Recently, I experienced a moment in which I didn’t simply know theoretically that I am a complex combination of subatomic particles and mostly empty space. I felt it. And as I thought about this further, I wondered whether, if one could view a life form such as a human being at the subatomic level, one would see anything other than what we see looking out into space: elements of complex structural arrangements stretching off beyond the edge of the furthest reaches of our vision.
The universe appears to be expanding. One explanation is that it originated via an explosion from a singularity. Another proposal involves branes which cause this effect when they come into contact, and envisages a cyclical universe. I want to ask a question about this. Might the universe be growing? How, if at all, would the universe look different if it is part of something for which the closest analogy on our level of existence would be a life form, although by definition this transcendent reality would be something intrinsically unimaginable. Might the universe be part of something that is alive and is thus growing rather than merely expanding? If so, how might we be able to tell, from our perspective?
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