"the universe is just right for life"

Happy little article! (link below)

Planet HD 85512 b

"The essential reason why so many scientists are confident that life exists elsewhere is the regularity of the laws of physics and chemistry across the cosmos. The same laws of nature that apply in our solar system apply to galaxies billions of light-years away. They move in similar ways and shine in similar ways to galaxies nearby, allowing us to identify their distance and chemical composition with near certainty. If the same laws apply everywhere and at (mostly) every moment of the universe's history, and if the same chemical elements are found in distant stellar systems, it's fair to assume that the same chemical processes that led to life here on Earth some 3.5 billion years ago will reoccur in other planetary platforms. This is what could be called the argument from regularity."

The Goldilocks Enigma: Is The Universe Fit For Life?




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Things heard on NPR/ July 14th 2011

Any Case

It could have happened, it had to happen, it happened earlier, later, closer, farther away
It happened, but not to you
You survived because you were first, you survived because you were last,
Because alone, because the others, because on the left, because on the right, because it was raining, because it was sunny, because a shadow fell
Luckily there was a forest, luckily there were no trees
Luckily a rail, a hook, a beam, a break, a frame, a turn, an inch, a second
Luckily a straw was floating on the water
Thanks to, thus, in spite of, and yet,
What would have happened if a hand, a leg, one step, a hair away
So you are here, straight from that moment, still suspended
The net smash was tight
But you through that mesh, I can't stop wondering at it,
Can't be silent about it
Listen! how quickly your heart is beating in me

-Polish poem, from Julie Orringer's The Invisible Bridge

listen to an interview with Orringer HERE


and... Neurons explained! Listen to the interview with neurologist Dean Buonomano HERE

Thinking/ the hula hoop is Girling!

Watch and ponder... "It's so wonderfully weird!"





Accompanying article:

Thinking Thoughts No One Has Thunk

Chill out, the simple way.

Thanks again NPR.. got this in my email today and thought it a good complement to the last post:

Just Breathe: Body Has A Built-In Stress Reliever

Chill out, the fun way.

Random article from NPR that I stumbled upon.. Good info to know in the coming cold winter months :) :

Human Connections Start With A Friendly Touch