We are in the middle

One of the major reasons people doubt modern astronomy is because it makes us look small and insignificant.  That is true, but the study of quantom mechanics and the really small does the opposite.  In fact, the difference in size between you and the observable universe is less then the size difference between you and a plank length.  On a logarithmic scale the size in the middle is aproximately the size of a cell.  This means that according to science you a few powers of 10 above the middle, so in the grand scheme of things you are not a tiny insignificant speck.

Even though Earth is only one of many planets, that doesn't mean that it's not significant and unique.  Earth has life on it, which makes it unique and special.  The universe may not revolve around it, but it's still a very significant place.

The general accepted statement is that the universe is infinite and has no edge and no center.

Quote from: Googleotomy on June 28, 2015, 05:04:53 PM

The general accepted statement is that the universe is infinite and has no edge and no center.

Source??

I did specify the observable universe, not the whole universe.

Quote from: mikeman7918 on June 28, 2015, 05:17:17 PM

I did specify the observable universe, not the whole universe.

Right. True.

From the observable universe  (from an observer on the earth), the earth is in the middle of the universe.

The statement was for the whole universe.

Think about this. Of all of the millions of planets we've found, how many people have we found? Things like us? None. Zero. We are special. We are using our extremely complex brains to find out the workings of the universe we reside in. We made this amazing source of information you're looking at right now, the Internet. Billions of computers all connected together to form a vast web of information. I am able to talk to, for example, a person in South Korea, instantaneously. Even the language barrier gets blurred as things like Google Glass are soon able to translate from English to Korean on the fly. In total, us humans are amazing.

Quote from: Misero on June 28, 2015, 05:44:43 PM

Think about this. Of all of the millions of planets we've found, how many people have we found? Things like us? None. Zero. We are special. We are using our extremely complex brains to find out the workings of the universe we reside in. We made this amazing source of information you're looking at right now, the Internet. Billions of computers all connected together to form a vast web of information. I am able to talk to, for example, a person in South Korea, instantaneously. Even the language barrier gets blurred as things like Google Glass are soon able to translate from English to Korean on the fly. In total, us humans are amazing.

How many planets have we inspected? Like 5. How many planets in the "habitable zone" have we detected? Billions. How many years have gone by before humans existed? Billions.

I think it's a little naive to say "We are special." Check out the Fermi Paradox http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html

I think it's a little early to call

I did specify the observable universe, not the whole universe.

, but it's still a very significant place.

Quote from: Dog on June 28, 2015, 06:26:51 PM

Quote from: Misero on June 28, 2015, 05:44:43 PM

Think about this. Of all of the millions of planets we've found, how many people have we found? Things like us? None. Zero. We are special. We are using our extremely complex brains to find out the workings of the universe we reside in. We made this amazing source of information you're looking at right now, the Internet. Billions of computers all connected together to form a vast web of information. I am able to talk to, for example, a person in South Korea, instantaneously. Even the language barrier gets blurred as things like Google Glass are soon able to translate from English to Korean on the fly. In total, us humans are amazing.

How many planets have we inspected? Like 5. How many planets in the "habitable zone" have we detected? Billions. How many years have gone by before humans existed? Billions.

I think it's a little naive to say "We are special." Check out the Fermi Paradox http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html

I think it's a little early to call

We haven't discovered billions of planets in the habitable zone. So far, only 1,854 exoplanets have been discovered and about 30 of them have been in the habitable zone. However "habitable zone" is a little vague because it assumes that liquid water is necessary for life.

Quote from: Dog on June 28, 2015, 06:26:51 PM

Quote from: Misero on June 28, 2015, 05:44:43 PM

Think about this. Of all of the millions of planets we've found, how many people have we found? Things like us? None. Zero. We are special. We are using our extremely complex brains to find out the workings of the universe we reside in. We made this amazing source of information you're looking at right now, the Internet. Billions of computers all connected together to form a vast web of information. I am able to talk to, for example, a person in South Korea, instantaneously. Even the language barrier gets blurred as things like Google Glass are soon able to translate from English to Korean on the fly. In total, us humans are amazing.

How many planets have we inspected? Like 5. How many planets in the "habitable zone" have we detected? Billions. How many years have gone by before humans existed? Billions.

