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 Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:59 pm
Well, I don't know how many of you are like me and enjoy staying up to date on the latest scientific developments, but I thought this one might be of interest to many. Philosophy's origins, of course, lie within our imaginations and wonder at the universe. It is odd, because this day and age there is such a rift between philosophy and science- when they started out as the same thing, and were all taught together for so long. I found this a very good thing to ponder: Astronomers Find Gaping Hole In The Universe- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070823164846.htmAny thoughts you'd like to share? Feelings of itsy-bitsy insignificance on the grand scale of things? I mean, this is a NOTHING so big as to not be able to really imagine just how voluminous that must be, and we still haven't made it off of this rock.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:12 pm
There are things that do not matter because it cannot be counteracted or controlled in any way. "Knowledge is power" but only when you can use it, otherwise, it becomes useless, meaningless. Even if they found out that the Universe was somehow going to destroy itself, what would they do about it? Using the power of only a part of a whole knowledge can be disasterous, creating un-needed and pointless reactions. That is why in court, it is "The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." ninja
..I'm sure that didn't help at all. xd
Heh, Ciao. R.H. 3nodding
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 7:03 pm
Yeah, I think you kinda missed my point. However, to address what you have said- value seems only to be an attribute that we add to things. Simply because you are not in control of a situation does not make it meaningless, does it? Perhaps on your own personal scale, but on a universal whole your opinions are rather minuscule. Perhaps the universe finds you worthless, meaningless?
Also, this article was not about the universe destroying itself. Clearly you did not read it. It would be wiser in the future to think and study before you act.
The article is about the discovery of an area in the universe that doesn't seem to have been affected by the "big bang." It is colder than the rest of the universe, completely void of any background radiation, and for that matter anything at all. It is simply, nothing. This is a complete anomaly that has never been seen until now. It has shed new light on our universe, and further led to better knowledge about things like dark matter and dark energy. Having a small bit of knowledge where none existed before, to me, is rather meaningful.
Perhaps you would do better to think before chiding people with unneeded and pointless responses.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:53 pm
Nah, I read the article, I was just using the destruction of the universe as an example razz
But answer me this, what use is knowledge, if it can't be used? domokun
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:45 pm
Knowledge always has the potential to be useful, whether or not your limited perspective allows you to see it's application. However, knowledge itself is a hard thing to define. For that matter, "useful," as I have attempted to illustrate, is a matter of opinion- an attribute we add on from our perspective, you see? Whether or not we personally find a particular bit of knowledge "useful" does not define the knowledge itself.
If you find no value in the structure of the universe, no value in the wonder of such a large, strange thing it is, no value in learning, no value in increased awareness, then that is your choice to make.
Let me make a more direct answer to your question. Even if a piece of knowledge has no direct application, it can lead to more questions that we did not have before. It has then become an important stepping stone, hasn't it?
In a sense, all "knowledge" can at least make us aware of how little we truly know. And to me, that is just as important as "knowledge" that has direct applications.
Which to me, simply illustrates my original point in posting the article. Look at this huge thing we did not know about and really do not yet understand. Now we can begin to question what it is, how it came about, and what it could mean for us. If we had not known about it, these questions would not exist!
Questioning existence IS philosophy. Period.
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