Today's poem is about orthogonality. The word orthogonal means “perpendicular” in maths. In statistics, it means statistically independent. And because my inner child still dreams of one day growing up and becoming a physicist, to me the word orthogonal presents the vision of “dimensions”.
As you may know, length is orthogonal to width which is orthogonal to height, all three of which are orthogonal to time. These are the fundamental physical dimensions, and each represents an increase in possibilities.
If you are a regular reader of Hello Universe (then first of all - thank you), you also know that curiosity is my default. This means that I am always out on a quest for knowledge, and acquiring new knowledge that is orthogonal to my existing knowledge makes me feel that way - like a new dimension has opened up which lets me view my problems in a completely new possibility space.
I recently acquired new knowledge that made me feel this feeling. And that's what today's poem also communicates.
Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!
There once was a mouse named Bartholomew Reed, who lived on a line made of string - wool and tweed. He would scurry with energy, morning till night, solving problems and troubles with all of his might. "This line," he proclaimed, "is the whole of the world! All that exists just fits here," he assured. But a problem appeared that no scampering solved; some cheese sat away from his line, unresolved. A wise cricket chirped from a place then unseen, "Bartholomew mouse, just try stepping with me." "But step where?" he asked, "There's nowhere to go! My line stretches long, but just forward, you know!" "Look sideways," said Cricket, "at right angles, friend. There's something called 'width' where your line doesn't end." Bartholomew gasped as sideways he steered, into wideness unknown, at an angle so weird! His world now a plane, it wasn't a line! "Oh goodness!" he squeaked, "This new freedom's divine!" He danced and he pranced in this newfound flat space, solved problems with ease, new tactics he traced. But one more new puzzle soon gave him distress: a bird dropped a seed that grew tall with finesse. The plant stretched up high, far beyond his flat ground, the fruit at the top seemed impossible-bound. A butterfly fluttered, so shiny and bright, "Bartholomew dear, you need height for this plight. Another dimension waits just overhead. Try jumping straight up from your plane," she then said. With a gulp and a hop, Bartholomew soared to "upness" and "downness" he'd not known before! His world now had volume, expansive and vast, in three full dimensions, the die had been cast! As seasons rolled onward, more problems appeared, Bartholomew smiled, no longer he feared. For he'd learned, when challenges seem without end, it's new ways of thinking that help us transcend. "The secret," he told all the young mice in school, "is - look for new angles, that is your best tool. When stuck on a line, seek a path to the side; when trapped on a plane, then leap up high and ride!" The moral, dear friends, of this fable so true: knowledge is knowing the old and the new. When problems seem stubborn, resistant, and tough, look for new dimensions, and that is enough, to open new spaces of infinite worth, where life's own abundance comes dancing to birth. Orthogonal thinking breaks chains of the mind, dimensions of wisdom are now yours to find.
That’s it! Thanks for reading edition no. 205 of Hello Universe. Some Fun Stuff is right under the green buttons below.
I’m curious to know - what was the last piece of knowledge you acquired that helped you see your problems in a whole new way?
For me it was a business problem that I had been seeing just in terms of money but I suddenly acquired the skill of seeing the same problem in terms of time, and that felt like a superpower!
Share your thoughts in the comments below or as a reply to this email.
Some Fun Stuff
Today, I’m just recommending some cool music. Here are three amazing tracks that are sure to light your brain up with tingles.
2. Cloudy - Kelbin Remix by Daphni and Kelbin
3. The War on Hugs by Blockhead
Enjoy these tracks, and the Youtube music link for each is the underlined name of the track, just click that.
That’s it for this week, see you next Tuesday!
Tha sky & sky in the pot are same. It's just the way we look at it. Infinity or small part of it, sky remains sky I like very much your today 's subject 👌👌
This was amazing and inspiring. Loved this new feeling you are on.