The World Started Last Thursday
The world came into being last Thursday.
Seriously… the world, the universe, all of reality is only one week old. As of today. I’m not making this up.
That was someone else.
I’m talking about “Last Thursdayism,” which is a… well, we’ll say a hypothesis that everything around you, everything you know, everything you’ve ever experienced, even you, yourself, all sprang into fully formed existence last Thursday. That includes history, archives of books and films and TV, stacks of comics you’ve read, rings in giant red oaks, all of it. The whole, complete, all-encompassing entirety of all of existence… it all started last Thursday.
And that’s why you don’t realize it. Because along with the stars and the planets and the Tom Cruise films, your memories also started that day, fully formed. And whatever argument you’re thinking, whatever you’ve come up with to contradict or disprove this hypothesis… nope. Just more fully created stuff that came up a week ago. All that so-called “evidence” that makes it look like the universe is billions of years old… that’s all fake. It was created to look that way. Sorry.
Infuriating, isn’t it?
Last Thursdayism is branch of what’s called the Omphalos hypothesis. The TL:DR version is that this was an attempt to offer a reconciliation between Creationism’s view that the Earth was really only a few thousand years old, based on the literal interpretation of scripture, and the fact that science tells us that it is much older. Current estimates are around 14 billion years, but with the Webb space telescope coming online and peeking further and further out into the universe, some folks think everything may be much, much older.
There’s another theory about that which is equally mind-frying—that reality is actually just a simulation. It’s called (wait for it) simulation theory. Maybe I’ll create content around that some other time.
But the point is, the Omphalos hypothesis solved the problem of timelines not matching up by slapping some spackle on it and claiming that all of creation came to us fully formed. That included the fossil record, rings in trees, ancient ruins and temples buried under the desert sand, all of it. On Day One, it all just appeared. Let there be light (and dinosaur bones).
Last Thursdayism got it’s name mostly from someone tossing up their hands after hearing the Omphalos hypothesis and saying, “The universe might as well have popped up last Thursday then!”
So let it be written, so let it be done.
The reason this argument is so infuriating is because you can’t actually refute it. No matter what you think of to counter it, your argument can be shunted aside by “God did it.” And hey, I’m a believer. God is real, in my book. But I haven’t read anything in the Bible about God being a troll. And this would certainly be some universe-level trolling.
The point here is that there will always be theories and arguments that we can’t refute. There will always be a perspective so bizarrely alien to our own that we will want to shut it down, drown it out, grind it up and run it down the garbage disposal. But we won’t be able to. It will always survive, as long as someone—anyone—is willing to believe it and insist on it.
It’s what’s known as a “circular argument.” A logical fallacy in which someone states a fact, then uses that very fact as support of said fact. And if that confused you, then you’ve got the right idea.
We see this sort of logical fallacy—and many others—in our everyday society. In fact, with the prevalence and growth of social media, it’s just increased. Billions of people now routinely share points of view that are no more grounded or provable or disprovable than last Thursdayism. We see it in everything from arguments about politics to assertions about vaccinations or conspiracy theories about protests and insurrections (or the lack thereof…?).
Sometimes I kind of wish the world really was created last Thursday. It would explain a lot.
How do you overcome circular reasoning? Mostly, just don’t participate in it. Don’t let yourself be drawn into the argument. Just let that circular reasoner go rant about their ideas in the void. Maybe toss them some Crayons to draw with.
Because in the end, a hypothesis that can never be proven or disproven benefits no one. It may have some impact, but that impact tends to be isolated quickly. Cooler and more logical heads. usually prevail. Or, we really hope they will.
You’ll never be able to control that impact anyway. All you can ever control is your own response. So, focus on that.
See you next Thursday.
If you like this post, there’s a blog full of this kind of stuff. And Side Notes is basically an extension of my Note at the End, which you’ll find in all of my novels. And you can find those by clicking here. Share this post with your friends, if you found it helpful. And buy my books if you’d like to support me and my work!