There is a trilogy of possible universes we inhabit – Supernatural, Natural and Simulated. There are also several universal beliefs that nearly all humans, all cultures, over all of history share. Belief in these universals usually extends to the present day. Can the later assist in determining which of the three possible universes we might live in, is the one we do live in?
Continued from yesterday’s blog…
Reincarnation
Lastly, another near universal concept is reincarnation. Some people believe they have led previous lives. Some cultures suggest you can be reincarnated as another life form. Nearly everyone has experienced a sensation of Déjà vu.
*Natural Universe: You cannot have a memory of a previous life or lives since neither your father’s sperm and your mother’s egg could contain a genetic memory of your previous life or lives, so at conception, your conception, you could not have been blessed with any genetic inheritance of a memory of another you that lived once upon a time (in a galaxy far, far away). For a similar reason, you could not be the reincarnation of a previous life form. There is only one ‘you’ and that ‘you’ did not originate from any other life forms apart from your biological parents. As for Déjà vu, that would have to be coincidence. A natural universe rules out any versions of reincarnation. No points awarded in this case.
*Simulated Universe: If your name is Joe Blow, and you’re just software, then there’s a command within that software that you come to that says something like “end subroutine program Joe Blow” – Joe Blow kicks the bucket. But, then there’s another command which says “start subroutine program Joe Blow reincarnate” – Joe Blow gets reassembled into another simulated identity. Easy! One full point has to be awarded here for the logical possibility that the Supreme Programmer or Supreme Player likes to subject their simulated characters to perform as various identities, sort of like father, like son, or like human, like cockroach.
*Supernatural Universe: Some religions do suggest that upon attaining the state of death, some part of what was you, becomes a you again, but in another body, which may or may not be of the same species as the one you just died as. If, presumably, this transition from life to death to life (not afterlife) is guided or determined by supernatural deities, then I guess such a belief is rational, since a supernatural deity can transcend the Natural Universe or the natural order of things. And, who’s to say whether a transition from life to afterlife is more logical than a transition from life to another life. One point if you please!
Shape-Shifters
Like ghosts, shape-shifters and shape-shifting, of certain deities, humans and creatures, and a belief in same, is a universal shared by all cultures throughout recorded history, albeit less so in modern times than ancient times.
*Natural Universe: While shape-shifting isn’t unknown in the natural world, it’s a slow process – a seed can’t transform into a plant; a tadpole into a frog, in seconds, and in the natural world it’s a one-way street. The shape-shifters throughout human history cannot be natural since transitions tend to be rapid and reversible. However, they just might be extraterrestrial since we have no idea what might be biologically possible on other worlds. Still, without proof of aliens and that alien ability, terrestrial (natural) shape-shifters have to be given the thumbs down, but, given the (unlikely) possibility, ½ point.
*Simulated Universe: We’ve all seen shape-shifting undertaken by characters in the movies or in TV episodes. It can be made to look pretty convincing, in fact, given the state of the CGI art; it can be made to look absolutely convincing. If a computer programmer wants their creation(s) to shape-shift, so be it. One full point for the possibility has to be the order of the day.
*Supernatural Universe: Well, in mythology, various deities, such as Zeus, shape-shift to their heart’s (and private parts) content. God and/or Jesus may not have shape-shifted within Biblical texts, but they probably could have had they wanted to. That’s just one of those superpowers deities have. Again, one point is awarded based on the relevant literature.
Hybrid Creatures
While now relegated to our past societies and cultures, hybrid creatures, either animal-animal (like the dragon or griffin) or animal-human composites (like the centaur or Minotaur), were in ancient times held universal, and in fact based on prehistoric carvings, extend way back before recorded history. Even on tiny, isolated, remote Easter Island you get images depicting hybrid creatures, in this case birdmen predominate.
*Natural Universe: There’s no biology, no natural selection, no operations of normal evolutionary genetics that can account for the dragon, the griffin, the sphinx, Pegasus, the Minotaur, the centaur, and literally thousands more hybrid creatures that are found and described in ancient literature, depicted in ancient art, manufactured as ancient statues – what tends to be termed today mythologies from around the world. However, composite creatures produced or manufactured via artificial selection is a different hybrid horse of mixed colours. Since such artificial selection techniques, advanced genetic engineering, was beyond the abilities of the ancients, the only explanation, assuming hybrids in our natural universe, has to be technologically advanced aliens. So, ½ point here too.
*Simulated Universe: If software can simulate a human; if software can simulate a lion; then software can simulate a sphinx! As in the case of shape-shifting, well, one can simulate a hybrid creature via sophisticated computer generated software. So, if you believe there was, once upon a time, a sphinx, then one point awarded for your belief, since that belief can be vindicated via a Simulated Universe.
*Supernatural Universe: If mythology is just somebody else’s supernatural religion, then the supernatural is chock-a-block saturated with hybrid creatures. The issue of ‘why’ the need for such entities isn’t at issue here; they just are. Since mythologies record their existence, who am I to doubt this universal facet that humans, at least once upon a time, found credible? - One point.
Universal Flood
*Natural Universe: All ancient societies, for obvious reasons, settled first near water, usually rivers. Rivers flood, even if the source of the floodwaters was way upstream and not local rain. So, it’s not surprising that there would be embellished tales of catastrophic floods, all the better when told down through the generations with a morality twist. So, local floods can get thumbs up, but one big global deluge is not possible by any sort of geography known to mankind, so that gets thumbs down. All up, ½ point for an each way bet.
*Simulated Universe: A 100% global flood is certainly possible to simulate. One could probably design a video game called ‘Noah and the Ark
*Supernatural Universe: Well, there are no shortages of massive flood events that were triggered by the wrath of the gods, and not just the one related in the Book of Genesis. Science can not account for forty days and nights of rain (and variations on that theme), but in the La-La-Land of supernatural occurrences, well, the Heavens knows, anything goes. One point if you accept the realm of the miraculous.
To be continued….
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