Editing 1173: Steroids
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The title text changes the perspective again by suggesting that humanity itself is trivial in the grand scheme of things and that really all we are is a "transition" state between old dust and new dust, with a bunch of emailing in between. This is a version of the saying that the Universe is just trying to turn itself into Iron, which is the atom with least energy, and it can thus neither be fused in stars or decay radioactively. | The title text changes the perspective again by suggesting that humanity itself is trivial in the grand scheme of things and that really all we are is a "transition" state between old dust and new dust, with a bunch of emailing in between. This is a version of the saying that the Universe is just trying to turn itself into Iron, which is the atom with least energy, and it can thus neither be fused in stars or decay radioactively. | ||
| β | The comic was published on {{w|Ash Wednesday}} (Western liturgical start of Lent). The dust to dust reference calls to mind the charge, "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust you shall return," which is traditionally spoken by priests as they place ashes on the foreheads of observers on Ash Wednesday, in addition to the idea that all atoms in the universe other than Hydrogen, Helium, and some Lithium, were created after the big-bang via {{w|Stellar nucleosynthesis}}, with further production and dispersal via {{w|Supernova nucleosynthesis}}. Thus the reference by {{w|Joni Mitchell}} in the song {{w|Woodstock (song) | + | The comic was published on {{w|Ash Wednesday}} (Western liturgical start of Lent). The dust to dust reference calls to mind the charge, "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust you shall return," which is traditionally spoken by priests as they place ashes on the foreheads of observers on Ash Wednesday, in addition to the idea that all atoms in the universe other than Hydrogen, Helium, and some Lithium, were created after the big-bang via {{w|Stellar nucleosynthesis}}, with further production and dispersal via {{w|Supernova nucleosynthesis}}. Thus the reference by {{w|Joni Mitchell}} in the song {{w|Woodstock (song)}}: "We are stardust..."; and echoed by {{w|Carl Sagan}}: "We are star stuff." |
Similar talking floating energy spheres have been used later to represent super intelligent AIs both in [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]] and [[2635: Superintelligent AIs]], where it is clearly a different sphere and then in the [[:Category:Time traveling Sphere|Time traveling Sphere]] series. There is no indication of it here, but the sphere here could be another time traveler as well, back to try and understand humanity. | Similar talking floating energy spheres have been used later to represent super intelligent AIs both in [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]] and [[2635: Superintelligent AIs]], where it is clearly a different sphere and then in the [[:Category:Time traveling Sphere|Time traveling Sphere]] series. There is no indication of it here, but the sphere here could be another time traveler as well, back to try and understand humanity. | ||