I think it's a little naive to say "We are special." Check out the Fermi Paradox http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html

I think it's a little early to call

We haven't discovered billions of planets in the habitable zone. So far, only 1,854 exoplanets have been discovered and about 30 of them have been in the habitable zone. However "habitable zone" is a little vague because it assumes that liquid water is necessary for life.

What is it that makes something valuable, or precious?
It's the rarity, or uniqueness. The tiniest speck of diamond is worth more than a house full of rock.

It doesn't matter how big we humans are, we're rare, and we're unique: at the very least, no other race has figured out radio signals that we know of.

Quote from: JRoweSkeptic on July 05, 2015, 05:07:19 AM

What is it that makes something valuable, or precious?
It's the rarity, or uniqueness. The tiniest speck of diamond is worth more than a house full of rock.

A bit of hyperbole anyone? You can find quarter-carat cut diamonds in the $300 - $400 range. whereas a half cubic foot or river rock costs about $8 at the local big-box store. If we assume a house is 1600 square feet and has 8-ft ceilings, that's 12,800 cubic feet  in the living space (not counting any attic space, etc.), or $204,800 worth of rock at retail. If you buy it by the truckload, I saw a price of $8.55/ton at the quarry (reply #5 here) from a couple of years ago. Crushed limestone weighs about 1.2 tons per cubic yard, so a house full is 12,800 ft³ / (27 ft³/yd³) = 474 yd³, weighing 569 tons. That's almost $5000 worth of rock. At the quarry. It's more valuable after it's delivered, which ain't going to be close to free, either.

A 1/4 carat diamond is small, but much larger than "the tiniest speck", and that price was for a cut, gem-quality stone and doesn't even consider industrial diamonds, which are much cheaper. A 1600-ft² house is probably smaller than average for the US.

So, no, The tiniest speck of diamond is not worth more than a house full of rock. It's really not even close. Doing a sanity check before making bold but totally baseless pronouncements could save you from looking so ignorant in the future. A sanity check must go against your nature, but you should really consider it.

Quote

It doesn't matter how big we humans are, we're rare, and we're unique: at the very least, no other race has figured out radio signals that we know of.

"That we know of." The universe is a big place.

Quote from: Alpha2Omega on July 05, 2015, 08:47:25 AM

Quote from: JRoweSkeptic on July 05, 2015, 05:07:19 AM

What is it that makes something valuable, or precious?
It's the rarity, or uniqueness. The tiniest speck of diamond is worth more than a house full of rock.

A bit of hyperbole anyone? You can find quarter-carat cut diamonds in the $300 - $400 range. whereas a half cubic foot or river rock costs about $8 at the local big-box store. If we assume a house is 1600 square feet and has 8-ft ceilings, that's 12,800 cubic feet  in the living space (not counting any attic space, etc.), or $204,800 worth of rock at retail. If you buy it by the truckload, I saw a price of $8.55/ton at the quarry (reply #5 here) from a couple of years ago. Crushed limestone weighs about 1.2 tons per cubic yard, so a house full is 12,800 ft³ / (27 ft³/yd³) = 474 yd³, weighing 569 tons. That's almost $5000 worth of rock. At the quarry. It's more valuable after it's delivered, which ain't going to be close to free, either.

A 1/4 carat diamond is small, but much larger than "the tiniest speck", and that price was for a cut, gem-quality stone and doesn't even consider industrial diamonds, which are much cheaper. A 1600-ft² house is probably smaller than average for the US.

So, no, The tiniest speck of diamond is not worth more than a house full of rock. It's really not even close. Doing a sanity check before making bold but totally baseless pronouncements could save you from looking so ignorant in the future. A sanity check must go against your nature, but you should really consider it.

Quote

It doesn't matter how big we humans are, we're rare, and we're unique: at the very least, no other race has figured out radio signals that we know of.

"That we know of." The universe is a big place.

And you knew all this on the top of your head?

Quote from: JRoweSkeptic on July 05, 2015, 05:07:19 AM

What is it that makes something valuable, or precious?
It's the rarity, or uniqueness. The tiniest speck of diamond is worth more than a house full of rock.

