Even when we attempt to imagine it, we summon images — blackness, a void — but even that is still "something". It is not the lack of everything; it is the lack of things. And that’s not the same thing as “nothing,” is it?
This complicating factor is made worse by quantum mechanics. It implies that real “nothingness” doesn’t exist — not in the way we instinctively think of it. Even in perfect vacuum, quantum fluctuations — the spontaneous variation in energy — make particles come in and out of existence, briefly. These variations depend on underlying fields, the hidden potential for energy and matter. So, even on the quantum level, “nothing” is really more of a canvas of possibilities than an empty void.
So there must be something larger going on here. Perhaps we will never quite understand it because we are simply not meant to. But this whole universe had to begin with something. Not something as we know it — something beyond our comprehension. A force. A potential. Energy waiting to unfold. Some sort of greater intelligence behind it all, whether we can comprehend it or not.
And that’s where the intrigue comes in. Perhaps we’ll never actually understand all that led to this point. But one thing is certain: whatever started everything, it had to be something. Something with purpose and power. Something that can cause all of this to happen. It’s so hard to think differently, it’s like trying to imagine a totally empty room. The more you envision it, the clearer it becomes that even an empty room isn’t really empty. It’s full of infinite potential, and yet it’s still a room.
It’s a humbling thought. It doesn’t matter whether the universe originated from some random chain of events, or was sculpted by a larger force; regardless, the facts are real and they are undeniable. And here we are — tiny, but inquisitive — trying to figure out where we fit in.
Interesting how one question leads to thousands, huh? But maybe that’s the point. The universe doesn’t show us everything, but it does keep us asking.

Think about it: here we are—bundles of atoms, stitched together by laws we didn’t write, casually experiencing life as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. Which it is, apparently. But the fact that everything aligns just right for you to sit here reading this? That feels personal. Like the cosmos nudged you and said, “You. You’re up next.” The universe operates with such mathematical precision, it feels as though it was made to fit together perfectly, as if it had a purpose from the start. Constants, forces, and laws calibrate reality so tightly that even minor deviations would dissolve everything we recognize. and yet, here we are, comfortably living within this narrow margin of stability, unaware of the countless conditions quietly conspiring to keep us upright. Take gravity. Shift it slightly—just a fraction of a percent—and stars don’t form. No stars, no planets. No planets, no late-night thoughts about why your charger mysteriously works at specific angles. This isn’t dramatization; it’s physics. the natural order set in motion. The values that shape our universe aren’t mere suggestions—they are essential principles, part of a greater design. Stephen Hawking once pointed out that if the rate of expansion after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have collapsed before it even got started. That’s not chance. That’s a configuration So delicate, so improbable, that it has to feel as if a guiding hand is behind it. The question that bugs me the most isn’t why we exist. That’s the kind of puzzle philosophers will keep chewing on until the end of time, (Besides, I think it's a question that can’t really be answered by anything other than faith, which is more about feeling than reasoning. Faith doesn’t need to be logical—that's its essence. But that’s a conversation for another time.). but what gets me is how easily we forget we exist at all. You’d think something as dramatic as being alive would make more noise. But no. Existence sneaks in quietly—like that one friend who’s always at your house but never really announces their arrival. Suddenly, they’re there, eating chips in your kitchen, and you’re wondering when exactly they walked in. Existence operates in the same way. One moment, you’re a kid who thinks the universe stops at the end of your street. The next, you’re a full-grown adult questioning your own existence. And in between, the entire fabric of reality carried on uninterrupted, without ever asking your permission. The philosopher Baruch Spinoza argued that everything exists by necessity—that the universe unfolds in the only way it can. In his view, questioning why we exist is irrelevant because existence is simply the default state of things. So if that’s the case, then the uniqueness isn’t in existing—it’s in being aware that we do. Self-awareness introduces an entirely different layer to the conversation. Consciousness allows the universe to reflect on itself, to examine its own processes from within. Carl Sagan famously said, “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” The atoms that once resided in stars now think, observe, and ask questions. Science echoes this sentiment in thermodynamics. Existence, it turns out, is a constant defiance of entropy—a slow decay into disorder. Systems, including living ones, require energy