In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded,… - Carl Sagan

How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant?” Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.” A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.

A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.

How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and said, 'This is better than we thought! The universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed'?

In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, "This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed"? Instead they say, "No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way."

Тези, които търсят власт на всяка цена, забелязват обществената слабост — някакъв страх, който могат да яхнат, и така да стигнат до високите постове. Това може да са етнически различия — както е в този случай — или може би различно количество меланин в кожата; някоя различна философия или религия; а защо не употребата на наркотици, проявите на насилие, икономическата криза, молитвата в училище или поругаването (английският глагол desecrate означава буквално „правя несвещен“) на националното знаме.
Какъвто и да е проблемът, бързото решение е да се премахнат част от свободите в Декларацията за правата на гражданите. Да, през 1942 г. американците от японски произход бяха защитени от Декларацията за правата, но ние все пак ги затворихме — в крайна сметка се водеше война. Да, има конституционни забрани срещу безпричинните обиски и арести, но водим война срещу наркотиците, а престъпността излиза от контрол. Да, има свобода на словото, но нали не искаме тук да се мотаят чужди автори и да проповядват чужди идеологии? Претекстът се променя всяка година, но резултатът е същият: концентриране на повече власт в по-малко ръце и потискане на различните мнения — дори и когато опитът ясно показва рисковете от подобни действия.

If the world is to be understood, if we are to avoid such logical paradoxes when traveling at high speeds, there are some rules, commandments of Nature, that must be obeyed. Einstein codified these rules in the special theory of relativity. Light (reflected or emitted) from an object travels at the same velocity whether the object is moving or stationary: Thou shalt not add thy speed to the speed of light. Also, no material object may move faster than light: Thou shalt not travel at or beyond the speed of light. Nothing in physics prevents you from traveling as close to the speed of light as you like; 99.9 percent of the speed of light would be just fine. But no matter how hard you try, you can never gain that last decimal point. For the world to be logically consistent, there must be a cosmic speed limit. Otherwise, you could get to any speed you wanted by adding velocities on a moving platform.

Before women got the vote, there were no nuclear weapons);