as I focus on the window at the far end of the hall
where, outside, green hills show through the trees.
A place in the universe
We teach that the universe is infinite
because whatever we might imagine beyond it
is also part of it.
Love is forever, we say.
We may not understand each other here and now
but we hope to live in harmony hereafter.
At least forty-six billion light years away
beyond the edge of the observable universe
is the end or the beginning
or so we think.
Early astronomers such as Ptolemy taught that the stars were
fixed in the heavens and revolved around us. Today to our dismay
we know that we live in a violent and uncaring universe that will
continue to expand beyond the reach of our instruments. We are not
in the center nor is anything fixed in place.
We will always ponder our place in the universe because
understanding of infinity is not biological or genetic; our
experiences do not teach it; our senses do not reach it.
Early astronomers such as Ptolemy taught that the stars were fixed in the heavens and revolved around us. Today to our dismay we know that we live in a violent and uncaring universe that will continue to expand beyond the reach of our instruments. We are not in the center nor is anything fixed in place.
We will always ponder our place in the universe because understanding of infinity is not biological or genetic; our experiences do not teach it; our senses do not reach it.
See also in The book of science:
Readings on wikipedia: