Picture a coordinate system. What are A and B? They are points, correct. So let  A be at (1,1) and B at (11,11). When connected A and B form a line, which we might say has a beginning and an end. Since we see the line’s A and B, we can perceive it, understand it and measure it. It has a slope of 1 and length of 10√2. It’s finite. Now let’s introduce ∞ to the game a.k.a. infinity, in Latin infinitas which means unboundedness. Imagine, where do we place ∞ on the coordinate system? “How do we place the unbounded on the bounded coordinate system” you might ask. That’s unquestionably impossible, it would violate the laws of mathematics and physics. In the Ancient World people were imagining and depicting infinity with the ouroboros snake. Intriguing.

Picture a sunny deserted island and the never-ending blue sky above it. What are A and B? A is you, B is the horizon. The distance between your eyes and the horizon is actually finite, it’s √(your height in cm / 6,752) in km. We can perceive, understand and measure that. For me it’s a bit over 5,30km. But what is out there after those 5 kilometers? How do we see the unseen? Does not compute. Seeing over the curve of Earth would violate the laws of physics - matter, it’s volume and mass. Around the year 1000 a Norse explorer, Leif Ericson, was the first to set foot in North America. He imagined that there is land beyond the horizon. Astonishing.

Picture yourself in bed, it’s warm and cozy. What are A and B? A is now - you are still awake, B is the point you start dreaming. The time between A and B can be measured, it’s variable but finite number. How? I’ll explain. There are 4 different stages of sleep - transition to sleep, light sleep, deep sleep and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, and the 4 of them together form a sleep cycle. On average a sleep cycle continues for about 90 minutes. Approximately 70 minutes after you fall asleep you get into the first REM stage, this stage renews the mind and makes your dreams lucid. But what happens when we start dreaming? Blank. Not only we cannot foresee our dreams, but also we talk about them as “what a crazy dream” on the next day. In Ancient Greece and Egypt dreams were portrayed as a divine message, one which was then deciphered by a dream interpreter in order to establish a connection with the supernatural. Fascinating.

We can conclude that getting from A to B is relatively straightforward, using our knowledge we can make our way through. However, from B onwards we need something more to understand the mysteries. A wise man once said “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you anywhere.” That’s it. That’s our unknown, our x - imagination. The questions is how do we turn it on? How do we make it work its magic? And the answer is we can - you can, I can, that other guy can do it as well. Not only we can, we already do. Maybe we don’t realize it, but we have all woken up from a vivid dream and thought to ourselves - “Wow, that was insane. Thanks. More please.” Dreams are imagination, they are hardly explainable as it is ∞, unpredictable as it is the space beyond the horizon. Imagination is infinite and it goes beyond what we see and know.

We do imagine. Unfortunately, most of the times we forget. But can we do it all the time? Can we do it consciously? We need to think of the conditions before starting to dream. We are relaxed, there are no limits to our thoughts - they flow freely. For example: “You are making your way through a jungle, when a polar bear and a penguin walk in, ask you for a lighter and directions to the nearest bar.” There is no one to tell us that’s impossible, no one to say “Moron, penguins live in the South hemisphere while polar bears live in the North hemisphere” or “Jeez, penguins in the jungle, are you kidding me?!” You might say it can be socially awkward. I say no. 

It was insane to think life expectancy on average will be 70 years a millennia ago. It was socially awkward to say the Earth is not flat 5 centuries ago. It was crazy to think a man can go in outer space. What was “black magic” yesterday, it’s reality today all thanks to imagination. We are 7 billion on Earth today, if we all imagine where can we be tomorrow? Imagination means moving forward, moving beyond B. So I plead … please let’s talk more penguins.

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Notes:

1. Points A and B are on the line of the function f(x) = x. While I was writing the time was f(x) hours and the-angle-between-f(x)-and-Oy minutes.
1. How far away are you from the horizon?
1. The formula for optimal sleep: (# of hours) modulus 1.5 = 0 where # of hours >= 6 and <= 9. Basically 6, 7.5 or 9, everything more than 9 increases the chance of heart attack. Why 1.5? Because a sleep cycle continues 90 minutes on average (hour and a half). You feel better when you wake up in the end of a cycle.
1. The wise man is Albert Einstein.
1. Around year 1000 life expectancy was ~30 years and population ~300 million, today life expectancy is ~70 years and population ~7 billion.
1. Even in the Bible we can find references to imagination: Genesis 11:6 - And the Lord said, behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they began to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
1. Imagination, motherfucker, do you speak it?