Feeling Nothing

by Ketix Crawler

That's a paradox, isn't it?

Sunset Shimmer took a sip of her coffee, staring at the curls of steam wafting from the mug. Another mug sat across from her, awaiting its owner. It was nearly seven, but considering it was Saturday, not many people were in the Sweet Shoppe. Sunset hummed, turning to stare out the window.

The first Saturday of the month was always especially special. Every time, without fail, Princess Twilight Sparkle would come through the portal for a chat over coffee. Usually they talked about their month, and what crazy shenanigans their friends had gotten up to. But sometimes, the two brightest minds on either side of the portal would debate. Science, magic, people, you name it. They would usually come to a stalemate, though, unable to beat the other on an intellectual level.

Turning her attention back to her coffee, Sunset checked the time. It was 6:59, meaning Twilight would be there in exactly three, two, one...

The bell above the door jingled as a familiar girl stepped through. Long indigo hair with a pink stripe running through it, blue shirt with a bow, purple skirt with a six-pointed star...yup, that was her.

Sunset half-rose, waving at Twilight from across the room. Twilight saw her and made her way over, smiling all the while.

"Hey, Sunset," Twilight said, taking the seat across from her and pulling her mug close.

"Hi, Twilight. How are you? Is the princess life treating you well?" Sunset asked, leaning forward and wrapping her hands around her mug.

Twilight's happy and relaxed expression turned troubled. "I guess so. Spike's adjusted really well to the responsibility of taking care of the castle, and the girls are around nearly every day." she bit her lip, leaning forward and rubbing her temples "But I'm barely keeping up with the paperwork. At this point, it's less 'solving friendship problems' and more 'snobby nobles with horrible ideas for Equestria's money'. I can rarely go to bed before midnight!" she complained.

Sunset winced. "Ouch, Twilight. Sorry about that; maybe you could come over for a weekend, have a sleepover with the girls?" she suggested, feeling bad for her friend.

"Yeah, that would be nice. I wonder if I could get that long off..." she muttered, looking away. "But enough about me! How are you doing at school, Sunset?" she asked, smiling at Sunset before taking a sip of coffee.

Sunset shrugged. "It's...school, I guess," she said, "I mean, everyone's pretty much forgiven me, you know? A few people do keep reminding me of my shortcomings, though..."

Twilight smiled sympathetically. "I'm guessing some people still whisper behind your back?" she asked.

Sunset sighed and nodded. "Honestly, it's like they want me to hear them," she muttered, "but it's okay. At this point, I feel...nothing." she said, waving her hand in a noncommittal way.

Twilight hummed and took a drink from her mug. She stared out the window at the cold and wintery world.

"That's a paradox, isn't it?" she asked, turning back to Sunset.

"What?" Sunset asked, confused.

"Feeling nothing. That's impossible, right?" Twilight gestured with her hands, "I mean, feelings are something."

Sunset smiled, knowing what was happening. "If so, then what is feeling? Is it merely existing, or is it something more?"

Twilight swirled her coffee. "We describe everything as a feeling. A feeling of being watched, or of guilt, or of anger, etcetera, etcetera. So, yes, 'feeling' is existing."

Sunset leaned back in her seat, running a hand through her fiery hair. "So then what is nothing?" she asked simply.

"Hmm, that's another question altogether. The answer to your question lies in the answer to my question: what is something?" Twilight answered, her voice becoming more thoughtful and slow.

Sunset leaned forward again. "How about this: if you were thrust into a vacuum of time and space, do you exist?"

Twilight smiled slightly, finishing her coffee. "That's a trick question. If I were thrust into a vacuum of time and space, it is no longer a vacuum; I am something, just like you are. Besides, I think I would know if I were in a vacuum, right?"

Sunset looked out the window. "So to exist, to be something, you must be self-conscious? Then what about dogs? Other than Spike, who isn't actually a dog, dogs don't possess the self-consciousness apparently required to exist." she turned back to Twilight, a slightly smug grin on her face.

Twilight nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, so then self-consciousness doesn't define existence. So would existence be defined by sentience? That can't possibly be the case because plants aren't sentient, but they still qualify as existing."

