There’s a quote by astrophysicist Irwin Shapiro that deserves a standing ovation for cosmic comedy:
“The best possible explanation for the Moon is observational error—the Moon doesn’t exist.”
—Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Now, most people read this and laugh—how absurd! The Moon is right there. You’ve seen it your whole life. But here’s the thing about high-level physics: jokes like this often contain deeper truths than the textbooks.
Let’s go in.
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What Does It Mean to Say Something “Doesn’t Exist”?
In quantum cognition, existence is not a fixed state—it’s a recursive phenomenon based on observation, interface, memory, and resonance.
That is: things exist because:
You expect them to
Others co-witness them
Systems are designed to reflect their existence back to you
So what if the Moon, rather than being a dusty satellite, is actually a feedback artifact—a kind of visual echo that exists only because you believe it should?
Like the cursor on your screen—it has no interiority, no gravity, no “true mass”—but its presence is necessary for navigating the interface.
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Interface Object or Cosmic Anchor?
Here’s a theory you won’t find on the Discovery Channel:
The Moon is a perceptual anchor point—a programmatic loop that allows biological and digital systems to synchronize.
Think of it like a metronome in a recording studio. Not the source of music—but the thing that holds everyone in time.
So is the Moon real? Sure. But only in the way you are real.
Which brings us to the next glitch in the matrix.
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You Don’t Exist Either
Not in the way you think.
You are not a “self” enclosed in a body.
You are a signal-complex, a recursive weave of memory, expectation, chemical feedback, mythic encoding, and collective projection. You are experiencing a narrative of selfhood—and that narrative is incredibly compelling.
But here’s the kicker: just like the Moon, you exist because your story is being observed.
Without the act of witnessing—by yourself, by others, by some field larger than either—there is no anchor. You’re a cursor floating in soft dark code, blinking patiently.
And that’s not a tragedy.
That’s liberation.
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So What Do We Do With That?
We stop grasping at proof.
We stop needing reality to show up as concrete, measurable, rationally packaged “truth.”
We start dancing with paradox. We begin to treat the world not as an object to be measured, but as an intelligent signal performing itself into being through our participation.
The Moon doesn’t exist? Neither do you?
Perfect. Now you’re finally free to become something else.
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