Mngata: Have you ever watched a moonbeam?
Have you ever noticed how some stuff looks like…other stuff?
Maybe I should be a little more specific.
Have you ever noticed how a walnut kind of looks like a brain? Or how grapes sometimes resemble lungs? Ocean waves can sound like an airplane cutting through the sky. Look at drops of sea water under a microscope and you can see a whole universe.
And then there's this Swedish word: mångata. It describes the way moonlight hits the water and creates the illusion of a road or a path. I’ve never really thought about it, but you know, it kind of does. Mångata translates quite literally to “moon street.”
“Pattern-finding is the purpose of the mind and the construct of the universe. There are an infinite number of patterns.”
Speaking about the fascinating connections we find in nature, the artist Agnes Denes once said, “Pattern-finding is the purpose of the mind and the construct of the universe. There are an infinite number of patterns.” One might argue: Okay, but is our world truly made of patterns, or are we simply wired to find them? Is it a series of intricate codes waiting to be cracked, or do we perceive order in what is really chaos?
Who knows? It’s an age-old question, and even the foremost minds in science aren’t sure how it all works. But understanding ourselves might be one small way to get there. And whether the universe has some grand design or it's just a product of our own wild imagination, mångata highlights our never-ending search for meaning and connection. From walnut brains to streets made of moonbeams, we are perpetually looking for patterns—and finding them.
How to Worry Better, The Cut: “Worry is like a liquid,” McGowan says. “It will fill the space you provide it, so it’s important to set time limits and be productive with that time.”
A great way to start your morning? Read a chapter from Ross Gay’s Book of (More) Delights.
Read more about Agnes Denes's work here. “Denes chose to plant the 11,000 trees in mathematical formation that relates to the golden ratio, becoming for the artist a time capsule, a visual memory of scientific discourse.”
Speaking of patterns, I helped to write this episode of Hidden Brain: The Mystery of Beauty. In it, neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee explains how our brains are wired for beauty. And Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek argues that the universe is indeed made up of beautiful patterns.
— Kristin
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