ASTRONOMICAL - The Movie

A scale model of our solar system in twelve 500 page volumes printed-on-demand. On page 1 the Sun, on page 6,000 Pluto. The width of each page equals one million kilometres.

This film takes us through the first volume where we encounter the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and the Asteroid Belt.

Yes, this is just a film of someone flipping through a book that is the solar system to scale. Highlights include the Earth at minute 4:00, Mars at 5:25, and the asteroid belt at 6:40 (actually this is interesting because while even the sun fits on just two pages the asteroid belt spans for several minutes). The entire 12 volume set is available for the discerning and precise sky aficionado. Strange. Cool. Want.

Neoliberal Galt

Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged has had some kind of revival lately. I discussed the book a while ago in a previous post. Here is a follow up on what is being said about the book in the media. People are asking is it crazy to go Galt? Roughly speaking to go Galt means to emulate a character from the book, John Galt, and his philosophy that in a corrupt and inept system those with virtue and ability should refuse to perpetuate that system. In reality I think it means rich people are refusing to pay their taxes. There is a dichotomy in Rand's followers between liberals and conservatives, so is it neoliberal or is it conservative to go Galt? And Colbert weighs in also.

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Atlas Shrugged

I recently finished the epic book, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It stills holds some serious sway. Ayn Rand started an intense school of thought, objectivism, which basically says something like, "The gifted should do what’s in their self-interest. If you have a sharp mind, it is your moral responsibility to make yourself happy. The weak are not your problem." I won't delve into my thoughts on it, but clearly her perspectives are controversial. I will say two things about this, first, she does have excellent and convincing arguments and I would recommend the read. Second, everyone 's self-interest may well be tied together on this planet; Rand never seems to discuss the fundamental difference between talent and means to realize that talent (though she does decry violence as a means) so we could argue about philosophy, but that wont change the fact that many people on earth face a poverty gap and objectivists do agree on action.

That was just a primer for my deeper question. If humans can escape from earth, shouldn't we? Even if only some humans can escape when the deluge comes isn't it our moral imperative to do so? Ayn Rand obviously thinks so. I leave you with this: Tsiolkovsky, considered the father of human space flight (and the prime mover of the space elevator, but more on that later), said, "The earth is the cradle of the mind, but one does not live in a cradle forever."