We Are All Insignificant, or: A Science Lesson in Four Pictures

[rspeed]

Comments

[kartos]

...and yet sex is still as mind blowing as that!

[rspeed]

Dunno about mind blowing. More fun, certainly.

[kartos]

speak for yourself 8D

[auturgist]

I gotta agree with him. Sex is fun, but only mildly mind-blowing. Contemplating the unimaginable dimensions of our universe, and the secrets contained lightyears beyond even our ability to observe directly, is far more mind-blowing.

Also, thanks for the post, Rob. I'm always fascinated by such awesome pictures of what exists beyond Earth. ^_^

[rspeed]

It's a statistical impossibility that we're alone, really. The problem is that if there is life, it evolved far enough to send probes or ships to other solar systems, are close enough to make it here, have enough resources to explore enough to find us (remember how big everything is!) and not be so far advanced that they would even care about us. It really makes you wonder.

Good thing there's Brannigan's Law!

[iaaphoto]

What's brannigan's law?

I keep thinking that there has to be other life out there and I'm just pissed that we're not interacting with it and will probably fuck ourselves up before we ever get a chance to (assuming, of course, that long distance space travel, even within our galaxy, is even possible. I want it to be, but I know nowhere near enough about the possibilities.)

[rspeed]

Brannigan's law is a joke from an episode of Futurama where they go to a doomed planet to save the animals living there. It's a parody of Star Trek's "Prime Directive" and named after Captain Zapp Brannigan (who is a parody of Captain Kirk).

[crimsonglory42]

i just watched something about this on the history channel and it totally blew my mind. it made me appreciate the mystery of gravity and the smallness of me-so fucking cool