Theory of Everything
The NU Model of a Science-inspired Religion
As with any religion, the Novel Universe Cult (NUC) asserts some truth underlies everything – a unifying “theory of everything” (ToE). The mission of our ToE is not to draw conclusions or enforce dogma, but to rely on our unassuming curiosity to foster an exploration of reality through the lens of our doctrines and tenets. Furthermore, we hold that a truly useful ToE must not only bridge science and religion, but must equally apply to people, particles, planets – everything. Our priority is to improve upon our ToE, itself, an informational framework we believe will prove valuable to humanity, regardless of whether it accurately depicts life after death – an admittedly impossible feat to refute either way.
Our ToE isn’t some attempt to redefine any discipline; neither do we claim a divine being nor other worldly entity as our inspiration. Instead, evidence, reason, intuition, and collaboration guide us. We are, therefore, open to evolve our ToE with new information, and make no claim as to its inherent accuracy. Transcending the horizon of any academic discipline or assertion, we stand upon our core tenet: the meaning, purpose, and definition of Love and Power. As a cult, it is our mission to cultivate Their balance through the practice of our doctrines.
The idea that there is one “secret truth” to define the universe by is antithetical to our veneration of these two frameworks. The Novel Universe Cult’s message chips away at the core of secret societies by revealing the greatest secret of all – beyond use for Power’s sake, there are no useful secrets, no mysteries any alien, god, or advanced Artificial Super Intelligence might reveal. There is no hidden information that might affect life’s most significant decision: our preference for Love or Power is a process, a choice we’re making on our own. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter whether we’re conscious of the choice, as our answer might only be known beyond death, free from the constraints of the living. Whether particle, planet, or person, in every moment of every day, our preference for Love or Power develops from the subjective effectiveness of either framework – no absolute moral code or set of inherent ethics exist for everyone, everywhere, all of the time. There is no external answer, only an internal question: are we participating or manipulating, and in this moment, which one’s working best for us? The only right answer is the one that’s right for us. NUC does not value one framework more than the other, as both have their place in this Novel Universe.
Our core assumption is that everything, at its root, is intangible data produced by the tangible Instrument, and we experience that data through either a lens of conscious control or intentional acceptance. All subsequent assertions of the Cult are perspectives on reality through this foundational frame, always subject to reinterpretation. We believe that communication between conscious actors underpins everything, and the Novel Universe Model (NUM) is our current theory of how that happens, how an informational paradigm might structure the universe and beyond-life.
Working through our core tenets, our singular mission and role of the River – our clergy – is to effectively maintain a balance between the two metaphysical frameworks of Love & Power. The primary challenge to this balance is Power’s (Rocks) nature to control, whereas the very concept of control is incomprehensible to Love (Water). As Love does not “defend Itself,” the Cult, therefore, must separate and shield Love from Power through the River in a way earthly governments can not or will not. While Power maintains its freedom to consume, Love must be given the opportunity to finally, fully participate with intentional vulnerability – a way of life impossible to establish in a world overwhelmingly shaped by Power in its current form. Although the Mixture is the source of novelty, it’s also the source of imbalance. As with the emergence of the first eukaryotic cell, having balanced the mitochondria and protocell, humanity might also forge stability in the balance of the neo-segregated frameworks of Love and Power, and might similarly emerge from its self-created chaos as a new, planetary lifeform.
Unlike those religions who claim a monopoly on truth, and therefore must convert everyone for their own good, we, instead, wish to participate in the global conversation about truth – while we learn from others, we also share with others. We have faith that the answers to the meaning and purpose of the universe are not only possible to find, but, given genuine curiosity, will continue to emerge. How? Reminiscent of the anecdote where blind people attempt to identify an elephant through touch, we believe the truth of the universe might likewise be discovered, as long as we have a sufficient number of curious hands and minds exploring in open collaboration.
