In this universe, there are things that are absolute: things that are eternally unchanging or at least unchanging for a long time.

And then, there’re also things that are relative: things that change.

Understanding both of these will make us better able to see the flow of the universe which is invisible to the naked eye (just like the flow of gravity is invisible to the naked eye).

The absolutes

In my observation (which can be very wrong), the things that are absolutes can be categorized as such: the law of physics, the principles of the universe, and the nature of human.

The law of physics refers to the things that humans (or other object inside the universe) cannot break. Such as: humans can’t jump to the tenth floor of a building (given humans’ muscle limitation and earth gravity constant).

The principles of the universe refer to things that human can technically break but it’ll be unwise to do so. Such as: humans can consume heroin or jump from the tenth floor of a building (but they probably shouldn’t without good reasons).

The nature of human is the tendency of humans (or some humans) to think and act in a certain way, to pursue certain things, or to move to a certain beat. Examples: people who like power will gravitate to position of power, most people want to feel important, almost all people get wiser (or, at least, more clever) with time, etc.

The relatives

Anything that is not absolute, anything that changes, is a relative.

  • The dominancy of left-wing or right-wing in politics is a relative.
  • The position of an economic system in its cycle of economy is a relative.
  • The expected life span of human is a relative.
  • Etc.

Manipulating the time period range

We can use this framework of thinking in a different way, by restricting the time period of which to hold some things as absolute and other things as relative.

For example, we can decide to inspect only the next 10 years. In this little period, the dominancy of left-wing or right-wing in a certain country can be held as an absolute, but the position of that country’s economic system in its economic cycle is still a relative.

If this technique seems vaguely similar to the fixed-cost concept in economics, it is because they are similar. At a long enough timespan, any cost is variable cost. But if you restrict the relevant time period, some costs become fixed cost.

The difficulty of using this framework of thinking

… is deciding which things are absolute and which are not.

Accurate judgment requires hard-to-get qualities like: clarity, freedom from delusion, acceptance of reality, matureness, etc.

When you decide that something is absolute or relative, you are creating a premise through which you base your mental model, and this mental model will guide your decision in life. Wrong premise creates wrong conclusion. An error in deciding which things are absolute and which are relatives can be disastrous, since it can lead you to choose unwise things.

And you’ll make such error a lot of the time. It’s OK to make such an error, but it’s also a wise thing to strive to be less wrong on deciding which things are absolute and which are not.