The awe this guy feels when he sees the rainbow, if he is truly affected, is awe of NOT UNDERSTANDING. (that's what bloody awe IS) And awe is a cheap feeling anyway. True beauty never hits you in the gut like that, it's subtle.

<sarcasm>GOD DID IT!</sarcasm> (HTML5 better include this tag!)

Beautiful clip, making an excellent point.
*nature *spacy

Adding video to channels (Nature, Spacy) - requested by demon_ix.

Moving this video to BreaksTheEarth's personal queue. It failed to receive enough votes to get sifted up to the front page within 2 days.

We've all heard the famous Richard Feynman quote, "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics."

Here's a variation:
If you think learning science detracts from the beauty of nature, you haven't learned science.

*quality

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by EDD.

Sorry Bluecliff, that was a definition fail on your part. Go buy yourself a dictionary.

Without looking it up, I'm pretty sure awe is the feeling of being dwarfed by something.

Sorry Fade, that was a reference material failure. Go buy yourself an internet.

Oh... wait.

So, I'm just wondering... it probably does narrow down to one of three things, if you think science removes beauty from the world:
1) The person teaching you SUCKS and is boring. (that's a 2 way street, though)
2) You are lazy. (lacking the motivation to actually care)
3) You aren't very intelligent. (Sadly, some people probably can't appreciate science)

i wish i could downvote the music.

6000 times.

*Pachelbel's Canon robs me of my will to live

I liken scientific knowledge and appreciation of nature to playing a musical instrument and appreciation of music. The discplines help you understand why you like something and can accelerate the learn/appreciate process.

>> ^Fusionaut:
Pachelbel's Canon robs me of my will to live


there was a time when this song just ripped right through me and all I wanted to do was play it. For several days I did nothing but pour over the sheet music. I hadn't touched a piano since I was 9, but by the end of that week I could play the song through with my eyes closed. I has a power. I just wish they'd stop using it for rom-com wedding scenes. It's better than that. I want it played at my funeral, not my wedding.

Great clip thank you

I'm a geologist. I wouldn't be one if I didn't love doing it and seeing the wonderful things that I see all over the world. For me, NOT knowing about something makes makes it intrinsically less interesting than knowing about it. That's why we scientists do what we do. We are DRIVEN to know, or to figure something out because we understand that as soon as that knowledge or understanding is revealed, we are often struck with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and wonder.

To the layman a volcano is just a mountain that occasionally blows up or spews lava, but to a geologist a volcano is an elaborate treasuretrove of smaller wonders like mineral deposits, hydrothermal vents, different rocks that show how the magma mixed within the chamber, or what other nearby volcanoes might be associated with the same magma system, and many other minute details.

A LOT more wonder and amazement can be gained or found through the pursuit of knowledge and science, than with sustained ignorance.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Alex Filippenko, astronomy, physics, stars, pachabel' to 'Alex Filippenko, astronomy, physics, stars, pachelbel' - edited by Ornthoron

Because (dependent on your philosophy) it Is likely that things are infinatly devisable in complexity all scence can achive is to help make you more aware of things to have awe over, in no way can sceince damage awe.

Say I am in an expansive universe with little to no light , through science sumone could make a small light I can now see more to be at awe with than previously and would now have more to investigate and be excited about. over time through investigating the enviroment I would develop brighter and bigger lights allowing me to see more and more of my universe.

If you believe the universe is infinite , then over time progressive science would allow me to gain more and more awe , so if anything science creates Awe and is the single most significant and efficient methodology in developing technology to allow people to exsperance Awe.


I think what happens is people have a fallacy where they think of awe in the natureal world in the same way that thay think of awe with magic , Magic depends on a lack of information and misdirection to in effect Create Awe in places that Awe would not normally exsist (for a majority of people), I believe it is this contradiction that makes magic entertaining in the first place. but still it is not really an argument for people to be ignorant in order to exsperance awe, as you do not need ignorence inorder to exsperance awe in the natural world.


All that aside Awe is a subjective exsperance , and it is dependent on ones mental reflection of things rather than the stimulus itself , for one person a brick may contain as much awe as say the grand canoin , in actuality they are both made of matter and both objectively no more interesting than each other.