Symphony of Science

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Hi everyone.

I want to share with you the work of an artist who works to make scientific ideas and literacy accessible to all through art and music.  Check out symphonyofscience.com to see some of the cool stuff he has done.

Here is one of my favorite works he's done. 

[firiki]

I remember watching this guy talk about the Universe some years ago and thought it was interesting.
I liked this video but in all honesty, please pardon the expression, I believe it can give many viewers a bad trip!! (Because of it's content, not only for those dreaded sound effects)

[Grumpy]

bump

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

I remember watching this guy talk about the Universe some years ago and thought it was interesting.
I liked this video but in all honesty, please pardon the expression, I believe it can give many viewers a bad trip!! (Because of it's content, not only for those dreaded sound effects)

Unfortunately it's true that most people don't like thinking about the reality of what the universe is actually like.  They're very uncomfortable living with that kind of deep metaphysical uncertainty.  They feel that it belittles them/us and our world and the lives we live.  Lots of people want simple certainty in their lives, and most typically find that in religion.

Myself, I see it exactly the opposite.  The vastness and emptiness of the universe makes us that much more important, that much more valuable; our planet is a small blue jewel in a vast desert of nothingness, and realize that we are valuable and our planet and our lives meaningful if for no other reason than the sheer rarity of our existence.  Like Neal Tyson says in the video, the fact we can show scientifically that the atoms in our bodies are the products of stellar phenomena makes me feel more connected and integrated to the Earth, and the universe.

In fact, Earth seems very unusual; astronomers have cataloged hundreds of extra-solar planets now, and while our technology still needs development and improvement, of all the planets we have positively identified, only a couple are known to possess liquid water.  Earth also seems to have an unusually large iron core for its size; current models of planetary formation show that a body the mass of Earth should have a core that's about 33% less than what Earth's core is.  Astronomers explain this with the theory that another relatively large and well formed mass about the size of Mars (referred to as Thea), impacted Earth a few hundred million years after its initial aggregation.  The impact caused the cores of both planets to merge, and blew enough material off that it eventually aggregated separately to form the moon.  This is event is particularly important for life because it gives Earth an especially large and powerful magnetosphere for a planet its size, which shields and protects us from all the radiation in space. 

So all together, while we have a collection of events that while individually might be relatively common in the universe, the fact that certain ones happened at the right place, with the right materials, and so on, to allow the formation of the Earth, and so far it seems planets like Earth are exceptionally rare.  Carl Sagan, many years ago, back when the existence of extra-solar planets was only hypothesized based on logic and current scientific knowledge, said that when we do find extra-solar planets, there would be no shortage of them, but that planets like Earth, with just the right combination of materials, at just the right distance from their parent star, would be exceedingly rare. So far, it seems like he's still right.

I think more people need to be educated about this stuff, to help them see that we as a species, and our little blue jewel, are valuable and important just because they are, and we don't need to appeal to any supernatural explanations to give our existence value and meaning.

[mvyrmnd]

The funky vox can be forgiven, as there aren't too many ways of turning a spoken documentary into lyrics

Cool video, thanks for sharing.

I'm not sure how open this place is to my thoughts on science vs. religion, so I won't respond to your last post Dr Doofenshmirtz.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

The funky vox can be forgiven, as there aren't too many ways of turning a spoken documentary into lyrics

Cool video, thanks for sharing.

I'm not sure how open this place is to my thoughts on science vs. religion, so I won't respond to your last post Dr Doofenshmirtz.

Simon, feel free to PM me with anything you want to chat about.     I'm always open to an honest and open minded discussion about such things.  I have an old friend from high school who is a very devout Christian, and also is fairly politically conservative, but unlike many other people of his stripe, he actually considers the arguments I make for my positions and opinions, and considers the evidence I base them on.  I do the same for him, and we're still good friends because of it. 

And just to be clear, I was only making observations about the means by which people find certainty in their lives.  I wasn't making any assertions or passing judgments about religion, or about science for that matter.  I have no problem with religion, as long as those who believe differently than I aren't trying to force their values and beliefs down my throat because they're convinced they're right and I'm wrong.

[mvyrmnd]

I draw a strict line between faith and religion.

I have no issue with anyones faith. Who am I to tell you what to believe in?

I have big issues with religion, and the church (or whichever organisation is responsible for any given organised religion). These organisations have time and again misused their powers, through much of human history, and even in this day.



Sent from my Galaxy Tab II. Please excuse typos because the kaybkard on this thing is terrible!