I'd better not be too critical, though. He is a pleasant distraction from the hectic run-of-the-mill politico and religio I run into most places.
I know,-you are waiting for some profundity. Well, not today. I have said it, all I have to say up 'til now.
I saw a cute little chick (not a real chick) on the net and want to share her with you.(I wish someone would share her with me) But, I guess looking is better than nothing. See ya!
Arf...
Yesterday I was watching (from my lofty perch) a program about the universe. The special effects were outstanding; sometimes the universe was rushing away from me,-sometimes it was rushing toward me. It was fantastic!
There were stars and planets,-even galaxies too numerous to mention or even imagine! Of course, they were imagined or else they wouldn't have been on the screen rushing about.
But to the question,"How Big is the Universe." We must consider, 'big' is a relative term. Big depends on to what 'it' is compared. To us, of course, the comparison has to be us, physically.
For instance; I am small compared to a Great Dane,-even to a Cocker Spaniel. But, compared to a flea, I am big. So there you have it.
We could say, then, a planet is large compared to us but is small compared to the sun. We know this because..-because that is our personal perception. It has to be perception because that is all we have with which to conclude.
For the same token, the sun is small compared with a galaxy. That makes sense except, all we have to go on as to the size of a galaxy is our personal perception of the size of a galaxy; we have never personally visited or measured a galaxy,-nor the sun.
But, you say, we see these things through a telescope so we know our perceptions are true and factual. Not really because we rely on certain 'facts' to draw conclusions, such as the speed of light which we perceive helps us to determine the size of things far away from us; or far away from each other. There could be a giant conspiracy of telescope makers and scientists that instill little pictures into lenses to fool us into thinking we are looking at the real thing. 'duh'
Well, I think you get the idea. We are what we perceive. The earth, sun, galaxy and universe are what we perceive. So, you say, the universe is big. 'oops'.. Not necessarily. Big compared to what?
To determine if a thing is big or small, we need something with which to compare it. You say, compared to me the universe is big. Not necessarily.
If there was a thumbtack inside a large crate, you could say the thumbtack is small compared to the large crate. Or you could say the large crate is big compared to the thumbtack. OK, you got me. Not necessarily.
The thumbtack is a real thing and the large crate is, also, a real thing; both solid to our inspection. So the thing we notice and acknowledge is, there is an inside and an outside to the crate that encompasses the thumbtack. So each of these objects is a singularity,- ergo, measurable. Right, you say, so the big and small are more than mere perceptions; they are facts. That, of course, is right.
Now on to the Universe. We see through telescopes (real ones, not fakes made up conspiratorially by scientists and telescope makers,)that the earth and planets, the sun, the galaxies and other 'heavenly' bodies are either big or small, depending on how you look at them and which first in comparison to the other.(or others) So far, so good.
Now to measure the universe. It's big, you say, because all of the aforementioned are inside it. Now I have to ask,"Inside what?" Inside the universe. That is no answer, of course, only a moot statement of (?). A personal observation or 'perception'. For the universe to be big or small, it has to be compared to something and, since there are no observable sides, tops, bottoms or limits of any kind to the universe, and there is nothing anywhere else with which to compare it because there is nowhere else, it cannot be compared to anything. The sun and planets, the stars and galaxies,- the comets and meteors and moons and quasars and objects,- ad infinitum, are either big or small, depending on that with which they are compared.
So how big is the universe?
The universe is neither big nor small; it just 'is'.
Oh, yeah, Where is the center of the universe? That's really easy. Todays' scientists and astrologers and space experts all agree that the objects of the universe are rushing away from us at a high rate of speed. The universe is expanding. ('duh' again)
So, what we have to do is watch the night sky from different places on the planet Earth,(we can watch the daytime sky but it isn't nearly as interesting since we can't see the stars and stuff in the daytime) and concede the determinations of the experts, that the objects of the universe are, indeed, rushing away from us and they are doing so in the same directions away, regardless of where we are on the Earth.
Now look up the definitions of the words,"Logical." and,"Conclusion," and apply them to the part here we have discussed concerning where the center of the universe is and I think you will logically conclude,-the center of the universe is wherever you are anytime you wonder about where the center of the universe is.
No, you say, it's the earth irself which is the center of the universe because you are standing on the earth! No, no,-not so. We may be standing on the earth but the earth itself is spinning around as fast as it can, trying to get away from us, to no avail. So, like it or nor, even though there are no boundaries to the universe, you physically are the center of that universe!
Arf...
