[meteorite-list] OT: the Big questions

Mail actions: [ respond to this message ] [ mail a new topic ]
Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by thread ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:02 2004
Message-ID: <AF564D2B9D91D411B9FE00508BF1C8698E59A5_at_US-Torrance.mail.saic.com>

This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.

------_=_NextPart_001_01C1AF58.E62BFD70
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"

Bob wrote:

> What I gather from all this is that man just really doesn't know how it
all
> began. Just like the chicken or the egg dilemma.

Actually, the chicken/egg question is far simpler to answer. Egg came
first -- warm-blooded reptile egg. Chickens (birds in general) trace their
evolution back to dinosaurs.

> I was intrigued by the idea that time and space really doesn't exist
except
> in our imagination. So, in other words: Man devised time and space
> (distance) just so he would have a way of explaining or understanding
> his physical existence in the universe, in the here and now.

They are useful labels for perceived physical properties (position and
velocity). Whether they have any objective reality (or for that matter
whether anything does) is an interesting philosophical question --
one that may ultimately be answerable by science.

> I reckon I'll have to wait until I "kick the bucket" and ask God for
> the answer to all my questions.

42. (Douglas Adams fans will know what I mean). Your decision is
logically sound: if there is indeed a God, you can ask away. Of
course, He may not choose to oblige you with answers. ;-) On
the other hand, if there is no God or whatever you choose to call
a Supreme Intelligence, then you won't be around in the hereafter
to pose such questions or care about the answers.

--Rob

------_=_NextPart_001_01C1AF58.E62BFD70
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">

<META content="MSHTML 5.00.3315.2870" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>Bob
wrote:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>> What I gather from all this is that man
just really doesn't know how it all </DIV>
<DIV>> began. 
Just like the chicken or the egg dilemma. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Actually, the chicken/egg question
is far simpler to answer.  Egg
came</DIV>
<DIV>first -- warm-blooded reptile
egg.  Chickens (birds in general)
trace their</DIV>
<DIV>evolution back to
dinosaurs.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>> I was intrigued
by the idea that time and space really doesn't exist except </DIV>
<DIV>> in our
imagination. 
So, in
other words: Man devised time and space </DIV>
<DIV>> (distance) just
so he would have a way of explaining or understanding </DIV>
<DIV>> his physical
existence in the universe, in the here and now. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>They are useful labels for
perceived physical properties (position
and</DIV>
<DIV>velocity).  Whether they have
any objective reality (or for that
matter</DIV>
<DIV>whether anything does) is an
interesting philosophical question --</DIV>
<DIV>one that
may ultimately be
answerable by science.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>>  I reckon
I'll have to wait until I "kick the bucket" and ask God for </DIV>
<DIV>>  the answer
to all my questions. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>42.  (Douglas Adams fans will
know what I mean).  Your decision
is</DIV>
<DIV>logically sound:  if there is
indeed a God, you can ask away. 
Of</DIV>
<DIV>course, He may not choose to
oblige you with answers.  ;-) 
On</DIV>
<DIV>the
other hand, if
there is no God or whatever you choose to
call</DIV>
<DIV>a Supreme Intelligence, then you
won't be around in the hereafter</DIV>
<DIV>to pose such questions or care
about the answers.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>--Rob </DIV></BODY></HTML>

------_=_NextPart_001_01C1AF58.E62BFD70--
Received on Wed 06 Feb 2002 04:54:49 PM PST

This message: [ Message body ]
Next message: Rick Nowak: "[meteorite-list] Telescope given to Andre Bordeleau"
Previous message: drtanuki: "[meteorite-list] Re: Energy/Matter/Paradox"

Mail actions: [ respond to this message ] [ mail a new topic ]
Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by thread ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Yahoo MyWeb