Figuring Space

Space is a paradox: it exists, and it exists as nothing. It is at once dimensionless and multi-dimensional. We cannot touch or see it. Still, we are acutely aware of when we have too much or too little space. Until we encounter a boundary, or until it is replaced with something else, space is completely invisible to us. We perceive space only when it ends. And yet we are intimately familiar with space in so many ways. Pragmatists think of space as separation. Sculptors think of space as form. For architects, space is synonymous with flow. Traders see space as commodity. Mourners perceive it as loss. Visionaries perceive it as destination. And partners dance on a knife's edge in space. First both agree to share space, and then each must keep vigil differentiating space that is shared from space that is sovereign. Space is more than a paradox. Space is a metaphor. Ricardo Barros