The View From Now

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The more we learn, the more we realize just how interconnected everything is ~ in our bodies, in our world, in the universe, and, really, throughout all space and time. What's most curious is how the connections can echo each other. A computer simulation a few years ago suggested that the growth of the universe could mirror that of the brain, and earlier studies have found a similarity between brain circuits and the internet (http://www.livescience.com/25027-universe-grows-like-brain.html). In 2006, astronomers found a double-helix nebula in the Milky Way, the double helix, of course, being the pattern of our DNA (http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Astronomers-Report-Unprecedented-6903?RelNum=6903). If you want to get really esoteric about it, consider this, from the late, great astronomer and cosmologist Carl Sagan: "The cosmos is also within us. We're made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." (Before continuing, I really must mention one of the best
science series ever, Connections, from the Beeb, of course. It ran a loooong time ago but is still intriguing, and even though some of the information is dated, some isn't, and the basic premise is exhilarating. Couldn't find the first season, but here's the first episode of the third. Enjoy! (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91XWKv5UuCM)
   As we continue to search and come up with theories in an attempt to understand life and everything around us, some of these theories begin to overlap. Others interconnect. Still others are miles apart, leaving gaps between them. From cosmic inflation to WIMPs to the cosmological constant to loop quantum gravity, this map presents the big picture and explains its constituent parts (story, interactive diagram): https://www.quantamagazine.org/20150803-physics-theories-map/