Welcome to the second part exploring a modern definition of the Aether.

The scientific model on which it is based is known as Quantum Field Theory, which is the most accurate scientific theory in history. The degree of precision with which the theory matches experiments is astonishing. Click here to read the details of its accuracy.

That represents the “Is” of our physical world. Rather, it is our best understanding to date, with much more exploration and understanding remaining, as the consensus is that QFT is incomplete.

That “ought” to mean we know what a field is. However, we don’t.

Is it a substance that fills the universe? We don’t know.

Is it purely mathematical? We don’t know.

Is it what makes us think there is a God? We don’t know.

Is it the matrix of the computer simulation we are living in? We don’t know.

Is it what consciousness is? We don’t know.

Is it something we haven’t even imagined? We don’t know.

And to make your head spin faster, there is more than one field, and they interact with each other.

I lie awake at night contemplating this Ought vs. Is, not to be confused with David Hume’s is–ought. Even though we know what Is, our world of technology wouldn’t exist without it; that should mean we ought to know what It is. And yet, we don’t.

Holding these contradictions in one’s head, I think, is a great exercise for dealing with the rest of life. Every day, all day long, I struggle to reconcile, and thus act upon, what is, and not what ought to be. It turns out it’s much harder to do than I care to admit. I admire those who do.

And now … know the photograph.