Can we Ponder this Orb?
I believe "The Orb" is actually a concept that holds a lot of power on these forums.
It's an idea that can easily spread and is enjoyed. If you look at memes on here right now, you're constantly being forced to "ponder" (or think about) it, which isn't even something I'm complaining about.
It can plant itself (at least temporarily) in your mind. Since it's also associated with so many things (like wizards and fantasies), it can encourage you to think about things in a certain way.
Something something circles ≠ spheres cue laughter
True. This isn't a great image, but it still represents the concept of The Orb in a fairly simple way.
A metaphysical orb? The abstract, post-modern concept of orb-ness?
Very avant-garde.
Yes. And thinking about that too much in a way you can't control can send you insane. Lambda Calculus is like "The Orb" too, which is just Lisp (list processing) programming.
This is also essentially equivalent to the SCP 606 (partly redacted but still quite detailed infohazard article).
Isn't this a 2d sphere? (aka S^1)
Yes. I believe so. And thinking about the internal surface of a 3D, hollow sphere is a lot like pondering an Orb.
You can build up logic systems using set theory geometry inside your own head to "ponder the wizard's Orb". Pondering an Orb can in theory do almost anything a modern computer can do inside a well-educated scholar's mind.
Lisp programming is almost directly based on these same concepts, which is why lots of early programmers loved it. They found it easy to visualise using stuff like comprehension of Escher-type geometrical spaces to make complicated computer simulations. Feel free to add on anything else you know about stuff like geometrical group theory, even if you think I'm wrong about this overarching stuff.
Geometries are a system of encoding conceptual information. You can see this if you know about things like a C2 rotation, which can be simulated on a computer.
2/10 Not a Orb! Would still ponder tho
I think it's a perfect representation of an Orb you can ponder, and it has nothing seriously wrong with it. That image can perform all the mental functions of an Orb. Making a kind of 2D simulation in this Orb should be easy to imagine.
TV shows and films exist in their own fictional realities that are very easy to visualise. I think this is a bit like "pondering The Orb".
If you get really engrossed, you might start trying to understand the characters and what they think about politics or technical questions, as if you were watching the news.
In some shows, like Red Dwarf, they try to explain some of the weird things that happen based on beliefs that might sound quite logical. Some might even actually have scientific components. For example, there was one where a cyborg robot invented time travel technology based on Einstein's relativity and tried to kill people in the past to have them replaced for leading "bad" lives. Is that similar to a Christian worldview?
Do you get invested in those universes and start believing in them? I think that's a complicated question you need some philosophy to answer.
Also, is the TV really an "Orb" you can ponder? Can it teach you things in that way? Should you always believe it?
Hmmm
Do you think "pondering the orb" enough can send a sane person mad? I kind of do. It's a bit like living in another reality.
Most of my concepts here were built up using an Orb. It's a concept that can store other concepts, build other concepts and grow (dangerously, like a black hole that sucks away your mind).
This one doesn't have the same pull compared to the solid magical orb. This one gives me more my first project in krita feelings rather than Let's go on a long adventure through the magical world one
“You know, for kids.”
Not for kids really.
The Hudsucker Proxy
Haven't seen it, but it might contain an Orb as a major concept, especially if you remember it very well.
I think Lambda Calculus/Lisp code is basically equivalent to an Orb. You could build up your own advanced code in Lisp to described complicated objects with their own logic systems, and it would create a powerful Orb in your mind, especially if your logic system was a videogame.
You can also try picturing a blue box
Geometrical set theory is also an important "Orb pondering concept", along with the Physics of objects like black holes.
If you can visualise a C2 rotation of a 3D shape in your head, you can also add that to a computer program describing a simulation of a physical system.
Try pondering a cube and think about what group theory transformations it has. Well, a sphere has all the group theory you could ever ask for and you can do practically anything you want with it without noticing any change on the outside. That's the special property of a 3D Orb (hollow sphere).
It also describes why so many physicists think black holes and stars are so special.
Try playing Space Invaders or the old Donkey Kong inside this Orb where your mind can visualise it. Being a real "wizard" who ponders Orbs all the time is a lot like being able to see dreams you can construct while you're awake.