What is Cold? A Random Thought by Muhammad Raza

 What is Cold? A Random Thought

by Muhammad Raza

Anyone who has ever taken a chemistry class (or any science class for that matter) has probably been told that cold isn’t a real thing. Why isn’t cold a real thing? Because cold is the simple absence of heat. While this definition may be sufficient for the classroom and makes intuitive sense for some people, there are still some gaps and holes in this explanation for cold, which I think about every time I go outside in a chilly breeze. 

Firstly, how do we know that cold isn’t actually just the absence of heat but instead is a real thing, and that heat is merely the absence of cold? It’s kind of similar to how people say that dividing is just multiplying by the inverse: well, why can’t we say that multiplying is just dividing by the inverse? 

The other big thing that I’ve always thought about cold is how our body can feel nothing. If you were hit by 0 pounds of force, you would not feel anything because you got hit by nothing. So why is it that when an ice cube is placed onto my back, I start to quiver and shiver as if something’s taken hold of me? How can the absence of something make me feel this way? Well, to answer my own question, I believe that humans have the ability to sense or feel nothing or nothingness. It’s probably the reason why we feel lonely and bored–we sense the apparent absence of companions or lack of things to do. 

I guess all of this discussion about cold and emotions kind of shows that apparently simple or straightforward meanings or phrases can actually be thought of as really deep and multi-faceted. It also shows the reasoning and thinking powers that humans hold, in that we are able to philosophize and reason over small things like what cold actually is. Maybe it’s good to think about stuff like this once in a while and exercise those brain muscles?