'A strange loop is a cyclic structure that goes through several levels in a hierarchical system. Going towards a direction but 'one finds oneself back where one started’.
This can very well be observed in various aspects of life like the nature of our desires, relationships, the paradox of hope & self-control as well as spirituality. A strangle loop is a self-reference which involves the paradoxical nature of reality. The concept of a strange loop was discussed by Douglas Hofstadter in his book 'I am a Strange Loop’, 2007.
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I found this concept intriguing as it mirrors the contradictory nature of existence (reality). One of the things that caught my eye is that if you really observe the structure of a strange loop, it cannot possibly exist since they are literally dependent on each other to exist (they have no ground). Because of their deceptive nature we can call them illusions, this is the illusory nature of these loops, they are so not logical that they are a profound thing to understand. Not only does it represent the contradictory nature of the physical realm but also the Meta-Physical realm. Hofstadter states that we are also a strange loop, it would be a great shame to know that we ('I', me) are illusions. This idea really overlaps various spiritual and religious teachings that we ('I') are the universe observing itself, thus creating a strange loop by mere distinctions and labeling done by our ego(i) which really separates us from the Truth that we are a strange loop creating the strange loop... For e.g. a basketball can’t point towards itself and say that “oh this is me, I am this basketball” you see... It requires it to be the ball itself by ‘being’ in order to understand totally that it is the basketball. What could a substance be but itself! Dropping the materialist paradigm (logic) can help in order to grasp the essence of it. Science always fails to understand reality, since Science can merely dissect and understand reality in various small aspects but it would fail to understand the nature of reality as a whole. You need to experience 'being', pointing, and rationalizing won't work here.
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A good ol’ knowledge of non-dualism can help in order to attain this mature state of consciousness. Modern-day physicist John Archibald Wheeler worked with quantum theory, the theory of relativity, and cosmology. He even coined the terms Black hole, quantum foam as well as a wormhole. During that time in an odd-space experiment, he observed that the observation of the particles of quantum mechanics affected the results of the experiment which boggled many scientists, Wheeler later demonstrated the delayed-choice experiment after the double-slit experiment which prov
ed the same. This effect was later termed as the 'observer's effect'. Which helps us understand if only the fraction of connection between 'You' and ‘the reality’.
So, the concept of a strange loop is really profound enough to contemplate it and experience it yourself. Experiencing this might be the gateway to ‘mysticism’ for some of us...... Will go more deeply into the nature of reality in the future!
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