"The universe is a big and lonely place. We can do with all the neighbors we can get."
Questions: Through our expansion, could we possibly evolve into a species that can travel space? Can we evolve to species that can tolerate the conditions of other planets? IS THERE LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS?
Comments: Humor. This quote stood out to me because if you look at this on a daily scale, it's sort of true from person to person. There are very few people who can live what society calls a "fulfilling life" without talking to people, neighbors. In this world, the more people you know, the better. I feel like the universe we know are like people who just want to mingle with other universes, if they exist to our knowledge. I mean, overall, knowing things we don't is what people strive for, curiosity drives us over all else.
"Two hundred light-years is a distance so far beyond us as to be, well, just beyond us. So even if we are not really alone, in all practical tenus we are."
Comments: I found this sort of comical because it's one of those things that doesn't really tell us anything. It's like saying, "I don't want to get my water bottle that's far away because it's just so far away." I usually get irritated with this sort of stuff, but I just found it funny because when I imagined this, yes, the universe did seem a little bit bigger then just imagining a "big universe".
"A star can burn for billions of years, but it dies just once and quickly, and only a few dying stars explode. Most expire quietly, like a campfire at dawn."
Comments: This quote sort of depressed me, I'll be honest. It makes me think of people dying. Sometimes it's noticed, sometimes it's... noticed less. It's like the whole, "If a tree falls but no one is around to hear it." Point is, the tree fell. It definitely fell. I know stars don't have a consciousness, but when you think about it, life on Earth can be comparable. We live, lots of years for most of us, but then we die in one foul swoop. It just happens. There is some noise if it's a murder, propaganda and all. But all in all, most of the time it's silent. People either accept the silence or make the voice louder. I don't know, that's the initial reaction I got.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Bryson Intro: Chapter 1
"Life on Earth, you see, is not as brief but dismayingly tenuous. It is a curious feature of our existence that we come from a planet that is very good at promoting life but even better at extinguishing it."
Questions: What is the speed we are destroying our world at versus promoting it? Is it just humans that destroy things so rapidly? How would the world be if there were no humans? Would the other less intelligent animals manage protecting nature more if we were gone? What are other organized patterns can we find around us?
Comments: I thought this was a good quote. It's a very typical message, but the wording is what caught my eye. Reading this makes you think about the past and what the future may look like. In a way, we can predict our own existence in the future seeing as there are so many patterns in the world that I did not know about. For example, mountains looked like random rocks beat down by erosion but there is also the perspective that is it simple following a fractal pathway.
"I should say that everything is just right so far. In the long term, gravity may turn out to be a little too strong, and one day it may halt the expansion of the universe and bring it collapsing in upon itself, till it crushes itself down into another singularity, possibly to start the whole process over again. "
Questions: What is the probability of this happening? Versus other apocalyptic theories, is this in the same league as possible to happen? Is it possible for gravity to expand so much that it takes a dip? Can this be shown in real life on a small scale?
Comments: I found this sort of interesting because I didn't think about the universe collapsing this way. As far as I had thought of things, I was thinking more of the destroying of the Earth rather then the universe. I have those typical notions. Meteor smash onto the Earth and wipe out existence, the sun goes supernova, the planet explodes, etc. When I think about it on the larger scale, as in the whole universe being destroyed, it has much more of an impact of what we are a part of and only how far our research can go.
"Just as there is no place where you can find the edge of the universe, so there is no place where you can stand at the center and say: 'This is where it all began.'"
Comments: This one I just found overall interesting. There is sort o a good point here. I suppose humans keep wracking their brain to find an answer. What is life? Why are we here? How did such intellect start? This is one of those things that are in debate. When I read this, it made a lot of sense in a logical and mathematical way. It's like infinity.
Other quotes for reference:
"All mine where written by men (it was always men) who held the interesting notion that everything became clear when expressed as a formula and the amusingly deluded belief that the children of American would appreciate having chapters end with a section of questions they could mull over in their own time."
Questions: What is the speed we are destroying our world at versus promoting it? Is it just humans that destroy things so rapidly? How would the world be if there were no humans? Would the other less intelligent animals manage protecting nature more if we were gone? What are other organized patterns can we find around us?
Comments: I thought this was a good quote. It's a very typical message, but the wording is what caught my eye. Reading this makes you think about the past and what the future may look like. In a way, we can predict our own existence in the future seeing as there are so many patterns in the world that I did not know about. For example, mountains looked like random rocks beat down by erosion but there is also the perspective that is it simple following a fractal pathway.
"I should say that everything is just right so far. In the long term, gravity may turn out to be a little too strong, and one day it may halt the expansion of the universe and bring it collapsing in upon itself, till it crushes itself down into another singularity, possibly to start the whole process over again. "
Questions: What is the probability of this happening? Versus other apocalyptic theories, is this in the same league as possible to happen? Is it possible for gravity to expand so much that it takes a dip? Can this be shown in real life on a small scale?
Comments: I found this sort of interesting because I didn't think about the universe collapsing this way. As far as I had thought of things, I was thinking more of the destroying of the Earth rather then the universe. I have those typical notions. Meteor smash onto the Earth and wipe out existence, the sun goes supernova, the planet explodes, etc. When I think about it on the larger scale, as in the whole universe being destroyed, it has much more of an impact of what we are a part of and only how far our research can go.
"Just as there is no place where you can find the edge of the universe, so there is no place where you can stand at the center and say: 'This is where it all began.'"
Comments: This one I just found overall interesting. There is sort o a good point here. I suppose humans keep wracking their brain to find an answer. What is life? Why are we here? How did such intellect start? This is one of those things that are in debate. When I read this, it made a lot of sense in a logical and mathematical way. It's like infinity.
Other quotes for reference:
"All mine where written by men (it was always men) who held the interesting notion that everything became clear when expressed as a formula and the amusingly deluded belief that the children of American would appreciate having chapters end with a section of questions they could mull over in their own time."
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