What’s Invisible? Asking a Bigger Question

Invisibility.  We think of it as a unique quality in the universe, but is it all that rare?

Source: Florian Bugiel // Flickr

When we ask ourselves “What is invisible?” perhaps we can think of some basic forces, like gravity and maybe gases like the oxygen we breathe. It turns out, though, pondering invisibility can lead to some much bigger questions.

Today we bring you a fun and fascinating animated version of John Lloyd’s TED Talk on the subject of invisibility. This talk brings science and philosophy together to help us ponder the universe, life, and even who we are. Take a look…

For those that are not as familiar with TED Talks, there are some that you can watch over and over again, and each time find some new AHA! moment. For me, this is one of those talks. Finding yours is a worthwhile endeavor, so if this isn’t it, go check them out!

I am struck not only with the vastness of what we do not know, but also how close that unknown is to ourselves.

What can we call the self, if we are made up of cells that are constantly regenerating? If our brains are made up of thousands of neurons, where is our consciousness? If we see ourselves as the most complex creatures on the planet, what does our genome say about us?

Source: Guillaume Paumier // Flickr

The fact that we fundamentally don’t understand the forces that keep our feet on the ground perplexes me to no end and inspires me to keep asking better questions. I believe these questions, asked by the right people, push us forward to not only better understand the world around us, but also to better understand the nature of our own humanity.

-Liesl

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” – Victor Borge