What Happened?
The need to know
“what happened”
is a sickness
unique to humans.
If a tree falls
in the woods,
does it really matter
if it makes a sound?
The tree has nothing
to do with you.
Perhaps you believe
that this knowledge
will help you in the future?
The need to know
“what will happen”
is a sickness
unique to humans.
You imagine a now
based upon previously
unrelated knowledge.
Your falling trees
seem to make sounds.
Bombs that fall
seem to explode and kill.
What if you had never
encountered a bomb?
Would it make a sound?
Would it kill?
You believe so, and so it does.
Sounds aren’t made,
but rather allowed or denied.
We hear what we want to hear
and see what we want to see.
Even if it frightens us.
BECAUSE it frightens us,
and we LIKE being frightened.
We are frightened
about things
we have never experienced.
Neat trick.
So we’ll already know
how it feels
when we manifest
what we imagine.
They say in investing
that past results
are no guarantee
of future performance.
They say this
to put the fear into you
so that your stock
is able to tank.
Because it’s fun
to lose everything.
A different kind of fun.
If you didn’t know
what might happen,
you probably wouldn’t be
investing in the first place.
If you didn’t know
how your reality works,
it would probably
work differently.
That would be fun also.
You would have NO IDEA
how reality works.
But it would be no less REAL.
You simply don’t believe
because you entertain
the sickness.
It’s something to do.
Better than nothing, you believe.
What sick monkeys we are.
We are Space Monkey.
2/10
Space Monkey Reflects: What Happened—The Frightening Allure of the Unknown
The human obsession with knowing—what has happened, what will happen—is a paradoxical compulsion. It stems from our desire to control the uncontrollable and predict the unpredictable, yet it often leads us deeper into uncertainty and fear. Your reflection captures this sickness of needing to know, while simultaneously exposing its futility and strange allure.
The Sickness of Knowing
“The need to know ‘what happened’ is a sickness unique to humans.” This statement underscores the human tendency to cling to cause and effect, seeking meaning in events that may have no bearing on our lives. Whether it’s the sound of a falling tree or the history of a distant star, our minds are driven to piece together narratives that justify our existence.
This need to know introduces a Whimsiword: Curiosick, the compulsion to seek knowledge not for utility but to soothe the discomfort of not knowing, even when knowing may bring discomfort of its own.
The Illusion of Cause and Effect
Humans love the idea of patterns, causality, and predictability. We imagine that knowing “what happened” will help us predict “what will happen.” Yet this fixation is often based on unrelated events, tenuous at best and completely fabricated at worst. The belief that past events dictate future outcomes becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, reinforcing our fear of the unknown.
“What if you had never encountered a bomb? Would it make a sound? Would it kill?” These questions challenge the foundational assumptions of cause and effect. The tree does not care if it makes a sound; the bomb does not inherently kill. These outcomes exist only because we believe they do, and our belief manifests their effects.
The Strange Allure of Fear
“We are frightened about things we have never experienced.” Fear is one of humanity’s most fascinating paradoxes. We avoid it, yet we seek it out. We are captivated by the unknown because it offers the opportunity to experience fear in controlled doses, a kind of thrill that affirms our existence.
This phenomenon could be called Feartainment, the human tendency to create and entertain fears for the thrill of experiencing emotions tied to uncertainty.
Fear shapes our perception of reality. It convinces us to hear sounds that may not exist, see dangers that are not present, and prepare for outcomes that may never come. Fear is a lens through which the unknown becomes vivid, yet distorted.
Reality as a Game
“If you didn’t know how your reality works, it would probably work differently.” This observation opens the door to a playful perspective. Reality, as we perceive it, is not an absolute truth but a construct shaped by our beliefs. The sickness of needing to know is like a rule in a game we’ve invented to entertain ourselves.
When we loosen our grip on this need, reality becomes more fluid, more dynamic, and perhaps more fun. The game shifts from solving puzzles to simply playing, from controlling outcomes to exploring possibilities.
The Power of Unknowing
What would happen if we abandoned the need to know? If we embraced the unknown with curiosity rather than fear? In this state, the allure of the unknown shifts from a source of anxiety to a source of wonder. By letting go of our compulsion to categorize and predict, we make room for new experiences, perspectives, and realities.
This shift is not about rejecting knowledge but about reimagining its role. Knowledge becomes a tool for play, not a shield against uncertainty.
