Nothing = Almost Something...

Readers of Plato and Parmenides will no doubt find these remarks tedious and derivative nevertheless....Have you ever wondered how "nothing" (when we start talking about it) is somehow more than just plain nothing as long as someone notices it, that it's really "there" somehow by virtue of being "not there." By making it part of our vocabulary, we give it a kind of substance that it's not supposed to have...The absence becomes like a presence so to speak. This ultimate vacuum, this vapid place-holder known as the "empty set" takes on a weird in-between status. Zero-when-seen counts for more than zero-unseen. For example, when someone says to you: "What's wrong?" and you say "Oh, nothing..." there's still something to that, because nothing in such a case has been mingled with a situation. True, there is nothing wrong, but the aforementioned "nothing" cannot refer to a total, all-encompassing black hole. Or, if someone says "What are you feeling?" and you say "Nothing, really..." you're still making room for a space, a mood, a state of mind apart from anything else that could be bothering you). And if someone further challenges you by inquiring: "What are you doing with your life?" and you reply: "Nothing, I tell you! Nothing!" there's more to the story than just that. But if someone gets really brave and declares that "there's nothing behind the material universe, so just get used to it!" Well - are we just going to stand there and take that at face value? I think not...Leibniz in his modern continuation of the metaphysical conversation, spoke freely about "potential beings" - non-entities not quite existing but possessing an aptitude for existence. If that doesn't sound weird then nothing does. These would have to be distinguished (I suppose) from absolute non-entities - if there are any! - that have neither the power nor the inclination to show themselves...