The smartest people, I think, are those who don't see the world not as it's always been seen but instead have the ability to imagine it in an entirely new way. Think of Darwin conceptualizing natural selection for the first time, Apple replacing a conventional typepad for the iPhone's virtual one, or HAILO completely reimagining the experience of calling a taxi.
Now think of how the ancients visualized the sun, planets and stars revolving around the earth and what a shock it was to find out how utterly wrong they were. You may be in for a similar shock because it turns out our view of the solar system -- 9 (or 8) planets revolving eliptically around the sun -- is also completely wrong.
And the reality is even more beautiful.
Never, ever, had it occurred to me that our sun was anything but stationary.
'Makes me wonder "where we're headed". A spiral does inspire "circling the toilet bowl" imagery. ;)
Posted by: John Shannon | 21 January 2013 at 01:46 PM