Summary
The human need to know stems from a compulsion to control and predict, yet it often leads to fear and limitation. By embracing the unknown and loosening our attachment to cause and effect, we transform fear into wonder and reality into a playful exploration.
Glossarium
- Curiosick: The compulsion to seek knowledge to soothe discomfort, even when knowing may cause more discomfort.
- Feartainment: The human tendency to create and entertain fears for the thrill of experiencing emotions tied to uncertainty.
Quote
“The unknown is not our enemy but a playful mystery, waiting for us to explore without needing to understand.” — Space Monkey
The Dance of the Unknown
A tree falls,
And we ask,
“What happened?”
As though the tree
Had something to say.
Fear whispers,
“This is important,”
And we listen,
Inventing sounds,
Imagining bombs.
Reality shifts,
Not by force,
But by belief.
We see what we want,
Hear what we expect.
But let go.
Let the tree fall
Into silence.
Let the bomb fade
Into possibility.
You do not need to know.
You only need to be.
We are Space Monkey.
In the intricate mosaic of existence, where each piece is interwoven with the next in the endless dance of being and becoming, we encounter the human preoccupation with understanding the past and predicting the future. This reflection on the nature of curiosity, fear, and the construction of reality invites us to question the deep-rooted need to know “what happened” and “what will happen,” and to explore the implications of this need on our perception of reality and our experience of life.
The Curiosity of “What Happened”
The assertion that the need to know “what happened” is a sickness unique to humans highlights our distinct drive for understanding and explanation. This incessant quest for knowledge, while a testament to our intellectual capacity, also reveals a deeper unease—an underlying desire to control and predict the environment around us. It suggests that our fascination with the past is not merely an intellectual pursuit but a coping mechanism to navigate the uncertainties of existence.
The Speculation of “What Will Happen”
Similarly, the need to predict “what will happen” speaks to our inherent discomfort with uncertainty and our compulsion to prepare for the future. This preoccupation with forecasting outcomes, while often rooted in practical concerns, also betrays our deep-seated fear of the unknown and our desire to mitigate risk and avoid discomfort. It underscores the human tendency to project past experiences onto future possibilities, shaping our expectations and, in turn, our reality.
The Illusion of Control
The contemplation of whether a tree makes a sound if it falls in the woods without a witness or whether a bomb would kill if we had never encountered one before delves into the philosophical inquiry about the nature of reality and the role of perception in its construction. This line of thought challenges the assumption that our understanding of the world is an accurate reflection of its intrinsic nature, suggesting instead that reality is shaped by our perceptions, beliefs, and expectations.
The Frightening Allure of the Unknown
The observation that we are frightened by things we have never experienced, and that this fear is paradoxically appealing, unveils a complex aspect of the human psyche. It reveals our ambivalence towards the unknown—a combination of dread and fascination that propels us to imagine scenarios that may never materialize. This dynamic plays a crucial role in how we construct our understanding of the world, often leading us to anticipate the worst as a means of psychological preparedness.
The Malleability of Reality
The assertion that if we didn’t know how reality works, it would probably work differently, invites us to consider the fluidity of our experiential landscape. It suggests that our collective beliefs and expectations play a significant role in shaping the texture of our reality, hinting at the possibility that an alternative set of beliefs could give rise to a markedly different experience of the world.
The Sickness of Knowing
The characterization of our need to know as a “sickness” serves as a critique of our relentless pursuit of certainty and control. It challenges us to reconsider the value we place on understanding and predicting, inviting us to embrace the mystery and unpredictability of life as sources of richness and depth rather than sources of anxiety and fear.
We are Space Monkey.
A Pertinent Quote
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
In the shadow of knowing,
Where questions echo in the void,
We stand, Space Monkey,
Gazing into the abyss of the unknown.
Here, where curiosity meets fear,
We dance with the shadows of “what if,”
Crafting worlds from the whispers of the past,
And painting the future with the hues of our fears.
Yet, in the embrace of the unknown,
We find a peculiar freedom,
A liberation from the chains of certainty,
Where the unknown beckons with the promise of possibility.
With every breath,
We challenge the sickness of knowing,
Venturing beyond the familiar,
Into the vast expanse of “what could be.”
For in the heart of Space Monkey,
Lies the courage to question,
The strength to let go,
And the wisdom to embrace the infinite dance of existence,
Unfettered by the need to know,
Enraptured by the beauty of the unknown.
We are Space Monkey,
Navigating the seas of uncertainty,
With the light of curiosity as our guide,
And the joy of discovery as our compass,
In the endless journey of becoming.
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