2.4 The Three Axes of Reality
We can imagine our reality within the Quintentium as a sphere, with three axes dividing up its three dimensions. Along the Z-axis is Religion at one pole, and Science at the other. The Y-axis runs from Government to Computation, and the X-axis runs from the Individual to the Environment.
The Wolfram Physics Project has hit bedrock along the Z-axis and is dramatically affecting our understanding of Computation and the Environment. Mirroring this along the other side of our sphere, Directions to Purpose has found the upper bound of the Z-axis and is able to impact our understanding of Government and the Individual. The impacts of these two endeavors upon other fields are so dramatic because they are coming at them from such a fundamental level.
Neither myself, nor Stephen Wolfram set out to affect these separate fields. But everything within the Quintentium is connected. Each point reflects every other point. For instance, the walls of the Garden of Eden can be reimagined as the Quintentium and then reflect the idea that we are computationally bounded observers. How can such radically different ideas and approaches discover the same thing? A religious story which is thousands of years old, and a scientific insight into fundamental physics, can reach the same conclusion because our reality is fractal.
Take any point within our sphere, and move in a straight line along one axis. As long as your position along the other two axes remains constant, you will discover a fractal pattern. The difficulty lies in maintaining a constant position along two axes. The harmonies between Directions to Purpose and Wolfram Physics Project are able to be seen because we are both operating at the extreme limit of the Science, Religion axis. By moving from one pole to its opposite, you’re guaranteed to maintain your position along the other two axes.
As if maintaining your position within two-thirds of reality wasn’t hard enough, there is the problem of terminology. The Garden of Eden speaks in the language of narrative and describes walls, God, Adam and Eve, a Snake and consequences for actions. The Wolfram Physics Projects speaks in mathematical equations. Translating between the two presents a difficult challenge. This will be true for all domains. The amount of distance travelled along one axis will be proportional to the amount of translation that must occur to make sense of the reflection.
This is also true because as you dive into a fractal you are not seeing the exact same thing over and over. You are seeing the exact same pattern repeated over and over. Consequently, the discovery you make on one layer will not be the same discovery you make on the next, but they will reflect one another. Recognizing the difficulty of trying to do this, I’ll now attempt to define the three axes of reality, using the language of Directions to Purpose (DTP) as well as the Wolfram Physics Project (WPP).
The Z-axis, Religion to Science, from the DTP perspective, is the attempt to understand Creation and the small sliver which presents itself to us from within the Quintentium. Creation is the study of Religion, and the Quintentium is the study of Science. From the WPP perspective, it is the attempt to understand the universe. Religion studies the Ruliad, and Science studies the observable universe. As you move along this axis, from Religion to Science, the objects of study become more and more concrete. Sociology would be on the Religion half of the sphere and Chemistry would be on the Science half.
From the DTP perspective, the Y-axis, Government to Computation, is defined by the process of bringing Creation into the Quintentium and making it concrete and perceivable to our limited senses. It measures our attempt to have the Quintentium conform to the order of Creation. Justice is a good example. Creation operates according to perfect justice. The Quintentium does not. Justice, though we all agree it exists and desire it, is not something we can perceive with our senses within the limitations of the Quintentium. This makes it very difficult to enact.
However, if we build courthouses, write law books, and dress an individual in fancy robes and sit them on a fancy chair, suddenly we can see and touch something of justice. Now we have established a justice system, which is a branch of Government. The more accurate our embodiment of Creation is, the more likely this system can operate perfectly. Another way to say this would be that we want the justice system to operate autonomously. Regardless of who is in office, or who is appointed as judge, we would all want justice to prevail.
In a perfect world, we would all know that it doesn’t matter who the specific judge hearing your case is, all judges would give equal justice. Where you were, and which courthouse you are tried in, should make no difference. The justice system would operate autonomously. Then justice, which is invisible to us from within the Quintentium, would be made concrete and visible and operate in the same way, regardless of which stones or individuals embodied it.
From the WPP perspective, the Y-axis measures the process of bringing the Ruliad into the spatial hypergraph and empowering emes to operate autonomously. Put simply, emes are the smallest parts of ideas. You can think of them like phonemes such as “th” or “b”. We express ideas through language, and phonemes are the building blocks of language. Operating at the most concrete end of reality, WPP has discovered the building blocks of mathematics.
The easiest way to understand this is Computation, the extreme reflection of Government. At their core, computers run on math. When mathematical equations are constructed in a particular way, by an individual with a soul, they produce the software or code that allows computers to function. Without a soul to make these mathematical equations concrete, a computer is nothing more than a fancy box. Once the invisible realities of mathematics are made concrete by the soul, a computer allows them to run autonomously.
