The Known Universe

Esav Benyamin said:
When I was in high school, the idea of a "personal computer" was unimaginable. In fact, our Encyclopedia Britannica had no entry for anything like that. The internet was beyond even science fiction.
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When I was in high school a simple four function calculator was something you'd probably only see in a bank or suchlike. Way back in the dark ages when I was growing up, one had to actually use their brain to work things out. This was very tiring.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
When I was in high school, the idea of a "personal computer" was unimaginable. In fact, our Encyclopedia Britannica had no entry for anything like that. The internet was beyond even science fiction.
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Murray Lienster wrote a story called A Logic Named Joe. His “logic” was the equivalent of our personal computers. Logics acted as televisions, telephones, and gave access to the equivalent of the internet. You got get information. You could get entertainment. You could go shopping. You could talk to people. All through your logic. Logics were so built into the existing culture that, should they cease to function, the economy would collapse.

A Logic Named Joe was first published in 1946.
 
Here's a similar video from the late 60s early 70s that I used to love watching when it came on t.v. National Film Board of Canada rocked back then! (As an aside, I don't imagine you see too many little kids like that rowing around by themselves anymore! Some things don't change for the better).


[youtube]VgfwCrKe_Fk[/youtube]
 
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Despite the simpler graphics, by leaving out the orbital lines of satellites and planets, this video showed more of a feeling for the emptiness of space around and inside us.
 
Well, I don't know about you guys, but I don't have too much "empty space" inside of me. It's all full of Jagermeister. :D
 
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–your family, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions–things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. “The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else–the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. “Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things–your family, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions–things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. “The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else–the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. “Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers.
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Are you Stephen Covey?:D
 
BTW, Esav, that Ruana 20B I ordered a couple weeks ago (and mentioned in the WTF thread) is sitting at the post office awaiting delivery tomorrow morning. And I'm as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning. Weird that a 60-year-old guy can get so jazzed-up over something so simple.
 
You do know that the jar full of sand and beer is still mostly empty, don't you? Everything is made of atoms which are mostly nothing.

I just gave myself a headache.

cosmology_marches_on.jpg
 
"Where the hell did it all come from."

You know, once you know the answer to that question, it doesn't really change anything. I guess you mostly save a little brain damage by not asking the question anymore, but that's really about it.
 
After you figure out where it all came from, I'll introduce you to the guy who wants to know where it's all going.
 
Tell him it's all going to where it came from. That should be good for a few yucks (and it's even the truth).
 
My son the doctor, is a cosmologist*. His wife always reminds him that he will never know the answer and it is likely that no one will ever know the answer.



* Yes, he has seen a lot of stars. No, he doesn't work for Max Factor. :rolleyes:
 
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

[Youtube]3t4g_1VoGw4&hl=en&gl=CA&warned=True&client=mv-google[/youtube]
 
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