Talk:3243: Crystal Gazing

F1RST P0ST!!--158.123.138.25 17:52, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

Not counting any posts made before the vale and/or veil of fire. 150.221.155.241 22:10, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

Why is it "vale of fire" instead of "veil of fire"? 174.20.245.60 18:06, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

"vale" is a poetic term for a valley. Barmar (talk) 19:06, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

That is indeed the definition, but seems less appropriate than "veil" which has the connotation of blocking/obscuring.174.20.245.60 20:59, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

Not just a poetic term, but used in placenames (e.g. the "Vale of Evesham"), a vale generally more being a wide valley/flood-plain, framed by hills, rather than a 'mere' river-cut. But one of the more figurative/poetic terms I hear used is "vale of tears", a particularly sorrowful episode of life.

(PPE: a 'veil' and a 'vale' of obscuration would each be rather different concepts. Veil is a thin barrier, vale a 'territory' of (iin this case) inpenetrability. I think the chosen wor is as good a term, if not better, than the other... But, I don't know if it's an intentional choice or merely a slipup that fortunately landed on a somewhat-synonymic term.) 81.179.199.253 21:09, 8 May 2026 (UTC)

I think there's definitely a "veil" pun going on there. "Beyond the veil" is something you can't see. Dogman15 (talk) 02:46, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Alternative the vale of fire for the heliophysists could just be the photosphere, a barrier in space rather than time.76.180.39.133 01:44, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

I'm not sure if "before the big bang" is a meaningful concept, at least from the inside of the universe. BunsenH (talk) 03:48, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Pretty darn sure that would be >18bya, 4.5bya would be the beginning of our start and planetary systemSeebert (talk) 18:09, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Um, what's the complaint about, exactly? 81.179.199.253 20:14, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

I think Seebert has assumed that BunsenH's comment was in reference to the aging of the Earth in the first paragraph, whereas it was actually related to a now removed reference to the Big Bang in the last paragraph. 82.13.184.33 13:42, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Surely the vale of fire for early universe cosmologists is the surface of last scattering? 137.25.230.78 07:13, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain the 'vale of fire' is not always time-related, but also physical. Edited it to better reflect that.174.89.130.8 15:04, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Is “vale” supposed to mean veil? 68.187.4.2 (talk) 15:59, 11 May 2026 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

See above... 81.179.199.253 20:27, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

In the forward prophet of non-doom category, will the next comic be another Tuesday comic? 2603:8081:9700:1224:0:0:0:2 05:29, 12 May 2026 (UTC)

Keep on misreading this as Crystal Glazing. Dunno what that implies but keeps on happening. RG (talk) 01:04, 15 May 2026 (UTC)