The reallly BIG picture

[Craig W]

This is awesome and puts it all into perspective, making me feel both insignificant and yet part of something absolutely amazing.

Carl Sagan waxing philosophical about the earth as viewed from deep space in The Pale Blue Dot.


Link

[marky 54]

yep that certainly helps put things in prespective, how ever i do'nt think its amazing, if life can exsist in such a small place and give no signs of life when there is a huge expanse beyond us and yet more dots millions upon billons of them, then fooling ourselves to think that somehow we are special ie: the only life, is foolish to think.

when i look into the sky i see millions of stars, if each star is a galaxy then as far as we are aware there should be at least one planet able to support life.

that would mean each star you see has life orbiting it, why would it be any differant to our galaxy, why should we presume any differant?

what it helps put in prespective is what those in power are fighting over and helping to destroy, they are destroying the speck that we have 0.000000001% of the universe possibly even smaller, whilst no doubt other civilisations are expanding and shareing and have power far greater than any human could ever have because we have somehow fooled ourselves to think that to have power you need to destroy.

sorry if it speculating but the odd's are in favour for what ive just said.

[Craig W]

I agree with most of what you say, Marky.

The probability of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is extremely high.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that every solar system must have a life-supporting planet - we cannot extrapolate on the basis of the one that we are part of and assume it is typical. But is certainly logical to assume that it isn't unique and that there are probably thousands of other intelligences "out there".

[xmasdale]

I am reminded of a programme I saw about people in the New Guinea highlands who, in the 1930s were visited by strange white men (Australians) who had descended on them in flying birds (aeroplanes). At the time there was controversy among them as to whether these Australians were real men or the ghosts of their ancestors. An old New Guinea lady who had been there as a young woman at the time was interviewed. She said she had been convinced they were men because she had spent the night with one of them in her home and he had behaved exactly like a man

My point being that there are many instances in history of a people with limited ideas about the nature of life in the universe, having their understanding expanded by new evidence, frequently to the consternation of the elders of their society, who hang on to the old paradigm and use oppressive measures, including disinformation and torture, to reinforce their world-view. Theories of heliocentrism introduced to Europe by Copernicus and Galileo were in their day similarly dismissed by the elders of that society.

Newton, Darwin and Freud faced similar problems, though they escaped torture. We face it today because the same attitude of received wisdom that false-flag operations do not happen is perpetuated by by the elders of our society.

[mason-free party]

eh craig w...why do you post as Fred too and talk to yourself especially on no plane threads...don't make it too blasted obvious mate

[Craig W]