The day before yesterday, I witnessed the Moon Illusion, when the Moon in Summer appears unusually large when close to the horizon. To me, it’s always an awe-inspiring moment because it gets me thinking about stuff.

First, I think about the Moon crashing into Earth. (Talk about a slap in the face!) It’s not because I’m a doomsayer (although this and the previous post might make you think otherwise). It’s just a natural reaction to this particular situation. Anyway, it would certainly be a consciousness-numbing, nerve-racking, cataclysmic event. I can just imagine it now. Wow.

Second, I think about how many other people at that instant are looking at the Moon. Better yet, I think about how many other people look at the Moon every single day and how this has been going on for days, weeks, months, and many, many years. It’s a humbling thought, really.

The Moon is the most prominent figure in the sky. It serves as the ultimate hypnotic pendulum for humankind, persuading us to foster cooperation and to realize that we’re all passengers on that same ride called Life. (At least that’s what I think it should be doing.) We all just need to take it easy and be good, for goodness sake!

[Santa?!]

Alas, this is far easier said than done because, sadly, Earth is not a utopia and human beings are not utopian.

I hate when people misconstrue the concept of evolution and come up with the most idiotic assertions.

For instance, I’ve heard a number of people state that they don’t believe “humans came from monkeys”, and that if that was indeed the case, then why are there monkeys still around.

Please, think before you speak.  It will help you avoid embarrassment.

Anyway, evolution doesn’t say that we came from monkeys. Instead, it explains that humans and monkeys have a COMMON ANCESTOR. Our lineages diverged millions of years ago, and now we each have our own set of characteristics through the process of natural selection.

If you have even the slightest understanding of evolution, but are still unable to grasp the idea of such drastic changes occurring, then try this little exercise I came up with a while ago.

Okay. Scientists say that chimps and humans diverged around 6 million years ago. Remember that number.

Now, relatively modern human history (meaning the period of time of which we have a good amount of knowledge of humans resembling ourselves existing) is about 7,000 years in length.

So, divide 7,000 into 6,000,000, and you get 857.

You’re not done yet, but don’t worry, the math doesn’t get more complicated than that.

Okay. Take 857 and subtract 1 from it, and then continue to do so for as long as you need. BUT, remember to think about all of modern human history and the changes that have taken place over thousands of years whenever you subtract 1.

When you do this over and over again, you begin to grasp the magnitude of the amount of time of 6,000,000 years. It’s pretty remarkable.

After this, it should be easier to respect the evolutionary power of natural selection operating over a vast period of time.

I spent about twenty minutes straining my neck and my back looking straight up into the sky in hopes of catching at least a handful of meteors. As expected, the show was lackluster. (I believe I saw only three.) There are too many city lights and the elevation isn’t high enough where I live.

Oh well. I’m going to make sure that in the future I give myself the opportunity to watch a meteor shower up close and personal during a camping trip.

There’s nothing like a good ol’ meteor shower before going to bed.

Recently, I’ve spent a few moments pondering about the immensity of the universe and the seemingly insignificant nature of Earth and humanity in terms of space and time. (If you have a hard time picturing this, then check this out and play around with the options available. You’ll understand what I’m talking about.)

Anyway, after some thought, I must say I’m frustrated at the limitations that space and time place on us humans. And I don’t mean it an all-encompassing perspective where I take the history of humanity into consideration. I’m referring to a shorter time frame that’s around, let’s say, a hundred years. Now, within this interval, advancements in technologies to explore other planets will be relatively slow. Additionally, even if we develop the technology to explore other planets, the amount of time it would take to reach them would be inordinately long. (Frustrating, isn’t it?)

Some of you may not place too much importance in learning about what makes up the rest of the universe. But, some of us, like me, do. And, I’m sure humanity will continue its efforts to learn more about the universe for as long as possible. In that case, the limits posed by space and time are significant.

Okay. That’s really all I have to say about that for now. I’m just throwing this thought out there.

So, donate a few minutes to such thoughts. It won’t hurt. Hopefully, it’ll just give you a renewed sense of yourself in the context of the universe, with all of its space and time. As they say, (not really…I’m making this up): “From the Big Bang to the Big Picture”. (I’m not sure that makes any sense at all. But, oh well. Take care.)