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(meteorobs) Astronomy vs. TV
Hi, Jonathan:
>When I watch TV, which 95% of it is _Star Trek:_, it is very easy for
>it to deepen my interest in astronomy.
I also like Star Trek. I enjoy the episodes in which some giant
asteroid, meteoroid or comet is threatening to collide with a planet.
>He claimed to have been from another planet, and the entities he was
>living with had advanced technology that allowed you to begin your life
>all over if desired.
Sounds like someone who craved attention, so he told everybody stuff
like that in order to get it, and to make himself feel special. I
wouldn't take it seriously. In a few years, he'll probably regret
saying those things because he'll suddenly find himself having no
friends and being the object of cruel ridicule, as a result of having
told everybody he was an alien in the first place. I'd pity him.
>I try to tell him that astronomy is for entertainment. He thinks it
>for the insane.
You should point out to him that curiosity is the engine which drives us
to improve ourselves. If the great explorers of the past had never
ventured into the unknown, the world would be a very different place.
If we hadn't thought to ourselves, "hey, what's this funny-looking rock
doing in the middle of Antartica?", we never would've learned about the
possible fossilized remains of primitive Martian life within it. If we
never left our homes. If Galileo had never looked through his
telescope, we'd still be content to think that the Universe revolves
around the Earth. If we never left our homes, we'd never learn what was
around the next block. Think of it this way: the earth is our home, the
galaxy is the city we live in and the Universe is the rest of the world.
We must go beyond the confines of our property if we are to survive.
Steve Sutton
* SLMR 2.1a * In cyberspace, no one can hear you scroll.