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I Love Space

I was re-listening to Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" speech, and then I found myself channeling him again, in writing a comment... I tend to do that a lot... but heck, it's not a bad thing that my words end up emulates those of Carl Sagan... that's a good thing. And I'm not going to stop it.

Watch this first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PN5JJDh78I

Then listen to this while reading my little spiel...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89eaxsthTqc

Saganist: A sentient product of dying stars that follows the wise, echoing, timeless words of the great, legendary Carl Sagan, and dreams of carrying these words and enlightening the world with his resonant philosophies in order to stop this senseless selfishly driven violence that serves no purpose but to drive our world into chaos...

import carlsagan.lgd

A cosmologist may not be god, but one comes as close as possible to godly understanding, of knowledge and truth—harboring the answers to the ultimate questions in existentialism, seeking the Grand Unifying Theory of Everything, to make sense of this 13.7 billion light year ball we call the universe.

It isn't until we gaze up at the stars do we truly realize that we are awfully insignificant. We are a mere infinitesimal on the scale of the cosmos. We are not even a dot. We are not even a pixel. Our reach only extends so far as our atmosphere. We may have stroked the surface of a few planets and moons, a comet, and the far reaches of our solar system, but we are but a pixel in our solar system, which is a mere pixel in our galaxy, which is a pixel among our galaxy clusters, which are pixels among our superclusters, which are pixels in our universe, which is a literal infinitesimal among the infinite number of universes in the multiverse. Even considering chaos theory, our existence simply isn't, on the scale of the universe.

Yet, here we are so awfully insignificant, legends in our own fraction of a pixel of a pixel of a pixel of a pixel of a pixel of an infinitesimal, many unable to appreciate the vastness of the universe. We are inebriated by our own ego; delusional that we are significant. We are far too drunk to realize that we are in fact drunk and drowning in our own flattery. We refuse to realize the truth that we don't in fact matter in the cosmos.

Still, there are a few of us that have woken up. We are the cosmologists, the mathematicians, the stargazers; we are the philosophers, the existentialists, the few privileged individuals on this pale blue dot that have sobered up and know that we will never play a significant role in the cosmos; however, even more sobering is the thought that we even begin to comprehend the cosmos at all. While it is almost certain that life could have evolved elsewhere in the universe numerous times, only a handful of the spawns of life would even come close to understanding the vast cosmos as intimately as we do.

Despite being as tiny and insignificant as we are, we're able to understand something as vast and mysterious as the universe. That is something significant on its own. We are one of the few lifeforms in existence capable of truly comprehending the cosmos, and that makes our existence significant. We may not be able to do much to the cosmos, but we can do all we can do to understand it. We can affect our own world--our pale blue dot. I could not be more privileged than to be blessed with the appreciation of the cosmos and everything in it. If I had to choose between ruler of the world blind to the truth and cosmologist with existential philosophies, I would choose the latter without hesitation.

I'm only a 17 year old girl. There is only so much I can do right now. But I am blessed to have developed an appreciation for this universe at such a young age; that means I have even more time to bring as much new understanding about the cosmos as I possibly can within my lifetime. To others, the sky is the limit. I see no reason to limit myself. I may never physically leave the earth, and it is possible that this is due to unfortunate technological,economical, and political reasons; however, nothing is going to stop me from doing my best to peer into the cosmos to understand something more... something beyond, something bigger, something that created this pale blue dot.

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johnny253

If there is a Multiverse, do you think there is a definitive number and could it be possible that our lives will be repeated over and over and in a real sense our lives will be eternal?

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

We are nothing more than a particularly arranged set of chemicals. To say a sack of chemicals that is identically arranged as ours in another universe is our own is to say that 1 mol of table salt in beaker A is the exact same mole of salt that's in beaker B because of its composition, properties, and behaviors. Such instances similar to us are just that. They are similar to us, but they are not us. Thus our lives will not be eternal.

johnny253

Thanks for your response. There is one aspect that your discussion hasn't addressed and that of the human soul. I assume, that you are an atheist. However, theoretically, if you were wrong and there was human soul, it would move into another dimension. How would your take on the Nature of the Universe be affected?

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

My discussion was meant to be more of a philosophical than of an instructional one. Theoretically, unicorns exist in another universe and I'm a unicorn in another dimension. Theoretically, souls do exist in another dimension. It's paradoxical. Souls do not exist in our own universe simply because this implies that we hold some sort of special existence in this 93 billion light year across thing we call our universe, and it implies that we hold some sort of physical difference, aside from chemical arrangement, from other substances.

johnny253

It really doesn't answer my question.IF we did have souls and at death they left this limited body chemistry, what would your take be on the nature of the Universe. The reason I ask is, I've been studying NDEs (Near Death Experiences) and people had rememberences of leaving their body's and experiencing a life after death as they lay on an operating table with their ECCs and EKGs flatlining. They remember conversations that took place outside their operating rooms which were verified later and when down a dark tunnel, sometimes meeting people that they loved that passed on before or going into a light and having visions of what would appear to be heaven. These people come from all walks of life and include Neurophysiologists and other medical Specialists.
I've studied the "Shroud of Turin". Supposedly the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. There is no explanation how the marks got on the cloth (Blood type A-) and yet it shows the complete outline of a crucified man and appears to be exactly the way the Bible depicted it. Before you answer with an off the top of head answer, I would give it an indepth study yourself. Fascinating Story and really makes you scratch your head.

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

"NDE" hallucinations are a form of lucid dreaming. And I call your thing about the Shroud of Turin confirmation bias.

I simply cannot answer your hypothetical simply because the concept itself makes no sense. You cannot physically represent whatever the fuck a "soul" is and as such you wouldn't be able to hypothesize how one would interact with its surroundings if one were to exist.

johnny253

Perhaps, however, yours is a denial bias. Also lucid dreaming cannot take place without a functioning brain.

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

We hardly understand how dreaming works. People who are NEAR death still have functioning brains, at least in part. You cannot discount lucid dreaming. I'm not in denial bias of any sort. I do not subscribe to bullshit, that's all.

johnny253

It seems your term" Bullshit" DOES suggest a denial bias. You may be a scientist but you'r'e still human which means you have your own prejudices and biases.

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

Not necessarily. If someone claimed dragons were real, you'd call bullshit on them because they're scientifically impossible. Likewise to NDEs and other spiritual garbage. Note: I used to be VERY spiritual until I realized it was all shit.

johnny253

In the material Universe. Science is amazing. However, they have a philosophy that says "If you can't see it, than you can't believe it".But there are many we'll never see in this Universe but it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
What do you think of Paranormal experiences. If you say,"It's all in people heads," I'll really know you're close minded:)

johnny253

You won't find many people who believe that dragons are real but you will find the largest population of the earth DO believe that the soul is real.

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

Paranormal experiences are bullshit since it defies science. I'm not close minded. I'm open-minded to things that you know... stay in the realm of possibility and reality and all.

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

You'll also find a large portion of the earth with people believing the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, Bigfoot, Nessie, and the Bogeyman exist too. What's your point?

johnny253

I doubt your last statement. It's like this. How do you explain to yourself "consciousness? Is it a function of the Brain and once the Brain die's, the consciousness disappears. Or Do you believe that the Brain is merely a repository of the soul that allows it to function in this Universe, as God intended it. Then when the brain die's, the Soul flee's it's earthly home and goes somewhere else.