Have you ever thought about the planet you are on? If you have, or do, do you ever consider it in relation to the galaxy we are in (the Milky Way) or in relation to the Universe itself? I have a hard time not doing this.
A long time ago, a friend of mine and I used to have this deep conversations about the "meaning of life" and the "importance of things". Silly stuff, really, when I look back at it. Still, the conversations, some of them, are still there in the recesses of my mind. This friend was a smart guy, very smart. And stupid. His intelligence often got him in trouble because he couldn't keep it under control.
I may have mentioned Herb before, he's the one who sometimes wished he was much less intelligient because, he said, "I'd be happy with life." He pointed at more than a few of our shipmates as examples. I now think he was wrong but I couldn't argue with him then.
Anyway, one of these discussions had to do with a bit of dust and its place in the universe. I tossed out something about how much that little fluff of dust impacted the universe, how important it was to the existence of the universe. His response was (in hindsight) predictable. "Just think how unimportant the universe is to that speck of dust."
Our planet is a speck of dust, stuck out on the outer reaches of the Universe. I say that because the galaxy is believed to be almost as old as the Universe which means, based on the concept that the Universe is ever expanding and started from some Big Bang at its center, there is nowhere else it might be.
And, the planet Earth is in the Solar System, which is in turn located on somewhere out on an arm of the galaxy. That galaxy is one of billions of galaxies moving away from the center of the Universe.
Bear with me, I think I am going somewhere with all this...
So, here we are, incredibly tiny little creatures on an insignificant little speck of dirt and water that is traveling around a miniscule ball of energy (the Sun) that is, in turn, stuck on an arm of a tiny spinning galaxy that is trillions of light years from where it started. So far from that point that we have no real idea where or what that center point might be.
But it's important how much we pay for a tank of gas?
17 comments:
kind of puts a perspective on life
Suddenly I want to listen to the Universe Song by Monthy Python:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JWVshkVF0SY
Jules, I decided to take you up on that
I like this better...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_J5rBxeTIk&NR=1
As long as they charge this little creature to purchase stuff, the price of gas is important to him. Besides, he travels to see another little creature 3-4 times per week and he has to fill up his little creature car with gas.
Earlier today on a radio talk show, I heard a listener call in and comment that it did not matter which politicians we elected, or what we as citizens wanted, since it was all controlled by some other force or body, and that our participation and desires were meaningless.
The talk radio show host asked why, the caller had that point of view, motivated him to get up each morning and do "something." There was a long pause.
Oh- here I go off on a serious note. (please forgive me!!) Not really my style (as you know) but it came to mind for some reason:
It truly is all a matter of perspective. In ‘94 we had one of largest earthquakes in L.A. It shut down the city but only 16 lives were contributed as lost to the quake. Two of them were someone I knew. He was a sales person in my industry. He and his wife were crushed in their home.
Everyone in L.A. was relieved that it wasn’t the ’big mega quake’ we expect. The big one will wipe out California, they say.
I thought about that a lot. I bet from the perspective of that salesman and his wife it was indeed the big mega quake.
There’s a lot of things more important than the price of gas.
Vikki
HMMM
I guess I can say ..Here is Douglas looking at the bigger picture. I am all for that. It is truly not fun to be grounded in a gallon of gas... a real over focus on details...On the other hand,what I really want to say is
I really like the way you write. I am going to read more. May I ask, What did you do in your other life?
I am coming to think I may not much care what you have to say as I like the way you say it so much...Kind of like walking down the boardwalk and suddenly there is a step you did not
anticipate
Thanks Douglas
There are physicists who care more about this center point than they care about the price of gas. At least there are some people out there who strive to solve these mysteries.
Michael.
Rechair's comment reminds me of Stalin's quote that 'one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic'.
It's all relative, innit?
I am overwhelmed by the comments on this. Jules may have said it best, it is all relative. The intro of the post gave a hint as to what it was about. Those conversations occurred on a ship traversing a huge ocean headed for a place that seemed unreal to me at the time.
Linda, all I can say is "Welcome to my parlor" Enjoy whatever tickles your fancy. More than the posts, there are wonderful followers who leave great comments and have better insight into what I write than I do.
Vikki, you are forgiven though you didn't need it.
Linda, I forgot to mention... What I did was basically outlined in
How I used to Work
Well, and you say I ruined your day yesterday?
It is all relative, and the perspectives with which we see life, the universe and everything are governed by that relativity.
HHGTTG summed it up "Space is big, really big!"
Boggles the mind to think about it, so I'll stop.
AV
http://tomusarcanum.blogspot.com/
http://netherregionoftheearthii.blogspot.com/
AV - Vengeance is mine, saith the Douglas.
Cool stuff. I always think about Earth spinning at 1,000 miles an hour, us too, and Earth moving around the Sun even faster, then Our solar system swirling around the Milky Way center, and the Galaxy itself. Did I hear that the Milky Way is moving through space at 100,000 MPH? Then the speed, as the concept of up and down, begs the question, 100,000 relative to what!
Alan
AV - Vengeance is mine, saith the Douglas.
Rechair's comment reminds me of Stalin's quote that 'one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic'.
It's all relative, innit?
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