Day 71: Universal Fractal

A fractal, simply put, is a geometric figure in which the pieces are smaller versions of the whole. They occur all over nature: crystals, lightning bolts, trees, pineapples, ocean waves, DNA, mountain ranges, and Romanesco broccoli, just to name a few. Fractals are also found in the formation of galaxies and the universe as a whole. Which raises the question that if everything exists as smaller versions of the whole, what does that make us?

Many people believe that everyone and everything is connected. Especially on Earth. There is no empty space. On a quantum level, everything is energy in different states. Living energy is constantly making waves that affect other living beings all around us, like we are living in a giant swimming pool.

In terms of fractal growth, if everything is connected and birthed from a singularity (the Big Bang), that means that everything is a duplicate of that singularity and every atom in our body is a copy of the universe, theoretically.

The mathematical beauty of fractals could be an explanation for the design of the universe and life itself. Nature has a way of finding symmetry and balance. We are both microscopic and enormous. It is all a matter of perspective, which is why in a perfect fractal everything will look the same, no matter how far or close the viewer.

This logic helps explains many ideas of multiple religions, the feelings we experience, and the macro effects of simple actions. It is why being kind to others is so important. Any act affects the whole and the whole affects ourselves, which explains karma. Everything is recycled.

By this line of thinking, we can think of the universe as our lives. We are born, live for a while, and die. But does the universe die? Do we live again? And those may be questions of faith or believing those that have remembered past lives through mediation or therapy. Is it just their imagination? From everything that I have experienced and read, it is hard for me to believe that the soap opera title, One Life to Live, was correct. At this point in my life, I think we continue on as the pieces of the fractal, continuing on into the never-ending structure of the self.

And on and on it goes. On and on it goes.

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Images can be found here and here and here.

The first six are fractal art and the bottom two are theoretical images of the universe as a whole. The bottom one resembles brain neurons. Creepy and cool.