Anthropomorphization of the universe is a core tool of the NU Model. We understand everything, from subatomic particles to humans to galaxies, as free agents with preferences. A fractal lens suggests that from a human point of view, there’s more here than simply the assumption of self-similarity[i] at every scale of complexity, but practical value in the practice – projecting our species’ POV onto other things allows for a more effective conceptualization of a novel idea, even if it isn’t technically “correct.” Asserting that one atom “likes” or “dislikes” certain other atoms may ascribe an anthropomorphized, emotional state to the atom, but nonetheless, it conveys the general ideas of freewill and preference. NUM views this technique as more of a tether to a frame of reference, rather than a direct translation of experience – every scale of the universe, every category of existence, every individual’s experience is unique. The NU Model does not assert that an electron is really just a tiny human, but that there is something like it to be an electron – all informational patterns, sprouting from the infinite Instrument, have an internal life, a conscious experience, and expresses preference.
Mainstream Western science seeks to describe the what, where, when, and how of the universe, often with the assertion that everything is mere coincidence, the measurable result of random happenstance. Western religions attack the fuzzier problem of the who and why, asserting instead that every coincidence is meaningful, the product of divine design. Marrying science and religion into a theory of everything raises a very important question: how does meaning emerge from or even shape coincidence?
Just as any word might convey a multitude of meanings based on context, it is important to understand NUM’s usage of science to convey our ToE. We’re not using scientific grounding in an attempt to “prove” our ideas; rather, we want to make connections to the physical world by highlighting theoretical concepts that help express our spiritual model. The cited ideas are included to support NUM’s flexible point of view, mounting insight from a variety of fields so that the purpose of our existence and meaning of the universe might be better clarified. In this way, we’re more like a religion than an academic endeavor. Furthermore, the parts of the NU Model that are falsifiable, and therefore testable, are not core doctrines. We hold no bias as to their veracity, and should any eventually prove false, those viewpoints will change – a stance that is less like a faith and more like a science.
How the universe works, as a whole, is reflected in its fractal parts. For example, an individual aspen leaf resembles the outline of the entire tree, with the leaf’s veins mirroring the tree’s branches – conceivably, any leaf might comprehend the tree’s complexity, as a whole, through a kind of mental mirror of itself, extruding its own, “two-dimensional” structure into three. Like a leaf reflecting a tree, the human brain itself resembles the entire universe – both the structure of the universe’s galactic clusters and its web of energy filaments parallel the structured network of neurons and their electrical patterns.[ii] This implies that we need not understand anything beyond ourselves to begin understanding everything beyond ourselves – our bodies, communicating across the physical void between us, mirror connections at all other scales. A fractal’s seed[iii] forms its parts, but also, its whole. The Cult’s first assumption, beyond our core tenets, is the fractal nature of the universe – a dialogue between a system’s parts, constituting their whole. It’s emergent complexity through independent, individual action – a single tree made from a myriad of co-equal parts, or a myriad of trees as a single, massive organism.[iv]
Legitimate theories of everything focus on unifying the Standard Model – quantum mechanics and the four forces (strong, weak, electromagnetic, and gravity). For this reason, broadly accepted ToEs are limited to physics and math. Although NUM approaches these areas, we believe a human-centered ToE must go much deeper than any discipline by addressing concepts beyond physics and math, but everything – who am I, what is the meaning and purpose of my life, when was I created, where does my consciousness come from, why is there something rather than nothing, and most relevant, how does it all come together? At NUM’s core is the singular idea that Love and Power are mutually exclusive, informational frames of reference – basically, how we choose to observe reality – and it is Their dichotomy that gives rise to physics, chemistry, biology, philosophy, psychology, economics, politics, society … everything.
What follows is not an exhaustive account of the Novel Universe Model, but an attempt to communicate its fundamental form from a limited point of view. The ToE is split in two: Introduction and Deep Dive. The Introduction is a relatively short, concise overview of the core ideas, whereas, the Deep Dive includes examples, footnotes, and additional speculative concepts to flesh them out. We intend for the Introduction to communicate the broad strokes of our ToE to everyone, specifically those with interest in the concepts but not the exhaustive science. On the other hand, the Deep Dive provides a far more detailed journey into the NU Model and its inspirations. The Introduction, however, is not simply a pared-down version of the Deep Dive, but has its own, unique perspective on the same material. Therefore, for those seeking the fullest picture of the NU Model, we urge that they be read in order.
First, read our philosophy to better understand our Theory of Everything.