Early plants struggled on barren land. Fungi partnered with them. In exchange for sugars, fungi delivered phosphorus and minerals through vast underground networks. This mutualism — mycorrhizae — became one of the most important biological alliances in Earth’s history.
Big Bang.
3 random tidbit stories in about 3 minutes.
1.
Big Bang Story.
~450 Million years ago (+/- 10 million)
Arbuscular mycorrhizae (Glomeromycota symbiosis)
That Big Bang Story,
was first published on TST 4 months ago.
2.
Big Bang FAQ.
Short answer: Space is so vast that the odds of Voyager 1 or 2 hitting something is that rare.
Long answer: The fact is that both do encounter space dust along their journeys. They were designed to endure the impacts of small dust particles of less than 1 mm commonly found in space. It’s also true that hitting a half inch rock would be catastrophic, especially at their high speeds. Voyager 1 is travelling at 17 kilometers per second (38,000 mph), and Voyager 2 at 15 kilometers per second (34,000 mph).
How sparse is space? In between things like comets, space only has a few atoms per cubic meter, typically just a few hydrogen atoms. If space were denser, light would struggle to make it to us. For example, light would be mostly blocked if there were billions of hydrogen atoms per cubic meter, or a mix of many millions of heavier atoms. To compare, air to humans seems transparent, like there’s nothing there. In reality, air has about 25 billion-billions of atoms per cubic meter and we have no trouble seeing light traveling many thousands of miles. To simplify, over the vastness of space, the density of our air would for sure block out distant galaxies. Bottom line, if the Voyager vehicles could travel through air, they can travel through space much easier.
While half inch rocks and even boulders are nearly invisible in space, and there was some question whether either might hit one, space is that vast and they did not. The successful operation of the Voyager spacecraft over decades now serves as practical validation of our understanding.
That Big Bang FAQ,
was first published on TST 1 year ago.
3.
Big Bang FAQ.
Yes, the color red is an empirical idea because it describes the material world directly. It describes what we sense, but it is an interesting example that demonstrates why are direct observations are never the complete story.
Red feels empirical because we really do see it. The color red is definitely an empirical idea that we see directly with our eyes. A red apple looks red. A stop sign looks red. Blood looks red. Something is clearly happening in the material world, and our experience is not imaginary. Light interacts with objects, some wavelengths are absorbed, others are reflected, and our eyes receive that reflected light.
But here is where the fine line appears between the empirical world and our rational-only ideas. The object is not carrying a little bucket of redness inside it. Rather, it reflects certain wavelengths, and our visual system turns that interaction into the color experience we call red. The band of visible light we call red is part of the material world, while the categorizing of that band into “red” belongs only to us.
Color is a good example of why we cannot perceive reality fully. Illusion in the West. Maya in the East.
Here are the details. In reality, a red apple is red because that is the dominant color the surface rejects. In a real way, one could say red is more accuratly the color a red apple is not.
The light band is real. The object is real. The perception is real. But the concept of “redness” is still a human idea about what is happening.
This is why color is such a useful metaphysical example. It shows how an idea can be deeply anchored in the material world and still not be identical to that world. It reminds us that even our most direct-seeming experiences are already partway into the human layer of thought. The world gives us something real through senses. The mind helps turn it into the world as we know it through perception.
Empirical ideas describe the material world through direct sensory contact or through tools that extend the senses, though those descriptions remain incomplete. Rational ideas describe the material world indirectly through abstraction, relation, pattern, and inference.
That Big Bang FAQ,
was first published on TST 4 months ago.
The end. Refresh for another set.
Wisdom Builder
(c) 2025-2026 TouchstoneTruth.
Content and coding by Michael Alan Prestwood.
(c) 2025-2026 TouchstoneTruth.
Content and coding by Michael Alan Prestwood.
