u/spiddly_spoo

I understand that the cosmological constant is the same everywhere (in our current model) and my understanding is that in regions with sufficient mass/gravity, there is no expansion (or accelerated expansion) due to dark energy. This is not because gravity is winning against an underlying spatial expansion in that region, but that the presence of mass/energy changes the local geometry so that there is no accelerated expansion in that area. Ok so I'm imagining that in cosmic voids, dark energy is injecting more and more space, while cosmic filaments it is injecting less and in gravitationally bound areas, there is no injection of space. To me, this means there must be some spatial curvature produced if we are injecting more space at different rates in different places. I would think this would have the effect of voids being positively curved because if I imagine a 2D rubber or plastic flat surface and stretch a certain part (adding more space) I can make a little bubble, a semi sphere in the flat plastic sheet which I recognize as positively curved. Apparently dark energy has no such curving affect and voids are negatively curved for being less dense than average space. Why would dark energy not create curvature over time?

In the physicalist vs idealist divide there are often accusation of confusing the map for the territory being pointed from both sides. Perhaps this is quite basic but I feel it clicked for me so I'm sharing.

There is reality. Reality is reality is reality.... is reality.

And then on one level there is consciousness, aka subjective experience, which is a personal subjective map of reality. Then there is physics which is an objective conceptual map of reality built off of the many subjective experiences of physicists/scientists.

There are two maps and two opportunities to confuse the map with the territory. One might confuse the subjective map with reality and be a solipsist, naive realist, or a type of idealist not realizing that the subjective experience is merely a map of reality.

Then there is physics, the objective transferable map of reality. This map is objective and does not contain subjective experience. One might confuse this map with reality and thus conclude that subjective experience doesn't exist and be an illusionist or might be a physicalist and demand that the subjective experience exists in the objective map, expecting the menu to contain the food and trying to eat the menu as it were.

The other thing is that these maps exist and thus are part of reality. So yes, subjective experience is a map, but it also exists. Physics is a map and exists, but does not contain subjective experience and is also not reality itself.

As far as what reality is "made of", well the maps are part of reality and one or arguably both are made of subjective experience (are concepts subjective experience?) so reality is thus at least in part made of subjective experience.

It really feels like reality is changing quicker and quicker and the state of the world becomes more and more outlandish and psychedelic. When Terence died, it felt to the people at the time that the tidal forces were beginning to kick in and society was getting in a damn hurry. Now I think back to the 90s, the year 2000, 9/11 etc and I think man if only things could slow down to the pace they used to be back then just for a while. Well 9/11 wasn't very slow... anyway... I feel myself caught up in the current of daily life. My stoner days long gone as I make it through life fairly comfortably but in a sort of unexamined life. There's that itch to make sense of it all "like a splinter in your mind". I feel like if I could hear Terence's far out takes about the state of the internet, society, politics, science and what to make of the AI craze life would be better... Anyway, cheers to my favorite bard 🍻