Uncommon sense
I'm thoroughly enjoying my Best American Science and Nature Writing of 2004 (see sidebar). For lazy weenies like myself, this collection is an easy way to read some good science and nature writing, and to flag writers to check out later.
Here's an interesting thought. Astronomers and physicists have long pondered the size of the universe--Is it growing? How do you measure it? Is it finite? Is it infinite? What are the implications of an infinite universe? I'm an escapist. So I like the idea of an infinite universe and its requisite infinite alternate realities.
At this very moment, two of my dear friends are engaged in a grueling Scrabble match in Manhattan. One is gloating over her win-win track record. The other is quietly plotting her next triple word score move. If we accept the idea of an infinite universe, it contains infinite variations of each life and reality. This means that in some alternate universe, there is another Scrabble game happening where the score is flipped, mirths is a recognized scrabble word, and players spend less than 10 minutes per turn. How we tap into that alternate universe is a problem that has yet to be solved. But it's nice to think that in an infinite universe, there is an alternate me loafing on the beach, or playing Scrabble with my friends, or playing Scrabble on a beach!