Stuff I learned today: Vistas and quarks.

Okay. I just learned the definition of the word "vista". A fellow Rounder posted some fantastic pictures from a ride in the Rockie Mountains today and he used a wide angle camera. The first word that came to my mine was "vista" and I was going to post the definition of the word and tell him that his pictures defined the definition, becase I THOUGHT vista meant something like "wide open space or view". Nope, it is quite the opposite.

vis·ta /ˈvɪstə/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[vis-tuh] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a view or prospect, esp. one seen through a long, narrow avenue or passage, as between rows of trees or houses.
2. such an avenue or passage, esp. when formally planned.
3. a far-reaching mental view: vistas of the future.

Hmm, guess I will have to revise my use of the word "vista" in future.

Which then makes me wonder how many other words I think I know and I don't?

On the way to looking up "quark" I found out "pulchritude" means "beauty". Cool.

Quarks n God
'Nother thing I was surprised to learn today - no one has seen a quark. I'll be darned. Quarks have NOT been PROVEN. They are defined as being "hypothetical". Holy disbelief Batman, how can people who place their faith in science accept the existence of a quark without having seen or touched one? No one has seen one, even the dudes who invented the term.
I mention this because people who believe in the existence of God are constantly being asked how they can believe in something they cannot "see" or "prove". Wait a minute boys n girls, does the same question apply to quarks? And if you toss out quarks, then the whole subatomic gizmo falls apart and what have you got?
Lucky for me, I happen to believe in God AND quarks even though I have not seen either of them. I am fairly confident I have experienced both of them, therefore I have faith that they both exist.

Comments

Unknown said…
Though nobody has seen a quark, its hypothetical status is much stronger than if I said, "What if dogs could fly?" The quark is too small to be seen without being changed. Any microscope we use to view it would add energy to the system and excite the quark. We'd lose it. But the quark explains why larger particles supposedly composed of quarks behave the way they do. It's the sort of thing that can never really be seen, but can only be inferred. And you might find this strange coming from a seminary student, but the arguments for the existence of a quark are much stronger than the arguments for the existence of God. That said, both science and religion are based on faith. Science is perhaps more faith based, because you have to believe that the world is uniform, that all things remaining the same, particulars will always act the same way. That's a heck of a leap.
August 24, 2010 at 5:46 AM
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