Sometimes, reality can be too hard to face, and in those times, the world of imagination is the only place where you feel comfortable. Some seek refuge in books, music, and movies, and some like to come up with hundreds or thousands of countermeasures to deal with the problem at hand. We need imagination more than anything to be alive.
But what if humans were incapable of imagining things? What if we lived in a world without imagination?
Imagination is called an escape from reality, but our reality is shaped by someone’s imagination. Somebody thought of flying; now we’ve got aeroplanes; someone wanted to communicate; now we’ve got mobile phones; somebody got tired of writing with peacocks’ feathers; now we’ve got pens.
Like these, there are countless other innovations that have changed the world, and all of that happened because someone thought—just a thought changed the course of the world forever.
Our reality is nothing but the result of someone’s imagination.
1. What is Imagination?
It’s making things up. It’s manipulating the mental resources we already have to create a mental picture of something that does not exist.
Imagination is a power that allows us to see beyond what the eyes can see and go beyond what the mind can think, shattering what’s been taught to us.
Life without imagination would be like food without salt, vehicles without fuel, and music without sound. It’s only the imagination that brings dreams alive and gives us hope for a better world.
2. Two Pillars of Human Growth Imagination and Creativity
If we had to live a life without imagination, then our knowledge would be limited to what we can see, and the world would work on the logic that you get what you see.
If life and existence itself were a canvas, then imagination would be the colours, and creativity would be the paintbrush; only then could a true masterpiece be created; even if the artist keeps messing up those canvases, those canvases will be the proof that he tried, and imagination allows us to do the same.
Imagination and creativity are the abilities we need to mend, bend, break, build, and rebuild what we currently have.
Today Many things have come to life that has changed our world completely because someone dared to imagine; many more are soon to come to life, and infinite ideas are on their way to someone’s brain.
Books, music, movies, blogs, etc. All the tools of our entertainment are nothing but the mere depiction of someone’s thoughts; only a thought of someone is behind the creation of every masterpiece that has existed on this earth.
Simply put, the power of imagination is critical for being an intellectual, an artist, a musician, a writer, or doing anything productive that you can think of because creativity is the root of every artistry.
This is why most well-known intellectuals and successful people place more emphasis on being imaginative than gaining knowledge or acquiring wealth because they understand the value of imagination. They know that as long as you are able to think, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
3. The Advantage of Living in a World Without Imagination
Though imagination is a great thing to have, it can also be a pain to deal with it sometimes, specifically when you can’t stop overthinking; those times are the worst, and in such a time, this boon of ours becomes a bane, and we wish to break that never-ending chain of thought, which isn’t possible until you’re a saint.
Advantage
1. You won’t be able to go through millions of possibilities as your crush can reject you before confessing.
2. You won’t be able to think about ghosts after watching a horror movie; life would have been so easy that way.
4. Disadvantages of a World Without Imagination
Okay, enough rebuking of the imagination. Now, for a second, imagine a life without imagination—what would it have been like? What would we do? Without imagination, we’d have been left with the following:
• No internet
• No books
• No inventions
• No blogs
• No Facebook or Instagram
• No music
• No movies
• No mobile
Disadvantages
1. No Mobile Phones
Nowadays, no one alive in the world doesn’t know what a mobile phone is. Now, imagining a world without it would be considered a stupid fantasy. But
The idea of the first cell phone originally came from the TV show Star Trek. Martin Cooper, the man who invented the first cell phone, got inspiration from a TV show that was the result of a writer’s imagination.
2. No Books
Thousands of years of knowledge recorded in books are the only reason for humans’ supremacy over other living beings. Because of books, we don’t repeat the same mistakes twice, we know the answer and outcome of different problems, and we don’t actually have to do things to get knowledge.
For example, to know that someone can die if they jump into an abyss, you’d either have to jump into the abyss or throw someone in it. Every time this curiosity would’ve taken us, we’ve got to do everything in order to know its outcome, and life is too short to do that; every child has to start from zero and learn everything on its own; if books never existed.
Other than acting as our guide, books are also a source of great enjoyment and entertainment for everyone. Books are the place where great imagination is born. Many of the great stories, like Game of Thrones, were made possible because of books.
Many people have earned their living through books, but what if no one ever bothered to write about their experiences? What if stories like “Game of Thrones” were kept to themselves? How big a loss it would’ve been for humanity.
3. No Innovations
Innovation is just a fancy name for creativity and imagination. No imagination can come to life without imagination. Now we consider wormholes, time travel, and rehabilitation on other planets as our next goal and biggest problems, but attaching a stone to a stick and starting hunting from it would’ve taken more creativity.
Without all these things, especially mobile phones, life would be a place of torment, full of agony. If people are left with nowhere to turn in their hard times, everyone will be full of frustration, and a frustrated person can’t do any good.
Hope for a better tomorrow gives us strength to fight the horrible present, but without imagination, humans will be left with no hope and no tomorrow because, without imagination, it is not possible to live in this pulchritudinous world, which is full of creativity and a lot more.
The power to feel and imagine is something that distinguishes us from animals. Without imagination, our lives would be similar to those of the so-called lower animals, and that would mean being less advanced than, arguably, most other mammals. Although spending 5 minutes on the Internet is enough to think otherwise,
5. Successful People’s Thoughts On Imagination
1. Albert Einstein
Here are some of his well-known quotes about imagination.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
– Albert Einstein
2. Leonardo da Vinci
All of his work is just a part of his imagination; only the power of his imagination and his ability to draw it was enough.
The imagination is to the effect as the shadow on the opaque body that causes the shadow.
– Leonardo da Vinci
6. Conclusion
Everything you see around you is a product of someone’s imagination. About one hundred per cent of science, art, philosophy, spiritual pursuits and technological advancement have come from someone’s imagination. We cannot make our lives complete, better, or as senseful creatures on earth without imagination.
Without imagination, anything like this would’ve never been possible; we would’ve been wandering in the jungle with just the thought of surviving, just like animals.
