Before I get started, I would like to make a comment. It tickles me that, when I describe a character who could very well be made up, certain authors link them with actual people. This proves that said authors realize that certain people are illogical, they just refuse to accept it for reasons beyond my comprehension.
And now, we're off:
The Truth to Truth:
A small boy plunders with childhood as he graciously accepts a gift from a loving grandmother. He greedily snatches it away, tearing through the thin filament surrounding the box that was at one time known as wrapping paper. Once into the box, the boy realizes that the contents are not what he expected nor ached for, it was a pair of socks. Stunned, the boy simple blunders the statement he has been thought by his parents.
“Thanks for the gift grandma…I love it,” the boy doesn’t consider himself to be lying, for he is warping the truth to allow his grandmother the piece of mind that she needs. This raises the question that many people in the past have strived for, what is truth? Is truth the accepted statements of our observations? Is it simply the lies that we choose to believe? Or is truth logic in action? A statement can be proven true if it is derived from a previously true statement. We can say that 5 + 2 = 7 because of the previous truths that we have set up. Five is a number that exists in our mind, that is a truth. Two, as well, is a number that exists in our mind, ergo it is also a truth. We also know that when two numbers are combined, they create a number that is the compilation of the previous numbers; therefore, a truth can be proven from the compilation of other truths. Then what defines the original truth? What seemingly all-powerful statement is the original truth, from which we have built our entire society? These are questions that cannot be answered by any mortal being, no matter how intelligent they may think they are. Because of this, I will not try to answer these questions; I will merely provide truths that may influence these statements. Indeed, I can analyze these questions with truth, but these truths are derived from the Original Truth, which I am analyzing with my truths. I have thus created a paradoxical cycle that cannot be broken with brute force or ignorance or even, I dare say it, art. What I have said thus far can be summed up in a famous quote made by one of my heroes Albert Einstein (for those art fans who haven’t heard of him, he is a scientists). Einstein’s quote about truth is, “Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” Therefore, anybody with the God Complex to try to judge truth is to be forever laughed at by the gods. This is why I cannot pretend like many others in this world that I understand truth, for I do not, nor does anybody else. Assuming this, how can we dare to study the truth to truth? Well, we can analyze truth using a few given truths that we must accept before we can proceed. First, we must accept that truth is a logical assumption that can be proven. Truth must withstand the constant bombardment of false accusations attempting to prove that truth incorrect. Einstein once said, “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” This is what I have been explaining in a nutshell. Truth must be accepted for as long as it takes someone to prove it false. If the truth is a true truth, then it will come out the other end of this bombardment of anti-proofs as it was at the start, a full and honest truth.
From here we can build our analysis. If we say that truth is what is accepted by society, then truth can be expressed in infinitely many ways. One could paint a picture depicting pain and suffering, the truth of the world. One could make a sculpture of a man helping somebody, the truth of the world. One could solve an equation and prove the original statement, the truth of the world. All of these different expressions are, contrary what many narrow-minded individuals may say, truths. 3x + 4 = 7; x = 1, this is a truth that can easily be expressed using the logic and truthful nature of mathematics. “Vietnam caused thousands of people suffering and pain” is a truthful statement that can be expressed using the defunct aspects of the English language. Both of these are truths, but which one can withstand the bombardment of lies? Is the English language so true that it cannot be illogical? Can you express every thought in the English language? Can these expressions be shown true in math? These are some of countless questions that are being tested for truth, however, I believe that I have already found the truth to these questions or lack there of. Let’s begin with our “truthful” statement in English. “Vietnam caused thousands of people suffering and pain,” this statement itself is true, but can easily be made false by using the rules of English. One doesn’t know if this statement means that Vietnam caused thousands of people to suffer, or if it caused thousands of people, as well as suffering and pain. This is one of the many faults to the English language. Also, if there were one so arrogant as to believe that every thought can be expressed in the English language, then why is it that the language is growing? If I went back four hundred years and took my laptop with me, how would the English speaking population describe it? They would be unable to express their views about such a machine. Another example is the expression of pain. Pain cannot be expressed directly with words. If we are to describe pain, we must use a method known as fuzzy logic. If I had my foot blown off by a land mine, I would be screaming. Screaming is the natural human expression of pain and I guarantee you that screaming is not English. If, five years later, I were to attempt to describe this pain, I would be unable to do so without using fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic is comparing an idea that cannot be expressed in the English language to one that can be expressed. If someone asked me, “How did you feel when your foot was blown off?” I could say that it hurt. However, “hurt” is such a varied word. It has very little true definition to it and can be used for many different experiences. I could say that a paper cut hurts and I could also say that a fatal head wound hurts. If anybody has ever felt both, or even if you haven’t and simply have a brain, you know that a paper cut is not the same thing as having one’s foot blown off or being shot in the head. This is one of the countless faults to the English language. I can only describe pain in relation to other feelings. I could say, “When my foot was blown off, it felt like a thousand small spiders had bit me with all the force they could muster,” this is a true statement, but it doesn’t correctly define what I felt in that terrifying instant. To further explain this, how many times have you heard or read someone say, “words could not describe it,” this phrase in itself sums up my argument thus far.
