid are inscribed on the Messenger’s mythical “Emerald Tablets”, which summarize the 7 Hermetic Principles underlying all manifestation. These are the keys to Hermes’ Geomancy: “The 7 Keys to higher levels of consciousness.” The Principle of Mentalism (The Universe is Mental, the All is Infinite Mind, which is the fundamental reality and the womb of all universes). The Principle of Correspondence (Whatever is Below is like unto that which is Above, and whatever is Above is like that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of The One). The Principle of Vibration (Nothing rests; everything moves and vibrates). The Principle of Polarity (Everything is dual, has poles, and pairs of opposites). The Principle of Rhythm (Everything has its tides, its rise and fall, its equal pendulum swings to the right and left, its peaks and troughs). The Principle of Causation (Every effect has its Cause, every Cause has its Effect, all proceeding by Law, never by chance). The Principle of Gender (Everything has its “masculine” and “feminine” aspects). Experiential knowledge of Hermes’ principles through meditative interfacing with the Earth Grid leads us into the secrets of geomancy. I believe that if more are aware of this natural phenomenon, break our mental bonds to the material matrix and take action locally as groups on these ley lines, that can be found all over the planet, then we can take back what is rightfully ours and positively manifest paradise on earth. As the true empathetic, intellectual light beings, we were intended to be – Human (Hue=light being). Knowledge is Power and Applied Knowledge is Freedom. By Magdaline http://dreamcatcherreality.com/ley-lines-matrix/

10 notes · View notes

talabib · 4 years ago

Text

The Formula Of True Happiness.

Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X, was at the top of his career. Financially well off, with a job many would kill for and a loving family. And yet, despite all this, he wasn’t happy. Why?

Like many others before him, Gawdat grappled with this question for years and, when suddenly losing his 21 year old son during a routine procedure at a hospital in 2014, it deepened into a quest to discover what truly constitutes human happiness and how to stave off disappointment in life. By applying his analytical mind to the problem, and examining key ideas from many of the world’s religions, Gawdat finally arrived at his own happiness formula.

This post lays out Gawdat’s ideas on happiness; the illusions standing in the way of it, the many blind spots of your mind that cloud your vision from what life is really like, and the ultimate truths that will bring real joy and happiness into your life.

Happiness is the absence of unhappiness, caused by the misrepresentation and misunderstanding of reality.

We’ve all heard that money can’t buy you happiness, though many people are still driven to pursue financial success as their primary goal. It’s no wonder, then, that they find themselves unhappy even when they appear to have everything. But what can be done about it? This is the question Gawdat grappled with himself, so he decided to apply his engineer’s mind to figuring out a formula for achieving happiness

Let’s start by trying to understand what happiness is. Look at the semi-permanent joy of small children and toddlers and you could see that it is, in fact, our default state. Sure, it’s not all roses, but as long as they aren’t hungry or in pain, kids are generally happy. You could say that happiness is merely a lack of unhappiness.

But where does unhappiness come from? According to Gawdat, it comes about when life doesn’t behave the way you expect it to. Here’s the formula that he came up with:

“Your happiness is equal to or greater than your perception of events minus your expectations of life”

This means that when you regard life’s events as the same or better than your expectations, then you’ll be happy because the twists and turns of life don’t frustrate you. But if your expectations are greater than the reality, they’ll subtract from your capacity for happiness.

Naturally, it’s not as clear-cut as this. You’re much more complicated than just happy or sad! Depending on the thoughts you allow to determine your expectations, your state of mind can range from total confusion to negativity and suffering, to positivity and happiness, all the way to absolute joy. The goal is to make that journey from the bottom to the top.

To prevent yourself from becoming confused and unhappy due to the gap between your expectations and reality, you’ll first need to discard the six grand illusions that leave you misinformed, which we’ll unmask this shortly

You are not the voice in your head, but the observer of your life.

In the 1999 sci-fi film The Matrix, the main character, Neo, suddenly breaks through the illusion of the world around him and sees it as it really is – long green columns of ones and zeros – and is able to take control of himself and his environment. Like Neo, if you can see past the illusions, then you too can take control of yourself and your happiness.

Start by shattering the first illusion which is that the voice in your head – the one that questions your actions and intentions – is the real you. In the 1930s, a Russian psychologist named Lev Vygotsky noted small muscular movements in the larynx accompanying inner thought, and suggested that the internal narrator was actually just the internalization of speech – a hypothesis confirmed by neuroscientists in the 1990s, when they found that parts of the brain active while talking are also active during inner thought. So the voice in your head is actually your brain talking to you as it tries to understand the world around you and make the best possible decisions. But it isn’t you.

So when listening to your negative thoughts, remember that rather than being what you feel, they’re just the brain throwing out possibilities as it tries to understand the world. And here’s the thing – you don’t have to listen. Instead, try to minimize the chatter in your head. If you spend more time recognizing when it’s there, you can start to push back – swapping your negative thoughts for positive ones!

So if the voice in your head isn’t you, then who are you? People spend their lives building physical identities and egos, trying to answer this question, and this is the second illusion. But because these masks aren’t real, they can bring about unhappiness due to unrealistic expectations; as with our happiness formula. These can also shift and change over time, yet the fundamental “you” remains. So who is that?

To find out, you should mentally strip away all the things that change over time. This includes everything you can observe; your possessions, your family and even your body! What’s left at the very bottom? The real you is the observer of the world, who sees life but can’t be seen.

Instead of trying to fabricate an identity to affirm your place in the world, accept your position as the observer and focus on that as your identity. If you expect nothing more from yourself than this, you’ll soon be surrounded by people who love you for who you are, and you won’t even need to pretend to be something else.

It’s important to understand that you really know nothing, and that time is, in fact, a human invention.

In 1687, Sir Isaac Newton laid out his laws of motion and completely changed the way people saw the world. After much debate, they were eventually proven and accepted to be true – held up as indisputable and forming the basis of much scientific thought for centuries. However, since the nineteenth century, a string of discoveries have shown that Newton wasn’t right about everything after all.

