In this topic I have learned so many things about our cosmos.

I learned the structure of

our cosmos: Earth – Solar System – Milky Way Galaxy – Virgo Supercluster – The Cosmos and
that our cosmos was created through a Big Bang. It was also said that the Sun doesn’t exist for
the first few months of the Cosmic Calendar. I also find it fascinating that humans have only
started to evolve within the last seconds of the Cosmic Calendar. What the episode set to do is
provide a sense of scale in space and time. First was to provide us a sense of our coordinates or
cosmic address in the universe–and even in the multiverse. From the corona of the Sun to the
jewels of the planets, not to mention Pluto. The Oort cloud was also presented, but of course the
scale quickly widened to include the local galaxies, our supercluster of galaxies, the edges of the
observable universe. After this came a historical interlude about the famed martyr for scientific
inquiry, Giordano Bruno. The animation style I thought was brilliant and really enjoyed it. But
most importantly, it put into scale just how little time human history has been around
comparatively–a matter of seconds compared to the cosmic year. But there are some things I
believe some will find in somethings fault. In particular, the story of Bruno was at the center of
the episode, especially his ordeals and final execution by the Catholic Church. Now, Bruno had a
lot more than the infinity of the worlds used against him in charges of heresy, but it would be
strange to deny that it was a reason that he was put to death. After all, it was one of the reason
the Inquisition said he was a heretic. Still, it’s hard to imagine the church would have gone after
him on just the infinity of worlds, and there were lots of other charges of theological nature.
Those things were mentioned, but they were hardly highlighted like Bruno’s cosmological
beliefs. In reality, what Cosmos did here was a reasonable balance on the history of science and
its interactions with religious authority. It notes that Bruno was not only charged based on a
cosmological view; it notes that Bruno was not really a scientist. And what it did was show that
this was a time when free inquiry was stifled. That is absolutely true. Scientific or not, the
problem was that you were not allowed to have the wrong views, and they could get you killed.
And in that, Bruno remains a martyr for free inquiry and bravely standing up for what you
believe to be right based on your own reasoning. Of course, had Bruno been wrong he is unlikely
to have been remembered; that heliocentrism was correct should vindicate him. But as was said
in the episode, you should question everything and go wherever the evidence leads. It is in that
which we can justifiably condemn the Inquisition for stamping out inquiry and not allowing
assumptions to be questioned. Those assumptions may be right, but if they must be protected by
force then progress and understanding will remain impossible and we would not have our
modern world. So, the science vs. religion question is not provided with great nuance, but that
makes sense since it wasn’t religion being questioned but religious authority. The point is not
about religion, but about an authority using something like religion to squash inquiry.

To conclude, this video is very educational and I have indeed learned many things about cosmos.
I eagerly await the other videos about cosmos and hope to see some great science and stories.