9th Rock from the Sun - The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

[WillyT]

Last edited Wed Jul 15, 2015, 07:19 PM - Edit history (1)

X-Posted From Science Group.

Found Here: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/watch-stephen-colbert-and-neil-degrasse-tyson-engage-in-hilarious-feud-over-pluto/

[Peace Patriot]

1. That was wonderful! Earth a dwarf planet!

I wish we could clone Stephen Colbert and put him in every 8th grade classroom in the world, as the greatest teacher of all time! (And a cloned Neil could be his sub, give him a vacation now and then.)

I Pluto!

[saidsimplesimon]

2. Thanks Willy, 2 great minds, millions of viewers

[WillyT]

3. You Are Quite Welcome !!!

[panfluteman]

4. I Heart Pluto!

After all, it's a very, very important planet in my natal astrology chart. Not only is it the modern ruler of my Scorpio Ascendant (Scorpio's classical ruler, Mars, is conjunct my Ascendant), but it was conjunct the Midheaven, at the highest point in the visible sky at the moment and place of my birth. Pluto is also conjunct my Leo Moon, squaring my Taurus Sun, and trining my Mercury in Aries. And that's amazing that it has Sharon, such a big Moon - that apparently escaped notice by astronomers until now?! And that heart on Pluto was an amazing discovery. With Pluto currently in the tropical sign of Capricorn, and all the heartless austerity programs (Saturn, Capricorn's planetary ruler, has to do with austerity) to cover up monumental heists of wealth by ruling elites (Capricorn naturally corresponds to the tenth house, which deals with, among other things, bosses and elites) that that entails, I think that Pluto is telling all those greedy plutocrats to have a heart and care more for their fellow man! Who knows? Maybe we will start to see a change of heart in the scrooge-like Capricornian plutocrats as Pluto enters the second and final half of this sign. After all, Pluto is the planet of spiritual change and transformation, as well as magical, uncanny synchronicities that transcend the normal laws of cause and effect - like the heart on Pluto, whose discovery signals that we are now spiritually ready to receive it and be transformed by it.

[Peace Patriot]

6. Before somebody jumps in and scorns you, I want to thank you for...

...this well-written paragraph on how you view the Pluto mission, from the point of view of the mother of astronomy: astrology!

If human beings had not desired to understand how they were connected to the stars--to make a personal and social/religious phenomenon of those connections--they would never have started making scientific observations of the stars. Interest in the stars was personal and social and spiritual to begin with! And we still have a vestige of that initial inspiration in the form of astrology, which is so disdained by the scientific "priesthood" of our current era.

I am not "into" astrology myself, but I respect someone who can articulate what it means to them, and I think that there is a very important realm of human thought and intuition, and possibly of human knowledge and power, that simply doesn't, and can't, fit into the post-Enlightenment scientific method and its sole focus on the physical world, as defined by scientists. This shows up sometimes in egregious experiments, for instance, a scientific experiment to prove that baby monkeys need to be stroked by their mothers in order to thrive. Scientists (it was revealed in a NOVA) put a glass barrier between the mother monkeys and their babies, and watched the babies decline and die, in order to "prove" this. I was a new mother at the time that I saw this show, and I was flabbergasted that anybody could be so DUMB and so CRUEL. This is the "scientific method" gone mad--literally into a sort of psychosis which blocks out human intuition and even common sense.

So, while I certainly defend the integrity of science as we know it, and I certainly see the war on science that is being waged by some billionaires who want to keep people stupid, I think science as we know it is limited--maybe necessarily limited, or necessarily limited in our era--but still limited, that is, blinkered on certain topics. To round out humans we need to know everything about humans, in a sympathetic way. Being human cannot be--and probably never will be--defined within the current scientific method.

[panfluteman]

8. I Admire Your Openmindedness Towards Astrology,

Even though you aren't "into" it like I am. When you talked about the scientific priesthood, you hit the nail on the head - that modern science can be just as much of a belief system as anything else. I had an astrological teacher an mentor who said two interesting things about astrology:
1) Astrology is most vehemently opposed by fundamentalists - both religious and scientific.
2) If anyone should tell you that they don't believe in astrology, you can be absolutely sure that they haven't studied it; even the most basic study under the guidance of a competent astrologer would convince one of the truths of this ancient science.

Astrology is basically an empirical science or body of knowledge, built on experience and observation. After the modern planets were discovered, and their orbital movements charted, astrologers began noticing where these planets were located in the charts of their clients, and started making observations and correlations between how these planets and their influences manifested in the lives of their clients.

And the same kind of thing will probably happen with the discovery of this Heart on Pluto: astrologers will start to observe the effects of this discovery. I think that my take on it is pretty significant and sound from an astrological viewpoint, but let's see: Will we start to see less of an emphasis on scrooge like and predatory capitalism, the decline of austerity measures, and an awakening of newfound compassion and caring for the good of the common man? I sure hope so, but time and experience will tell...

[bananas]

11. I'll second that. nt

[Jester Messiah]

5. Jupiter orbits Earth? Wow, learn something new every day. :-D [nt]

[ybbor]

7. That was Awesome

And not 10% shy of Awesome, 100% Awesome!

[oldandhappy]

9. Excellent. Thank you. Loved it!!!

Earth a dwarf planet!!

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

10. I laughed at that clip more than I have Fallon's entire run

Bring on Colbert and save late night from our now Dave-less existence!