December '24
Social media, creativity, and inversing black holes
Ubik, 1982 by Bob Pepper
Social Media’s Paradigm Shift
Social media started out as following your friends and interacting with their content; whether that be opinions on Twitter or wedding photos on Instagram. But there’s been an interesting paradigm shift in recent years to where most people simply don’t post anymore. Instead, everyone just follows content creators. These are the people traveling the world and documenting their experiences. Living out of their van and wandering the desert on peyote. Creating something and showcasing it to their followers. It’s almost as if the lives of our friends have gotten so mundane that we simply don’t care? And the only reason to post is when you take that one big trip of the year? Or find your person?
Perhaps more importantly, what does this mean about the future of social media? Machine learning models are already curating content to optimize our dopamine hits. So what’s next? Entirely generative content? That already exists to some degree, where AI generates fake videos and we laugh and gasp because we don’t know any better. And this is problematic for obvious reasons, but does that change anything? At the end of the day, it seems like we simply yearn to be entertained.
Give humans the ability share their stories and someone will turn it into a meme.
What’s the Inverse of a Black Hole?
I dove into gravity and its implications in relation to time in a previous substack. And you’'ll remember that an increase in gravity leads to the slowing of time (or rather, our perception of this reality). But what I was thinking about more recently, is what happens if you take gravity and time to their logical conclusion?
For example, a black hole is gravity at its most extreme. Like in Interstellar, as you approach the event horizon time slows down to a crawl. And logically speaking, when you cross the event horizon gravity can be considered infinite (given not even light escapes and therein our conception of this reality):
— I love ChatGPT bro —
But here’s what I wanna focus on, what happens when you take a black hole to its _negative_ infinity? First of all, what’s the opposite of a black hole? Does such a place as (true) 0G even exist? Imagine something in space that doesn’t bend light (and thereby slows time) but instead contracts it. A reduction of all gravitational force such that the result is an entity traveling at (or damn near) the speed of light.
Black holes and their singularity defy nature. And yet, we’ve confirmed they exist. Given the sheer scale of the universe and the inherent possibilities that come with that scale, is it really that absurd to consider something that reduces gravity to 0? That enables traveling at the speed of light?
Creativity
Something else I’ve been thinking about is the notion of creativity. And the concept that “art” is this grand thing created by radical peoples operating on the fringes. Yet, this leaves no room for ‘regular people’ to create. Its kinda like weightlifting in that way. Where you see professional athletes or movie stars and their sculpted physiques and think “I’ll never look like X”. But that’s not the point. You’re viewing things through the lens of the top .001%.
I often fall into this trap when I sit down to write. Comparing what I do to the greats. Melville. McCarthy. Joyce. Faulkner. And I oftentimes have to stop myself because two things can be true at once. 1) There can be works of art that resonate with lots of people for long periods of time. These are the Monets and the Picassos. “High art.” But at the same time 2) You can tune into the beauty of each day and find inspiration to create and it doesn’t have to be something you share with others. It can simply exist in a notebook or on a canvas in your basement. It’s the creative process itself that is inherently so rewarding. You’ve just gotta open yourself up to the waves. To the inspo. To the vibrations man :p
A Few More Ideas
Medieval people were better suited for what lies ahead. Belief in a higher power. To reconcile that which has no immediate answer.
The Greeks knew being ostracized and put to death were the same thing.
All new ideas are heresy (and when tech companies start shunning new ideas they’ve reached the beginning of the end).
Cicero fish ponds. The idea that the most able statesman of a society move to the suburbs and build high walls. Spend their time perfecting fish ponds instead of rising to civic duty. On some level those who are most able have a societal obligation to fulfill.
The long term effects of young love.
Some Literature
You married?
No sir. I aint but sixteen.
Dont get married. Women are crazy.
Yessir.
You’ll think you’ve found one that aint but guess what?
What?
She will be too.
- Cormac McCarthy (The Crossing)Thanks for reading my Substack. Feel free to:
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PS. I may publish again this month. No promises, but I’ve been diggin it lately :p