In 1980, the American astronomer and popular science writer Carl Sagan hosted a cosmic science TV show "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" (Cosmos: A Personal Voyage), which ignited a scientific flame in the hearts of young people.
Thirty-four years later, his student Neil Tyson teamed up with the National Geographic Channel to create a 13-episode documentary, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, to pass on the torch in the hands of his mentor.
In the documentary, Ship of the Imagination, a cool ship in the form of water droplets, will lead the audience through the infinity of time and space. It can not only travel back to the moment when the universe was born 13.8 billion years ago, but also lead you to the best viewing seat for the spectacular collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda billions of years later; it can shrink to just fit into a green leaf, Visit the chlorophyll factory in full swing under the calm surface of the leaves, and you can also dive into the interior of the atom and watch the disappearance of electrons. In short, it understands how to satisfy your curiosity.
The documentary follows Carl Sagan's cosmic almanac: if one year is 365 days to measure the 13.8 billion years since the birth of the universe, then one month of the cosmic almanac is about 1 billion years, and one day is 40 million years. Our solar system was not born until the beginning of September, humans appeared in the last hour of the last day, and the long history written by human beings is only a moment. Today’s current affairs are strife and clamor, and in the cosmic calendar, there is not even a snap of fingers.
The mystery, vastness, and beauty of the universe are fascinating. In front of the universe, human beings are too small, but between the small human beings and the great universe, the stories that have happened and are happening are equally exciting. The documentary vividly presents the stories of scientists and their pursuit of truth in the form of animation: the wisdom dialogue between astronomer William Herschel and his son when they were walking on the beach, the geologist Claire Patterson insisted under pressure from interest groups The lead ban movement, Faraday's perseverance on the road of science, pain and kindness... The good and evil of human nature, conceit and prudence, greed and perseverance. The documentary tells these poignant stories with humility but firmness.
Share the five simple rules that humans need to remember when they break out of the cage of ignorance at the end of the film:
One, question authority.
Second, independent thinking.
Three, self-doubt. Don't believe because you want to believe.
Fourth, do not believe the surface of the incident, and verify the rationality of the view through observation and experiment. Trust the evidence wherever it points.
Fifth, everyone makes mistakes, even the top scientists.
Encouraged by these five points, I venture to question a point in the film about the collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda. The documentary mentioned that because the distance between the stars is very far, the stars in the two galaxies will hardly collide during the collision process. Is it really? I don't know if there were still humans who came to witness this magnificent scene with their own eyes.
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