"Thought is only a flash between two long nights, but this flash is everything"

Henri Poincaré's quote, "Thought is just a flash between 2 long nights, however this flash is whatever," encapsulates the profound and in some cases short lived nature of human cognition and consciousness. At its core, this declaration reflects on the short-term yet transformative power of idea amidst the large stretches of time where conscious awareness might not exist-- before birth and after death.

The images of thought as a "flash" suggests both its radiance and its transient nature. A flash is brilliant and illuminative, yet short-term, encapsulating the essence of human cognition: it is our methods of understanding, creating, and connecting with the world, providing clearness and insight. This flash of thought is juxtaposed with "two long nights," which can be interpreted as the large unknowns of existence before birth and after death, where awareness and individual thought do not exist. These "nights" represent the mysteries and unpredictabilities of life, the dark spaces outside the short period in which a person is alive and efficient in thought.

Despite the brevity of this "flash," Poincaré stresses its significance by specifying that "this flash is whatever." This suggests that the capacity for thought, while momentary, is the core of human experience. It is through believed that individuals obtain significance, make choices, innovate, and connect with others. This minute of consciousness is where life is truly lived; it is within this stimulate that we question, explore, and attempt to understand deep space and our place within it.

Additionally, Poincaré's quote can be seen as an event of human intelligence and imagination. It underscores the significance of valuing our cognitive efforts-- our concepts, dreams, and expressions-- due to the fact that they are what define our existence and contribute to the collective understanding and development of mankind. In essence, while woven in between the unidentified expanses, the ephemeral nature of idea forms the essence of our lived experience, making it certainly "whatever.".