In and Out

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.