Frank Zappa sang “You’ve gotta get out of it before you get into it. You’ve gotta get into it before you get out of it.” I think we’re seeing that proven right before our eyes in the way the quest for scientific knowledge is evolving.
As we delve down to the sub-atomic level, the laws of physics change and it’s like we’re dealing with a different universe, the universe of which our universe is made. I read today that they’ve discovered a 5th basic force of the universe, don’t remember if it even has a name yet, but it will be listed up there with gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. Oh, one more thing. It only affects protons and neutrons, so we’re not likely to hear about it much in our every day lives, but it is an example of getting into it before you get out of it.
Par contre, a satellite mapping technology called Lidar has uncovered not just one ancient Mayan pyramid, not just one ancient Mayan city, but the whole damned empire, cities, towns and individual dwellings, all interlinked by a system of roads.
I love the names. Tikal, Holmul, Witzna, and Xmakabatun, which is pronounced something like it rhymes with Shmack a Platoon. People lived in those cities, worked, maybe shopped because you get settlements of those sizes barter becomes complicated, maybe went to schools. Certainly they ate, and made music and danced, and had families. Their civilization still collapsed long before the Western world knew about them, so we’ll never know much of their history, but nonetheless. It is a lost world that was discovered from space.
In and Out
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