[wild_pointer]

"The knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on earth - the atoms that make up the human body, are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures. These stars- the high mass ones among them- went unstable in their later years- they collapsed and then exploded- scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy- guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself. These ingredients become part of gas clouds that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems- stars with orbiting planets. And those planets now have the ingredients for life itself. So that when I look up at the night sky, and I know that yes we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up- many people feel small, cause their small and the universe is big. But I feel big because my atoms came from those stars."

[carlsagat]

This is the most beautiful explanation that I've heard for a long time (:

[3cats-in-a-coat]

Not quite as beautiful and eloquent as the original "we are made of stardust" quote by Carl Sagan that Neil deGrasse Tyson is aping here.

[denton-scratch]

> Not quite as beautiful and eloquent as the original

The "original" would be Joni Mitchell's Woodstock, no?

[tejohnso]

Here are a couple of videos of Neil deGrasse Tyson orating this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rY1atSks2o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXn9JHMzvY0

[chasil]

If you want to get a little more technical about it...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNO_cycle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-process

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-process

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-process

[adidum]

And this can be taken a little further. That we humans are the only part of the universe, as far as we can tell at least, to be aware of all this. We are the part of the universe that allows it to look back at itself. If the universe is a body, we are the eyes of that body. Generally speaking of course. But I find this very empowering as a human being.

[layer8]

Those feelings themselves are just patterns formed by particles in the brain, though.

[dotancohen]

Possibly not the same particles, though. Baryonic matter condenses and undergoes nuclear transformations in the stars. But if our feelings and memories are electrical phenomenon then they were not formed in stars.

[agravier]

I think electrical activity in the brain is misunderstood. These electrical signals are not electrons moving along a wire, they are waves of depolarisation between the inside and inside of the cell membrane travelling along the axon or dendrites. The depolarisation is due to the activity of a bunch of ion pumps and channels that let ions pass between the inside and outside of the cell. Some of these ion channels are themselves voltage-gated, thereby further increasing the depolarisation in response to depolarisation, and propagating the signal that way.

So it's still mostly atoms moving in and out of cells. Still stardust.

[layer8]

It’s all just quantum fields anyway. Maybe it doesn’t matter that much which ones exactly, from an ontological point of view. ;)

[layer8]

Obviously, the patterns weren’t formed in stars. My point is, if you are admiring the body being a pattern formed of particles coming from the stars, realize that the admiration is itself also just such a pattern (as is that realization).

[smegger001]

From a certain point of veiw we are nothing but a 3d cellular automata made of subatomic particles in a most extensive run of conways game of life.

[spamtarget]

not, if the Copenhagen interpretation is right

[RHSman2]

It used to rock me to anxiety. Now it feels me with peace.

[icu]

Beautifully put, thank you

[RHSman2]

‘Fills’ even.