We tend to think that we reached a definitive and final conclusion about something, but this is the third illusion, and in reality, there are probably many things we don’t know yet. In fact, it might be safer to presume that you know nothing! Your idea of the world could very easily be incomplete, and that’s something you need to be ready for. If you accept your ignorance, then you’ll always be searching for, and open to, the truth.

One idea of Newton’s that has since been disproved was his definition of time. Newton believed that it existed independently of any observation and was an unshakable part of reality, but this is actually the fourth illusion. Not only has Einstein shown that Newton’s idea of time was incorrect, we also have a greater understanding today of time as a human invention that has been gradually refined throughout history. From observing the position of the sun in the sky, to measuring the time of day, to the “leap second” that’s needed every four years to keep clocks in sync, the concept of time has grown more and more sophisticated.

But if time is just a human invention, maybe we’d be better off without it? The thoughts and emotions that cause suffering tend to have an attachment to the past or the future, such as grief and shame over the past or anxiety and pessimism for the future, while thoughts in the present tend to be positive, such as amusement or relaxation. Time, and its sequence of events, is the root cause of the drama in our perceptions and therefore suffering, while the present moment simply is what it is. Imagine being unhappy because all the potential partners you meet turn out to be unsuited and worrying you might end up alone in life. The actual worry is based on a fear about the future rather than anything actually happening right now.

Instead of being a slave to time, you should strive to ignore the past and future and focus yourself on the present moment instead.

You don’t actually have much control over your life, and your fears are often unfounded.

In his book The Black Swan, Lebanese-American scholar and author Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains how seemingly unlikely events such as 9/11 and WWI are much more common than we’d like to think.

Meanwhile, the meteorologist Edward Lorenz has coined the concept, Butterfly Effect – based on the idea that even the tiniest event can end up having major consequences far away – such as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil causing a hurricane in Florida.

If you combine these ideas, then you undermine the fifth illusion of having control of your life, and instead have an unpredictable and unstable world where anything could happen at any time.

Instead of hopelessly trying to maintain the illusion of control, shift your attitude to deal with what actually does happen. Take the astronauts in the film Apollo 13: when their spacecraft suddenly faces catastrophe, Tom Hanks’ character calmly assesses the situation, engineering their safe return to Earth. Gawdat once attended a training course on change management which consisted solely of a viewing of this film. When events change beyond your control – and they will – keep control of yourself so that you too can move forward calmly.

It’s also worth seeing through the sixth and final illusion, and remembering that most fears don’t run as deep as you might think. In fact, many fears are learned in childhood and developed individually. In 1920, behaviour psychologist John B. Watson conditioned a fear of rats into a small baby. At first the baby was quite calm around them, but by Watson making a loud noise every time he presented one, soon the baby began to cry at just the sight of them. The good news is that, if your fears can be learned this way, they can also be unlearned.

But even if your fears are mostly irrational, they’re still real. To deal with them properly means admitting to them. Rather than sticking your chest out like a puffer fish, remember that they only inflate like that when they’re afraid. If you can face your fear, you can begin to conquer it.

Gawdat wanted what was best for his family and feared losing money and being unable to provide for them. When he nearly lost everything after a mistaken investment, he learned that they actually needed much less from him and his fear was unjustified. He hasn’t feared losing it since.

When you understand what your fears are and where they’re coming from, you can face and defeat them, preventing them from limiting your existence in the present.

Now that we’ve uncovered the six grand illusions, let’s take a look at the seven blind spots in the way your brain processes information.

Our brains tend to see the negative side of things, applying too many filters, assumptions and predictions.

Do you ever feel like you have a tendency to expect the worst in every situation? Rest assured, you’re not alone. That’s because your brain is essentially out-of-date technology, built for a very different world than the one we live in today.

In prehistoric times, survival was key – our early ancestors’ aim was to find food and not get killed, and if you were lucky, reproduce. As a result, our brain makes quick judgments with an inclination to assume the worst and see the downside in everything, since it’s better to be wrong than dead. For example, the University of Texas asked students to record their thoughts over a two week period, and found that between 60 and 70 percent of them were negative.

Imagine your brain as a very thorough lawyer, drawing up an enormous contract of potential threats to make sure you’re covered for any and every possible eventuality. In the modern world, these quick and often negative judgments can get in the way of you seeing things as they really are. To survive today, you need to be aware of the blind spots leading you toward these negative thoughts so you can counteract them with more positive thoughts.

First are the filters. There’s so much information to take in from your surroundings that you simply couldn’t cope if you tried to process it all, so a lot of it gets filtered out. Imagine going to the cinema – at first, you can’t help but notice the other people, the smells and the lights, but once the film begins everything except the movie screen disappears. But if you’re not always seeing everything around you, how much of the world might you be missing?

Next are assumptions. If you can’t see the whole picture, your brain fills in the blanks. These could easily be false, however, as they’re simply there to form a “complete” narrative. Let’s say you notice that your boss has missed her sales target for the month. As a result you might assume she’s threatened by your better numbers and is out to get you – but what is that really founded on?

Tied to this is the third blind spot: predictions. Say you’ve predicted your partner is going to cheat on you. You give them the cold shoulder, pushing them away, and so they cheat. Does this mean you were right? A prediction is something that has yet to happen, so why act as if it has? Now let’s press on and look at the four other blind spots...

We tend to elaborate our memories, apply too many labels, succumb to our emotions and exaggerate things.

Imagine you’re on a romantic getaway with your partner on a beautiful tropical island, but you have an enormous fight while you’re there, spoiling the trip. You’ll remember the island as a sad place, and if you go back there it will contaminate your perception of it, potentially building another sad memory.

This is a classic case of the fourth blind spot: memories. When you remember something, it’s not necessarily the truth but your own personal record of it. Your partner, for instance, might remember your time on the island in a completely different way.

Next are labels. To make sense of things, we tend to put them in “boxes” we can easily understand based on preexisting associations – but without any actual context, they may not be true at all. Think of how quickly people might label wet weather as miserable or a tanned, thin woman as rich. If you were somewhere in Africa, rain could be a blessing, while a rich woman is more likely to have a fuller figure and lighter skin since they wouldn’t be out working in the sun so much. Labels don’t take context into account, often bypassing the truth.

