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Registered: August 13, 2007
Posts: 216
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"It seems as if in the process of growing up we lose the ability to wonder about the world" - Jostein Gaarder, Sophie's WorldIs it true? Do we really make life a habit so we no long appriciate the mystery and beauty of life? Do we get so preoccupied with the superficial and trivial matters that we live our lives as if wearing blinders? When was the last time you looked outside and really saw the beauty in the world? Why don't we question what we believe to be truths? Is it just more convienent to not care? I understand there are always a few who do question and wonder but what about everyone else? Would we be happier beings if we took the time to really think about life and the many questions we can never really know the answer to? Will that make us feel more fulfilled?
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
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Registered: April 15, 2003
Posts: 1361
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quote: Can we know, ultimately, and in detail, a grain of salt? Consider one microgram of table salt, a speck just barely large enough for someone with keen eyesight to make out without a microscope. In that grain of salt there are about 1016 sodium and chlorine atoms. . . . If we wish to know a grain of salt, we must at least know the three-dimensional positions of each of these atoms. (In fact, there is much more to be known -- for example, the nature of the forces between the atoms -- but we are making only a modest calculation.) Now, is this number more or less than the number of things the brain can know?
How much can the brain know? There are perhaps 1011 neurons in the brain, the circuit elements and switches that are responsible for the functioning of our minds. A typical brain neuron has perhaps a thousand little wires, called dendrites, which connect it with its fellows. If, as seems likely, every bit of information in the brain corresponds to one of these connections, the total number of things knowable by the brain is no more than 1014, one hundred trillion. But this number is only one percent of the number of atoms in our speck of salt.
But let us look a little more deeply at our microgram of salt. Salt happens to be a crystal in which, except for defects in the structure of the crystal lattice, the position of every sodium and chlorine atom is predetermined. . . . An absolutely pure crystal of salt could have the position of every atom specified by something like 10 bits of information. This would not strain the information-carrying capacity of the brain.
If the universe had natural laws that governed its behavior to the same degree of regularity that determines a crystal of salt, then, of course, the universe would be knowable.
From Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science, by Carl Sagan And for what reason is this a bad thing? If you know the laws that govern the nebulae, if you know an ant better than it knows itself, in what way does that diminish nature's beauty? I'm still not seeing the connection.
Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. Frederick Douglass
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Registered: June 12, 2007
Posts: 941
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quote: Why does the sky need to be blue? Why do the leaves need to change colours?
But there are scientific answers to these questions. And once you know those answers, there's not really too much to wonder about anymore.
Li sempre essera le domande, non importa cio che la lingua.
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Registered: January 15, 2006
Posts: 483
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Lately I've just been sitting around questioning the passage of time. I think time and age are two of the most impossible things to actually comprehend. Like I understand them logically but it's impossible for me to really accept that they exist. That's a weird way of putting it, but that's pretty much how I feel. I think that understanding the science behind beauty just makes it that more beautiful. Understanding how something happens doesn't make it any less mysterious because it still leaves so many questions. Why does the sky need to be blue? Why do the leaves need to change colours? I don't really believe in accidents anymore - there is a reason for everything, and there's an explanation for it all too, even if it's just outside of our reach. quote: Umm, yeah... I kinda fail to see the beauty in two dudes beating the crap outta each other.. =\
It's nice if they feel passionate enough about something to fight for it. Unless they're just drunk or something, that would sort of diminish the magic imo.
~*The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.
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Registered: August 17, 2001
Posts: 5808
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quote: But someone does love those people, even if you don't.
Yes, but she can see the beauty in that part. Others may see a different beauty, but some will see that beauty.
Created through a masterful combination of Power Rangers, Rescue Rangers, Peter Pan, and two cute boys from Barney fifteen years ago, Awkward Ikki is sure to please and aggravate anyone she comes into contact with! Be sure to find your own Awkward Ikki today! (Only Available in 3-D).
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Registered: June 12, 2007
Posts: 941
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quote: They're not beating the crap out of you or someone you love.
But someone does love those people, even if you don't.
Li sempre essera le domande, non importa cio che la lingua.
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Registered: July 21, 2007
Posts: 18
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Registered: August 17, 2001
Posts: 5808
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quote: Umm, yeah... I kinda fail to see the beauty in two dudes beating the crap outta each other.. =\
They're not beating the crap out of you or someone you love.
Created through a masterful combination of Power Rangers, Rescue Rangers, Peter Pan, and two cute boys from Barney fifteen years ago, Awkward Ikki is sure to please and aggravate anyone she comes into contact with! Be sure to find your own Awkward Ikki today! (Only Available in 3-D).
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Registered: January 15, 2006
Posts: 6138
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quote: Even the things that don't seem beautiful are. You just have to look for it. There really is good in everything.
Umm, yeah... I kinda fail to see the beauty in two dudes beating the crap outta each other.. =\
And I would never feel pain / and never be without pleasure, ever, again / and if the reign stops, and everything's dry, he would cry just so I could drink the tears from his eyes...
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Registered: August 13, 2007
Posts: 216
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quote: Take this foster girl we had at my house. Age 1 and a half. Covered with bruises. Addicted to cocaine. (Mom took it while she was pregnant.) Sexually abused. If anyone can find any beauty at all in that, please please tell me.
The child is away from the people who did that to her. Thats beautiful.
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
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Registered: June 12, 2007
Posts: 941
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quote: Even the things that don't seem beautiful are. You just have to look for it. There really is good in everything.
