The pale blue dot. My tribute to Carl Sagan.

[Louis VI the Fat]

My knowledge of astronomy is so limited, my fascination for it so great.


I really need to get some grasp of it.

[Vladimir]

My knowledge of astronomy is so limited, my fascination for it so great.


I really need to get some grasp of it.

A good place to start:

http://www.daviddarling.info/index.html

[Reverend Joe]

I actually find something about attitudes like Sagan's to be very abrasive. Sure, I can understand their point that we're insignificant compared to the rest of the universe, but I can't get over the feeling of "so what?" I mean, we're not galaxy-striding colossi. We can't compare ourselves to the entire rest of the universe, whether it's to self-aggrandize or foster a feeling of humility and understanding, because everything that we are becomes moot. Trying to put some "grand perspective" on things that makes everyone seem absolutely insignificant isn't going to do anyone any good because it removes the very concept of good and bad. For example, when Sagan mentions war and suffering -- "think of the endless cruelties visited by one corner of this pixel on the scarcely-distinguishable inhabitants on some other corner." Well, my question is, by your perspective, who gives a damn? Sagan seems to assume that removing all concept of relative meaning to our lives will humble us and make us want to work together, but if none of what we do really matters any in the long-term perspective of the cosmos, why not spill "endless rivers of blood?" People may call you evil, but hell, in the long run, you're just a momentary master of a fraction of a dot; you're not evil, you're too insignificant to be evil. You're no more evil than one colony of ants taking over another, or a group of microbes eating another. Why should anybody be bothered by what you do on your corner of a tiny, insignificant dot in space?

It's a dangerously amoral position.

[Lemur]

It's a dangerously amoral position.

Or to put it more amusingly:

The Universe, as has been observed before, is an unsettlingly big place, a fact which for the sake of a quiet life most people tend to ignore.

Many would happily move to somewhere rather smaller of their own devising, and this is what most beings in fact do.

For instance, in one corner of the Eastern Galactic Arm lies the large forest planet Oglaroon, the entire "intelligent" population of which lives permanently in one fairly small and crowded nut tree. In which tree they are born, live, fall in love, carve tiny speculative articles in the bark on the meaning of life, the futility of death and the importance of birth control, fight a few extremely minor wars, and eventually die strapped to the underside of some of the less accessible outer branches.

In fact the only Oglaroonians who ever leave their tree are those who are hurled out of it for the heinous crime of wondering whether any of the other trees might be capable of supporting life at all, or indeed whether the other trees are anything other than illusions brought on by eating too many Oglanuts.

Exotic though this behaviour may seem, there is no life form in the Galaxy which is not in some way guilty of the same thing, which is why the Total Perspective Vortex is as horrific as it is.

For when you are put into the Vortex you are given just one momentary glimpse of the entire unimaginable infinity of creation, and somewhere in it a tiny little marker, a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, which says "You are here."

[Monk]

Or to put it more amusingly:

The Universe, as has been observed before, is an unsettlingly big place, a fact which for the sake of a quiet life most people tend to ignore.

Many would happily move to somewhere rather smaller of their own devising, and this is what most beings in fact do.

For instance, in one corner of the Eastern Galactic Arm lies the large forest planet Oglaroon, the entire "intelligent" population of which lives permanently in one fairly small and crowded nut tree. In which tree they are born, live, fall in love, carve tiny speculative articles in the bark on the meaning of life, the futility of death and the importance of birth control, fight a few extremely minor wars, and eventually die strapped to the underside of some of the less accessible outer branches.

In fact the only Oglaroonians who ever leave their tree are those who are hurled out of it for the heinous crime of wondering whether any of the other trees might be capable of supporting life at all, or indeed whether the other trees are anything other than illusions brought on by eating too many Oglanuts.

Exotic though this behaviour may seem, there is no life form in the Galaxy which is not in some way guilty of the same thing, which is why the Total Perspective Vortex is as horrific as it is.

For when you are put into the Vortex you are given just one momentary glimpse of the entire unimaginable infinity of creation, and somewhere in it a tiny little marker, a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, which says "You are here."

The high watermark of the second book exists in the preface just before Zaphod goes into the machine, explaining why anyone would build such a device in the first place.

[Beskar]

I wish I had a spaceship like the one from Startrek. Though it is unfortunately not possible in my life-time. I would love to wonder and explore and enjoy life.

The problem is with astronomy though, the science of it is really boring. It might sound really cool at first, then you go into a class, then you get a lecture of the physics of a photon, for two hours, while looking at a boring powerpoint. In comparison to a subject like History, where you have vivid imagination out of the facts.

Sort of like, the enjoyment of History is knowing the facts, and the enjoyment of astronomy is a overview.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I wish I had a spaceship like the one from Startrek. Though it is unfortunately not possible in my life-time. I would love to wonder and explore and enjoy life.

The problem is with astronomy though, the science of it is really boring. It might sound really cool at first, then you go into a class, then you get a lecture of the physics of a photon, for two hours, while looking at a boring powerpoint. In comparison to a subject like History, where you have vivid imagination out of the facts.

Sort of like, the enjoyment of History is knowing the facts, and the enjoyment of astronomy is a overview.

This is a bit of my problem.

Whenever I make an effort of understanding astronomy, all of my methods fail quite soon. For example, one can not try to understand the scale of the universe by any human measure.

The methods one does need, I do not understand. It is as is I have to learn a completely new language before being able to read a book.

What astronomy does reach me, I read more out of almost entertainment than out of any semblance of critical understanding. Wormholes, black holes, 7 or 31 dimensions? Cool! It tickles my mind, gives me all sorts of grandiose thoughts. However, if I was told there are 254 dimensions of time connected like a prairie dog tunnel system, all going at different speeds but 97% really being some dark invisible time - then I would believe that too.

I have no critical understanding of it.



I have resigned myself to being reliant on popular astronomy - Hawking, Sagan etc. But even that little, I wonder what it is I'm actually getting a grasp of: maybe only popularised 'metaphors', employed to convey mathematical or otherwise arcane concepts to the layman. By its very nature, astronomy deals in what the human does not have a reference card for.

Perhaps astronomy will remain limited to sheer entertainment and semi-philosophy for me. Not without worth though: still a subject of endless wonder and inspiration for me.

[Lemur]

Perhaps astronomy will remain limited to sheer entertainment and semi-philosophy for me. Not without worth though: still a subject of endless wonder and inspiration for me.

As a teach screamed at me once, "You're not a scientist! You're a science spectator!"