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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2013-11-11 05:41, Kelly Anderson
wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CAPy8Rwb5CvpsnxY39V3N9C8kY2dQ-9mj8au0WhZ9Xq2Ct-XiGQ@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">On Sun, Nov 10, 2013 at 3:41 PM, BillK <span
dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:pharos@gmail.com" target="_blank">pharos@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
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I find the scale of these structures a bit mind boggling.<br>
So I think I'll sit quiet for a while until the boggle
factor returns to normal.<br>
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<div>It might boggle your mind a little less to understand
that these large scale structures likely formed VERY early
in the life of the universe and have simply been expanding
to their ungodly current size over the last 13.7 billion
years. Yes, the scales of anything beyond our little
planet strain our African-made and optimized primate
brains.</div>
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<br>
In fact, we cannot even handle planetary scales. I cannot
intuitively think about the distance from Oxford to Stockholm or
even London. I can compare it to known distances, I can play around
with imagined maps, I can remember what the trip is like, but I
don't *feel* it like I feel the distances within the towns where I
have walked. I suspect the reason is that in order to go between
these places I have to take a vehicle rather than wander. In between
these target places there is an awful lot of places that would feel
big to me if I were in them, but since I have never been to Ipswich
I do not have any feel for it. It is just a point on my mental map
(with a sticky note saying it was used in a Monty Python joke).<br>
<br>
<br>
The large scale structure is pretty awesome. This video looks at the
local motions of galactic clusters (starts slow, gets awesome): <a
href="http://vimeo.com/66641648">http://vimeo.com/66641648</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Dr Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University
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