dream of a ridiculous man

on recommendation from my special lady Nancy, i purchased a tiny little novel at half price books called Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman. the dude working the register was so excited about it, i got doubly enthused to read it. on my free half price books bookmark, he scrawled 'dream of a ridiculous man.' this only titillated me more to get my read on. as if i didn't already trust Nancy's judgment and her knowledge of my taste in literature.


i was, of course, immediately enthralled. this book is a concept in and of itself. it's creatively constructed as a series of dreams einstein dreams each night while his theory of time is evolving in his mindgrapes. yanno. space-time and all that jazz. clocks moving more slowly and light bending and the speed of light being different and gravity and other physics hullabaloo i don't understand. 

Since there exist in this four dimensional structure [space-time] no longer any sections which represent "now" objectively, the concepts of happening and becoming are indeed not completely suspended, but yet complicated. It appears therefore more natural to think of physical reality as a four dimensional existence, instead of, as hitherto, the evolution of a three dimensional existence.

thanks, Einstein, i didn't feel dumb enough yet today. time (or rather, the past/present/future distinction) is an illusion! anywho. on to the juice.

we already know how much i love nietzsche's concept of the eternal return; this is just one scenario entertained in these dreams. in fact, it is the first dream. there's a way to get cailin into a book (much like with the unbearable lightness of being, starting out with a SHABAM! cailin's favorite ideas IN YO FACE BOOYAH. and cailin goes *grin*). here's an excerpt (which actually comprises about half the 'chapter') from that dream:

Some few people in every town, in their dreams, are vaguely aware that all has occurred in the past. These are the people with unhappy lives, and they sense that their misjudgments and wrong deeds and bad luck have all taken place in the previous loop of time. In the dead of night these cursed citizens wrestle with their bedsheets, unable to rest, stricken with the knowledge that they cannot change a single action, a single gesture. Their mistakes will be repeated precisely in this life as in the life before. And it is these double unfortunates who give the only sign tat time is a circle. For in each town, late at night, the vacant streets and balconies fill up with their moans.

Sorry to bum you out. the reason i love this concept is that it's true even as it's irrelevant. we can't change anything we've done anyway. there are no checkpoints at which to respawn and learn from your mistakes and try that situation again. anywho. many of the theories of time illustrated in the few people and towns in these dreams are bummers. because time is a bummer. but it's poetic and makes you think.


the world where there is only the present, and it's the end of the world. people can't stop hugging because they'll never see each other again. a woman sits alone and weeps because she'll never see anyone again. no one will ever come back. a man notices it's raining and marvels that it's raining at the last moment of existence. then it gets sunny and he marvels that it's sunny at the last moment of existence.


the world where time moves more slowly the higher up you are. people build their houses on stilts in the mountains. height is status. whenever anyone must go down from their house, into town, or to travel, the rush as fast as possible, because time moves faster and they're aging. but over time, the consequences of the altitude and seclusion make the people die young anyway. they all forget why they went up to begin with. 


each dream, each world where time has a different characteristic, or rule, or attitude, is relatable, in a metaphysical way. as you read you go 'oh cool' and then 'oh sad' and then 'ooooh i've been there.' it at once makes you doubt everything, feel nostalgic, live in the moment, and want to value every choice and moment you have left in you. i think the guy at the bookstore was referring to einstein as the ridiculous man. but i think we're all pretty ridiculous, and time is ridiculous, and i wouldn't dream (har har) of ridiculing this novel.