Take a break from politics. Watch the transit of Mercury

[BaalChatzaf]

The transit of Mercury will be visible in the Western Hemisphere between 2:12 GMT and 9:30 GMT.   Watching Mercury fly around the Sun is a good reminder that Nature works under forces not controlled by humans.  Human will amounts to almost nothing in Cosmic terms.

It is almost hard to believe that people were once put to death for teaching that Mercury does not revolve around the Earth. 

[Brant Gaede]

1 hour ago, BaalChatzaf said:

The transit of Mercury will be visible in the Western Hemisphere between 2:12 GMT and 9:30 GMT.   Watching Mercury fly around the Sun is a good reminder that Nature works under forces not controlled by humans.  Human will amounts to almost nothing in Cosmic terms.

It is almost hard to believe that people were once put to death for teaching that Mercury does not revolve around the Earth. 

Gotta keep putting down the human race. Why? Why? Why? It's your OL leitmotif.

As far as we know human consciousness is the only consciousness that can see the universe and begin to understand it--that the universe is otherwise insensate. Probably not, but that's the limit of what we know so far. We don't know "the unknowable beings of another galaxy." (Rand)

Put another way, existence matters because we exist. Finding out more is part of our collective, grand adventure.

Even Earth itself is puny by your standards. And Jupiter. There are stars so big one couldn't circle around them at airliner speed in a million years. It takes light 125,000 years to go from one side of the Milky Way galaxy to the other.

If I had young, impressionable children I wouldn't let you near them if I thought you'd tell them this kind of crap. It would drive them either into depression or into church. It takes a latter day ignorant moron not to know there is a very big out there, so why are you reminding us adults who need no reminding? Your statements are only objective respecting gross physicality and many billions of years of time and belittle human efficacy and existence. Coming up with the inevitable bunch of caveats won't work--not off that foundation.

--Brant

[BaalChatzaf]

24 minutes ago, Brant Gaede said:

Gotta keep putting down the human race. Why? Why? Why? It's your OL leitmotif.

As far as we know human consciousness is the only consciousness that can see the universe and begin to understand it--that the universe is otherwise insensate. Probably not, but that's the limit of what we know so far. We don't know "the unknowable beings of another galaxy." (Rand)

Put another way, existence matters because we exist. Finding out more is part of our collective, grand adventure.

Even Earth itself is puny by your standards. And Jupiter. There are stars so big one couldn't circle around them at airliner speed in a million years. It takes light 125,000 years to go from one side of the Milky Way galaxy to the other.

If I had young, impressionable children I wouldn't let you near them if I thought you'd tell them this kind of crap. It would drive them either into depression or into church. It takes a latter day ignorant moron not to know there is a very big out there, so why are you reminding us adults who need no reminding? Your statements are only objective respecting gross physicality and many billions of years of time and belittle human efficacy and existence. Coming up with the inevitable bunch of caveats won't work--not off that foundation.

--Brant

Recognizing limits is a starting point of wisdom.  I think the human race has done quite well considering what we are.  Primates with three pound brains.  We do alright given our physical, emotional and intellectual limits.   The idea that Man is Godlike  is  a canard.  There are things we can do and things we cannot do.