I Chose to Love! No two Magnolia Tree Leaves are Exactly Alike
No two Magnolia tree leaves are exactly the same. Every Magnolia leaf is unique and different from every other Magnolia leaf. This is true for the billions upon billions of Magnolia leaves on Magnolia trees since the occurrence of the very first Magnolia trees over 20 to 95 million of years ago, give or take a few million years depending on the fossils you collect and observe.
Yet how does one prove such a hypothesis, that each Magnolia leaf is unique and different from every other Magnolia leaf which exists and which ever existed throughout time?
First. let me stipulate that I have limited my observations and studies to Magnolia grandiflora. As this is a mathematical theorem, one may extrapolate that the conclusions reached apply to all species of Magnolia as well as to related flora. In fact, one might even extrapolate that these observations relate to all plants, animals and multi-cellular systems, indeed even to all large systems such as galaxies.
Although one cannot compare every Magnolia leaf to every other Magnolia leaf, it is possible to do such comparison for a set of Magnolia leaves. One may select and collect a set of 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000 or more Magnolia leaves. Photograph each leaf and compare the photographs each to the other. Having done this for sets of Magnolia leaves, one never finds two Magnolia leaves that are an exact match. From such research one may conclude, in theory at least, that no two Magnolia leaves are exactly the same.
Not only is every Magnolia leaf different from every other Magnolia leaf, but each day of a Magnolia leaf's experience changes that Magnolia leaf to increase its variance from every other Magnolia leaf. Lichen may fall upon a Magnolia leaf and grow into a halo of algae and fungi that further makes the Magnolia leaf different from every other Magnolia leaf that exists or ever existed.
Yes, I did the experiment. I collected a set of Magnolia leaves, examined them and photographed them. No two Magnolia were ever exactly the same. I extrapolated to conclude that the same would be true for that set of all Magnolia tree leaves which exists and which ever existed. But of course this is just a theory for no one can ever make that comparison.
Why is this important? Who cares if all Magnolia leaves different, are unique to themselves? Well, it so happens that what is true for Magnolia leaves is likely true for all other types of plants and animals including people. There are no two people who are exactly the same.
What about identical twins? True, there are identical twins. Identical twins are monozygotic, meaning that they develop from the exact same zygote, which splits and forms two embryos at some point after conception. Identical twins are essentially copies, much like photocopies. But even they vary from their first experience and over time will become more and more different. Such variation caused by differing environmental influences throughout the lives of twins is known as epigenetic modification. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin)
That each individual is unique from every other individual is one of the miracles of life. No matter how long the world exists, or the universe exists, there will never be another me, or you, or anyone else who is exactly like us.
We each are unique beings. Sure we each may have two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears and are bilaterally symmetrical, just as are Magnolia leaves. But that is where the similarity ends. We each are unique and different, one from the other. No two people are exactly alike.
An examination of the universe will find that there are no two stars, no two star systems, no two galaxies that are exactly alike. There may be a million, million planets similar to Earth, but there is only one Earth. The planet Earth is unique. And Homo sapiens are unique as a species, though there may be very many intelligent beings in the universe, none will be exactly like the one who penned this muse.
The more complex a creature or a system is, than the less likely one is to find twins, especially when experience enters into the comparison. Fill a gallon jar with water and every water molecule may be identical, H2O, two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. But fill a gallon jar with sand, and every sand grain will be a unique crystal of silicon.
Some clever mathematician figured out that no two snowflakes were alike for this very same reason. Once a crystalline, cellular, or other complex structure exceeds x to the nth power number of variations, no two individuals will be alike, will be exactly similar... or the probability of ever finding two identical systems will be infinitely unlikely. That is, the probability of finding exactly similar systems in an infinitely variable system is infinitely unlikely.
The human genome is such a complex system. So is the genome of a Magnolia tree leaf. Therefore I can say with confidence that there will never be another me, you, nor anyone else who will be exactly like us.
But despite our uniqueness, we may still love. Or hate. That is also one of the miracles of intelligent life. We each may chose to love or hate. I chose to love!
Will you join me? Then we will at least share that quality in common. We each will be lovers.
For further study: If you want to really blow your mind, consider the proposition that there are an infinite number of universes, or multiverse. Just as no two systems are alike, then no two universes would be exactly alike. Yet each universe may be made of the same material and function according to the same laws of physics. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse)
The question of multiple universes or worlds is not a new one. Rather, "The idea of infinite worlds was first suggested by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Anaximander in the sixth century BCE." This same article states that:
"The first to whom we can definitively attribute the concept of innumerable worlds are the Ancient Greek Atomists, beginning with Leucippus and Democritus in the 5th century BCE, followed by Epicurus (341–270 BCE) and Lucretius (1st century BCE). In the third century BCE, the philosopher Chrysippus suggested that the world eternally expired and regenerated, effectively suggesting the existence of multiple universes across time"
"The concept of multiple universes became more defined in the Middle Ages."
"The American philosopher and psychologist William James used the term "multiverse" in 1895, but in a different context."
"The concept first appeared in the modern scientific context in the course of the debate between Boltzmann and Zermelo in 1895." (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse)
In the 20th century right up until the present moment the concept of multiverse has become so complex that one might say the there is no limit to the number of lunatics who would consider themselves philosophers so as to conceive of other worlds because they do not fit into this world. :-)
Another way of saying the same thing is to consider variational Bayesian statistics, methods, and proofs. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variational_Bayesian_methods. Why as you can clearly see, no two Magnolia leaves are alike and if they are you will not ever be likely to find them in nature. In fact, only by using Photoshop or a similar un-natural duplication method will you be able to create identical twins -- as zygote splitting certainly is not natural though it occurs in nature. Fathom that!
As for there only being one God, creator of the multiverse, that is a matter for theologist to debate. Should you be a theologist or believe in monotheism this might seem preposterous.
Rather than try to prove what can not be proved, I chose to love.
I also created the photograph of two identical Magnolia leaves, for all to contemplate along with the concept of identical twins. One can make a copy, a clone, even of human beings. One can make a mold and cast an infinite number of copies. But in a complex system, divergence and being unique is nature's way. This is one of the miracles of life!
What do you think? Do you chose to love? Please post your comments here or via email to: greatusart@gmail.com.