Then you have emotions. While you may believe you are a rational human being, you’re still completely at the mercy of your emotions. People often act on their emotions first and look for logical reasons to back them up later. Watching the speech of an opposing political party for example – your opinion is emotionally predetermined to dislike what is being said, and you will be actively looking for flaws in the speech as a result.

The seventh and final blind spot is that you might also exaggerate. If you inflate your ideas of reality and imagine the worst case scenario, then you lose sight of the genuine truth. Take humans’ fear of sharks, terrorism or plane crashes – statistically, these things will almost certainly never endanger you, and yet many are more afraid of these than they are of traffic accidents, despite them being much more likely to cause harm. If there’s a definite risk, the brain often exaggerates the probability.

All of these blind spots aren’t going to be cleared up overnight, but what’s important is that you’re aware of your brain’s limitations. With that in mind, let’s now look at the five ultimate truths.

Modern life is overly concerned with action and speed, but a calm awareness of the present moment will keep you happy.

In a study of over 15,000 participants, Matt Killingsworth from trackyourhappiness.org pieced together more than 650,000 reports of how people felt during certain activities and at different times. He found that it did not matter who they were, where they were or what they were doing, people were happier when they focused on the present, while those thinking of anything else were much less happy. This is the first ultimate truth.

This connects to what we said earlier about the illusion of time, and how emotions felt in the present are generally positive, while those in the past or in the future tend to be negative. So how can you focus on the present moment in your life? The answer is by developing awareness.

This sounds easier than it is. To live as a human you have to find the balance between being and doing, but in the modern world, everyone’s overly occupied with doing – whether it’s going for coffee, incessant meetings or exercising. Yet, all these activities ignore the potential of stopping and becoming aware of the moment and the possibilities of doing nothing and simply being.

This can be found in the Taoist idea known as wu wei: where doing nothing can be the best course of action. Imagine someone is growing a plant – they allow it sun, water and fertilizer, and nothing more. Any more intervention would get in the way!

So how can you develop awareness in your day-to-day life? You might not have the time or the surroundings to meditate like many practices suggest, but you could start by simply trying to notice specific things in your environment – the different types of trees you encounter or how much water you drink a day. It doesn’t matter what you’re looking for, so long as you’re paying attention.

You could also try to limit the distractions around you, most notably technologies like smartphones, TV and computers, or just enjoying an activity without any clocks around at least once a week. Whether it’s going for a walk or being in a quiet room, enjoy a bit of space and freedom from the constant ticking of time.

The important thing is to focus: when you have to do something, make sure you only do one thing at a time and fix your attention on it so that you do it well.

Things are and always will be changing, so relinquish your sense of control and go with the flow.

The world is always shifting, and in ways you can’t predict. Like Forrest Gump – who let himself get carried away regardless of what life’s box of chocolates threw at him – you need to open yourself up to the potential of change, and this is the second ultimate truth. Remember, it’s not about controlling your surroundings but controlling yourself. But how can you achieve this?

Rather than trying to control every tiny variable in your life, step back and allow each event to find its own natural balance. The Chinese philosophical idea of yin and yang is a well-publicised image, where two seemingly opposite forces are in balance and bound to one another. The same idea can be applied to your life.

If you focus too much on work, you’ll cease to enjoy living. But if you focus too much on trivial activities, you might feel like you’re worthless. Instead, try and balance the two: enough work to feel like you’re doing something, but enough freedom to make it all worthwhile. The upside of this is that should things change, such as losing your job, you won’t be overly committed to one specific thing. Rather than hopelessly resisting, move with it and allow things to find their balance.

Also, learn to focus on yourself and what you have, rather than comparing yourself to others. As things find their balance, you may see someone else as having something you don’t have, but it’s likely that you’ll also have something they do not. Before suffering the envy of something else, focus instead on what you do have. As things continue to find their balance, change may at any time cause you to lose it, or perhaps even find something more!

Unconditional love is the most important emotion, as it has no expectations, and therefore no disappointments.

The Beatles sang it. You probably already know it. And according to Gawdat, it’s the third ultimate truth: all you need is love. So how can you make sure you’re getting it?

Let’s start by understanding that we’re talking about unconditional love. Unlike the popular image of love that you might see in a film – where people love because of something and get hurt when those reasons change – unconditional love simply is. It exists with no expectations and no conditions, hence its name. If you apply this to the happiness formula, there are no expectations to offset the reality – meaning it always leads to happiness!

Most other emotions are based on a thought of some kind. Whether it’s envy based – the thought that someone else has something you don’t – or conditional love, based on the thought that someone takes care of you, the emotion comes after the thought. If the thought changes – you no longer want what the person has or that special someone doesn’t look after you anymore – so does the emotion. On the other hand, unconditional love, like a mother’s love for her child, is the only emotion that exists independently of your thoughts. It’s simply a sensation of connection, affection and appreciation.

So how do you fill your life with it? Well, it turns out that the more love you give, the more you get back, so it’s important to do loving things for others whenever you can. A Harvard Business School study found that when a selection of people were given money and told to either spend it on themselves or someone else, those who spent it on others felt happier by the end of the day than those who had spent it on themselves.

As long as you keep love flowing, it will flourish. Think of it like a river compared to a still pond: the first is full of fresh and lively water, the other is stale and stagnant. Which would you rather be a part of?

Death is a fundamental part of existence. Acceptance rather than fear will allow you to properly embrace life.

In much of the Western world today, death is something rarely talked about. Instead, it is feared, and a cause for tremendous sadness. But if you look at other parts of the world, there are often grand celebrations and parties in its honor.

In Rajasthan, Northern India, after an initial twelve days of mourning, parties are thrown for the dead. Meanwhile, Sufis, who are Islamic mystics, throw parties on the anniversary of someone’s death. Is there something to be learned from all this?

The biggest lesson, and the fourth ultimate truth, is that you can’t hide from death – from the day you’re born, you die a little each day. For example, all 25 trillion red blood cells currently in your system will die in the next four months. Take that analogy into the food chain: to sustain the life of one thing, something else must die. Death brings life, and in turn, life dies to make way for the new. Think of how new plant life blooms in graveyards, taking nutrients from decaying bodies.

