13.8

The universe is 13.8 billion years old.  So they say.  The earth is 4.5 billion years old.  So they say.  I am 70 years old.  So I say.  I am but a gnat on the elephant butt of the earth.  And the earth is but a fly on the tail of the universe.  It’s all about perspective, or as Einstein would say, relative.

Einstein says that if I travelled really fast—say close to the speed of light—186,000 miles per second, I would not age as fast.  I doubt I’ll ever find out.  Einstein also says that E = mc2, where E is energy, m is mass, and c squared is the speed of light squared.  Do you know how fast the speed of light squared would be?  Damn fast.  So I don’t think we’ll be seeing energy turned into mass any time soon, but I could be wrong.

They (experts) say that the universe is expanding exponentially—like really fast.  Some think this means that eventually the lights will go out, the stars will go dark, and the universe will turn into one big cosmic hum.  Others say that the universe will expand to a tipping point, then turn back on itself which will lead to the Big Crunch, which will start the Big Bang all over again and on and on.  Who knows?

Some (experts) say that there are multiple universes, and ours is just one.  Apparently there are many other dimensions.  How people know this, I’m not sure, since it apparently can’t be proven.  Somehow this relates to quantum physics, and string theory.  String theory postulates that everything is composed of tiny vibrating strings of different frequencies, kind of like guitar strings.  I always thought good guitar players conjured up heavenly sounds.

So much for the amateur physics/cosmology lesson.  I know you knew all this, but I thought I’d give you perspective.  As the coronavirus is expanding exponentially, and we are all hunkered down washing our hands, it is important to keep everything in perspective, fellow gnats on elephant butts.

But I don’t want to leave you in despair.  As William Blake once said:  “In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.”

The Doors were a fairly well know rock band in the 60s.  Light my fire.