Is what we call light true light—light as itself?
For instance, water as water. Ice is water—but it is holding together too tightly. Steam is water—but it is holding together too loosely. If we want to understand water qua water, water as itself, ice and steam will only give us partial information.
Here is a fresh way of framing the concept of “the thing as itself,” an idea first given to us by Plato.
In ice, water is holding together too tightly—because the background energy is too low. In steam, water is holding together too loosely—because the background energy is too high. We do not consider “background energy” when making our calculations. Should we?
Maybe we can only know light qua light—light as itself, light as light—when the background energy is neither too low nor too high. When the background energy is too low, light has to hold together too tightly. But, just as ice is not the same thing as water, light that is holding together too tightly is not the same thing as light.
When the background energy is too high, light has to hold together too loosely. But, just as steam is not the same thing as water, light that is holding together too loosely is not the same thing as light.
I, too—my body—am part of the fabric of reality. What happens if I hold together too tightly? What happens if I hold together too loosely? Perhaps, when I hold together too tightly, time is too fast. And when I hold together too loosely, time is too slow.
Image: Craig J. Copi, 2010, Large-Angle Anomalies in the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background)
