Observing the Mammatus Clouds

The Mammatus cloud phenomenon immediately suggests to me that I am of insignificant size on this planet, let alone in the universe. Some formations produce a near-hypnotic effect as they move across the sky; and it is possible to lose one's balance while staring at it because it overwhelms the normal visual reference points that we rely on for balance. My personal reaction to the Mammatus Clouds was more visceral than my reaction to the Aurora Borealis. The latter was undoubtedly awe-inspiring and aesthetically beautiful, but, at least in my case, my physical sensory reaction was at least partially linked to my awareness of the fact that the forces responsible are precisely understood empirically. However, my sensory response to the Mammatus Clouds was immediate.

On one hand, I recognized that the patterns almost certainly follow the same fractal mathematical concepts that describe proportions and geometric patterns recognized to apply in physical world. On the other hand, I immediately appreciated the manner and degree to which those clouds would appear to be evidence of conscious thought and expression by early human beings. Their aesthetic design would be assumed to be the product of purposeful design. Alternatively, the amorphous nature of cloud formations lends them tremendously well to the Rorschach phenomenon and to the infinite range of human imagination. Finally, even though I know that clouds are completely inanimate, I cannot help having the sensation that it is a living entity as it passes above me.