This is so cool.

[jmattbassplaya]

And it makes you feel both insignificant and part of a much greater whole all at the same time:

This WIll Blow Your Mind. – The Known&Universe - BoredFactory - We s... - StumbleUpon

And for fun, I found out that if you start this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5yVOFokLVY right when the word Tibet begins to disappear the music and the video lines up in a pretty cool way. It might take a try or two to get it right, but it's pretty neat to say the least.

[superfunk47]

Mind blown. Thank you.

(I want nothing more than to go out there.)

[Webtroll]

i wish we'd go out there too. what got me was how far our earliest radio signals have gone. ouch. if we can't get FTL working we are pooched here.

[IconBasser]

I love these kinds of videos. I think this one nails the perspective of just how much space is in between everything quite well.

I, too, very much want to go to the far reaches of the galaxy (I would say universe, but uhhh, let's start small, eh?)

[jmattbassplaya]

I'm not one to bump my own threads, but you guys should seriously check this out if you haven't. It's pretty sweet.

[MJ5150]

It is sweet. I had a hard time watching it, my eyes kept wigging out like they do when you try and focus on a stereogram. Thanks for bumping it. I saw it yesterday, but didn't have time to view it. I would have likely never went back to check it out if you didn't bump it up today.

-Mike

[Munjibunga]

I've been thinking a lot about things like this lately.

First, if you believe in infinity, our universe could be an infinitessimal in an infinitely large reality. Likewise, sub-atomic particles could be universes in themselves. I know, all you stoners thought of that decades ago. So is the universe finite? Is it infinite? Is it possible for the human mind to comprehend infinity (I think not)?

My favorite is this, though. Assume that humans are the only sentient life in the universe as we know it. That means that the universe has evolved to the point that it is curious about itself, and we are the instrument of that curiosity. The universe has even caused itself to construct mechanical instruments to enhance the limited observational capacity of its biological self-investigators. You know, telescopes, radiotelescopes, scanning electron microscopes, particle accelerators.

So why is the universe curious about itself? Whether you believe in god or not, the universe is a thinking, self-conscious entity. Now I think that's pretty weird.

[handofseven]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I've been thinking a lot about things like this lately.

First, if you believe in infinity, our universe could be an infinitessimal in an infinitely large reality. Likewise, sub-atomic particles could be universes in themselves. I know, all you stoners thought of that decades ago. So is the universe finite? Is it infinite? Is it possible for the human mind to comprehend infinity (I think not)?

My favorite is this, though. Assume that humans are the only sentient life in the universe as we know it. That means that the universe has evolved to the point that it is curious about itself, and we are the instrument of that curiosity. The universe has even caused itself to construct mechanical instruments to enhance the limited observational capacity of its biological self-investigators. You know, telescopes, radiotelescopes, scanning electron microscopes, particle accelerators.

So why is the universe curious about itself? Whether you believe in god or not, the universe is a thinking, self-conscious entity. Now I think that's pretty weird.

Mind blown for the second time... Thanks. You could at least have held off long enough for me to recover from the OP.

[Munjibunga]

Take a look at this one. It's just the planets and stars. There are stars that would engulf our entire solar system.

Best Planet & Star Size Comparison - YouTube

[SoComSurfing]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I've been thinking a lot about things like this lately.

First, if you believe in infinity, our universe could be an infinitessimal in an infinitely large reality. Likewise, sub-atomic particles could be universes in themselves. I know, all you stoners thought of that decades ago. So is the universe finite? Is it infinite? Is it possible for the human mind to comprehend infinity (I think not)?

My favorite is this, though. Assume that humans are the only sentient life in the universe as we know it. That means that the universe has evolved to the point that it is curious about itself, and we are the instrument of that curiosity. The universe has even caused itself to construct mechanical instruments to enhance the limited observational capacity of its biological self-investigators. You know, telescopes, radiotelescopes, scanning electron microscopes, particle accelerators.

So why is the universe curious about itself? Whether you believe in god or not, the universe is a thinking, self-conscious entity. Now I think that's pretty weird.