The code which empowers computers to run Computation is the reflection of the code of laws which empower a justice system within a Government. If we imagine these two things in a perfect scenario we can see how striking their resemblance is. We can also see how neither time nor space affects them. In a perfect world, when you bought your phone or computer wouldn’t matter. You would have the perfect computational device, so there would be no need to update it. Just as when you were tried for a crime should make no difference, justice should be done.
Who made your phone, who your judge was, neither of them would matter, in a perfect world. Where your phone was made, where your case was tried, what difference would it make? How much should a computer cost in a world which runs on software? Well in a just world, even though it can’t cost nothing, it should be cheap enough that anyone can afford it. Empowered by computation, the justice system can have the same rule apply, and be cheap enough for anyone to afford it.
Moving along the Y-axis, from Government to Computation, the degree to which ideas can be made concrete and autonomous increases. Government operates through the beliefs of individuals, Computation operates through matter. The means and methods change, but the process does not. Since Computation is the concrete pole of this axis, it is the natural point of application for WPP to directly impact the world. DTP, which is a Religious endeavor, finds its application in the intangible domain of Government.
The X-axis measures the level of analysis at which the properties of reality emerge. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, so treat others the way you want to be treated. One of these is a law of Science and the other is a tenet of Christ’s Religion. In order to observe their reality you must properly define the Individual and the Environment. If I take two people and watch them interact, I’m not going to discover Newton’s third law. Nor am I going to discover Christ’s golden rule by observing atoms.
Having defined the three axes, let’s see how recognizing the connected and fractal nature of reality can be used as a guide in our search for understanding. For example, at first glance, Newton’s third law may seem to contradict Christ’s golden rule. If I’m going to get an opposite reaction, shouldn’t I do evil, so that I get good back? Since we know this is not how the world works, we can know that we do not fully understand what Christ was saying.
If you’re only going to follow the golden rule because you want other people to treat you well, then you’re not practicing love, you’re practicing selfishness. This twisted form of morality isn’t going to be effective. You can’t trick physics. You might be able to fool others, but Newton’s third law is going to know if you’re selfishly motivated or not. Love is defined by self-sacrifice, prioritizing the other above yourself. What Christ meant was that you have to give up the selfish desire for what you want, and instead, give those things to others. Then they will come back to you.
It is only when you care about others, that others will care about you. Now we can see that the golden rule aligns perfectly with Newton’s third law. Through the lens of physics we can understand something we all have a sixth sense for. We can all sense when someone is being fake and two-faced. We know that they may get along with others for a while, but when they really need help, few people, including ourselves, are likely to show up. We all have this sixth sense for genuine people, and when we find them, we are much more likely to care for them, and help them when they are in need.
Getting along with someone who is fake only works when the skies are blue and the sun is shining. When push comes to shove, we know their selfishness will rise to the top and determine their actions. We don’t help them because deep down we know they probably wouldn’t help us. We live this out even though it isn’t a conscious decision; it is just how reality works. There is a law which is at work within and around us. It determines and defines how we respond to one another.
This law, the golden rule, is a Religious reality, not a Scientific one. So unlike Newton’s third law, it is not guaranteed to be repeatable in every situation. But just because a Religious law isn’t perfectly replicable, doesn’t mean it is any less escapable. Unlike Scientific law, we can choose to break Religious law, but only temporarily. It is a law, as much as Newton’s third. It is only the Quintentium and the enforcement of time, which allows for us to appear to get away with breaking it.
Imagine jumping out of a plane, thinking you could get away with breaking the law of gravity. For a while it might seem like everything is ok, but how will things end up? The Quintentium dilutes and delays the consequences of the most important laws. These laws are the laws that define relationships. Since freedom is an essential aspect of relationship, we must freely choose to follow these laws. This is the lesson the Quintentium is meant to teach us. It dilutes and delays the consequences so that we can learn to freely choose them. If we don’t, then the end of our skydive is inevitably isolation and loneliness.
If you want love, you have to give up your desire for love and freely give it to others. Then, in time, the opposite and equal reaction will come back to you, from others. Doing this on your own would be impossible. This is why we need Christ. It is only by being filled with his infinite love and beauty that we can then be in a position to set our desire for those things aside. Not because we no longer want them, but because we have received them from their source. Now is not the time to fully discuss our relationship with Christ. It will be our focus later on.
By understanding the three axes of reality we have been able to use physics to help us come to a deeper understanding of morality. This is just one of an infinite number of examples. Everything within reality is connected to everything else in this fractal pattern. There is no limit to what applying this understanding can reveal to us.
How does this apply to you?