(no subject)
I just posted this on the astronomy community in response to a post. I'm a bit proud of it because it's something I've been meaning to express but had difficulty putting it together.
Post:
How do you respond when someone asks, "What are the applications/uses of astronomy?"
I was recently asked this after a presentation, and it really caught me off-guard. In fact, I just kind of looked at the floor and murmured something like, "Well ... cosmology doesn't really have any applications ..."
Do you just argue that there are some things worth knowing even though it doesn't cure cancer or stop global warming?
My reply:
George Mallory, who may have been the first man to summit Mount Everest, was once asked why he wanted to climb the mountain in the first place. He famously replied, "Because it's there."
Needless to say, the sky is "there," too. What would it mean if we--collectively, as an intelligent species--looked up at those tiny effervescent white dots and assumed it had nothing to do with us? Astronomy is part of the unending satiation of human curiosity. Without the spirit to grow and discover, we can no longer be human. After all, what would a man accomplish from sitting in his den all his life besides a very comfortable reality?
The stars are there. If there is a loving God, he made those stars so bright for divine reasons.
Post:
How do you respond when someone asks, "What are the applications/uses of astronomy?"
I was recently asked this after a presentation, and it really caught me off-guard. In fact, I just kind of looked at the floor and murmured something like, "Well ... cosmology doesn't really have any applications ..."
Do you just argue that there are some things worth knowing even though it doesn't cure cancer or stop global warming?
My reply:
George Mallory, who may have been the first man to summit Mount Everest, was once asked why he wanted to climb the mountain in the first place. He famously replied, "Because it's there."
Needless to say, the sky is "there," too. What would it mean if we--collectively, as an intelligent species--looked up at those tiny effervescent white dots and assumed it had nothing to do with us? Astronomy is part of the unending satiation of human curiosity. Without the spirit to grow and discover, we can no longer be human. After all, what would a man accomplish from sitting in his den all his life besides a very comfortable reality?
The stars are there. If there is a loving God, he made those stars so bright for divine reasons.