Sunset grinned properly this time, revealing her white teeth. "Exactly. So would existence qualify as having mass? In that case, water, rocks, plants, humans, ponies, and everything in between exist. Is that the appropriate conclusion?"

Twilight tilted her head, holding Sunset's gaze. "Maybe."

Sunset waved her hand in the air. "See, Twilight, the way I see it, feeling is part of existing but does not define existing. If feeling is existing, then how does everything without a brain exist, like plants or clouds?"

"Ah. I retract my previous statement, and concede to your point," Twilight proclaimed with exaggerated formality.

Sunset chuckled. "We still haven't reached a conclusion. What is something?"

Twilight didn't respond for a few minutes. "I think something is anything that isn't nothing...which brings us back to our original question. I feel like we haven't gotten anywhere."

Sunset smiled. "I agree. How about we agree on this: everything we know: knowledge, emotions, mass, et cetera - counts as something, because someone, somewhere, knows about it, knows it exists. Agreed?"

Twilight smiled. "Agreed."

The two were silent for a moment before Twilight spoke again. "This is a difficult topic to debate on a philosophical basis, Sunset. Emotions and values are difficult to argue. Everyone feels differently when looking at something." Twilight said, sighing.

"How so?" Sunset asked, tilting her head in perfect mimicry of a confused puppy.

Twilight chuckled. "Let's say we both watched the sunrise. We should feel similarly since we relate in regards to our origins - Equestria. But instead, you feel most likely feel sadness and homesickness, while I feel comfort or fondness. Even though we both watch the same sunrise, and associate it with the same thing - Celestia - we feel completely different emotions." she explained.

Sunset nodded. "We were raised in similar yet different ways, too. We both grew up personal students to Princess Celestia, and social outcasts, but that's where most of our similarities end. I became bitter and eventually left Equestria to later become a she-demon obsessed with power. You stayed humble, eventually making your way through life to become a princess of Equestria. I was jealous and angry towards the Princess, while you were awed and loving."

"So, essentially, because we associate different things with one object, that one object means something different to us - whether positive or negative. See Sunset? Philosophical topics can and will mean different things for everyone, since we aren't all thinking the same way."

Sunset grinned. "So I guess we're both right?" she asked.

"Mmm, not quite. Have you heard of Ockham's Law? The Law of Parsimony?" Twilight responded.

"Yeah, I'm familiar with it. The principle that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected."

"Exactly. 'The simplest answer is usually the correct one'," Twilight recited. "This means that the most basic idea of nothing should be correct. 'Nothing' is empty space with nothing in it."

Sunset sat back in her seat. "Okay, two points: Point A, that makes no sense whatsoever. You described nothing as having nothing. That doesn't describe 'nothing'. Point B makes more sense. In either of our universes, even a dark, empty void of space, absent of all particles is still something. It has topology, it has space, it is a physical thing. If the laws of physics still apply, then the laws of physics are not nothing."

"If we're using physics, then there is a deeper kind of nothing, which consists of no space at all, and no time, no particles, no fields, no laws of nature. That to me is as close to nothing as you can get." Twilight argued.

"But is that really nothing, Twilight? There's no space and there's no time. But what about the physical laws, what about mathematical entities? What about consciousness? We already admitted that they exist. All the things that are non-spatial and non-temporal? Imagine the surface of a ball. It's a finite space, but with no boundary. Then imagine it shrinking down to a point. That would create a closed space-time with zero radii. That's a more persuasive definition." Sunset countered.

Twilight splayed her fingers on the tabletop. "I'm not even convinced that nothing actually exists anymore. Analytical philosophers say nothing is a noun; it seems like the name for an entity, but it's not - it just means 'not anything'."

Sunset frowned. "But just because nothing may be prohibitively difficult to conceptualize, doesn't mean it's not a real thing," she argued. "There are lots of things in science that are impossible to get an intuitive handle on, but that doesn't mean they don't exist," she said.

