pale blue dot -carl sagan-第8章

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away；　so　we　are　seeing　it　as　it　was　when　the　light　from　it　set　out　on　its　long　journey　to　Earth—2　million　years　ago。　And　when　we　observe　distant　quasars　5　billion　light…years　away；　we　are　seeing　them　as　they　were　5　billion　years　ago；　before　the　Earth　was　formed。　（They　are；　almost　certainly；　very　different　today。）

If；　despite　this；　we　were　to　accept　the　literal　truth　of　such　religious　books；　how　could　we　reconcile　the　data？　The　only　plausible　conclusion；　I　think；　is　that　God　recently　made　all　the　photons　of　light　arriving　on　the　Earth　in　such　a　coherent　format　as　to　mislead　generations　of　astronomers　into　the　misapprehension　that　there　are　such　things　as　galaxies　and　quasars；　and　intentionally　driving　them　to　the　spurious　conclusion　that　the　Universe　is　vast　and　old。　This　is　such　a　malevolent　theology　I　still　have　difficulty　believing　that　anyone；　no　matter　how　devoted　to　the　divine　inspiration　of　any　religious　book；　could　seriously　entertain　it。

Beyond　this；　the　radioactive　dating　of　rocks；　the　abundance　of　impact　craters　on　many　worlds；　the　evolution　of　the　stars；　and　the　expansion　of　the　Universe　each　provides　pelling　and　independent　evidence　that　our　Universe　is　many　billions　of　years　old—despite　the　confident　assertions　of　revered　theologians　that　a　world　so　old　directly　contradicts　the　word　of　God；　and　that　at　any　rate　information　on　the　antiquity　of　the　world　is　inaccessible　except　to　faith。　These　lines　of　evidence；　as　well；　would　have　to　be　manufactured　by　a　deceptive　and　malicious　deity—unless　the　world　is　much　older　than　the　literalists　in　the　Judeo…Christian…Islamic　religion　suppose。　Of　course；　no　such　problem　arises　for　those　many　religious　people　who　treat　the　Bible　and　the　Qur'an　as　historical　and　moral　guides　and　great　literature；　but　who　recognize　that　the　perspective　of　these　scriptures　on　the　natural　world　reflects　the　rudimentary　science　of　the　time　in　which　they　were　written。

Ages　rolled　by　before　the　Earth　began。　More　ages　will　run　their　course　before　it　is　destroyed。　A　distinction　needs　to　be　drawn　between　how　old　the　Earth　is　（around　4。5　billion　years）　and　how　old　the　Universe　is　（about　15　billion　years　since　the　Big　Bang）。　The　immense　interval　of　time　between　the　origin　of　the　Universe　and　our　epoch　was　two…thirds　over　before　the　Earth　came　to　be。　Some　stars　and　planetary　systems　are　billions　of　years　younger；　others　billions　of　years　older。　But　in　Genesis；　chapter　1；　verse　1；　the　Universe　and　the　Earth　are　created　on　the　same　day。　The　Hindu…Buddhist…Jain　religion　tends　not　to　confound　the　two　events。

As　for　humans；　we're　lateers。　We　appear　in　the　last　instant　of　cosmic　time。　The　history　of　the　Universe　till　now　was　99。998　percent　over　before　our　species　arrived　on　the　scene。　In　that　vast　sweep　of　aeons；　we　could　not　have　assumed　any　special　responsibilities　for　our　planet；　or　life；　or　anything　else。　We　were　not　here。

Well；　if　we　can't　find　anything　special　about　our　position　or　our　epoch；　maybe　there's　something　special　about　our　motion。　Newton　and　all　the　other　great　classical　physicists　held　that　the　velocity　of　the　Earth　in　space　constituted　a　〃privileged　frame　of　reference。〃　That's　actually　what　it　was　called。　Albert　Einstein；　a　keen　critic　of　prejudice　and　privilege　all　his　life；　considered　this　〃absolute〃　physics　a　remnant　of　an　increasingly　discredited　Earth　chauvinism。　It　seemed　to　him　that　the　laws　of　Nature　must　be　the　same　no　matter　what　the　velocity　or　frame　of　reference　of　the　observer。　With　this　as　his　starting　point；　he　developed　the　Special　Theory　of　Relativity。　Its　consequences　are　bizarre；　counter　intuitive；　and　grossly　contradict　mon　sense—but　only　at　very　high　speeds。　Careful　and　repeated　observations　show　that　his　justly　celebrated　theory　is　an　accurate　description　of　how　the　world　is　made。　Our　monsense　intuitions　can　be　mistaken。　Our　preferences　don't　count。　We　do　not　live　in　a　privileged　reference　frame。

