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As a continuation of yesterday’s discussion, I created a simple graphic to illustrate the relative timescales of significant (to us) events in our cosmic history. The two inner squares show the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction (65.5 Ma) and Emergence of Homo (2.5 Ma) (Ga = gigaannum = 1 billion years; Ma = megaannum = 1 million years). Any events more recent would be smaller than a pixel.
I wonder how many galactic empires rose and fell in the blue area, before our own place in the galaxy even began to take shape.
My NaNoWriMo novel is finished, and I am quite pleased with the result. The story Inhabitants of Eternity is a journey of philosophical and spiritual ideas set in the context of near-future scientific discoveries. In particular, the Terrestrial Planet Finder mission will be capable of observing terrestrial planets around other stars, which includes the ability to determine the gases present in the atmosphere. It is conceivable, then, that in the next century we will observe a planet that, at a distance, looks nearly identical to our own life-filled world. Though we have continually been pushed into mediocrity by the discoveries of astronomy and cosmology, Earth is still the only inhabited planet that we know of, and so the uniqueness of Earth’s phenomenon remains a steadfast truth for many people. Set in the near future when this mission first starts surveying the skies, Inhabitants of Eternity explores the implications of such a discovery on both religious and secular thought.
The story takes place through a series of dialogues that explore our conception of knowledge, the implications of biological evolution, the likelihood of extraterrestrials, and the relationship between religion and science. The main character is also a dreamer, which provides a unique setting for his own exploration of these personal and profound ideas. I have written several essays that touch on some of the themes in this story, but I until now I had not outlined the totality of these thoughts into a single work of discussion. I certainly learned a lot from this process, and I am looking forward to what the eventual finished work will look like. I like to give my writings time to ripen, so I will likely not start revisions until January or February; revision seems most beneficial with a fresh look at the manuscript.
For thus says the high and lofty one
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)
Once again we come to October 23rd, wherein we observe not one but two holidays. In addition to the 6010th birthday of the Universe, today is also Mole Day.
So whether you’re a chemist or a creationist, there’s cause for celebration!
Awhile back I wrote an essay on the loss of hair in human evolution. There are a few plausible reasons as to why humans became naked, but there is no strong evidence to prefer any of the ideas.
I wonder, though, what the impact on modern collective thought would have been if humans had not lost their hair. The theory of evolution repulsed many people because they did not want to draw a connection between humanity and animals–after all, humans were a status above the animals. Yet eventually sufficient evidence accumulated to suggest that humans indeed were closely related to the other great apes on the planet. Among the great apes, though, we physically stand out because of our nakedness. If we had retained our full coat of hair, would our perception of relationship to the animal world have been greater? Might this have been enough to avoid the idea of human-animal separation to begin with?
Perhaps not–but then again, hairlessness was specifically noted when Adam was becoming fully human:
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ (Genesis 3:8-11)
A Native American creation story as featured in the documentary 500 Nations.
God created the Indian country, and that was the time this river started to run. Then God created fish in this river and put deer in the mountains. Then the Creator gave Indians life. We walked, and as soon as we saw the game and fish we knew they were made for us. My strength, my blood is from the fish, from the roots and berries and game. I did not come here; I was put here by the Creator.
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