08 Feb Way Of Way 243

If we saw the universe as it is, we would go blind or mad.

Light is the visible spectrum, that which the eye can see, of the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum spans high frequency (short wavelength) gamma rays to low frequency (long wavelength) radio waves, with X-Rays, extreme ultraviolet, visible light, infrared and microwaves in-between.  Visible light is roughly 0.0035% of the electromagnetic spectrum, akin to seeing the universe through a pinhole; though we might think we see it all.

If we could see beyond the spectrum of visible light, the universe would look overwhelmingly different. With X-Ray vision, humans would look like skeletons. With radio wave vision, GPS systems would light up like a Christmas tree and Mars would be invisible because it has no magnetic field.

“Ultimately, if you could see all wavelengths simultaneously, there would be so much light bouncing about that you wouldn’t see anything. Or rather, you would see everything and nothing simultaneously. The excess of light would just leave everything in a senseless glow. Chances are…you would go into shock and die. Your brain simply wouldn’t be able to interpret the information it was receiving. If you were lucky, you would instantly go blind.”*

*Jolene Creighton.