to hold structure against chaos. Your cells sustain organization by exporting entropy elsewhere, buying time against inevitable breakdown. That’s not poetry. it’s a principle of physics. Life isn’t a static state—it is a continuous process sustained by the energy that flows through it, preventing the natural decay toward disorder. While this process appears fragile and temporary, it is upheld by the laws set in place, guiding everything with precision And yet, despite how thin the line is between existence and non-existence, we rarely feel fragile. There’s an odd confidence in the mundane. We trust chairs to hold us without testing their structural integrity. We walk through doorways without questioning if space-time remains continuous. This implicit trust in the mechanics of reality seems trivial, but it reveals something crucial: we assume stability because the universe, by some complex choreography, continues to provide it. But existence doesn’t have to be loud to matter. In fact, it’s the quiet parts—the small moments when nothing big happens—that define it best. There’s a strange comfort in realizing the universe is stable. It doesn’t rearrange itself because you had a bad day. And honestly? That’s reassuring. It means we get to assign meaning. We get to decide if a walk down the street or the laugh of a friend carries weight. I guess that’s the part of existence I keep coming back to—the audacity of it all. the way that atoms form into cells, cells into thoughts, and somehow, in all of that, you emerge. Not just as a body, but as an awareness that occasionally questions the very ground you walk on. The point of this reflection isn't about solving the mystery—it’s about learning to live alongside it. that's, to me, is the most philosophical aspect of existence grounded in science. It’s not just that we exist, but that we are capable of noticing it.

But schizophrenia doesn’t choose only the brilliant or the creative. It’s not confined to geniuses or extraordinary minds. It’s a condition that can touch anyone, regardless of intellect or background. Its terror isn’t tied to intelligence but to the sheer impossibility of knowing what’s real and what isn’t. It’s terrifying to think about. To imagine living years, maybe decades, only to realize that parts of your world were never real. for me sometimes it feels like more than a “what if” that comes and goes. I doubt everything—my choices, my memories, even the people around me. I tell myself this is normal, that it’s just anxiety whispering its usual lies. And yet, the question remains: What if my doubt isn’t wrong after all? It’s an unsettling thought, one that makes me feel as though I’m walking on a tightrope over a chasm of uncertainty. I think of how easily the mind can trick itself, how even someone I know personally has lived with this constant, unrelenting deception. If they couldn’t distinguish between reality and illusion, how can I be so sure of my own world? The truth is, none of us can be absolutely certain about the reality we perceive. Our minds are imperfect, prone to distortions and tricks, especially under stress or anxiety. But maybe that’s not the point. Maybe the point isn’t to know for certain, but to live as authentically as we can within the reality we experience. Even John Nash, once he recognized his illusions, didn’t fight to eliminate them completely. Instead, he learned to live alongside them, focusing on what truly mattered: his work, his family, and his purpose. So, when this fear grips me—when I start to question whether my doubts might be right after all—I try to remind myself of that. It’s okay not to have all the answers. It’s okay to feel uncertain. What matters is how I choose to navigate the reality I have, doubts and all.

Did someone tweak the settings before we got here? It’s almost like reality follows a blueprint—a deliberate design rather than a happy mathematical accident.
The deeper you go, the more everything reduces to numbers. Music, motion, even beauty—it can all be described mathematically. The laws of physics read like an instruction manual written in equations. Take Einstein’s field equations:
\[ G_{\mu\nu} + \Lambda g_{\mu\nu} = \frac{8 \pi G}{c^4} T_{\mu\nu} \]
That’s the backbone of general relativity, describing how matter bends spacetime. But does that mean math creates reality, or just describes it? It’s like asking if blueprints create a building or just help you understand how it’s made. But let’s not get carried away. If the universe is purely mathematical, why is it also so unpredictable? Quantum mechanics practically laughs at our attempts to make sense of it. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle tells us: \[ \Delta x \Delta p \geq \frac{\hbar}{2} \] No matter how hard we try, we can’t measure a particle’s position and momentum precisely at the same time. It’s almost as if the universe enjoys keeping secrets. Maybe math is just the scaffolding, but something greater holds it all together. And let’s be honest—math is only as good as our understanding of it. Maybe the universe *is* mathematically perfect, and we just haven’t cracked the full equation yet. Or maybe our obsession with math is like trying to describe a painting using only numbers—sure, you can assign values to color, texture, and shape, but you’ll never capture the full picture.
