It’s always a delight to realize that some idea you’ve had has already occurred to someone else – and that they’ve said it better than you could.
I once had an argument with a romantic who wanted to argue that science destroyed beauty. Richard Feynman disagreed. This video from The Feynman Series, a companion to The Sagan Series, puts Feynman’s words in context with some of the beauty of the natural world:
And while we’re talking, let me just say that I would love to see NASA use this video from The Sagan Series:
Sometimes I think that my consciousness, my awareness, just can’t belong to nature.
But I saw weirder things, that do belong.
And I saw complexity, chaos, emergence…
To some extent, the idea that consciousness and awareness are real and natural, makes me feel very connected to this universe.
And very much in awe.
The second video was also awesome, a positive outlook is desperately needed. ^_^
At the other end of the measurement scale:
anti_supernaturalist
Well but that equation seems to be true at every scale. It just isn’t relevant at small scales.
What an eloqent man Carl Sagan was……… My eyes still tear whenever I hear him speak, and I think about what a huge loss it was to humanity when he died, at such a young age…
If anyone told me that science destroys beauty I would laugh in their face. , “Beauty is more than skin deep.” as the old saying goes. When you apply that to nature and begin to understand its inner workings you come to appreciate not only the superficial beauty, but the heart of all the living plants and animals that evolution has created for us to enjoy. Is there no beauty in saving people’s lives through the constant discovery of life saving drugs that we get because we do understand the chemical makeup of plants? Like a brand new car; do you just look at the color and the outside shape? Of course not ! We look at the engine, the interior, and all the wonderful bells and whistles it has. I am sick and tired of this anti-science and anti-intellectualism that seems to come from the right wing extremists.
once again… another gem!
Wonderful post.
And I absolutely love both the Sagan and Feynman series of videos.
It reminds me of the spirit of something Voltaire wrote in his Philosophical Dictionary (and I’m roughly paraphrasing here), that catechism reveals God to children, whereas Newton reveals him to adults.