In the beginning of our global culture's existence, we rather understandably believed things that now seem rather childish and which, as we grew up, we eventually had to acknowledge was wrong.
One of the most obvious examples of those things was that the Earth was at the center of the universe, and that everything revolved around us.
Another was that the Earth was flat.
Yet another was that human beings were made in God's image, and that He had made us the exception on this planet.
Much of the world already knew that the world was not flat, but round, well before Columbus set sail on the ocean blue, before "discovering" the New World, which was, of course, already inhabited by natives. Sailors had known this supposed secret about the shape of the earth, because the curvature was quite apparent when looking out to see, and how things disappeared out on the horizon. It would not quite happen that way if the Earth was indeed flat.
Copernicus proved that the universe did not revolve around our planet. Moreover, he found that Earth revolved around the sun, much like other planets. That theory was adopted and perfected further by scientists who took up this cause later on, most famously by Galileo, who encountered first hand the stiff level of resistance to this notion, this crazy idea, that Earth had not been made the center of the universe.
Hundreds of years later, another scientist, Charles Darwin, discovered that human beings were a species who had descended from apes, and evolved into their present form over the course of millions of years. This theory, too, met with stiff resistance. Ultimately, however, it proved a very strong "theory", to the point that it has stuck to this day, and has a long way from being disproven, despite countless attempts (particularly by the religious community) to prove otherwise.
Still, our global society seems to suffer from delusions of grandeur, which is something that many of the faithful for established religions buy into and foster. We are unique, special. Too often, this is translated to mean that we can do whatever the hell we want, whenever and wherever we want to. This belief appears to be the main ideological impetus behind, and intellectual basis for, climate change denial. Ironically, proponents for this argument have turned on it's head the traditional human beings as special and exempt argument as they see fit, suggesting that human beings are essentially too insignificant to make such an impact on the Earth that it would impact the environment. Of all the times to pick false modesty, doesn't it figure it happens when there are huge profits to be made?
Much of the world already knew that the world was not flat, but round, well before Columbus set sail on the ocean blue, before "discovering" the New World, which was, of course, already inhabited by natives. Sailors had known this supposed secret about the shape of the earth, because the curvature was quite apparent when looking out to see, and how things disappeared out on the horizon. It would not quite happen that way if the Earth was indeed flat.
Copernicus proved that the universe did not revolve around our planet. Moreover, he found that Earth revolved around the sun, much like other planets. That theory was adopted and perfected further by scientists who took up this cause later on, most famously by Galileo, who encountered first hand the stiff level of resistance to this notion, this crazy idea, that Earth had not been made the center of the universe.
Hundreds of years later, another scientist, Charles Darwin, discovered that human beings were a species who had descended from apes, and evolved into their present form over the course of millions of years. This theory, too, met with stiff resistance. Ultimately, however, it proved a very strong "theory", to the point that it has stuck to this day, and has a long way from being disproven, despite countless attempts (particularly by the religious community) to prove otherwise.
Still, our global society seems to suffer from delusions of grandeur, which is something that many of the faithful for established religions buy into and foster. We are unique, special. Too often, this is translated to mean that we can do whatever the hell we want, whenever and wherever we want to. This belief appears to be the main ideological impetus behind, and intellectual basis for, climate change denial. Ironically, proponents for this argument have turned on it's head the traditional human beings as special and exempt argument as they see fit, suggesting that human beings are essentially too insignificant to make such an impact on the Earth that it would impact the environment. Of all the times to pick false modesty, doesn't it figure it happens when there are huge profits to be made?
Well, false and self-serving modesty aside, we really are much smaller and less significant than we often like to believe or admit. That goes for each of us individually and, yes, each society within our global culture. Hell, even our global culture is quite insignificant when you look at the world at large, including it's lengthy history prior to our global culture's roots during the agricultural revolution.
And this link might help you show just how much smaller we are overall, when we think of the enormity of this universe, and all of what it consists of. We all know that our planet is much, much smaller than Jupiter is, which is the largest planet in our galaxy. And we know that Jupiter, in turn, is much, much smaller than our Sun. But look at the comparisons in this link, and you will see just how small and insignificant even our own sun is compared with some of the other enormous stars out there, and those are just the ones that we know about!
And this link might help you show just how much smaller we are overall, when we think of the enormity of this universe, and all of what it consists of. We all know that our planet is much, much smaller than Jupiter is, which is the largest planet in our galaxy. And we know that Jupiter, in turn, is much, much smaller than our Sun. But look at the comparisons in this link, and you will see just how small and insignificant even our own sun is compared with some of the other enormous stars out there, and those are just the ones that we know about!
We know about Betelgeuse, and how much bigger it is than our own Sun, but there are stars that we know about that make Betelgeuse look miniature by way of comparison. Look at that last picture, and the sun can barely even be seen in comparison to some of those other stars. Jupiter itself would be rendered invisible on that graph, and Earth would be like an atom by way of comparison. Just another grain of sand on a beach, at best. When you look at it that way, how foolish to make such a big deal about our little countries, our little religions, our little corporations, and our individual backyards and miniature kingdom residences.
Take a look at the link below to gain a truer perspective about just how small and insignificant we really are, in the grand scheme of things, and it will make you wonder how we ever could think, as supposedly rational adults, that an all might Creator would center His (assuming it is a He) thoughts and actions around us, and whether or not we are good practitioners of a given particular faith, and that we have some kind of exclusive personal relationship with that Higher Being.
Take a look at the link below to gain a truer perspective about just how small and insignificant we really are, in the grand scheme of things, and it will make you wonder how we ever could think, as supposedly rational adults, that an all might Creator would center His (assuming it is a He) thoughts and actions around us, and whether or not we are good practitioners of a given particular faith, and that we have some kind of exclusive personal relationship with that Higher Being.
21 Pictures That Will Make You Question Your Existence rozin.abbas for Science Rules
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