Post: #1

I came across this not long ago.

It's a link to a page that puts the universe in perspective.

It's fascinating.

Post: #2

The mindblown gif is overused on this forum.

It really should be reserved for actual mind blowing concepts; like the scale of the universe.

When I sit and contemplate it in my head without any outside stimulus it makes me feel all queasy...literal mind blowing.

Post: #3

Amazing. I've never seen that one before. Though I saw a zoomable universe photo once that did an equally impressive job at showing how tiny galaxies are compared to the immense distances between them.

Post: #4

This puts a lot more of my life currently in perspective.
Makes chasing pussy and needless drama really insignificant.

Post: #5

Post: #6

(03-26-2015 07:52 PM)kinjutsu Wrote:  This puts a lot more of my life currently in perspective.
Makes chasing pussy and needless drama really insignificant.

On the contrary.

As far as the eye, and all the superb extensions of the eye that human ingenuity has invented, can see, the human being and its sentience and difference in kind from the mere dead matter that surrounds us, is the most interesting, important and significant thing there is.

Post: #7

I've seen stuff like this before, but I like the way this one is interactive.

(03-26-2015 07:58 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(03-26-2015 07:52 PM)kinjutsu Wrote:  This puts a lot more of my life currently in perspective.
Makes chasing pussy and needless drama really insignificant.

On the contrary.

As far as the eye, and all the superb extensions of the eye that human ingenuity has invented, can see, the human being and its sentience and difference in kind from the mere dead matter that surrounds us, is the most interesting, important and significant thing there is.

That's probably what ants say to each other.

Post: #8

(03-26-2015 07:55 PM)Bacchus Wrote:  *funny pic*

Cheers bacchus, I've been looking for this picture for a long time.

Post: #9

(03-26-2015 08:12 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

(03-26-2015 07:58 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(03-26-2015 07:52 PM)kinjutsu Wrote:  This puts a lot more of my life currently in perspective.
Makes chasing pussy and needless drama really insignificant.

On the contrary.

As far as the eye, and all the superb extensions of the eye that human ingenuity has invented, can see, the human being and its sentience and difference in kind from the mere dead matter that surrounds us, is the most interesting, important and significant thing there is.

That's probably what ants say to each other.

Nope. Ants don't say jack shit to each other, they haven't invented a telescope, and they haven't released a single Van Halen album -- not even from the Sammy Hagar period.

The human being is where it's at dude. Deal with it.

Post: #10

(03-26-2015 07:55 PM)Bacchus Wrote:  

This is absolutely amazing. Think about the kind of stars and planets within this galaxy alone. And then there is the possibility of intelligent life... there could be several civilizations within the milky way alone.

Post: #11

(03-26-2015 07:58 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  

(03-26-2015 07:52 PM)kinjutsu Wrote:  This puts a lot more of my life currently in perspective.
Makes chasing pussy and needless drama really insignificant.

On the contrary.

As far as the eye, and all the superb extensions of the eye that human ingenuity has invented, can see, the human being and its sentience and difference in kind from the mere dead matter that surrounds us, is the most interesting, important and significant thing there is.

Totally agree.

All possible knowledge and experiences is between subject and object. Without the human being with it's capability to both develop the technology for us to discover what we know about the universe and just as importantly, to feel the wonder associated with such discoveries, this universe really would be just mere dead matter. Sure there might be a lot of it but it's still nothing. We should feel as much wonder if not more that something like consciousness exists as we do over the size of the universe. The latter is a qualitative difference from the rest of the universe, not just a mere quantitative difference.

Post: #12

(03-26-2015 09:37 PM)Wutang Wrote:  We should feel as much wonder if not more that something like consciousness exists as we do over the size of the universe. The latter is a qualitative difference from the rest of the universe, not just a mere quantitative difference.

On the topic of consciousness, I highly recommend Julian Jaynes:



He basically argues that consciousness as we know it is quite a recent development. Previously, humans were governed by....voices. The strangest and most thought-provoking book I've ever read. Well written, too.

Post: #13

^^^ What a fascinating theory. I do believe that the creation story in Genesis is really a parable about humans developing language/ the ability to think/ the ego.

Post: #14

(03-26-2015 07:32 PM)Fisto Wrote:  I came across this not long ago.

It's a link to a page that puts the universe in perspective.

It's fascinating.

That was awesome, i really enjoyed it. excellent link!

Post: #15

Yes, the size of the universe truly is mind-boggling. Yet, it seems as though intelligent life is fairly rare. According to a recent paper, 80% of galaxies are unsuitable for advanced life due to cosmic events (gamma ray bursts, etc.). For those of you who can understand the math, there's a great chapter in Barrow and Tipler's The Cosmological Anthropic Principle about this.