User:RLO1729/Universe

The big picture perspectives I find helpful while editing



 * Where are we?
 * The Earth (diameter = 1)
 * → The Earth in the inner solar system
 * → The Sun (102) in the solar system (105)
 * → The solar system amongst the closest stars in the Milky Way Galaxy (1014)
 * → Its location in the Orion arm of the Milky Way Galaxy
 * → The Milky Way Galaxy in the Local Group
 * → The Local Group in the Virgo Supercluster as part of the larger Laniakea Supercluster (1018)
 * → That supercluster amongst the nearest superclusters
 * → The local superclusters barely visible in the centre of the observable Universe (1020)
 * → The Universe (10?)
 * Our Milky Way Galaxy has 100 to 400 billion stars and at least 100 billion planets.
 * Our observable Universe has 200 billion to two trillion galaxies.


 * Who are we?
 * We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a hum-drum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.
 * For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love. – Carl Sagan


 * I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned. – Richard Feynman
 * There is no substitute for knowledge. – William Edwards Deming
 * You know less than you think. – Yuval Harari   (note to self)


 * Harari's 'secular ideals':
 * truth – based on observation and evidence
 * compassion – from a deep appreciation of suffering
 * equality – fundamentally suspicious of all a priori hierarchies
 * freedom – to think, investigate and experiment
 * courage – to admit ignorance and venture into the unknown
 * responsibility – for whatever we do, or don't do.


 * Amsterdam Declaration Happy Human.svg
 * In der Beschränkung zeigt sich erst der Meister – Goethe
 * χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά – ancient Greek aphorism
 * History repeats itself. It has to. No one listens – Steve Turner


 * "i before e except after c" has been disproved by science.