The Most Astounding Fact

In my last post, I dismissed the quest to sum up The Universe in a series of scientific theories & formulas. 

Scientific thinking can exist beyond the effort to calculate & quantify. We can also use our reason, paired with imagination, to tell a descriptive story about processes that can connect to people on an experiential level.

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson gave this inspired answer to the question: "What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?"

It's a physicist's eloquent answer to the Zen koan-

 "What did your original face look like,

before your parents were born?"

Your original face was all the elemental, molecular, and energetic phenomena scattered throughout the cosmos for the billions of years, before being incorporated into your "person".

Of course, the phenomenon of a living being, and all the elements it contains, continually changes. Eventually, the process we call a "person" will once again be elements scattered into new processes throughout the universe.

Here is a collage of other distinguished men who "just want to watch the world learn"; Bill Nye, Dr. Tyson, Mr. Rogers, Carl Sagan, & Bob Ross.

Also, in light of the recent meteor sightings, here is some cosmic wisdom from Dr. Ed Lu, & tweeted by Dr. Tyson:

"Asteroids are nature's way of saying, 

'How's that space program coming?'"