What is Nothingness?

What is Nothingness?

To the layman, it probably means nothing more than nothing itself. The simplicity of this viewpoint could probably satisfy the question. Humankind have come to visualise nothingness as empty space, with no sound, no texture, no smell, no light and no air. In other words, it is a place where our senses are unable to detect anything - therefore nothing. However, are our senses truly indicative of everything? Through advancement in science and technology, we have come to realise that our senses are limited. Hence, how can we visualise true nothingness?

Instead of our senses, we use our mind. We know that a specific event or specific thing exists if it is at a particular point in the universe at a particular time. Hence, for nothing to exist, it must exist beyond time and space. Yet, what exists other than time and space? Well, it seems that we have answered the question of nothingness, but this leads us to the question of - What truly is time and space?

First of all, what is time? With the abundance of clocks and watches around the world, we tend to visualise time as the thing which tells us about our period of existence, the thing that differentiates us from our ancestors, or our future children. Some felt that time has existed for infinity, and has always been there, for if there is no time, there is no space, there is nothing (Seems to fit the definition of nothing). Some felt that time has existed the very day there was something, and before that very 'something', there was no time. Others remain skeptical about this philosophical discussion of time and argues that without human beings, there is no time, for time is but a concept visualised by us (Therefore, when we are gone, time will be gone).

For the sake of a proper discussion about nothingness, we will then have to glean a suitable definition of time from the myriad of choices. Since our concerns are with space, time and nothingness, let's consider this question. Can space exist without time? Visualise a plot of land (such as your house). Could it be standing there at that particular spot if there was no time? Looking at the bigger picture by zooming out, your house can only exist at that particular space when the earth was at that particular spot and the rest of the stars and planets in the entire universe at their respective slots, all stagnant. Maybe this's a little complicated. Try visulising an empty space (notice why I initially chose not to use this example - empty space is pretty hard to visualise), in outer space. Can this space exist if there is no time?

[I will finish up this post as soon as I can. :)]