Quantum mechanics is one of those subjects that makes perfect sense until you actually think about it. Particles don’t seem to settle on a definite state until they’re observed, which is unsettling when you realize that, on a fundamental level, reality might be playing peekaboo with us. If no one’s looking, does the universe just keep running in the background like an idle process? Or is observation a necessary ingredient for existence? Some physicists, like John Wheeler, think we help shape reality just by observing it. That’s a lot of responsibility.If interaction with a measuring device or the environment collapses quantum possibilities, does that imply some fundamental mechanism—beyond human observation—maintains the coherence of the universe? It’s a humbling thought—that the cosmos is not just a cold, indifferent expanse but something sustained by an ever-present awareness beyond our own. Consider the wavefunction collapse in quantum mechanics: \[ \Psi(x,t) = Ae^{i(kx - \omega t)} \] A particle exists in multiple states at once (superposition) until an observation forces it into one outcome. That’s not just philosophy—it’s tested science. If consciousness is somehow fundamental, does that mean the universe has always been "aware" in some way? Of course, galaxies formed long before we were around to look at them (unless space has a really impressive autopilot mode). The laws of physics don’t seem to care whether we’re paying attention or not. But still, it’s fun to wonder: if reality doesn’t need us to observe it, does it need someone? And if so, who—or what—is watching?
Or maybe perception isn’t about shaping reality but just accessing different layers of it. What if reality is like a vast, multi-dimensional structure, and we only see the slice our senses are tuned to? Just because we don’t perceive something doesn’t mean it isn’t there. We can’t see infrared light or hear dog whistles, but they exist. Maybe the universe has unseen dimensions of existence beyond our limited perspective—things that have been there all along, waiting to be discovered. The Simulation Hypothesis suggests that we’re basically in some advanced civilization’s version of The Sims. If you’ve ever had one of those days where everything feels weirdly scripted, you’ve probably considered this possibility. The idea is that if advanced civilizations could create indistinguishable simulations, some philosophers argue that statistically, we might be more likely to be in a simulation than in base reality. However, this remains a speculative idea without empirical evidence But here’s the thing: if we are in a simulation, that still means someone wrote the code. it doesn’t exactly remove the idea of intelligent design. Either way, it would be fascinating to glimpse the design behind existence. And if this isn’t a simulation, then what’s the alternative? That we exist in a reality so intricate and structured that it could be simulated? Either way, we’re looking at a universe built on astonishing precision. Maintaining a flawless simulation takes a ton of processing power. If this were all a simulation, we might expect to see glitches—like physics breaking down at tiny scales. But so far, the laws of physics hold steady. If we aren’t in a simulation, though, we’re left with an equally mind-bending question: Why does everything feel so structured, so intentional, so…designed?
So, again is reality fundamentally mathematical? Maybe. Maybe math is the language of the universe, or maybe it’s just the tool we use to describe it. Maybe the fine-tuned precision of physical laws hints at something deeper—a deliberate design, a blueprint set in place before we even got here. But if there’s one thing I keep coming back to, it’s this: None of this is random. The order, the patterns, the breathtaking coherence of reality—it all points to something greater. Whether we glimpse it in equations, in the constants that shape existence, or in the very act of wondering about it, there’s an undeniable sense of intention behind it all. And that intention, that design, is no accident. The deeper I think about it, the more I see that every mathematical structure, every physical law, and every fleeting thought I have about the nature of reality is, at its core, a reflection of something far beyond me. These are not just numbers and patterns—they are signs. And for that, for the ability to question, to seek, and to even begin to understand, I am grateful. Alhamdulillah for the opportunity to reflect and learn.

