Re: Magic stars (Buckles, 18 November)

On Nov 18, 4:19 pm, "Beefies" <brianfiesSPAML...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yeah, that pesky science.  Because there's *nothing* the *least*
bit awe-inspiring by an amalgamation of protons massive enough to hold
together despite being even millions of times more *stuff* than the
whole Earth is and at unimaginably high temperatures happening, just by
chance, to come close enough together that mass should actually vanish,
turned into energy, or that energy should go on a random walk taking
millions of years to progress from the core of a star to its surface,
or that this light should travel, twisted by gravity, filtered by dust,
for dozens, hundreds, even thousands of years before finally reaching
your eye.  And there's certainly nothing remarkable or amazing or
wondrous about how eyes work.

I'm on your side, but Buckles' complaint is an old one:

When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and
measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much
applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
--Walt Whitman

You're right, Whitman (and Buckles) are wrong. Reality is way more amazing
than the just-so stories we make up about it. The trouble is, really
understanding what's going on in quarks and galaxies takes years of hard
work most people aren't willing to (or, frankly, can't) do. Tarot cards,
horoscopes and fairy dust are a lot easier, and often more reassuring.

Brian F.http://brianfies.blogspot.com

I dunno, it's more of a right brain/left brain thing to me. Sure, I
understand the physics as to how stars are created and such, but I
when I look up at the night sky, I am still awestruck by their beauty.
Maybe that is the magic of the stars.
.

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