The Scale of the Universe.

[cleanhippie]

Enjoy. With your kids. Or with anyone who needs a reminder about just how insignificant we really are...

http://htwins.net/scale2/scale2.swf?bordercolor=white

[GodlessBiker]

1. I don't think we're insignificant. We're small compared to some things, large compared with others.

Each of us gets to decide how significant we and everything else in the universe are to us.

Very cool site, though.

[cleanhippie]

4. I use that word exatcly as it is defined.

in·sig·nif·i·cant
Adjective:
- Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.
- (of a person) Without power or influence.



While I understand what you are saying (and in that regard I tend to agree), but I stand by my assertion that in the grand scale of the universe, we humans are both "Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration" and "Without power or influence." IOW, insignificant.

[GodlessBiker]

8. Well, I think you are worth consideration and, hence, you are not insignificant.

The judgement as to whether something is worth consideration is made by dogs, let alone humans. To a dog, a buried bone is significant.

[cleanhippie]

9. Thanks you for that. You too, are not insignificant.

[qazplm]

11. what if intelligent life

is exceedingly rare, even on a universal level?

Then we become very significant.

[cleanhippie]

12. "What if" is simply fantasy.

Form a hypothesis and conduct experimentation. Then we'll talk about that.

[trekbiker]

18. My hypothesis

what we know:

The vast scale of the universe, 14+ billion light years across

The age of the universe, also 14+ billion years old

100's of billions of galaxies with 100's of billions of stars in each and likely several billion planets with water in the life zones of their orbits around thier stars (based upon the increasing discoveries from Hubble, etc)

My half baked hypothesis.....

Life is very common in the universe based upon the sheer numbers and time scale. Intelligent life is also very common. By intelligence I mean on par with chimps and dolphins. Even if out of a million planets harboring life in a given galaxy on at least the level of bacteria only one had evolved life to the level of an intelligent dolphin type creature, you would still be looking at billions of planets across the universe harboring intelligent life. I think our science will eventually be able to develop a way to determine the existance of life on a planet outside of our solar system.

Intelligent life capable of language and technology is probably exceedingly rare but on the scale of the universe I have "faith" that it does exist, but probably not in our own milky way galaxy. It might be a trillion to one accident that resulted in homo sapiens. Unfortunately there might never be a way to test this. Given the time scale I doubt SETI will ever discover a technological signal from another planet in our galaxy.

[cleanhippie]

19. I tend to agree with you

However, the "faith" that other life exists is not "faith" at all, it's a logical and plausible conclusion based upon empircle evidence. That is the exact opposite of "faith".

[trekbiker]

20. true

thats why I put it in quotes.

[cleanhippie]

21. Fair enough.

[Gore1FL]

13. We are the universe The universe is us.

That makes me feel rather large, not insignificant at all.

[cleanhippie]

15. Thats nice, but feelings have nothing to do with it.

There is no emotion involved (except what one thinks needs to be injected) in the scale of the universe.

[Gore1FL]

22. OK Feelings aside

I am the Universe. You are the Universe. We are the Universe.

Ergo we are big.

[longship]

2. Is that Fairy Cake? I'm starving.

Too bad it won't work on my iPhone.

[cleanhippie]

3. Well, have a look when you get to a computer.

It will be worth it.

[CrispyQ]

7. When you get to the Large Megellanic Cloud looks like Fairy Cake.

It does!

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Have some sense of proportion!

[longship]

17. Well, I found out the entire universe is all about me!

Signed, Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Hey! I'm just this dude. Ya know.

[CrispyQ]

5. k&r

I love this site. I've spent hours looking at this! I like the music as sort of white noise while I'm working.

[lastlib]

6. Dick Cheney's original heart was at 10^-5!! It was black.

[saras]

10. Insignificant? Without us there'd be no Democratic Underground!

It sort of reminds me of a drunk, but in reverse.

Drunk: "You're no better than I am!"

Drunk, a minute later: "I'm just a worthless piece of shit!"

Drunk, a minute later: "You're no better than I am!"

I had a "powers of ten" poster when I was a kid. Everything from the "known" universe to sixties subatomic particles. We're fairly near the middle, a little on the small side. Given how gassy and nebulous the really big things were, I thought we were doing pretty good. You can't be a whole lot bigger than us and be any good at anything beyond orbiting a star.

[Namvet67]

14. The universe doesn't know we're here ...nor does it care.....we have zero effect