Love is another phenomena that cannot be expressed using the faulty structure of the English language. If you have ever been truly in love, you know that you need that person with you no matter what. You feel so strongly for that person that if anything were to happen to them, it would devastate you beyond words! I could say “My love for you is as great as the seas of the world!” but this still wouldn’t express my true feelings.
Art itself does not show truth no matter what anybody tells you. If you have ever seen a painting by Escher you know that images can be deceiving. Cave men used to express themselves with cave paints, a form of art. As you can see, this wasn’t enough to satisfy man’s drive to express himself. If art could express truth, then language wouldn’t exist! Cave men would have simply expressed themselves using cave paintings. As man evolved, more convenient ways of painting would have presented themselves and man would have continued to this day to use art and only art to express his feelings. This proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that art does NOT show truth in itself because no mortal man can hope to comprehend truth! However, man can delve to the very depths of lies, coming as close to truth as possible using math and logic. Given the rules of math, we can express 5 + 2 = 7 any and every time we please and there is no confusion about what I mean. There is no confusion or problems in translation between any nation in the universe. Math is the universal numerological language of the universe. Math is the only perfect way of expressing “truth”. Indeed, math comes close to the Original Truth, but it still has its faults. If I try to divide 0 by 0 I get something unimaginable. Lets use the rules of math to prove that lies can arise. Let’s assume that x = 0. This can be done without any confusion because of the truthful nature of math and logic. From this true statement, we can derive the expression 2x = 0. This is also a true statement because, based on the truths of math, we know that anything times 0 is 0. Now, lets solve the equation. If we divide both sides by x we get 0/x = 2. Now, as we said, x = 0, so the expression, 0/x can also be expressed as 0/0. Now, lets say 3x = 0. If we divide by x, we get 0/0 = 3. We can do this for any number we please and we realize that 0/0 = infinity. Now how can this be possible? This is an irrational expression that arises when we use truth. This is one of the few instances when the truths of math cannot be used to overpower the Original Truth. We can think of this “Original Truth” as the building ground for a house. If we do not know what the Original Truth is, we cannot know exactly where our house is. However, we can still build the house using other truths. We can live in the house for as long as we like, but we can never truly know where we are or if we are even in a house. Nothing can be proven because we do not know what the Original Truth is. Therefore, truth cannot be expressed in any form, ever! If you attempt a true statement, such as “I am alive” I could say, “Prove it”. You might begin by saying that you’re heart is beating. I could say, “Prove that your heart exists and that this is not just a figment of your imagination…” this could continue forever without anybody getting to the truth. This is why art, nor language, not even math can express truth, they can just come close. As I have demonstrated, math/logic comes the closest to true truth as is humanly possible where as art and language pale in comparison. The Original Truth can never be achieved.
If you would like a copy of this essay, you can download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?zlmntxo11sm
8/8/08: I was looking back at this and I realized that I left out the perfect quote. Since I would like to leave my essay in its original format, I will just include the quote bellow:
"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world. In our endeavor to understand reality we are somewhat like a man trying to understand the mechanism of a closed watch. He sees the face and the moving hands, even hears it ticking, but he has no way of opening the case. If he is ingenious he may form some picture of the mechanism which could be responsible for all the things he observes, but he may never be quite sure his picture is the only one which could explain his observations. He will never be able to compare his picture with the real mechanism and he cannot even imagine the possibility of the meaning of such a comparison."
--Bruce Gregory
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