Do you believe every individual is special? Is each person unique and special with their own experiences, distinctive character, and behaviours? Lately, I've been contemplating this, and it's a grey area for me, but I'll attempt to get closer to an answer.

When we look at nature, let's take ants as an example since they are relatively small in size, we see that individuals actually work for a larger system. But do ants realise this? Or do bees know that all their efforts are for creating a hive? Is there individuality for them, or is it just a part of evolution? We consider ourselves more advanced than other animals and add individuality to that. Are we really like that, or is this idea of individuality a tale concocted by our "advanced" brains for a less stressful life?

Let's assume that our brains create a utopia, soothing us and that we are actually working for a system. Perhaps a species much more advanced than us perceives what we do as resembling the order of an ant nest, and they also think of themselves as individuals. However, I find it unconvincing that in this system, which we cannot fully comprehend, there is some kind of magic. In fact, I believe we live in a chaotic universe and world, the exact opposite of this. I think not everything has a purpose, and there is no meaning in sun flares and cell divisions resembling each other in nature. What we do and decide has no inherent meaning and we pursue that belief because of the mystery factor of it. It’s because of the appeal to believe in the reality of things we cannot solve.

Now, let's assume we are special, acting entirely according to individual desires and needs. Then, what is the purpose of wanting to establish any system? Why create a system that uses money as a measure of value or establish banks to facilitate this system we invented? I think the primary reason is that many of us feel more comfortable when there is order and predictability. It is quite mundane but familiar and therefore less stressful. Despite thinking we are special, factors that negatively affect us are less prevalent within the systems we are part of.

As contradictory as it may sound, perhaps one of the building blocks of the system is the human perception of oneself as special.¹ It seems to resemble the ideas of chaos creating order or the symmetry of asymmetry. The same underlying idea may also help explain why opposites attract.

As for my opinion, I don't believe anything is 100% or 0%. I think everything, even if one side is dominant, occurs in certain proportions. So, I cannot say every person is special or every person is a part of the system, but I believe the proportion of being special is higher than being a part of the system. I also think the universe might not have a meaning, and oddly similar things may have reasons behind them, like the similarity of a human eye and the observable universe², but some other things may exist just by chance.

Whether we are special or not, in my opinion, we will never be able to learn this definitively. However, that doesn't hinder us from chasing after the mystery.

¹ Inspired idea. Credit: Merve Gül Gültekin.
² I recommend examining Pablo Carlos Budassi's artwork "Ouli Classic (2016)."