One　consequence　of　special　relativity　is　time　dilation—the　slowing　down　of　time　as　the　observer　approaches　light　speed。　You　can　still　find　claims　that　time　dilation　applies　to　watches　and　elementary　particles—and；　presumably；　to　circadian　and　other　rhythms　in　plants；　animals；　and　microbes—but　not　to　human　biological　clocks。　Our　species　has　been　granted；　it　is　suggested；　special　immunity　from　the　laws　of　Nature；　which　must　accordingly　be　able　to　distinguish　deserving　from　undeserving　collections　of　matter。　（In　fact；　the　proof　Einstein　gave　for　special；　relativity　admits　no　such　distinctions。）　The　idea　of　humans　as　exceptions　to　relativity　seems　another　incarnation　of　the　notion　of　special　creation：

Well；　even　if　our　position；　our　epoch；　our　motion；　and　our　world　are　not　unique；　maybe　we　are。　We're　different　from　the　other　animals。　We're　specially　created。　The　particular　devotion　of　the　Creator　of　the　Universe　is　evident　in　us。　This　position　was　passionately　defended　on　religious　and　other　grounds。　But　in　the　middle　nineteenth　century　Charles　Darwin　showed　convincingly　how　one　species　can　evolve　into　another　by　entirely　natural　processes；　which　e　down　to　the　heartless　business　of　Nature　saving　the　heredities　that　work　and　rejecting　those　that　don't。　〃Man　in　his　arrogance　thinks　himself　a　great　work　worthy　＇of＇　the　interposition　of　a　deity；〃　Darwin　wrote　telegraphically　in　his　notebook。　〃More　humble　and　I　think　truer　to　consider　him　created　from　animals。〃　The　profound　and　intimate　connections　of　humans　with　the　other　life　forms；　on　Earth　have　been　pellingly　demonstrated　in　the　late　twentieth　century　by　the　new　science　of　molecular　biology。



IN　EACH　AGE　the　self…congratulatory　chauvinisms　are　challenged　in　yet　another　arena　of　scientific　debate—in　this　century；　for　example；　in　attempts　to　understand　the　nature　of　human　sexuality；　the　existence　of　the　unconscious　mind；　and　the　fact　that　many　psychiatric　illnesses　and　character　〃defects〃　have　a　molecular　origin。　But　also：

Well；　even　if　we're　closely　related　to　some　of　the　other　animals；　we're　different—not　just　in　degree；　but　in　kind—on　what　really　matters：　reasoning；　selfconsciousness；　tool　making；　ethics；　altruism；　religion；　language；　nobility　of　character。　While　humans；　like　all　animals；　have　traits　that　set　them　apart—otherwise；　how　could　we　distinguish　one　species　from　another？—human　uniqueness　has　been　exaggerated；　sometimes　grossly　so。　Chimps　reason；　are　self…conscious；　make　tools；　show　devotion；　and　so　on。　Chimps　and　humans　have　99。6　percent　of　their　active　genes　in　mon。　（Ann　Druyan　and　I　run　through　the　evidence　in　our　book　Shadows　of　Forgotten　Ancestors。）

In　popular　culture；　the　very　opposite　position　is　also　embraced；　although　it　too　is　driven　by　human　chauvinism　（plus　a　failure　of　the　imagination）：　Children's　stories　and　cartoons　make　animals　dress　in　clothes；　live　in　houses；　use　knives　and　forks；　and　speak。　The　three　bears　sleep　in　beds。　The　owl　and　the　pussycat　go　to　sea　in　a　beautiful　pea…green　boat。　Dinosaur　mothers　cuddle　their　young。　Pelicans　deliver　the　mail。　Dogs　drive　cars。　A　worm　catches　a　thief。　Pets　have　human　names。　Dolls；　nutcrackers；　cups；　and　saucers　dance　and　have　opinions。　The　dish　runs　away　with　the　spoon。　In　the　Thomas　the　Tank　Engine　series；　we　even　have　anthropomorphic　lootives　and　railway　cars；　charmingly　portrayed。　No　matter　what　we're　thinking　about；　animate　or　inanimate；　we　tend　to　invest　it　with　human　traits。　We　can't　help　ourselves。　The　images　e　readily　to　mind。　Children　are　clearly　fond　of　them。

When　we　talk　about　a　〃threatening〃　sky；　a　〃troubled〃　sea　diamonds　〃resisting〃　being　scratched；　the　Earth　〃attracting〃　passing　asteroid；　or　an　atom　being　〃excited；〃　we　are　again　drawn　to　a　kind　of　animist　worldview。　We　reify。　Some　ancient　level　of　our　thinking　endows　inanimate　Nature　with　life；　passions；　and　forethought。

The　notion　that　the　Earth　is　self…aware　has　lately　been　growing　at　the　fringes　of　the　〃Gaia〃　hypothesis。　But　this　was　monplace　belief　of　both　the　ancient　Greeks　and　the　earl　Christians。　Origen　wondered　whether　〃the　earth　also；　according　to　its　own　nature；　is　accountable　for　some　sin。〃　A　host　of　ancient　scholars　thought　the　stars　alive。　This　was　also　the　position　of　Origen；　of　St。　Ambrose　（the　mentor　of　St。　Augustine）；　and　even；　in　a　more　qualified