New facts? Not a Hoax—A reason to Keep Learning!
So just a few days ago some information from a book (from a legitimate publisher) informed this blog that there were approximately 100 million stars in “our galaxy.” From that number and a pretty good estimate about how long it would take to count to a million this blog put out that it would take around five years to count, not all the stars in the sky, but just the ones in our stellar neighborhood. But then…. New information was collected and it’s more recent and legitimate. This information was produced using a new lens (technically a new telescope’s capacity to gather information along with further proof from some space probes. Is this new telescope more accurate? Don’t freak out because it is pointed into space, however, the most correct description of the capabilities of this spy glass is that it can detect/see something the size of a human hair from about 400 miles away. So… if this thing worked here on the planet and I’m standing somewhere in western Nebraska, the lawmakers wiping their backsides near the Golden Dome in des Moines had better keep the shades pulled down. Okay… so using this new tool the estimate of stars in our galaxy was. Revised and now the number has jumped from 100 million to about 1.3 billion or about 13 times as many. Well that means counting would now take about 65years. What else does it change?
Stars in the Sky vs. sand on the Beach?
Of course, now that we can see more stars, we can definitely state that there are more stars in the heavens than sand on the beach in fact there seems to be 10,000 stars for every grain of sand even those you find in unmentioned places after you notice an uncomfortable itch. Oh and although there isn’t as much sand, we shouldn’t ignore it. In fact, some scientists are starting to become concerned because we are “harvesting” sand and using it to make concrete and some other sand products like glass and computer chips at a rate faster than the Earth can make more sand. Due to the need to track such things, scientists now have the ability to examine grains of sand and determine when they were formed and where on Earth they originated. Now that may seem a bit extreme, however, due to the impact of climate factors and weather events the changing impact of less sand is being noticed. This has led to a more interesting and somewhat shocking discovery.
Because sand is becoming a more limited resource illegal gathering and sales of sand has become a real. Thing. In fact, there is something that can be named with accuracy a sand mafia .. Yep you read that right Guido … There are cartel like enterprises complete with bribing of local governments —read about this in Scientific American—and it stems primarily from the use of sand to make concrete. Who uses the most concrete? Well…. We’re aren’t pointing fingers on the root cause of this grainy grift, but reliable data indicate that China used more concrete for construction between the years of 2011 and 2013 than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century and that is even when you allow for whatever happened to Jimmy Hoffa.
So what does all this have to do with Seeking Peace and Joy?
First, when you get new information is really okay to take a couple minutes and rethink rather than deny. Second, as time goes by we can develop wisdom and experience that might allow us to see things differently and with a good deal more clarity. It doesn’t mean we were stupid before and it doesn’t mean that anyone or everyone who still uses other lenses is stupid or to be shared or laughed at. Share what you now know and how you learned it and use the way the new information allows you to change to take action remembering that the world around us usually learns more from our example than our opinions. Also it might be good to understand that we can learn a lot about the universe and the people in it by paying attention to something as big as a star and as small as a grain of sand. … and so it is with peace and joy. Moments of Peace can be captured in a single breath and the seeds of joy can be planted with the wink of an eye or a nod, or a quick little smile.
Oh and beware if someone with a dumbstruck is riding around your sandbox muttering “here’s and offer you can’t refuse.
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