Hili: I’ve always been curious what is behind the horizon.A: Another horizon, a bit further down.
In Polish:
Hili: Zawsze mnie interesowało, co jest za horyzontem.
Ja: Jeszcze jeden horyzont, tylko kawałek dalej.
Friday: Hili dialogue
November 22, 2013 • 6:09 am
…but maybe there are noms there!
Every fact has a half life.
The difference between those who rely upon faith for answers and those who chose to embrace the challenge that is evolution is completely summed up in Hili’s ‘haiku’ like question.
The answers keep coming.
While demonstrating yet again that curiosity does not kill the cat.
This reminds me of a bit from the Firesign Theaatre play, How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere at All (from the act titled Yankee Doodle Came to Terms):
Babe: But I’m tired, and it’ll be night soon, and the sun is going down.
Fields: No, no my boy, you are confused – the horizon is moving up!
Can we ever really be sure what lies beyond the horizon?
Philosophically, no ; practically, yes.
I’ve spent the last few days listening to potted summaries of 70-odd (sometimes downright peculiar) philosophers’ works, as an alternative to listening to the HVAC plant. I’ve learned a lot!
That’s a lot of philosophy!
About one turtle further down?
“Another horizon, a bit further down.”
I love that.
I clearly remember the first time I felt, viscerally, immediately, the curvature of the earth. I was standing on Orcas Island, in Washington State. I was looking at Mt. Rainier in the distance, to the SE.
Between me and the mountain, from my vantage point was only sea (Puget Sound), with no near land between them. And the sea cut off the mountain halfway down (I was used to the full view from hills in Seattle. Having the sea there, not intervening land that could confuse the view, made it perfectly clear. I knew, forcefully, the the bottom of the mountain was just over there, over the curve of the earth.
Of course I always knew this intellectually. But this way, it hit me hard. I suppose this is simply a commonplace for blue-water sailors. But I’m not one, and it was one of those kind of experiences that you, Jerry, and Dr. Dawkins, describe as inspriing awe in you. It did in me.
I also always point out to people (whatever victim is near, known or stranger) the shadow of the earth at sunrise and sunset as it moves up from the horizon or down to the horizon. I find that people have never noticed it and are thrilled to have it pointed out. It’s clearly visible most days as the change from blueish light (shadow, scattered light) to warm-colored light (directly illuminated by the sun, out of the shadow) as it lights up the haze in the air.