A bit of hyperbole anyone? You can find quarter-carat cut diamonds in the $300 - $400 range. whereas a half cubic foot or river rock costs about $8 at the local big-box store. If we assume a house is 1600 square feet and has 8-ft ceilings, that's 12,800 cubic feet  in the living space (not counting any attic space, etc.), or $204,800 worth of rock at retail. If you buy it by the truckload, I saw a price of $8.55/ton at the quarry (reply #5 here) from a couple of years ago. Crushed limestone weighs about 1.2 tons per cubic yard, so a house full is 12,800 ft³ / (27 ft³/yd³) = 474 yd³, weighing 569 tons. That's almost $5000 worth of rock. At the quarry. It's more valuable after it's delivered, which ain't going to be close to free, either.

A 1/4 carat diamond is small, but much larger than "the tiniest speck", and that price was for a cut, gem-quality stone and doesn't even consider industrial diamonds, which are much cheaper. A 1600-ft² house is probably smaller than average for the US.

So, no, The tiniest speck of diamond is not worth more than a house full of rock. It's really not even close. Doing a sanity check before making bold but totally baseless pronouncements could save you from looking so ignorant in the future. A sanity check must go against your nature, but you should really consider it.

Quote

It doesn't matter how big we humans are, we're rare, and we're unique: at the very least, no other race has figured out radio signals that we know of.

"That we know of." The universe is a big place.

Hello guys.

Just wanna contribute to the thread by stating that another common belief is that the universe does not have a particular center of expansion, does not have a limit but is still finite. Background radiation might provide some insight on this matter. Some people even concluded that, if you were to travel into deep space following one particular direction, you would eventually get back to where you started. But as of now, speculation is our main tool to describe the universe.

I'm not really a physicist or an astronomer, just an enthusiast. Sorry if I get any information wrong.

Flowery language has never been intended as objective fact.

Quote from: JRoweSkeptic on July 05, 2015, 02:38:47 PM

Flowery language has never been intended as objective fact.

[translation] "I don't mean what I say." [/translation]

Quote from: Alpha2Omega on July 06, 2015, 09:28:44 AM

Quote from: JRoweSkeptic on July 05, 2015, 02:38:47 PM

Flowery language has never been intended as objective fact.

[translation] "I don't mean what I say." [/translation]

I mean the spirit of what I say.

That does not mean an atom of diamond is going to be worth more than a ton of any imaginable rock.

Are you not familiar with non-literal statements? In a non-scientific thread I am not going to be pedantic about details.

But sure, keep embarassing yourself.
Sure, you disagree with me on other topics, I get that, but this is pathetic.

Quote from: JRoweSkeptic on July 06, 2015, 10:16:42 AM

Quote from: Alpha2Omega on July 06, 2015, 09:28:44 AM

Quote from: JRoweSkeptic on July 05, 2015, 02:38:47 PM

Flowery language has never been intended as objective fact.

[translation] "I don't mean what I say." [/translation]

I mean the spirit of what I say.

[translation] "I don't mean what I say." [/translation]

Thanks for clarifying that.

"I was just kidding!" The rallying cry for those unwilling or unable to admit their pronouncement turned out to be an embarrassing blunder.

Quote

That does not mean an atom of diamond is going to be worth more than a ton of any imaginable rock.

Did you know that you can't have an "atom of diamond"? Do you know why? You'd have an atom of carbon. Atoms of carbon are really quite common, and they're not "teeny tiny diamonds".

Quote

Are you not familiar with non-literal statements? In a non-scientific thread I am not going to be pedantic about details.

This is a forum on The Flat Earth Society's website; pseudo-scientific and non-scientific threads are, like, about all of them. Given some of the ideas you espouse, dodging details is an excellent idea. Quite honestly, I presume (and earnestly hope) that you never mean whatever it is you say here. Since I really can't tell when you're "just kidding" and when you're pretending to be serious (I hope it's pretending), it's always nonsense, and I treat it all the same.

Quote

But sure, keep embarassing yourself.
Sure, you disagree with me on other topics, I get that, but this is pathetic.

I think I disagree with what you post about almost everything; I can't recall anything that wasn't complete balderdash. I assume you're just taking that side of the argument as devil's advocate (surely you don't really believe the stuff you advocate for here, do you?) You don't have to answer that (as though you've ever given a straightforward answer to anything)... it's all in fun and no need to tip your hand.