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What is the most astounding fact?

Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked this question, and I loved his answer.

What about you? What stands out as the most astounding fact?

VictoriaNotes 9 Dec 6
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21 comments

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5

What astounds me to no end is how biological life kept adapting and changing and becoming more complex to bring us to where we are now. Spores to humans. Mind blown.

5

Gravity

4

I think what I call the "mimic particles". Two particles (I forget whether the theory says it's subatomic or molecular.), no matter how far apart mimic each other in every movement/behavior. Light is the fastest thing we know, yet these particles, as the theory goes, INSTANTANEOUSLY copy the other's behavior even if they are separated by billions of light-years.

That's called quantum entanglement. Amazing indeed

That's the thing that would be required to communicate in real time across light years and we sit here trying to find radio waves from an advanced civilization. I do not think they would use our primitive technology to communicate. Quantum entanglement communication would also preclude anybody eavesdropping..

4

Self-awareness, I think.

3

That after all I did in my youth... I declined so much and maybe that is why I am still around. Moderation will keep you around. "Little Man Thoughts About his Own Universe".

3

We are alive and our atoms come from those stars. Tyson said it good. That's cool!

2

That I am here as the result of innumerable cosmic interactions and chemical and biological events over billions of years any one of which might have denied my chance at existence and the fact that I can flatter myself thinking I have enough understanding and self-awareness to attempt to answer this question.

2

@orion YES, you've solved the issue of instantaneous communication! It is suspected that worm holes may be responsible for quantum entanglement so if we could just tap that resource...

2

The Russians drilled a hole 12km down into the earth before the rig broke. They found fossils at the 6km level !

2

I also like the existence of conscience and also to add to what Tyson said Dr. Lawrence Krauss has stated that: "90% of the mass in your body comes from empty space."

2

that everything is held together with magnetism

1

That we, as a species, haven't killed ourselves off yet

1

THIS! All of this. So much this...

Duke Level 8 Dec 19, 2017
1

Quantum indeterminacy. Putting the 'free' in 'free will'.

Hmmm. . . I was kind of hoping no one would ask me to elaborate on this @VictoriaNotes, as I don’t have a very good grasp on it, but I find what is going on at the quantum level of physical reality quite astonishing, so I’ll give it a go.

Quantum indeterminacy (known more popularly as Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle) raises some very interesting questions when considered in relation to human brain activity.
Because there is a causal discontinuity in nature at the quantum level i.e. events at the quantum level of reality have no physical cause, synaptic events in the brain (which are subject to quantum indeterminacy) give rise to causal uncertainty at the level of the whole brain. Given that the brain determines, our thoughts and feelings and our ability to comprehend, imagine and invent, to create art and music, develop mathematics and languages and to remember; it follows that human will/consciousness is not fully causally determined in the physical world.

Another consideration I find astounding is that quantum indeterminacy at the micro level can still give rise to adequate determinism at the macroscale i.e. the laws of physics at the macroscale can be determined adequately enough to send a man to the moon.

I did kind of enlarge on my second sentence when I said that it follows that human will/consciousness is not fully causally determined in the physical world.

Whatever it is that causes a quantum event to transition from probability to something that actually happens – from what I can understand – happens on the other side of the causal veil, so to speak. To me, this leaves the door open to the possibility that human will is free.

1

That people can be so ignorant.

orion Level 5 Dec 8, 2017
1

Thanks Victoria; I had to think about this (your always making me think). Sitting so long at this site is not only making my butt bigger but my head as well.

I find many things astounding and find more all the time. Tyson is an astrophysicist and, yes the universe is astounding. Imagine if there existed multi-verses! That would be even more astounding. If one were, say, a biologist one would find life and some aspects of life astounding. Ever hear of a siphonophore? There are a lot of astounding things in the universe and even here on Earth.
[en.wikipedia.org]

That is one thing I've never could wrap my mind around, the concept of multiverses. I just can not imagine it no matter how hard I try.

1

I can’t top Tyson’s answer

1

I think that the REALLY big implication of what NDGT has to say is that the heaviest elements (eg, the gold in a wedding ring) was formed in the very moment of the death of a star.

1

The most astounding fact is that ya'll ain't as crazy as I am. Well, most of you. Some of you?

What constitutes crazy?? Sometimes I think I'm nuts and at other times I wonder if everyone else is insane. It may have to do fact most of my conversations involve only three people, ME, Myself, and I.

1

The collective knowledge about the earth is 99percent unknown and love is the glue.

Pet pev is most people spend most of their waking lives, not liking what they do. Most wasteful time that I can imagine.

Parts of northern Europe they teach lesson in love in school. What is better to learn in life, than lessons in love and kindness.

You will not make pass the ABC teacher for lessons in love. Love can wait, sex can't.

No wonder porn is bigger than Hollywood, To some men, love is sex. Lessons in love won't make it to America soon. Creepy.

0

that you CANT fix stupid, you can lead a horse to water but CANT make him drink, you can serve/offer good solid sound advice to someone, but if they don't take it, then its pointless in trying to help (stupid) people

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