Eternity and infinity

 

Hayter article for June 30, 2024

“When ignorance was bliss”

 

 

 

I read something last week that blew me away. Not literally. That would be stupid. No, it was about an odd brain defect that is scary as all get out. The mental defect is Prosopagnosia. I’m thinking it has six syllables.

 

The brain disease prevents you from remembering the faces of people, or even your own face. Kay told me that Brad Pitt has it. He doesn’t enjoy being in a room with many people, some of whom he’s supposed to know.

 

I read about one case where after someone with the disease saw a person crying, he would recognize that person the next time he saw him, but only if he was crying. I suppose someone who couldn’t quit crying would make a good friend of person with Proso infection. Weird as all get out.

 

The only tolerable symptom of the malady is that an inflicted person can still remember the sound of your voice. He couldn’t pick you out of a lineup, but if you say, “Hey, I’m over here.” That would work. Unfortunately, there’s another strain of the disease that blocks one’s memory of a person’s face and the sound of the person’s voice. That is beyond cruel.

 

Scientists have yet to come up with a cure for “Proso”. If you’re born with it, it means a small portion of your brain near the back is missing, and as of today, it’s been impossible to duplicate it. You can also get it from a knock on the lower portion of the back of your head. That can cause a lesion that turns off your ability to read faces. Certain illnesses can also cause it.

 

Everyone with Alzheimer's will get it. My sister, Lynda, knew me fine from the beginning of her Alzheimer's. Two years later she couldn’t pick me out of a lineup. If I saw her in the hallway of the hospital, she would smile as if she knew me, but she did that to anyone who took a moment to stop to say “hello”. Too soon, her smile vanished. Alzheimer’s must cause a lesion at the back of your skull that hampers you from recognizing faces.

 

I was in a fairly good mood before finding out about this hideous defect. I felt particularly sad after reading that one lady with the disorder said, "I can't recognize people's faces because I can't remember them. But I know me. I just don't know my face."

I about cried after reading that. It makes me recall a passage from one of Thomas Gray’s few poems. I’m sure you’ve heard and recited it multiple times. -- “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.” -- In my case, it would read, “‘tis folly to learn stuff.”  

I choose now to leave depression and enter the world of wonderment. I’m going to take us on a short ride into infinity and eternity. Hey, we’re already in both of them at this very minute. Last night I found some of my notes on the two subjects. Simply put, eternity deals with limitless time. That’s easy to note. Infinity relates to the endless universe or the never-ending negative and positive numerals. That may have been mathematically proved, just not in any way I could discern.

In eternity there is no beginning and no end. It’s like infinity in the sense that it goes on forever. The mind of most humans tells us that everything has to start somewhere!” If you’re dealing with time, you generally think, “Well what was going on before time?”

In infinity, there is no ending of distance in space or of energy. If there is a heaven for people who lived a bazillion, trillion years ago, you might ask if they’re still happy. And if they’re not, ask them how long it took for them to get that way.

I’m thinking that most of us are hoping for a place in heaven. If we’re welcomed into such a place, you might find others who are literally not of this world. I’m assuming we’re not the only planet with somewhat intelligent beings. Of course, we know the saying about what happens when you “assume”. I can’t remember, but you might.

If the Universe never ends, how can God occupy an eternal position everywhere at the same time?  To the human mind, time and space cannot be determined in infinity, because there is no starting point or ending. It’s the same with eternity. -- If only our brains were capable of at least imagining such a thing. I guess Einstein came the closest. He may not have understood it, but he probably came up with an equation for no beginning and no end.

As far as I know, I have never seen God or heard Him speak. I will need evidence of at least one of those events before I can toss away my faith, trust, and belief. Right now all three are bound by hope. Hope is a dear gift.

As a teenager, I was in a Sunday morning class at church, and the preacher was the teacher. I remember asking him a question. I can’t recall the question, but at the time it was really weighing on me. After hearing my question, he said, “Mark, if God wanted us to know about that kind of stuff, He would have told us.”

Obviously. However, next Sunday, I’m going to ask our new preacher – “Jake, would you explain to me why God introduced Prosopagnosia to the world? – Between now and then, I’ll have to learn how to pronounce it.

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