A universe is a mask fitted on the face of the unknown Universe.

Where there is a society of human beings, however primitive, there we find a universe; and where there is a universe, of whatever kind, there we find a society. Both go together, the one does not exist without the other. A universe unifies a society, enabling its members to communicate and share their thoughts and experiences. A universe might not be rational by our standards, or those of other societies, but is always rational by the standards of its own society.

The universes of each society are our models of “the Universe.” They are great schemes of intricate thought – grand belief systems – that rationalize the human experience. They harmonize and invest with meaning the rising and setting Sun, the waxing and waning Moon, the jeweled lights of the night sky, the landscapes of rocks and trees, and the tumult of everyday life. Each determines what is perceived and what constitutes valid knowledge, and the members of a society believe what they perceive and perceive what they believe.

If the past is any a guide to the future, our modern beliefs might also be greatly mistaken, and one day a new universe might arise, grander than our present model.

Adapted from: Masks of the Universe, Edward Harrison, Cambridge University Press, 2003