Febuary 1st Blog : Cosmic Perspective

In the essay entitled “Cosmic Perspective” by astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the author stresses the importance of astronomy in our human experience. Tyson claims that the cosmic view- all that is humble (spiritual but not religious) and what enables us to see beyond our circumstances- comes with a hidden cost. The author claims that when he pauses and reflects on our expanding universe, sometimes he forgets that people walk this world without food or shelter; and he sometimes forgets that every day someone kills or gets killed in “the name of someone else’s conception of God, and that some people… kill in the name of their nation’s needs or wants,” illustrating the idea that most conflicts, from a homicide to a war or revolution, are caused by preconceived beliefs and instances of servitude (for example: serving in an Army backed by a religiously-ran state of government). Tyson only occasionally “forgets” these things because he believes “however big the world is… the universe is even bigger. A depressing thought to some, but a liberating thought to me” (1071). To assess the prompt of the blog, yes, Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s view and insight can be helpful in day-to-day life. He “forgets” these worldly problems, because he focuses on the immense size and dexterity of the expanding universe around us. In a daily way of putting this, we shouldn’t focus on the small problems that affect us in life, but rather you should respect and understand your cosmic path and recognize that it is microscopic, relative to the rest of space in the known universe. The author claims that he thinks of people “not as the masters of space and time but as participants in a great cosmic chain of being” (1072). According to the astrophysicist, we are not below or above any other organism in nature, but instead “we are one with the rest of nature, fitting neither above nor below, but within,” meaning that even Earth itself is one big organism, and humans impact the world around them because they are not only a part of Earth, but they are also a part of the growing universe (1074). This statement affects our everyday life, because humans need other organisms, life forms and natural elements to simply function as a human being on a daily basis. For example, we require oxygen in our system constantly to survive. But humans forget that we require so much from our environment and we continue to pollute and destroy the very organisms that give us life. Tyson firmly states that he believes the day our knowledge of the cosmos stops expanding, we risk regressing to the primitive view of the universe in which the universe, literally and figuratively, revolves around us. The author explains this statement by claiming “In that bleak world, arms-bearing, resource-hungry people and nations would be prone to act on their ‘low contacted prejudices.’ And that would be the last gasp of human enlightenment” (1077). I agree with many of the intelligent statements Tyson promotes in his paper, but much of what he was saying didn’t seem to be any different than Jill Bolte’s deep appreciation for the immense and vast beauty of the right hemisphere of the brain. In this way, Tyson is enthralled and consumed in the ever expanding universe that surrounds us and that every person has in themselves.