Instead of hiding from it, we should accept death’s place in all our lives. As with all the other illusions, if you pretend that you have control over your life, death will eventually diminish it and lead you to unhappiness.

Sadly, this is a lesson the Gawdat had to learn the hard way after the sudden death of his son, Ali. During a routine procedure, a few small medical errors led to the loss of this bright and promising 21-year-old. Despite the tragedy, Gawdat was able to look at Ali’s life and realize that he had embraced it, lived it to the fullest despite its all-too-brief span. Understanding the limitations of your life will allow you to make the most of it while you can.

Gawdat found that by keeping life in focus instead of worrying about his final rest, he could instead learn to live in peace.

In the absence of proof and the surprisingly overwhelming odds, perhaps there is a design to the Universe…

Do you believe in a God? It’s a big question, one with many opinions and no conclusive answers. Gawdat, having applied his analytical mind to the question, feels that the fifth and final ultimate truth is that it might make sense that there is a higher power, one which we’ll refer to as the designer.

Let’s begin with the idea of proof: it’s easy to prove that something exists, you just need the evidence. You know that monkeys exist, for example – you’ve probably seen them at the zoo, or pictures and film of them on TV. But can you prove that something doesn’t exist?

Well, no. You’d have to know absolutely everything to know that something doesn’t exist somewhere, and as we saw earlier, our knowledge is limited. Imagine, for instance, that someone claims there’s an imaginary creature known as the plunkey: you’ve never seen one, but you haven’t seen the entire Universe either – so maybe it does exist. Similarly, despite the odds being stacked against it, you can’t prove that the designer doesn’t exist.

Which brings us to the idea of probability: Imagine trying to roll one die and scoring a six: your chances are a simple one-in-six. But for each die you add, the odds get squared. Try rolling ten dice and the odds of getting ten sixes rocket up to 1-in-60 million!

Looking at the huge variety of complex life in the world, you may wonder about the odds of it all developing naturally. According to evolutionary theory, there are approximately 8.74 million different species on Earth, developed by random mutations over time to reach the point they’re at now. Entirely probable given enough time, but since life only began on Earth roughly 3.7 billion years ago, the likelihood of this happening actually gets a lot smaller.

So if it’s a question of probability, the odds are actually in favor of some sort of intelligent design. If you, like the author, accept the design of the Universe, you can become aware of the complex and amazing marvel that it truly is and find happiness in the beauty of existence.

Happiness is much easier to achieve than people generally think. All it takes is understanding and honoring the truth about the world and ourselves. As long as you keep in mind the six grand illusions and the seven blind spots, and the ways that they can distort your reality, you can remove unfair expectations and therefore unhappiness from your life. Proceed to follow the five ultimate truths – whether you take the author’s or find your own – and pursue them to retain your happiness, living a life of simplicity and joy.

Action plan: Ask yourself if it’s true.

Whenever you look at the things you take for granted or come up against a new piece of knowledge, don’t unquestioningly accept it as true. Instead, ask the most important question about it before allowing it to govern your thinking. As long as your expectations are founded on truth, you can be sure to stay happy.

#The Formula Of True Happiness.

0 notes

mazzastick · 4 years ago

Text

Mindvalley Silva UltraMind System

Silva UltraMind System

Einstein once said, “Reality is an illusion, albeit a persistent one.” Was Einstein, right?

What if reality as you know it; The chair you’re sitting on, your house, the hills, the birds, the skyscrapers is nothing more than an elaborate illusion?

And what if, just like Neo from The Matrix, you could bend reality to your whim and fancy through the power of your mind.

Instantly ‘download’ new skills and abilities.

And even solve insurmountable challenges.

Just by waking up from that illusion? It may sound outrageous at first.

But if you attended NYT bestselling author Vishen Lakhiani’s recent Masterclass on the Mastering of Altered States, then you may already agree with Einstein’s now-famous quote.

(Especially if you paid attention to when Vishen shared the incredible story of Helen Hadsell, who managed to beat the laws of probability and win just about every contest, sweepstakes, or lottery she ever entered.

But the question is… could you bend your reality as well?

Is there a way you can activate your mind’s full potential and access superhuman levels of intuition, creativity, clarity, self-awareness, healing, and manifesting momentum?

With the right tools, you can.

Jose Silva

Before founding The Silva Method in 1960, the late Jose Silva was a radio technician in Laredo, Texas. His electronics passion was accompanied by a deep interest in subjects like psychology, hypnosis, intuition, and clairvoyance. He spent over two decades studying these fields and applied them through mind experiments on himself and his children.

Silva’s big breakthrough came through his discovery that the Alpha state of brainwave activity – typically associated with sleep and relaxation – was, in fact, a gateway to extraordinary abilities and levels of awareness. This became the foundation for The Silva Method, which Silva spread through a campaign of books and seminars that to date have gained millions of fans across the world and transformed the landscape of the entire personal growth industry.

Since his passing in 1999, Silva’s legacy is now honored through his family and students, a global network of Silva instructors, and programs like the Silva Ultramind System.

Jose Silva UltraMind & Mindvalley

Over the course of 50 years, Jose Silva developed and refined his system. The Silva Method was the original mind training program that influenced many American personal growth legends’ lives.

In the late 1990s, shortly before he passed away, Jose Silva created The Silva Ultramind System, which he called this work’s pinnacle. Vishen Lakhiani, the founder of Mindvalley, took the class in 2002 and wrote that it changed his life. He certified himself as an instructor and taught classes worldwide until 2008 when Mindvalley grew into the personal growth learning company, it is today.

In 2016, Jose Silva’s family asked Vishen to bring in his expertise and redesign and update Silva Ultramind for a new generation. Vishen spent four years refining the methods and teaching classes to hundreds of people in Los Angeles, Munich, and Tallinn to update the system. In 2020, the updated and refined program was produced. This is the program you’re experiencing here.

And it is possibly the most potent mind-empowerment system on the planet that has been rigorously tested by science and helped transform 6 million lives worldwide.

