The scale of the universe!
 

Amazing stuff - we're so insignificant!

Crazy when you look at it dumbed down like that.

that is amazing Sean! nice find. I'm reposting on my fb!

The real cool part is that this is just sort of known bits. The cutting edge of mathematics and theoretical physics say there is no fundamental reason there aren't an infinite number of universes (i.e., multiverse) and that they can even occupy the same space/time in overlapping dimensions . . . parallel multiverse FTW. :nuts:

Significance is a value term, but I think it's safe to say we don't know much about quite a lot just yet.

Here's a video that gives you a good perspective on relative scale of the universe from earth up till the observed universe marking significant human milestones along the way.


And here is an interesting take on describing what vettezuki was getting into with multiverses and string theory.



Sometimes I wish i had the brain for math to fully comprehend the sort of complexities at work in these theories and the grand scale of the universe. Other times I figure I'm better off not knowing and content to look at the pretty animations.

Most people can't grock calculus. Now try to teach it to a cat. I sometimes wonder if the distance between us and an accurate understanding of just the physical nature of the universe is like the difference between the calculus and a cat's capacity for understanding such abstractions. (i.e., isn't even in the cards for us to understand.)

That's along my line of thinking and ties into my religious beliefs (or lack of) as well. I figure if our universe is so large and complex that it has taken thousands of years of observing to almost kinda understand whats going on in our little corner, and in reality we still don't know if what we think we know is right. Then it's over my head and to claim to have all the answers would be ignorant and pompous.

I love when these astrophysicists talk about dark matter and how they've come to the conclusion that it exists. It's always precluded by the statement "this is, if what we think we know about gravity is correct". Just puts it in perspective, humanity has been wrestling (literally) with gravity since before we could even comprehend what gravity was. We've been wrestling with gravity from the time we're in the womb. Yet we still do not understand it fully. We've had to concoct dark matter theories to match up what we observe to what we know. We have to come up with contorted string theory's to try unify what we know about macro physics and quantum physics and the rules that do and don't apply between them.

I think we might be worse off than a cat trying to understand calculus.

The Earth is 4.5 Billion years old---we've only become aware of what the 'verse is about in the last 50 years. Yep, we don't know shit.:sm_laughing: