The History of the Future

In the history of the future,
Will it be discovery or invention?
In the story of the past,
Was it all discovery or invention?
In the moment of the present,
Does it really matter where we came from,
Compared to where we're going?

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

Your poems always make my brain rattle.Regarding the history of the past, it matters little because we can do nothing about it. It has gone. We can learn from it, but we can't change what has already happened. As for the future, it has no history yet, or otherwise it would be in the past, in which case we would still not be able to change it.The present is far more important, we live in the present, we should savour the present. I guess I don't spend too much time pondering on where I came from and as to where we are going, I switch off completely. That is a scary place.That is enough rattling of my brain this morning David. Greetings to you from across the pond.

Chris

[Davidgeo]

Why thank you Chris, I'll take the brain rattling thing as a compliment. Not everyone finds these kinds of poems to be a very complimentary experience.

The real key to this poem is this basic question... "is it discovery or invention"? Does everything already exist and we're just figuring it out step by step in a seemingly endless process? Or did nothing exist and something at some point invent "it"? Of course at this time in reality it's somewhere in between, we invent somethings and discover others but if you wind the "clock" back to the first moment the very first hydrogen atom showed up in the universe... did it invent itself, discover itself, or get invented or discovered by something or someone else, in which case it just restarts the whole problem to the beginning without an absolute solution. Some people use religion to end the debate, some just choose not to think about it at all, some are even luckier and lack the mental disposition altogether... but the best approach is to simply keep an open mind and commit yourself to that instead of being "right". It's one of the easiest ways to eliminate bias, accepting and sometimes even expecting to be at least partially wrong. Clinging to internalized bias and subjective truth is what keeps people prisoners of the moment and prevents either discovery or invention.

And of course the future has a history... just think about the process it took for you from the time you woke up to where you are in this very moment and then what you are going to do in the next 60 seconds. That's a part of the history of a future.

[Bambee]

fragments of the last book I've read must have haunted me or is it just your writing. THE ORIGIN by Dan Brown. Good read :)

[Erudite]

This poem is nothing more than a single sentence interrogative.

[Davidgeo]

You lack imagination. I kinda pity you. I was once a shitposter troll just like you. But I was better at it because I had imagination and didn't rely on pretentious self contradictory nonsense. You gotta try harder brother. At the moment, you are merely an amateur and it shows.

[Davidgeo]

(when you are s**t posting and call something a "single sentence..." anything you have to make your review longer than a single sentence or you risk hypocrisy... this is what I mean by a lack of imagination... either you're not trying hard enough or you're just bad at this game)

[Gaurav]

The future , past and present - i guess everything has to be discovered...what is discovered has already been invented...invention is illusory i guess but pardon for my opinion...nice read

[Davidgeo]

Given the massive expanse of the universe that surrounds us... I'd bet good money on everything we've experienced having already happened more than once and something that will happen again, more than once. Infinity isn't just a number, it's a concept, it's a philosophy, it's a way to interpret the darkness.

[Gaurav]

Yes true..but what if we could experience it for once in lifetime..that would be perfect

[Davidgeo]

Now you are talking about how time works.... have you ever seen a movie called "Arrival"? It's one of the best artistic descriptions of a certain kind of concept of infinity that mainstream art has ever seen. Be careful though... nihilism is not far behind if you misinterpret the meaning.

[Gaurav]

yes i have seen it..nice movie..i still however have to truly understand it..not able to comprehend it fully

[Davidgeo]

Think of existence like a clock. We all know how it plays out but... what if we could make it a little more palatable knowing that a certain hour was approaching? Not necessarily would we really be able to change anything's ultimate fate but, just make the inevitable a little less terrifying. Or maybe to hang on a little bit longer (by little I mean billions of years)

[Barbara Walker]

I think it all matters, so hopefully we learn and make new mistakes where we are going! Love the title of this.

[Davidgeo]

"New mistakes" is just another word for evolution. Nothing gets better from being constantly flawless... I imagine, being constantly flawless, is the end of the universe.... no more change need take place.

[augustus]

Coming or going! Who gives a hoot! Enjoy the present! Thanks David.

[kitty]

We often wonder what the future holds for us even after a lifetime of questioning! Not nice to live in lombo and hoping and praying for the 'Ideal' to happen. The anticipation can be a bit exhausting therefore we lose ourselves in dreams... while life takes its tall on the realization that we can' t be 'Forever Young' . We can't ever stay the ageing process. Have a good day!

[Fairy Khan]

Amazing!
You really made me ponder.
Nice one.

[A Soap Mess Stories]

Some good questions to ask and figure out.

[Davidgeo]

I think there might be some unanswerable questions and things we'll never figure out. But it doesn't mean they aren't good questions to ask... no one knows which questions are going to stay unanswerable forever.

[Talia]

No, it's doesn't matter where we came from to decide where we are going.
Good write!

[Davidgeo]

It kinda does in reality but, it doesn't have to define you. It might mean you have to work a little harder or approach things a little more unconventionally but most of the time we limit ourselves long before reality does. It prevents most people from reaching their potential.