What You’ll Learn

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn in this 28-day program:

Multiply Your Manifestation Power: beautifully align your thoughts and actions with your deepest desires, so everything you want in life manifests more quickly, smoothly, and efficiently.

Develop Crystal-Clear Intuition: tap into your subconscious mind’s limitless intelligence and harness it to make better life decisions (while steering clear of the wrong ones).

Boost Your Creativity: Learn to tap into Theta levels of mind to source ideas and inspiration, and see your creative output and performance soar.

Holistic healing: the mind’s ability to assist in physical healing is well documented. Learn how to use your mind to accelerate healing and as a complement to your wellness practices.

Become Unshakably Positive: channel your newfound abilities towards a deep sense of confidence in everything you do, knowing you have the power to shape your reality and overcome any obstacle.

>>>Go Here to Signup for Silva Ultramind

0 notes

impatient14 · 8 years ago

Text

The Space-Time Continuum In BBC’s Sherlock

Disclaimer: The math and science of this post could get complicated for some, but it is REALLY important if you want to grasp what I think is happening on the show right now. I am going to try to explain things the best way I know how, but, if you have questions or want me to break it down further, my inbox is always open.

Let me start by giving you a little hook to bait you into reading some seriously complex stuff:

In 1895, H.G. Wells in his novel, The Time Machine, wrote, “There is no difference between Time and any of the three dimensions of Space except that our consciousness moves along it”. He added, “Scientific people…know very well that Time is only a kind of Space” (x)

So in a book published in our favorite year, written by a man who was reportedly very sexually progressive and extremely unsatisfied by the numerous female partners he accumulated over his years (x), we have the idea that time, something the Sherlock fandom has been obsessing over the last several weeks (years), is only a kind of space…

Interesting.

Get your pencils and notebooks out, because we are going back to school under the cut.

Before I start I want to give you a little background about why I started looking into this. It was because of this:

I did a short meta about this picture called TRF is a Red Herring, which I still stand by, but the matrix that represents Minkoswki’s Metric, or the matrix that represents the Space-Time Continuum, got me thinking. It is possible that the entire notebook is a red herring, but it is possible that only pieces of it are, or everything but one thing is.

With how hard we’ve been speculating about time, I felt this clue was worth a closer look, given it is one of the only pieces of evidence given to us about time.

So without further ado, a brief introduction to The Space-Time Continuum.

The Space- Time Continuum (theorized by Hermann Minkoswki) is the idea that time and space exist in a four dimensional model, where space takes up three of the dimensions (x, y, & z) and time takes up the fourth (t). It is extremely difficult to visualize four dimensions, especially when accounting for motion of an object. As an example, imagine bouncing a ball down the t (time) axis. You wouldn’t say the ball has a position of (x,y, z) at this time (t), you’d say the ball exists at (x,y,z,t). At any given point, you could see the ball bounce along x, y, or z (space) axis, but the trajectory of the ball is at a curve, it exists all at once in space-time.

If the table is the time axis (t), and each position of the ball is another variable in space (x,y,z) , we wouldn’t separate the time from space because they exist all together in one space-time.

When you add in an observer to the space-time continuum, the model starts to look something like this:

From the prospective of the observer (which is important for our application to Sherlock), we have a subdivision of the space-time continuum which breaks an event into four disjointed sets. The Light cone, The Absolute Future, The Absolute Past, and Elsewhere (Sard. R.D).

The light cone is the most complicated thing that I’ll need to explain, but unfortunately it is also the most important. So, take each thing slowly, digest it, then move on. I will have to work up to the definition of Light Cone through other definitions.

First, A Vector. A vector is a quantity that has both direction and magnitude (meaning an object that has mathematical size, i.e. it’s a number), helpful in determining the position of one point in space relative to another. So basically (for our purposes), a vector is the numerical sum of the physical position of a particular event, in relation to other events, as they occur in the same space.

A Null Vector is a vector that has a magnitude equal to zero, which means it can have either NO direction or ANY direction. Which essentially means its an event that can go nowhere or anywhere.

Finally, The Light Cone of an event is composed of ALL the Null Vectors of that event. However, when we factor in time, as in, we choose a time for the event to occur, The Null Vectors are classified thusly:

Zero vectors, Future-directed Null Vectors, and Past- Directed Null Vectors. But we also introduce something called Timelike Vectors which are broken into two types: future-directed timelike vectors whose first component is positive, (tip of vector located in absolute future in the figure above) and past-directed timelike vectors whose first component is negative (absolute past). A timelike vector connects two events that are causally connected, (ex. Sherlock receives the deerstalker as a present. Sherlock throws the deerstalker across the room. Two events, casually connected)

To oversimplify this a bit, this is all a long winded way of accounting for the point in time when the event occurs (zero), and the events that occurred before (past) and the events that will occur after (future). The absolute values in the timelike vectors are the total sum of all future and past events. The Absolute Future and The Absolute Past.

So, what is Elsewhere? Elsewhere, the fourth component of a broken down event from an observers point of view, is composed of something called spacelike vectors, which are represented by the idea that separated events are connected by vectors requiring faster-than-light travel, and so cannot possibly influence each other. Basically, a spacelike vector connects two events that are causally disconnected. An example would be John reads the newspaper in the morning and John chins the chief in the evening.

So with those four attributes, Light Cone, Absolute Future, Absolute Past, and Elsewhere, we have the space-time continuum of an event as witnessed by an observer. The Light Cone being the point zero for the event and the events that occur just before and just after, The Absolute Future being the sum of all future events from point zero, The Absolute Past being the sum of all past events from point zero, and Elsewhere, all of the events within this space-time continuum that cannot be directly connected to the event taking place at point zero.

With me so far?

So, what is the event we are dissecting here and who is the observer? Well, we are dissecting the same event thats been dissected over and over since the moment it aired. The Fall. And the observer? You may think it’s John, but its actually Sherlock. Everything is about Sherlock.

This is a good place for me to stop and remind everyone about the lovely idea of Extended Mind Palace, which is theory that at some point in Sherlock’s timeline he entered his Mind Palace to calculate the potential outcome of whatever decision he wants to make.

