Did the Universe Just Begin Last Thursday? A Mind-Boggling Mystery!
What if Everything You Remember… Never Happened?
Have you ever had a dream that felt so real you thought it actually happened? What if your whole life – all your memories, your birthday parties, your first day of school – was just like that dream? What if the entire universe, including YOU, was created just last Thursday?
Whoa! That’s a brain-tingling idea that philosophers (people who think about big questions) have been wondering about. Let’s explore this mind-boggling mystery together!
The Last Thursday Theory: What Is It?
The “Last Thursday Theory” is a super silly but super interesting thought experiment. It suggests that the whole universe – including all your toys, your house, your family, and even your memories – might have been created last Thursday!
But wait… you remember things from before last Thursday, right? Like playing in the snow last winter or your birthday party months ago?
Here’s the twisty part: What if those memories were created last Thursday too? Just like when you build a brand new toy but make it look old and worn, what if your memories were brand new but made to seem old?
Think About It: Memory Mysteries!
Close your eyes for a moment and try to remember what you had for breakfast three days ago. Got it? Now ask yourself: How do you KNOW that really happened? Maybe that memory was just created along with you last Thursday!
But I Have PROOF the World is Older!
You might be thinking, “That’s silly! I have photos from my birthday last year! I have toys I’ve owned for ages! There are dinosaur bones that are millions of years old!”
But what if all that “proof” was created last Thursday too?
- Those old photos? Created last Thursday to look old!
- Your worn-out teddy bear? Made last Thursday with fake worn spots!
- Dinosaur bones? Put in the ground last Thursday, already looking millions of years old!
It’s like if someone built a movie set of an ancient castle. The castle might look a thousand years old, with crumbling walls and moss growing on it, but it could have been built yesterday!
The Tree Ring Puzzle
Think about trees. They have rings inside their trunks that show how old they are – one new ring for each year. A tree with 100 rings should be 100 years old, right?
But in the Last Thursday world, that tree with 100 rings would have popped into existence last Thursday, rings and all! Mind-blowing!
The Storybook Comparison
Imagine your favorite storybook. All the characters in the book have adventures and histories, right? The princess might remember growing up in a castle, and the dragon might remember learning to breathe fire.
But when were those characters and their memories actually created? When the author wrote the book!
The Last Thursday Theory asks: What if WE are like characters in a story that just started last Thursday? We can’t tell because all our “memories” of before then came with the story!
Let’s Play: “Created Last Thursday”
Here’s a fun game to help understand this tricky idea. For each thing below, think about how it would look different if the world started last Thursday versus if it had been around for a long time:
Your Favorite Stuffed Animal
Regular world: Your stuffed bunny is actually 5 years old and has gotten worn out from years of hugging and adventures.
Last Thursday world: Your bunny was created just last Thursday but was made to look like it had been hugged a million times! The worn fur, loose stitching, and that juice stain from “two years ago” – all created last Thursday!
The Big Oak Tree in the Park
Regular world: The tree really has been growing for 200 years, getting taller and thicker each year.
Last Thursday world: The tree is only a few days old but was created to look super old with thick bark and giant branches! Even the initials that people supposedly carved in it years ago were created last Thursday!
Your School Building
Regular world: Your school was built 50 years ago and has slowly collected scuff marks on the floors and worn spots on the stair railings.
Last Thursday world: Your school building is less than a week old, but was created with “fake” wear and tear to make it seem like thousands of kids have been running through the halls for decades!
Brain Science: How Memories Actually Work
Here’s something super interesting about our brains: Our memories aren’t like perfect video recordings! They can change a little bit each time we remember them, like a game of telephone!
Scientists call these “reconstructed memories.” When you remember losing your toy last year, your brain is kind of telling you a story about what it thinks happened, not showing you a perfect recording!
So even without the Last Thursday Theory, our memories might not be exactly what happened anyway. Wow!
Did You Know? Memory Fact!
Your brain actually forms memories while you sleep! When you dream, your brain is sorting through the day’s experiences and deciding what to keep and what to forget. It’s like a nighttime memory cleanup crew! So tonight when you go to sleep, your brain will be deciding which parts of this article to remember!
Why Do Philosophers Think About This Stuff?
If we can’t prove or disprove the Last Thursday Theory, why do philosophers even talk about it?
It’s because it makes us question how we know what we know! It’s a brain puzzle that reminds us that some things can’t be proven one way or another.
Philosophers have a fancy word for “how do we know stuff?” They call it epistemology (eh-pis-teh-MOL-oh-jee). The Last Thursday Theory helps us practice epistemology by making us think about what we can and cannot know for sure.
Does It Even Matter?
Here’s a big question: If we can’t tell the difference between a world that’s billions of years old and one that was made last Thursday with false memories… does it actually matter?
If two possibilities look exactly the same in every way, and we can never tell the difference… is there actually a difference?
Many philosophers think that what matters most is our experiences right now and what we do with today and tomorrow, not whether our past is “real” in some ultimate sense.
Your memories feel real to YOU, even if they were just created recently. And the friends you care about and the things you love to do are important right now, no matter when the universe began!
Try This At Home: Last Thursday Detectives!
Want to have some fun with the Last Thursday Theory? Try these activities:
- Ask your family and friends what they were doing last Thursday and see if their memories match up! Just for fun!
- Find the oldest thing you own and imagine it was actually created just last Thursday with “fake” age. How would it be different?
- Write a short story about a kid who discovers the world really DID start last Thursday. What clues would they find?
Keep Wondering, Keep Growing!
Even though the Last Thursday Theory is probably not true (or is it?), thinking about big, strange ideas like this helps your brain grow stronger!
Asking questions – even super weird ones like “What if everything started last Thursday?” – is what makes humans special. We can imagine, wonder, and think about things that might be impossible to prove.
So keep wondering, keep thinking, and keep asking those big questions! Your brain is amazing, whether it’s been around for your whole life or just since last Thursday!
One Last Thought…
Maybe the world will start all over again NEXT Thursday too! And you’ll read this exact same article again but won’t remember having read it before! Whooooosh!
