Throughout the course of my research, I have dedicated significant time to studying Bret Victor’s work and its underlying principles. This exploration has profoundly captivated my imagination, prompting me to contemplate the potential future of thought-enabling tools. While the ongoing debate on the role of mathematics in our lives continues, I find that the current advancements remain confined to the same medium. Consequently, I am compelled to believe that humanity has reached its zenith, having conquered the two-dimensional realm. It is difficult to envision a successor to mathematics that resides within the same domain as its current form. Individuals who hold such beliefs are susceptible to the allure of the notion that the future lies in the realm of another species. Amidst this backdrop, as artificial intelligence has experienced remarkable growth, transforming into a realm of conversational capabilities, I was deeply affected by a profound sense of melancholy.

However, yesterday, I experienced a sudden realization that was the culmination of my long-awaited eureka moment.

To provide a comprehensive explanation, let’s start with the concept of colors. Earlier this week, I was shocked to learn that the color pink doesn’t actually exist. It may sound unbelievable, but it’s been thoroughly verified and proven to be accurate. When our brain perceives a combination of red and violet or red and blue wavelengths of light simultaneously, it interprets this combination as pink. This concept has fascinated me. We perceive a color that exists solely within our imagination.

I recognize that you—dear reader—might as well be shocked. So by all means, please first take your time to digest the above mentioned and then proceed with the rest of this

Contemplating the fact that pink is a subjective perception led me to a profound realization: “All colors are manifestations of the human imagination.” Light exists as a wave, composed of amplitude and wavelength. What is truly remarkable is how the brain interprets a matrix of wavelength and amplitude as a visual representation of the world. Colors serve as the brain’s annotation of this wavelength data.

Our fundamental evolutionary minds are constrained by the necessities of our hunter-gatherer past. While it may seem absurd to request an individual to visualize the fourth or fifth dimension, it is challenging to ask you to envision this:

Color is not a natural and existing phenomena, but our brain's imagination. Just as sound is a form of data visualization to make sense of air movements. And that is true for smell and all other senses.

It is incomprehensible to me that the world lacks colors and that sound is merely an imaginative construct. However, it is essential to recognize that these are the fundamental truths of reality. Therefore, we must accept that colors are merely annotations and that what we perceive is essentially a visual representation of a matrix or a graph.

If we accept this premise, then mathematics, bar charts, geometric shapes, unset interfaces, and all other activities we engage in are essentially embedded data representations. A canvas filled with geometric shapes and formulas is, in essence, embedded within the color chart or color graph matrix of light wavelengths. They have never been and will never be considered an actual medium.

This was my initial realization, but the breakthrough occurs when you reflect on this understanding. Imagine the possibility of introducing novel sensory modalities to your body, which could essentially serve as conduits for other data sources. What if you could directly interface weather data into your cerebral cortex? After all, the brain is responsible for the creation of color and sound; what innovative concepts would it devise to perceive weather data?

Humans possess the remarkable ability to manipulate colors, sounds, scents, and other sensory stimuli. We deeply sense and process these sensations, which are essential for our capabilities. However, what if we were to discover a novel sense that provided us with an entirely different form of data, such as numerical information? How would we perceive this new sensation? Imagine being connected to the memory of a computer, where this data could be processed and interpreted. The potential for extraordinary abilities and advancements in technology would be boundless.

The future of tools for thought lies not in physical documents or artificial intelligence systems, but within the very fabric of our brains.