He tells us he believes himself capable of telling the future this way in The Six Thatchers:

SHERLOCK (TST): The world is woven from billions of lives, every strand crossing every other. What we call premonition is just movement of the web. If you could attenuate to every strand of quivering data, the future would be entirely calculable, as inevitable as mathematics.

SHERLOCK (TST): An advanced grasp of the mathematics of probability mapped onto a thorough apprehension of human psychology and the known dispositions of any given individual can reduce the number of variables considerably. I myself know of at least fifty-eight techniques to refine this seemingly infinite array of randomly generated possibilities down to the smallest number of feasible variables.

And he alludes to everything we are seeing being a construct of his mind in The Lying Detective:

SHERLOCK (looking towards the ceiling): Really? I correctly anticipated the responses of people I know well to scenarios I devised? Can’t everyone do that?

The origination point of when EMP begins varies from person to person, and sometimes from day to day if you’re talking to me, but for the sake of this meta, I will say that the origination point of Sherlock’s EMP would be in The Reichenbach Falls before he meets Moriarty on the roof. That would mean everything we’ve seen since then has been a mind palace exercise of Sherlock’s.

Now, lets put some of the definitions we learned to use and apply them to the show.

For the null vectors, Sherlock has the option to go in NO direction (i.e- do nothing) or ANY direction. As we know, we didn’t see Sherlock choose to do nothing. We saw him make a choice out of many- He chose ANY direction over than NO direction. He said so himself in The Empty Hearse.

SHERLOCK: I calculated that there were thirteen possibilities once I’d invited Moriarty onto the roof. I wanted to avoid dying if at all possible. (x)

Notice the phrasing there. Sherlock calculated the possibilities once he had already invited Moriarty on to the roof, but not when he actually stepped out onto the roof, which would mean that we saw at the end of TRF, is most likely a mind palace sequence. Remember, the point of the MP exercise is for Sherlock to figure out how to defeat Moriarty, while avoiding dying himself.

The future-directed null vectors of the fall after he goes in ANY direction are thus: Faking his suicide in a number of ways (TEH), Letting John in and trust him with his feelings so they can defeat the baddie together (TSoT), or kill Moriarty point blank- say, shooting him in the head (HLV).

Here is where things get even more interesting and we get to read a little into Eistein’s Theory of Relativity. (Interesting side note: Minkowski was Einstein’s mentor/teacher and Einstein extrapolated his theory from the work Minkowski already had done on the theory of the space-time continuum)

Einstein rejected the idea that time was linear.

“Since there exists in this four dimensional structure [space-time] no longer any sections which represent “now” objectively, the concepts of happening and becoming are indeed not completely suspended, but yet complicated. It appears therefore more natural to think of physical reality as a four dimensional existence, instead of, as hitherto, the evolution of a three dimensional existence…for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.“

We have struggled as a fandom to understand the countless references to time, clocks, and watches and I think this is why. Time is so very difficult to understand because it does not operate singularly. It exists all at once, or at least, that is what Einstein’s theory purposes.

So, going back to Sherlock, After His Last Vow, we got The Abominable Bride and Sherlock was, “A man out of his time.”

Sure, this is just a nice piece of prose, but it is also literal. Sherlock ran through the null vectors of choosing ANY direction and it didn’t work. He has to start over. Cue, TAB and all of its parallels to the entirety of BBC’s Sherlock. It’s a clean slate. You’ll notice that in this clean-slate version, he has himself do all three of the failed future-directed null vectors- He jumps, but he also defeats Moriarty, but he only does so with John by his side. The Absolute Future. TAB really is a stand alone episode, serving to wipe the slate clean but also drive home the parallels and symbolism that we are supposed to be picking up on through the show. Series 4 looks like at TAB roadmap because Sherlock was successful in TAB and he is applying what knowlege he gained from it, to the current null vector.

Now we get to The Six Thatchers, where Sherlock is now considered to back to Null Vector Zero, or the point where he must choose between ANY direction and NO direction. He chose ANY direction before, so this time he chooses NO direction. He does nothing. He waits for Moriarty to come to him. Targets wait.

Now, since time is not linear and it occurs concurrently within Sherlock’s mind, a mind that is now far too deep within itself:

(TAB)

MYCROFT HOLMES : You’re in deep, Sherlock, deeper than you ever intended to be. Did you make a list? HOLMES: Of what? MYCROFT HOLMES: Everything. We will need a list. MYCROFT HOLMES: Good boy. HOLMES: No. I haven’t finished yet. MYCROFT HOLMES: Moriarty may beg to differ. (Holmes sighs sharply.) HOLMES: He’s trying to distract me, to derail me.

(TLD)

SHERLOCK(TLD): I’m at the bottom of a pit and I’m still falling and … (he shakes his head and clenches his eyes closed) … I’m never climbing out.

Sherlock’s mind is breaking down with every string he pulls at in the web of his own mind. And since time is not linear, time begins to fold in on itself within Sherlock’s mind. That’s why we have so many reused lines and cases, blatant parallels to people and things that have already happened. The Absolute Past is being layered onto the current projection of Sherlock’s future. This List is a very good collection of that.

What’s interesting too, is that due to the events of TST and TLD, we are sufficiently distracted or derailed from the Moriarty story line. When you think about it, Sherlock’s plan to wait for Moriarty DOES work. Eurus comes to him, makes the first move, seeks him out. She targets John, but because its not real, it was only a tranquilizer gun and John survives. They run through the jigsaw house, Sherlock’s mind becoming more and more fractured and further displaced from reality the deeper he goes- but he does defeat the bad guy. How? Love. Familial love. Perhaps this is a nod to Sherlock figuring out about Mycroft’s involvement with Moriarty…