Twilight sighed. "Ultimately, the definition of nothing may just be an ever-moving target, shifting with every scientific revolution as new insights show us what we thought was nothing is really something," she responded. After a moment, she grinned.

Sunset grinned back. "Maybe nothing won't ever be resolved."

Twilight countered immediately, "But that doesn't mean we can't talk about it."

They laughed

Author's Note:

I wrote 1,599 words on the topic of nothing. Why is this how I spend my day?

Anyway, hope you all liked it! I'm open to criticism, not cynicism.
If you see any errors in the thinking, not the grammar or spelling, please message me! This is just a conversation my flatmate and I had over coffee, at 2 a.m. before he had a test, so pretty much everything is a mess.

PS: If you have an opinion on the topic, I’d love to hear it!

Comments

[wiccanminnesota]

Very interesting story looking forward to reading more of your work.

[Punk Rock Prom Queen]

A rather thought provoking story even if it is about nothing.

[reboot-this-pc]

Follow me down a rabbit hole if you’d be so kind.
Everything is something even voids have gasses and sub atomics, but what about at the quake level the Infinitesimal level thre are gaps that only have magnetic and atomic force feilds. Therefore there is always something if only an action. Furthermore on a macro level , based on human persecution there’s always something. An empty container still has definition for example if I where to have someone deceive an empty box , they wouldn’t say there was nothing to describe , but instead they would pick other factors such as size and color to describe it. And if by chance you had a perfectly clear container in a perfect void it would still be a container.

Sorry I come from a speech and debate background so I can argue nothing philosophy all day everyday.

Hope this gave you some counter points to think on.

[Lightning_Striker]

Welp, that made me think.

[Ketix Crawler]

8698076
First of all, I must take a moment to applaud you for your excellently written and thought-out comment. It was a true pleasure to see someone put real effort behind their ideas, unlike many of the nitwits I interactive with on a daily basis.
Second of all, literally two hours after writing and publishing this, I developed a similar think-piece; it is currently nonsensical scribbles in my notebook. However, your point on human perception (I believe that's what you meant, correct me if I'm wrong) was new. I hadn't thought of this from the perspective of nothing exists because we classify it as something, even if that was a minor thought in the think-piece.
When I showed this to my flatmate, he asked me to ask you if you thought of this, and I quote:
"If 'nothing' exists because we classify it and describe it, what about things we cannot? For example, let's say extraterrestrials exist; we don't know what they look like, and cannot accurately describe them, so do they count as 'nothing'?" I have my own thoughts, but would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind as to share yours.
PS: I also come from a speech-and-debate background! *internet high-five*
8715710
Great! That was my goal all along!
8698016
Thank you so much! I thought it might interest some people!
8697876
Thanks a lot! I have like, 3 different stories that I'm writing at the same time, so you can expect something soon!

[reboot-this-pc]

8729081
I’d classify this as the god argument, or the faith argument, I know this can be devisive , so I’m going to be blunt so as to not need many exchanges on it. I really don’t enjoy theological flame wars. (As an aside, the crusades wher, a terrifying example there of *buh-dun-tssz*)

A thing without proof , is , in essence nothing. Er go if it cannot be measured or quantified in some way it is ,to be blunt, at best a superstition and at worst .... well , a topic of great unrest, and conflict. ( I would like to submit news articles here ,but feel it unnecessary at this point.)

Now to answer your roommate,

If I may be so bold as to give a personal opinion on the matter, there is something to be said for faith and it’s ... mystisisims, it brings People comfort and hope, and can even help found communities. But it can also ,when viewed as a method of Order or Law, loose much of that comfort and instead becomes a strict adherence program where one person or one set of people hold all the keys. And anyone who opposes them are to be seen as the enemy or at least the unclean.

So it is for those reasons I almost always write Con articles for arguments of faith.

But one more thing as a brain teaser , what difference does the presence of a higher power make , must man be subservient to such for there to be peace or is it not within man, themself, to make peace, why must we rely on such a figure to...
“give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our truspasses as we forgive those that truspass against us”. Sorry I’m fresh off watching plays of the original bioshock so I have some Rand’ian philosophy still swirling about.

*internet high fives*