[J. Crawford]

Best 6:30 I've ever spent on a video.

[Bloodhammer]

This one expands on Muji's post.

Size Comparison from Earth to the Universe

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I've been thinking a lot about things like this lately.

First, if you believe in infinity, our universe could be an infinitessimal in an infinitely large reality. Likewise, sub-atomic particles could be universes in themselves. I know, all you stoners thought of that decades ago. So is the universe finite? Is it infinite? Is it possible for the human mind to comprehend infinity (I think not)?

My favorite is this, though. Assume that humans are the only sentient life in the universe as we know it. That means that the universe has evolved to the point that it is curious about itself, and we are the instrument of that curiosity. The universe has even caused itself to construct mechanical instruments to enhance the limited observational capacity of its biological self-investigators. You know, telescopes, radiotelescopes, scanning electron microscopes, particle accelerators.

So why is the universe curious about itself? Whether you believe in god or not, the universe is a thinking, self-conscious entity. Now I think that's pretty weird.

Or perhaps we are a cancer, or virus, developed to cease the ever expanding infinity from engulfing whatever may lay beyond the "universe".

[Tituscrow]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Or perhaps we are a cancer, or virus, developed to cease the ever expanding infinity from engulfing whatever may lay beyond the "universe".

That requires the belief that we are somehow significantly powerful enough to influence this expansion.

Munji - not thought about that concept/theory before. That's a mind melter!

I'm from the school of thought that says the human brain, for all it's marvels, simply cannot comprehend the concept of infinity.

I call BS on anyone who says they CAN picture it

[Bloodhammer]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Or perhaps we are a cancer, or virus, developed to cease the ever expanding infinity from engulfing whatever may lay beyond the "universe".

I absolutely LOATHE this point of view. The whole "we're a virus destroying the Earth" and "humans are inherently evil" ideas are total copouts that stunt cognitive thought and allow people to just do nothing.

We are a part of the system (therefore a microcosmic representation), not a foreign substance introduced as a contaminant.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by Bloodhammer

I absolutely LOATHE this point of view. The whole "we're a virus destroying the Earth" and "humans are inherently evil" ideas are total copouts that stunt cognitive thought and allow people to just do nothing.

We are a part of the system (therefore a microcosmic representation), not a foreign substance introduced as a contaminant.

You've said it better than I ever could.

[capnjim]

I have 2 problems with the universe...if its expanding, what beyond that expansion?
If its infinite, well heres a little formula:

We exist so its possible to replicate the condition that brought us here, say one/x planets

1/x * infintity= infinity.
Does that mean that there are an infinite number of exact copies of our planet? Millions and millions of me typing this message right now?

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by Bloodhammer

I absolutely LOATHE this point of view. The whole "we're a virus destroying the Earth" and "humans are inherently evil" ideas are total copouts that stunt cognitive thought and allow people to just do nothing.

We are a part of the system (therefore a microcosmic representation), not a foreign substance introduced as a contaminant.

You choose to see it as a copout, but it is a cognitive thought in an of itself.

Suppose our bodies are a galaxy or universe to each and every atom that is our makeup. That cancer that grows inside of a person is also a part of that system, and not necessarily a foreign substance, but rather something that was developed from within.

[MJ5150]

I don't think the universe is expanding. It's been the same size all along. Humans are just making better devices to see more of it.

-Mike

[coreyfyfe]

This is another fun little thing, though the paint-esque graphics are nowhere near as good as the video above. A sliding scale of universal scale comparison ranging from the plank distance (1x10^-35 m) all the way to the estimated size of the universe (about 9x10^26 m).

http://www.primaxstudio.com/stuff/sc...niverse-v1.swf

capn - we expand until the momentum of expansion becomes less than overall gravitation attraction, at which point, everything reverses, and we collapse into a singularity and explode once more. Like Keven Spacey said in Kpax.

Munji you must have loved the ending of men in black eh?

I think this is my favorite representation of a sentient universe: