On The More Serious Side
Well folks, I am up early as usual. My biological clock for the work-a-day world keeps ticking in the same way even on week ends. My day usually starts at 2:30 am so week ends I can sometimes force myself to sleep until 4am or so!
I usually try to spend some time learning something, a book or internet. Lately I visit my favorite blog sites, and others I will list here. My favorite area of study is astronomy so I visit this site: antwrp.qsfc.nasa.gov/apod, and view the picture of the day. Along with the pictures there are archives to hundreds of pics, and links to other sites. One of my other favorites is called" How Stuff Works".
Over a year ago, now that my youngest is in college, I found I had lots of time on my hands, and for the most part, other than the history channel, and discovery, and the news, I dislike tv. So I decided to learn something daily, even if it meant only doing it for 30 mins. Well that has worked well, I do it daily. My interests are listed on my profile, so as you can see, there is no shortage of material to study.
I'm kind of a strange bird, so to speak. In short, I just have to know how stuff works! As an example, so many years ago, I was forced to enter the computer age, I had trouble until I went to the library and read all the books on computers. Then, I somehow had a lot less trouble! Why? I can't begin to tell you. Being able to use something and knowing how it works, usually are two different things.
Anyway, I guess I'm interested in astronomy because I'm awed by it, and over time I came to understand that the same forces that are at work out there, are at work on earth on a smaller scale. I am also awed at the scientists who figure this stuff out. I am also awed at the pure beauty of it all!!
My favorite astro physicist is Stephen Hawkings. I admire the man. He has a site on the web and you can read some of his lectures and find out about his theories. I urge you to go there and browse around. He suffers from ALS and can only move his eyes somewhat. His computations take place in his head!
Now, keep in mind, that I have a questioning mind, and having that, I don't need to agree 100% with everything I learn. Most things I agree with, they make sense. I can neither prove or disprove of anthing. And some things they can't either, hence they are theories.
One theory I'm not sure if I agree with is the "big bang theory", the universe and all things began in what scientists call a "singularity", one single explosive event, that created all we know about and all we don't, and that since that time, the universe has and continues to expand. Current theory also says the universe is flat! Now where have I heard this flat thing before?
Keep in mind, that this has been like 10 billion years ago! Theory says that when they can or if they can go back to the singularity, the laws of physics won't apply because it will all be different. Darn those scientists, just when they go and figure things out, they change the picture!!!
Well I may not be a physicist, or a scientist, but it seems to me that the quest to know how it all began will somehow prove evolution or god, to put it simply. I really doubt that even if they can trace it all backward in time to a single atom, the question will remain, "how did it get there?"Some theorists think the universe may have always been there, but the question remains in that case also "how did it get there?".
For the time that man looked in the sky, I'm sure they wondered if there were others like us out there. We are still on that quest, but the question is different, that being is there life out there, not necessarily man?, or even signs that other life existed out there.
As for the flatness of the universe, I think about an exploding firecracke thrown in the air, it sure looks like it flies apart close to equal in all directions. Could it be that that the universe is expanding in all directions?
I had better stop for today, I may have hurt myself thinking this hard! I can oly hope this may cause you to give it a thought or two!
I usually try to spend some time learning something, a book or internet. Lately I visit my favorite blog sites, and others I will list here. My favorite area of study is astronomy so I visit this site: antwrp.qsfc.nasa.gov/apod, and view the picture of the day. Along with the pictures there are archives to hundreds of pics, and links to other sites. One of my other favorites is called" How Stuff Works".
Over a year ago, now that my youngest is in college, I found I had lots of time on my hands, and for the most part, other than the history channel, and discovery, and the news, I dislike tv. So I decided to learn something daily, even if it meant only doing it for 30 mins. Well that has worked well, I do it daily. My interests are listed on my profile, so as you can see, there is no shortage of material to study.
I'm kind of a strange bird, so to speak. In short, I just have to know how stuff works! As an example, so many years ago, I was forced to enter the computer age, I had trouble until I went to the library and read all the books on computers. Then, I somehow had a lot less trouble! Why? I can't begin to tell you. Being able to use something and knowing how it works, usually are two different things.
Anyway, I guess I'm interested in astronomy because I'm awed by it, and over time I came to understand that the same forces that are at work out there, are at work on earth on a smaller scale. I am also awed at the scientists who figure this stuff out. I am also awed at the pure beauty of it all!!
My favorite astro physicist is Stephen Hawkings. I admire the man. He has a site on the web and you can read some of his lectures and find out about his theories. I urge you to go there and browse around. He suffers from ALS and can only move his eyes somewhat. His computations take place in his head!
Now, keep in mind, that I have a questioning mind, and having that, I don't need to agree 100% with everything I learn. Most things I agree with, they make sense. I can neither prove or disprove of anthing. And some things they can't either, hence they are theories.
One theory I'm not sure if I agree with is the "big bang theory", the universe and all things began in what scientists call a "singularity", one single explosive event, that created all we know about and all we don't, and that since that time, the universe has and continues to expand. Current theory also says the universe is flat! Now where have I heard this flat thing before?
Keep in mind, that this has been like 10 billion years ago! Theory says that when they can or if they can go back to the singularity, the laws of physics won't apply because it will all be different. Darn those scientists, just when they go and figure things out, they change the picture!!!
Well I may not be a physicist, or a scientist, but it seems to me that the quest to know how it all began will somehow prove evolution or god, to put it simply. I really doubt that even if they can trace it all backward in time to a single atom, the question will remain, "how did it get there?"Some theorists think the universe may have always been there, but the question remains in that case also "how did it get there?".
For the time that man looked in the sky, I'm sure they wondered if there were others like us out there. We are still on that quest, but the question is different, that being is there life out there, not necessarily man?, or even signs that other life existed out there.
As for the flatness of the universe, I think about an exploding firecracke thrown in the air, it sure looks like it flies apart close to equal in all directions. Could it be that that the universe is expanding in all directions?
I had better stop for today, I may have hurt myself thinking this hard! I can oly hope this may cause you to give it a thought or two!
posted by Reflections at 5:56 AM
2 Comments:
You have to cut me some slack on all this, I am blond.
I love going to the beach at night where there is no artificial lighting and gazing at the stars. It's amazing. So, so many of them.
"Billions and billions and billions of stars."
Carl Sagan, from his book: "Cosmos"
Post a Comment
<< Home