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title: Infinite Finite Systems
date: 2025-10-13T00:00:00
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
So, this morning, as I was sitting on my porch with a coffee cup that’s chipped along the rim (I really need to buy new ones, or maybe there’s something comforting about the imperfection), I noticed this bird hopping around the yard. Just hopping, not flying, like maybe it forgot it had wings or something. And I started thinking about how sometimes we get stuck in these loops—patterns where we forget our potential, I guess? Or maybe just routines. This somehow made me think about infinite finite systems, whatever those are. And I'm not even sure why.
I think it started with trying to declutter my phone the other day. There are way too many apps I never use but can’t seem to delete, like they’re part of some low-key ecosystem that keeps my life orbiting predictably, steadily. Safe? Maybe. But sometimes it feels like I'm just hopping around when I could be, you know, flying. That probably sounds dramatic, but when you’re doomscrolling Instagram at 1 a.m., it feels very real. There’s a term that I came across, and I can’t recall where exactly—"infinite finite systems." It’s the idea of endlessly repeating patterns within fixed boundaries. Or that’s what I think it means.
It’s like an Escher painting, right? Art that goes on forever in a loop but doesn’t really take you anywhere new. My relationship with my phone feels like that, infinitely finite. Like, I scroll through the same news, the same posts, and even when they change, they feel the same. Does that make sense? And maybe, I thought, our lives are kind of like that too.
I remember reading something, somewhere—maybe a study, maybe not—that said our brains love these patterns. They’re supposed to help us conserve energy or make decisions faster or something. But sometimes it seems like these patterns just make us lazy. Or am I just projecting? Hard to say. I guess the brain optimizes for not having to think too hard. It's efficient but kind of boring, right?
Anyway, I tried to break free of one of these infinite finite loops by starting a new workout routine. Something like HIIT, which I thought stood for something else, but it doesn’t. Thought it would shake things up, you know? But then I find myself doing the same exercises, in the same order, at the same time each day. So, did I really change anything, or just swap one loop for another? I’m still figuring that out.
There's this other angle too, about how systems repeat themselves in nature. Like fractals or whatever. The same patterns on different scales. I tried seeing my morning as a fractal once, if you can even do that, with coffee as the first step in every iteration. But… doesn't everything just feel like variations of the same routine sometimes?
The more I think about it, the more I realize I don’t really have the answers. I’m just kind of floating in these thoughts, trying to understand if I’m missing out or if there’s some comfort in the repetition. I mean, do we need to break free, or can we find meaning in the loops? What if it’s not about escaping but embracing these systems? I don’t know.
So, yeah, just like that bird in my yard, hopping around without using its wings. Maybe it’s content with the ground. Or maybe it’s forgotten how to fly. I guess I’m not sure which one I am. And maybe that’s okay? Or maybe I should work on finding out.