We few, we happy few, we band of brothers on Saint Crispin’s Day

The stories of the lives of some of the Christian saints are very unusual Even the things thst they have become associated with as "patrons" often take some explanation. 

October 26 is St. Crispin's Day, dedicated to the patron saint of shoemakers.

Martyrdom of Crispin and Crispinian (detail) by Aert van den Bossche 

He was martyred by the Roman Emperor Maximian on this date in 287 A.D. St. Crispin and his brother, St. Crispinian, lived at Soisson in France, where they preached during the day and supported themselves by making shoes at night. 

I don't know why, but the feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian was removed from the Roman Catholic Church's universal liturgical calendar following the Second Vatican Council. Still, the two saints are still commemorated by some on that day.

It was on St. Crispin's Day in 1415 that English troops, commanded by King Henry V, engaged the French army near the village of Agincourt in France. Despite being outnumbered nearly six to one, the English pulled off one of the most brilliant victories in English military history. 

I only know of Crispin because I studied Shakespeare's Henry V in college. It is his most famous “war play.” Though some of it glorifies war, especially the choruses and Henry’s speeches urging his troops into battle, it also shows corruption and the human cost of war. Bishops conspire to use war to postpone a bill that would tax the church. Soldiers expect to reap profits from the conflict. 

King Henry addresses his troops on the eve of battle with a memorable speech that contains one phrase that Shakespeare came up with that has been reused frequently.

"This story shall the good man tell his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered —
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.."

Thalassophiles and Oceans

What is a thalassophile? A person who loves and is magnetically attracted to the ocean and the sea. Many people say they enjoy spending time at the beach, especially during summertime, this is more like being one who needs to be near the ocean all the time. Some pro surfers may qualify as a thalassophile.

This addiction can be so intense that a person doesn't just appreciate being close to the shoreline but needs to live in coastal areas like they need air - perhaps sea air - to breathe.

The word "thalassophile" derives from the Greek terms thalassa, meaning sea, and phile or philos, a person or thing having a fondness for a specified thing. In Greek mythology, Thalassa was the primeval goddess and spirit of the sea.

It may sound a bit unhealthy to have this addiction or attraction. Just looking at the ocean activates opiate receptors in the brain, releasing dopamine and its rush of reward. 

Do you sometimes feel the need to get to the sea? That's where Herman Melville places Ishmael at the start of Moby Dick.

“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.”    ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Jack London

In 1897, Jack London left San Francisco for the Klondike to join the gold rush. He was just 21. A few weeks earlier, a ship had arrived in San Francisco from the Klondike carrying more than a million dollars worth of gold, and London got his stepsister to mortgage her house and lend him the money for the trip.

It was a tough journey, including a long haul over the famous Chilkoot Pass. Winter hit before London could even start looking for gold. 

He spent that winter in a little fur trader's cabin the size of a tool shed he read the books he'd brought along - Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. 

By the time spring arrived, all the good claims had already been made, so he gave up looking for gold and decided to collect stories from the people there.

On the journey home, he almost died of scurvy, but he wrote a book. That book was The Call of the Wild, which became one of the most popular books of the time.

That was 1903 and the novel was a turning point in London's career, propelling him to literary stardom and enabling him to live a life filled with both creative and personal adventures. This success also provided him with substantial financial rewards, which allowed him to focus more on his writing.

The novel established London as a prominent American author. He gained recognition as a skilled storyteller with a deep understanding of nature and the human (and animal) condition. He became highly productive, writing and publishing numerous works over the next several years. These included The Sea-Wolf , White Fang, and Martin Eden.

He bought a ranch in California and later embarked on a sailing voyage across the Pacific in his yacht, the Snark. 

Despite his success, London faced various health problems. His adventurous lifestyle, combined with heavy drinking, took a toll on his body. By the end of his life, he suffered from kidney disease and other ailments.  

London continued to write prolifically, though not all of his subsequent works achieved the same level of acclaim as The Call of the Wild. Nonetheless, he remained a significant literary figure until his death in 1916 at the age of 40. 

We Are Living in a Simulation.

“This is a cardboard universe, and if you lean too long or too heavily against it,
you fall through.” - Philip K. Dick (PKD)

We are living in a simulation. Maybe. At least some people (not crazy people) believe it is a possibility.

It sounds like a sci-story (The Matrix probably comes to mind) to say that we are software emanations in a vast, unimaginably complex computer simulation. But it is not a new idea created by someone like sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick (PKD). The ancients thought about it. Philosophers have considered how real things in front of us might be. In the 18th century,  British empiricist George Berkeley talked about immaterialism.

PKD (who I have written more about on another website) uses the idea of our reality being a simulation. But we would need to be able to step outside of the simulation to know there was a simulation.

Davoudi talks about ways we might fall through the cardboard universe. If our universe is made of code, there are probably glitches, which means that whoever is the "simulator" controlling the code, it would need to make corrections. That's where the complicated science enters.

Philip K. Dick theorized "The Matrix" in 1977 when he wrote about that we live in a "Computer-Programmed Reality.”

Are we prototypes?
Is our solar system a project of another advanced civilization - or God?
Do they want us to figure out the simulation? Are they trying to help us to figure it out?

Want to go further down the rabbit hole?

• Simulation Theory Explained in 3 Videos
• Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?: A 2-Hour Debate with Neil Degrasse Tyson, David Chalmers, Lisa Randall, Max Tegmark...