I don't know about that. There are times that when you look for the beauty you will find it, but sometimes there just isn't any. Take this foster girl we had at my house. Age 1 and a half. Covered with bruises. Addicted to cocaine. (Mom took it while she was pregnant.) Sexually abused. If anyone can find any beauty at all in that, please please tell me.
Li sempre essera le domande, non importa cio che la lingua.
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Registered: August 13, 2007
Posts: 216
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Even the things that don't seem beautiful are. You just have to look for it. There really is good in everything. You can never get answers without asking questions.
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
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Registered: January 15, 2006
Posts: 6138
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quote: When was the last time you looked outside and really saw the beauty in the world?
The other day me and my friend were looking out the window watching cars go past, and her grandmother told us to get away from the window before somebody sees us and shoots us in the eye. I was at the movie theater the other day waiting for my ride, and I looked out the window and saw two dudes beating the crap outta each other. Sunday night I was standing outside watching a meteor shower and all I heard was sirens from police cars. quote: Would we be happier beings if we took the time to really think about life and the many questions we can never really know the answer to?
I sure wouldn't. It seems like it'd be a waste of time and energy to ask questions if I can never have answers.
And I would never feel pain / and never be without pleasure, ever, again / and if the reign stops, and everything's dry, he would cry just so I could drink the tears from his eyes...
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Registered: April 15, 2003
Posts: 1361
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Whenever I have a chance, I look up at the night sky. I've learned how stars are born; I've heard how they die. I know that gazing at the stars, I'm staring into the past. I know that they're as numerous as the universe is vast, and that sitting in a field of stars, the Earth is less than nothing. My knowledge makes it no less beautiful. The universe's beauty is intrinsic; nothing can diminish that. Knowing the how and why of it is just the icing on the cake. To answer the original question, I think it is dangerously easy to get caught in a rut and not notice anything beyond the everyday. Any deviation from the routine just blurs into the background.
Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. Frederick Douglass
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Registered: February 25, 2007
Posts: 943
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I want to know all the answers. I want to be able to think about them myself, and decide what my thoughts are on them. I also want to see those spectacular breathtaking sights. I like the feeling of being in a peaceful place looking at what the world has to offer. Taking the time to wonder makes you feel a little less human, and that almost anything can happen for a few minutes.
"With regard to exellence, it is not enough to know, but we must try to have and use it."-Aristotle
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Registered: June 12, 2007
Posts: 941
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quote: Why do we have to know why the sky is cerulean, or why the leaves change colors? They're beautiful and magical, just let them be.
I think I agree with you, Ikki. The world is just so beautiful, so amazing, so simple and so complex at the same time, that when you try to explain everything it just takes away some of the beauty. Sometimes it's fun to wonder, but I don't really want to know all the answers.
Li sempre essera le domande, non importa cio che la lingua.
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Registered: August 13, 2007
Posts: 216
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I guess I wonder to explore and answer. I want an answer to the questions that haunt me. I don't think it takes away from the magic to much. Even after knowing how a dissapearing act works it still looks amazing
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
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Registered: August 17, 2001
Posts: 5808
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quote: But even with everything we know because of science there will always be something to wonder about. People shouldn't stop because we have an answer though. We should question the answer and continue wondering. It's beautiful when people want to know more and there is so much that we can still learn and observe.
However, is there a point when we've gone to far? Sometimes you just have to take in the magic of what is, and explain to yourself why it is, and not look for an actual answer. Actual answers can ruin what exists, so why do we need answers when we can use imagination and continuously wonder and create things using that? On a side note: There is a box elder walking around on my laptop. It would be interesting to know what he's thinking as he walks.
Created through a masterful combination of Power Rangers, Rescue Rangers, Peter Pan, and two cute boys from Barney fifteen years ago, Awkward Ikki is sure to please and aggravate anyone she comes into contact with! Be sure to find your own Awkward Ikki today! (Only Available in 3-D).
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Registered: August 13, 2007
Posts: 216
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But even with everything we know because of science there will always be something to wonder about. People shouldn't stop because we have an answer though. We should question the answer and continue wondering. It's beautiful when people want to know more and there is so much that we can still learn and observe.
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
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Registered: August 17, 2001
Posts: 5808
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quote: Would we be happier beings if we took the time to really think about life and the many questions we can never really know the answer to? Will that make us feel more forfilled?
When I start thinking, it makes me less fulfilled because I have a hard time not being able to have the answers. I need reassurance, and when I don't get it, I get frustrated with not being able to know. I do wish people would spend more time outside just being silent and taking in the world. I went to a state park with some people the other day, and they couldn't be quiet for 2 minutes, and felt the need to discuss things that I felt insignificant, such as the best way to drink Vodka and what So-and-So's bra looked like. Finally, I got fed up and walked away. Because of my leaving, I got to see a small waterfall cascading down the bottom of a bluff, caused by rain the night before. It's one of the most beautiful things, and they missed it. Another thing I've noticed is the higher up in education you go, the more things are explained which takes away the magic from things. Why do we have to know why the sky is cerulean, or why the leaves change colors? They're beautiful and magical, just let them be. Once you know all of the scientific processes, it's hard to return to the world of magic and knowing that if all else fails, you can come up with a reason and it's fine for you.
Created through a masterful combination of Power Rangers, Rescue Rangers, Peter Pan, and two cute boys from Barney fifteen years ago, Awkward Ikki is sure to please and aggravate anyone she comes into contact with! Be sure to find your own Awkward Ikki today! (Only Available in 3-D).
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