Now, you may be asking yourself, what about Mary? She just never existed? No. She didn’t. She was a construct, a parallel to Sherlock that Sherlock’s mind created to work through his feelings for John. That is why her story line never made sense and it’s why she had to die. She doesn’t exist. Sherlock can’t wake up with a loose thread in the reality he created. All of the plot holes in Series Four and even going back to His last Vow can be explained by the slow degradation of Sherlock’s mind, but also by him just ignoring the things that he doesn’t find important in the grand scheme. He has to delete somethings. These pieces of data can be considered the spacelike vectors and the Elsewhere attributes of the space-time continuum. There are both the things that are casually disconnected to the event and the things are impossible to connect to the event. Mary was important, though. She was the part of Sherlock that was secretive and had a dark past- and he got rid of her. Foreshadowing his intention to share and be honest with someone in the future. We see his more openness after Mary’s death in The Lying Detective. Sherlock is raw in that episode, very emotionally vulnerable. The hug was- well, it was exquisite. Here, have another look, you know you want to…

youtube

Where was I? Sorry…I blacked out…

So, if we know that time does not exist in a straight line, but can fold and twist, stretch out and fold again, we can then understand that throughout the third and fourth Series, Sherlock has pushed time out as if it were a straight line, twisting the details and facts of the events in space, while simultaneously folding time over on itself. In his own complicated and convoluted way, he is working his way back to the beginning. Back to the original Zero- Null Vector point. His confrontation with Moriarty in The Reichenbach Falls.

Think back to where he was then. He had John as his colleague, his “helpmate”, his best friend. That is where they are again in Sherlock’s EMP exercise, so we can expect for him to wake up soon and apply the knowledge he learned.

What did he learn?

That he needs John by his side; that he can’t take Moriarty on alone. Doing so will lead to literal or emotional death. He learned that if he and John are together and not emotionally distant, Moriarty won’t have a chance to send in a Wind Monster to shoot John with a tranquilizer dart. He learned that murdering Moriarty was out of the question and he also learned that his brother is most likely involved with Moriarty. Finally, and most importantly, he learned that John loves him and he learned the true depths of his love for John.

So, I hope you were able to follow along. I do have a science background, but I am not a mathematician or physicist. Any and all corrections are welcome! All transcripts were from Ariane DeVere. Thank you!!

EDIT TO ADD: Check out Part II of this Meta Here!

#sherlock #tjlc #johnlock #meta #science #space-time continuum #theory of relativity #emp #TRF

275 notes · View notes

thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 8 years ago

Text

Am I the only one who always headcanoned that Tobias is the Ellimist?

Because I’ve always headcanoned that Tobias is the Ellimist.

This idea originated when I was rereading The Andalite Chronicles and this one passage near the end stuck out to me. Elfangor and Loren are standing over the Time Matrix, and he tells her to

«Imagine your Earth, your home just as it is today... We need to go back in time. Back before your mother would have noticed you missing. But not before the Skrit Na took you or we would undo this entire timeline... Imagine that you are eighteen and that everyone who has ever know you expects you to be eighteen.»

“Is this really going to work?”

«I don’t know.»

—The Andalite Chronicles p. 399

That’s right, sports fans: Elfangor and Loren created the universe. At the very least, they created the universe in which the entire Animorphs series takes place. They deliberately manufacture a time paradox—one in which Loren is simultaneously on Earth (so no one notices she’s gone) and bopping around the galaxy with Elfangor (to preserve the loop that created the paradox in the first place) for over two months. One needs no further proof of the resultant universe’s impossibility than the fact that Chapman appears back on Earth after having been kidnapped and then killed, and yet he would have had to have died in order for Loren to create that Earth for him to return to in the first place.

It’s also left ambiguous as to whether Chapman remembers being that alternate version of himself the way that Loren does. He claims not to know her or Esplin 9466, yes, but they also don’t exactly hook him up to a polygraph to check—and he is a known liar. It might even be possible that Loren makes herself forget all aliens, several years down the line... We see subconscious longings and urges drive the will of the Time Matrix almost as much as conscious desires do (Loren perceiving the McDonald’s cashier as a face without eyes, Elfangor making his soul-tree the center of his universe, Esplin 9466 conjuring creatures that a yeerk fears to use as weapons), so it’s possible that she however-accidentally built a reset button into her conception of the universe, such that she was always going to forget all about aliens the moment Elfangor was gone from her life.

But I digress. The point is: the Time Matrix is a literally omnipotent object, and the people who attempt to use it inevitably make some mistakes and have some unintended consequences. Just look at Visser Four accidentally erasing Albert Einstein from existence.

So what does this have to do with the Ellimist? Well, I think Elfangor (and to some extent Loren) created him.

In the chronology of the Animorphs series, there is no hard evidence of the Ellimist’s existence (or non-existence, for that matter) before Elfangor and Loren use the Time Matrix for the first time. He makes no appearance in The Hork-Bajir Chronicles or Visser, and his own Ellimist Chronicles might be retrospective only for reasons I’ll get to later. So then the Ellimist’s first appearance comes just as Elfangor makes contact with the Time Matrix, as “a being like nothing I could have imagined. It saw me. It saw us all. And it laughed” (Andalite Chronicles).

What’s interesting is that there are apparently multiple opinions about the existence of the Ellimist(s) before this moment. When Elfangor suggests that the Ellimist(s) created the Time Matrix, both Alloran and Arbron dismiss this belief as an outdated fairy story. Apparently only some of the andalites believe that the Ellimist exists, and even that belief is not regarded as being particularly plausible or normative. Furthermore, those who do believe in the Ellimists seem to think there are several, and yet we know that there is only one.

So what if the Ellimist in fact doesn’t exist... until Elfangor creates him?

We know from the mashup of realities that results immediately afterward that the Time Matrix is an incredibly powerful object, one that can not only create entire universes but can change the laws of physics, chemistry, and quantum mechanics to suit the desires of the user. We also know that the Ellimist we see in reality does not quite match the stories of the Ellimists that Elfangor mentions: there’s only one of him, after all, he does not in fact create the Time Matrix that we know about, and he’s not willing to gift the andalites anything they can’t make themselves. In fact, the Time Matrix is quite possibly more powerful than either the Ellimist or Crayak, given that neither of them shows the ability to change the past and yet it can. Therefore, IMHO it’s less likely that the Ellimist created the Time Matrix, and more likely that the Time Matrix created the Ellimist.

