When I discovered how fast light traveled. When I was real young I just though that it was just there when you turn on a switch, I never fathom that you would be able to calculate it’s speed or that it would even have a speed.
I was awed but when I found out how big the universe is and how long it would take us to get to the nearest star traveling at the speed of light my mind couldn’t comprehend it. The fact that there are some stars so far away that they would of burst into life, existed for millions of year and died an explosive death before it’s light even reached us. the fact that some of the light that we see in the sky are from stars that no longer exist.
The big bang theory, how all of the matter in the universe was all crammed into in singularity and the fact that time itself come into existence when the big bang happened… I mean how can you wrap your head around that.
That’s true when you look at the timeline for earth and compare it to human it amazing how quick we managed to adapt, to the point where we are modify our environment to fit our need and requirements. How we us to live in caves and what not and had to hunt for our food and how easy everything is right now.
Another strikes me, I’d say every generation I’m guessing probably kinda felt the same. They would look back and their ancestors and think “Man, we have it pretty good”. Really makes you think what marvels might the future hold.
Also makes me think, is there a possibility that we as a civilization might have or will plateau? That there’s very little advancement or amazing discoveries left. It might be arrogant or naive to think that we are at the top of our game right now, and I’m sure many generations before our had the same though.
Maybe I just lack the imagination to see all the possibilities still left out there, but it seems that the pace of discoveries and new technologies just keeps increasing and I kinda feel that there’s no way that that can keep going on like that.
Not to demean the importance of this thread, and some of the responses have been truly amazing… but in all seriousness, this is some of the stuff that AWES me.
Instant Noodles. How can this stuff exist? It truly blows me away. A real guilty pleasure that is so easy to prepare and SO cheap. No meal even comes as close as being this cheap. I know it’s bad for me, but damn.
Cheese. Who the hell thought of making this stuff? You basically are just letting milk spoil in very specific conditions. It’s gross, but wonderful amazing stuff. Same applies to Yogurt.
Human Sexuality. Why is sexuality so taboo for so many people? How and why has it changed so much since we first began language. Why are there so many different sexualities, fetishes, etc. It’s really fascinating since so much of it is completely contradictory to what we would expect from a simplistic understanding of evolutionary biology.
Language. How language came to be. How our brains have specifically evolved to facilitate it. How language has evolved and where it will end up. How it is used to change the course of human history, as well as individual lives.
Cheez-Wiz. Why does everyone call Easy Cheese Cheez Wiz? The stuff that comes in a spray can is Easy Cheese (or some other store brand name). The stuff that comes in a jar that is spread with a knife is Cheez Wiz! How hard is it to keep these two things straight people??? I’ve never ONCE heard someone use Easy Cheese’s correct name. Not… Even… Once. Ever. EVER. Come on people!!! I sometimes hear people us the term cotton swab instead of Q-tip. Sometimes I hear tissue instead of Kleenex. Nowadays everyone uses the verb “to copy” instead of “to xerox”, thank God. But we are still stuck in the dark ages when it comes to Cheez Wiz vs Easy Cheese. GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!