The Proof
"What's in a name?" I asked Sagar, the most mischievous student in my class. He had an annoying habit of doing everything but pay attention to the topic at hand,
After a brief pause, he stood up to amused murmurs:
"Shakespeare, Sir!"
"What's in a name?" I quipped triumphantly and the class exploded.
Sagar sat down with an embarrassed smirk.
Just for the record. I teach Mathematics, not Literature or Philosophy. Purist may argue abstract math comes close to the latter. Also, for the record, Sagar had interrupted me by complaining:
"Sir, yesterday you had used x as the variable but today you use y! Why?"
This had prompted my witty reaction.
Another ten minutes or so and I had just about finished finding the limit of a function where x < 0, followed by a neat line of chalk drawn down the middle of the blackboard. The portion on the right said "otherwise" at the top, followed by another set of steps calculating the limit when x >= 0.
I had barely turned around when Sagar, as was his wont, asked:
"Sir, I don't understand the otherwise part-"
I had fair bit to cover in the balance 15 minutes so I interrupted him and said:
"It's really simple Sagar! I'm wise and you're otherwise." and regretted it as soon as I finished even as the rest of the class enjoyed this banter.
Sagar remained standing, arms crossed. I ignored him and continued with the lecture.
At the end of the period, I reminded my wards of an assignment, due early next week.
"I know the concepts may be tough," I saged, "But remember: Nothing is Impossible!"
I then began gathering my books and bag when Sagar called out:
"Hold on, Sir! I believe nothing is possible."
Intrigued, I stopped and faced him:
"Okay. You're in a math class. Can you prove it?"
"Sure," he replied with a wide grin, "I've attended each of your lectures diligently this year but trust me, Sir, I learnt nothing!"
A paradox
The way I see it, there are two types of nothing. One is relative, the other is perpetual.
Neither of them truly exist. You want to get technical? A bit of logic and poetry can help to explain.
If we’re talking about an absolute void of nothingness - complete nothingness witnessed by no thing and nobody, it wouldn’t matter if it existed or not. Nothing is there to experience it. It’s truly a crazy thing to think about, but if ‘nothing’ existed then it wouldn’t ‘exist’ in the first place. Existence is a word used only by those who exist.
If there were an outside observer, then the very word “nothing” makes it something; it’s still a place being observed.
Still with me ? Good.
Now, since we live in a universe, with energy, matter, and observers, the word “nothing” is an incorrect word to use. It’s more of an exaggeration. Some quotes that resonate:
“Nature abhors a vacuum” - Aristotle
“Nothingness not being nothing, nothingness being emptiness.” -Isabelle Adjani
In addition to that, “the usefulness of a cup, is its emptiness.” - Osho
Our laws of thermodynamics essentially state that a complete void of nothingness is impossible. Even in the depths of space, it’s not nothing. It still has the slightest temperature, and light waves travel its boundaries endlessly.
There is no such thing as a total absence of anything. Darkness? Just an absence of light. Evil? Just an absence of good. Cold? Just an absence of heat. But -30° C feels warm if you just experienced -40°. Every evil person has a chance to do good. Even the darkest night will always yield to light.
To get more personal, we all have a void within us. I find mine when a lover breaks my heart. When I experience true loneliness. When I drink or indulge in drugs, my emotions fade away. When I fail repeatedly, I feel worthless. If I have nowhere to belong, I feel as if I’m a waste of space.
But I am still me, I am still here, and I still feel even if it’s not much. This void I find within me is a canvas. Waiting for my direction, waiting for me to paint the most beautiful picture I can.
You see, there is no such thing as nothingness, so long as there’s a word for it.
Angles
The entirety of our existence
is suspended in the definition
of our perspective.
Even the boundaries
can change,
have the possibility to rearrange,
dependent upon each individual claim
on the limitations of
impossible things.
He sees nothing
and it is zero, nil, an irretrievable loss,
an empty void of useless space.
She sees nothing
as a promise of grace,
of hope, creation, redemption,
and change.
They both see emptiness
but it's what they choose to do with that space.
These words are only
an ignorant human expression,
for I cannot purport to know
the solidity of fact,
of Absolute Truth,
to say otherwise is a fallacy,
self evident in the arrogance.
Choice
is what we have been granted
to work with,
this is what our Free Will is.
nothing to you, everything to me
Nothing
is the silence between two people who were once each other's everything
Nothing
is the blank stare he gave me when I told him I wanted him to be mine forever
Nothing
is the last of our memories fading away the longer he's gone from my side
Nothing
is unrequited love
Nothing
is life after losing him
there is no nothing
try and create it
numb your mind
breathe in deeply
erase all thoughts
you'll fail
concepts ooze in
images manifest
stray feelings rise
dust long cleansed
observed accumulated
in the corner pockets
of your hoarder brain
where the swifter can't
reach with squidgy swipes
spiders webs materialize
gone to work as soon as
emptiness let them in
for us to understand
with certainty truth
nothing is sacred
nothing uncreatable
nothing indestructible
nothing unexistable
Nothing does Exist
A name, a norm,
a weathering storm can
best describe our nothing.
"I was sitting at my computer doing nothing". Meaning a simple art form of not moving and thinking at the same time.
"I stood on the corner for hours and saw nothing." Meaning my eyes and thoughts were looking for a figure to react in some way that could be described. "If I had it, I'll give it to you, but unfortunately I have nothing.". Meaning, something was in the place of what's there now or could be there now, making this a destination.
So MY conclusion is Nothing exist in so many forms that one day it will be something.