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The Pale Blue Dot

Everyday Psych » The Pale Blue Dot
by Jake
Cassini's pale blue dot image of earth from the rings of saturn
[click on the picture to see it larger]

Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home…The aggregate of our joy and suffering… every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. – Carl Sagan

That bright speck, about halfway down the picture on the right side, is us. That’s earth. The planet we live on.

Taken by the satellite Cassini, that little azure freckle in the mad expanse of darkness is an actual picture of our earth from the distance of Saturn.

[click on the picture to see it larger]
[click on the picture to see it larger]
Humbling, isn’t it?

And as I study for my first and hardest grad school final (well, I used to be studying—I couldn’t deprive my loyal fans of their reason to wake up on Wednesdays), all I can think about is that little, tiny, infinitesimal dot.

Makes you wonder, “What’s so important about this test I’m stressing over? What’s so special about my credit card bill? My meal I had yesterday? The winning streak of my favorite basketball team?”

There we are—there you are, the planet that encompasses us hardly more than a couple pixels on your computer screen. In the winding, twisting, unfathomable wilderness of space, you and I are nothing more than temporary flecks of dust on a larger, yet at the same time, equally meager assortment of dust.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a prominent physicist, was once asked, “What’s the most astounding fact about the universe?”

Here’s a summary of his response: The most astounding fact is that we, that this planet, that every person, every skyscraper, every dog, every oak tree, apple orchard, and blueberry bush, every moment of love, thought of despair, bead of sweat, all originates, all begins with, all is the collection of stardust.

That you and I are composed of the same atoms and quantum physics that compose those blinking pinpricks of light we see when looking up at the night sky.

What’s the most astounding fact? That each one of us, no matter your religion, your race, your gender, your lucky number, your birthdate, or your dreams is made up of the same universe that we ourselves in turn comprise.

Beautiful, right?

And even through all the impossible insignificance of it, we find meaning in the world. Purpose. Hope.

And to me, that is the most beautiful part of all.

Humblingly,

jdt

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patty

    February 26, 2014 at 9:01 am

    That’s definitely good for thought. I need to focus. Thanks Jake!

  2. Elise B.

    December 6, 2013 at 1:54 pm

    I kept thinking, it’s not very blue, is it?

    • jdt

      December 6, 2013 at 1:58 pm

      Hahaha This comment made me laugh out loud

  3. jdt

    December 4, 2013 at 12:31 pm

    Thank you, good sir! And with the final now complete, I can say your luck was not wasted.

  4. an earthling

    December 4, 2013 at 10:58 am

    Great post, and well put! Good luck on your final, friend

Trackbacks

  1. Anxiously Awaiting Me, Weren't You? - Jake Teeny | Jake Teeny says:
    February 26, 2014 at 8:47 am

    […] However, to hold you over until then, my favorite “lay trick” for reducing anxiety consists of mentally stepping back and looking at everything as a whole. For example, how important is this stats test in the grand scheme of my goals? And this reimagining can easily be done when considering Earth as a pale blue dot. […]

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