Can we ever reach a point where there is truly nothing, where even the rules cease to exist? Or is nothingness just another way of describing an unfamiliar kind of something? Even thermodynamics offers a perspective on nothingness. The second law of thermodynamics tells us that entropy—a measure of disorder or randomness—always increases in a closed system. This doesn’t mean things fall apart completely, but rather that energy becomes more evenly distributed over time. If the universe is moving toward maximum entropy, does that mean it will eventually reach a state of absolute nothingness, where no distinctions remain? Or is even that final state simply another kind of equilibrium, a silent persistence rather than true absence? The concept of a "heat death" suggests a universe that is effectively empty of useful energy, but not of existence itself. So once again, nothingness eludes us. To put it in more relatable terms: imagine opening your fridge expecting leftovers, only to find nothing but a half-empty bottle of ketchup. Is that "nothingness"? No, because even in the most disappointing situations, something remains. And speaking of perception—let’s talk about blackness. If nothingness were truly real, then seeing black should be equivalent to seeing nothing. But that’s not the case. Blackness is not the absence of sight; it’s your brain’s response to the absence of light. When you close your eyes, you don’t see "nothing," you see black, because your visual system is still active, still processing an input—just a very dim one. This is why we don’t perceive an empty void when we stare into deep space; we see darkness, a presence, not a void. Even in our perception, true nothingness refuses to appear. Philosophy has long wrestled with the meaning of nothingness. Parmenides denied that nothingness could exist at all—if you can conceive of it, then it must, in some way, be something. In his view, true nothingness is a logical impossibility—it’s a concept that collapses under its own weight. Others, like Sartre, considered nothingness to be an essential part of human existence, the space in which we define meaning and choice. Without nothingness—without gaps, uncertainties, and the possibility of change—existence would be rigid, and predetermined. Heidegger, on the other hand, posed one of the deepest questions: "Why is there something rather than nothing?" If we take the existence of reality for granted, we ignore the fundamental strangeness of the fact that anything exists at all. Is the concept of nothingness merely a limitation of our minds? Do we mistake our own inability to conceive of an alternative as proof that something must exist? Interestingly, some branches of metaphysics and theology have approached nothingness from an entirely different angle. Instead of treating it as an absence, they see it as a potential—a state from which existence emerges. In this view, nothingness is not the opposite of being but its necessary precursor, a kind of metaphysical canvas upon which existence is painted. This aligns, in a way, with some modern cosmological models where universes arise from quantum fluctuations in an undefined state. But again, can such a state ever be considered "nothing" if it has the capacity to generate something?
Perhaps our mistake is in thinking of nothingness as an external reality rather than a conceptual tool. Some philosophers, like the logical positivists, argue that nothingness is merely a linguistic construct—a way of describing the absence of something rather than a thing in itself. If they’re right, then nothingness isn’t a 'state' to be discovered but a mental placeholder for what we don’t perceive or understand. Maybe nothingness is not an independent state but simply a label we give to the absence of something we expect to find. If you remove all matter, all energy, all space, all time—have you reached nothing, or have you simply changed the form of existence? The further we push the boundaries of science and thought, the more nothingness retreats, revealing itself not as an endpoint but as a shifting horizon, always just beyond reach. Even in our personal perception, nothingness is elusive. When we close our eyes in complete darkness, we do not see "nothing"—we see blackness, a presence of a kind. When we try to imagine absolute emptiness, our minds inevitably fill it with something—a void, a space, a concept. This might hint at a deeper truth: perhaps nothingness is not an external reality waiting to be found but a question that forces us to confront the nature of existence itself. If I tell you, "Don’t think about a pink elephant," your brain immediately does it. So how can we be sure that when we attempt to conceive of nothingness, we aren’t just filling the void with our own expectations?
So, is nothing real? Or is it just another way of talking about the boundaries of what we can comprehend? If nothingness exists, then it is something—and if it does not exist, then it was never there to begin with. Either way, I’ll probably still be thinking about it at 3 AM, wondering if I should just accept that existence is weird and go to sleep.