A Nice Place in Space
Some people revere Carl Sagan's philosophical comments about the universe, what with being couched in science terminology and so forth. He said, "The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be". That's not a scientific statement, it's his personal religious view.
Another religious remark from that tinhorn is, "For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner…on an unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies…That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to understand that". Actually, he's very wrong. Also, Sagan's dead now, so he's found out that biblical creationism is right after all.
Contrary to Sagan's expression of boredom, we are in an exceptionally fine area. That boring Sun is actually quite well behaved, and suitable for maintaining life. We don't get gamma-ray bursts that other stars in the universe emit so they can be the death of the party. The Van Allen radiation belts are planet-sized deflector shields. Plus, a whole heap more of evolution-defying benefits of our neighborhood in the created universe.
Carl Sagan was of the opinion that we're situated in a dull part of space. Actually, it's an excellent and protective neighborhood.
Another religious remark from that tinhorn is, "For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner…on an unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies…That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to understand that". Actually, he's very wrong. Also, Sagan's dead now, so he's found out that biblical creationism is right after all.
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| Image credit: NASA/JPL, who is not endorsing the contents of this Weblog |
Everyone likes to live in a good neighbourhood—one that is safe, protected, friendly and predictable. And it turns out that Earth’s neighbourhood is very much like that.To read the rest, be neighborly and click on "How good is our neighbourhood!" If you want to be extra nice, bring cake.
Our planet is one of several which orbit the sun and, although it has long been realized that we occupy a special place in our solar system, it is becoming even more evident that the solar system and our place in it is anything but ordinary.
Every crater on the moon’s surface represents an object which might otherwise have impacted the earth. In fact, our world continues to look like it has been especially made as a home for us. This feature has even been given a name—the ‘anthropic principle’—and it confronts the atheist’s view that the world originated from unguided evolutionary processes.
Carl Sagan was of the opinion that we're situated in a dull part of space. Actually, it's an excellent and protective neighborhood.