We know that these kinds of paradoxes (i.e. Elfangor creating a being who has then been there all along) are possible using the Time Matrix (MM3). Thanks to whacky time travel in this series, Jake dies before he is ever born, John Berryman is never born at all thanks to a string of events that require John Berryman to have been born in order to exist (MM3), the Animorphs being present to save the Meercora from the comet nullified the effect of the Animorphs being present to save the Meercora from the comet (MM2), and Jake literally exists in two places at once for a while before once again kicking the bucket (#11). (Apparently, time travel does not agree with him.) So it is very possible that the Ellimist doesn’t exist until Elfangor wills him into being, but that once he’s there he has always been there. Because the Time Matrix is literally omnipotent like that.

Assuming that the Ellimist only came into being in that moment, his backstory then comes into existence because it’s what Elfangor imagines for him (Ellimist Chronicles). In the instant where the Ellimist first appears, Elfangor is alone, cut off from his species, in love with someone he can’t be with, and forced to learn to adapt to living on his own. He is literally being sucked to his death through the void of space after having been taught an excruciatingly powerful lesson in the dangers of making short-sighted decisions (Andalite Chronicles). Ergo, the life history his subconscious creates for the Ellimist not only populates in these elements, it also nicely explains why he has heard so many stories of this all-powerful being: it casts the Ellimist as the creator of the andalites.

The andalites only exist because they were created by the Ellimist, who only exists because he was created by an andalite. John Berryman’s parents only never meet because Cassie intervenes because John Berryman gets infested by Visser Four which is only possible because John Berryman’s parents met and gave birth to him.

Anyway, all of that got me thinking: maybe the Ellimist wasn’t Elfangor and Loren’s only creation.

Then again, maybe he was.

Going beyond the fact that the Ellimist talks to Tobias more than any other Animorph, there are some interesting parallels between them. They have pretty literally the same perspective on the events of the series: Tobias describes seeing humans as “hair ovals” and feeling as though he loses a dimension or two any time he’s on the ground (#23), whereas the Ellimist is described as a three-dimensional person talking to stick figures (Andalite Chronicles). When talking with the Ellimist, Tobias perceives himself as a mixture of human and bird parts (#13); when manifesting himself, the Ellimist imagines himself in his original Ketran body which is comprised of human-like and bird-like body parts (Ellimist Chronicles).

However, both of them work hard to transcend their original bodies: Tobias deliberately becomes a nothlit to escape his human life, and the Ellimist allows his original Ketran body to fall into a black hole in order to transcend physical life and achieve a new form of being. The Ellimist repeatedly mentions that Rachel is his favorite Animorph; if you have any question at all about who Tobias’s favorite Animorph is then you’re clearly reading a different book series than I am. In fact, Rachel herself describes the Ellimist as being “just a kid like me” after seeing his life—maybe she’s being more literal than we realize (#54). The hork-bajir view Tobias as a messiah figure; the andalites have the same perspective on the Ellimist. Toomin is “unique to the universe” (Ellimist Chronicles); Tobias is “one of a kind” (MM3).

Maybe the parallels exist because they’re the same person. Maybe this is who Tobias is destined to become after he dies. Maybe the One absorbs Tobias at the end of the series, and Tobias survives after a fashion to do battle with the One. Maybe Tobias escapes the One with music and sadness and mourning for his lost people. Maybe Tobias then achieves a higher form of being, one that enables him to go back and ensure his own existence.

If that’s the case, then the Ellimist never breaks the rules of his and Crayak’s game. He just defends his own life.

Chronologically, the Ellimist’s first major intervention in the time stream is simultaneously pulling Elfangor out of his vacation on Earth and ensuring that Tobias survives the change. It should break the rules of his and Crayak’s game—and yet it wouldn’t, if he was just saving his own life (Andalite Chronicles). If the Ellimist doesn’t intervene the first time he does in The Stranger, the Animorphs will be eaten by a taxxon—and if he doesn’t intervene the second time, Visser Three will kill and eat Tobias (#7). Drode argues (with good reason) that the Ellimist had a hand in ensuring the Animorphs were standing just above where the Time Matrix was buried when Elfangor landed there to try and retrieve it; as Back to Before shows, if Tobias hadn’t become an Animorph then he would have become a quasi-voluntary controller and then been shot in the head (MM4).

The Ellimist makes a huge intervention in the time stream in The Change when he saves the hork-bajir and gives Tobias his morphing power back. Regaining the ability to morph might simply save Tobias’s life because it extends his life span far beyond that of a typical red-tailed hawk (#33). However, it also potentially prevents Tobias from just giving up and killing himself, which he has already attempted (#3) and is considering again as an alternative to starving to death (#13). At the end of The Change the Ellimist asks Tobias “Are you happy?” because that’s what he’s really accomplished: changing Tobias’s answer from “no” to “maybe” (#13).

When the Ellimist next intervenes in the lives of the Animorphs (#26) the competition between his team and Crayak’s for the fate of the Iskoort, it’s more or less exactly what it looks like—the only difference is that Ellimist only agrees because he already knows he’ll win, and that victory will enable him to continue to intervene and keep the Animorphs alive. Of course the Ellimist comes to Rachel at the moment she transitions from being a body to being a pure soul (#54), and of course he considers her one of the most impactful people in the universe. It is very possible that the hallucination of Elfangor which saves Tobias’s life in The Illusion was caused by the Ellimist, again to preserve his own life (#33).

Like I said, all of this is pure speculation. I have no idea whether it’s even a valid interpretation of the text. I just like to imagine that maybe when Elfangor and Loren brought this world into being, they had a happy accident along the way. That the Animorphs’ “eyes in the sky” might be the only guy in the universe capable of manipulating its fabric (#39). That one day when Rachel dies, the revelation about their guardian angel is something she never could have expected. That the guy looking out for the universe is one who can find the balance between killing one baby skunk and saving the rest of the litter, who sees a meteor crashing toward the Earth as the opportunity that everyone around him has missed.

#headcanon #the ellimist #emohawk #animorphs #loren fangor #tobias fangor #animorphs headcanon #long post

1K notes · View notes