Soumya's Weird Musings

Over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure of being a participant in the IAAC: International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition. In late April or early May, I received a link to participate in the competition. It wasn’t very high-stakes, and honestly, I don’t really have a competitive bone in my body. I had just got done deciding that I didn’t need to demonstrate my love for or proficiency in science to anyone. But something just…called to me, I guess. It was by sheer luck that they had just extended the deadline because of the COVID pandemic, or I would have missed my chance. I downloaded the document for the qualifiers and looked at the questions. They were easy enough that I breezed through them in the span of one evening and sent my answers off confidently. I had to wait an agonizingly long time to hear back, though. But when I did, I had qualified for the pre-final round. The pre-final round was difficult, but no less fun. Honestly, it was an extension of my knowled...

It was an explosion. Nay, it was an expansion. It was the birth, In which was also written death. It was the start of a story still in writing. A story which could just as easily not have existed. A species would later on term this "contingency", A species, a member of which writes this today. To witness it would have been agony. To witness it would be a feat. To witness it one would have to transcend reality. To witness it is to witness everything. Everything was brought into existence by it. Everything which could easily not exist today. Everything then is everything now. And everything everywhere is a function of how. Every sunrise, every sunset. Every star to ever adorn the night sky. Every galaxy to be a home to some wonder in this expanse. Every species to ever marvel at the beauty around her. It is a glass bowl waiting to shatter. It is a glass bowl which could have shattered. It is a glass bowl which will shatter. It is a cosmic house of ca...