Archive for the ‘minecraft’ Tag

Merry Christmas Minecraft style!

Thursday, December 26th, 2013

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We are all made of stars

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

Everything on earth is made up of molecules that in turn are made up of atoms, or elements. The nuclear reaction inside the core of a star burns hydrogen to produce some heavier versions of hydrogen, then helium. It is a complicated process and takes the whole life cycle of the star to produce even heavier elements. For example, lithium is produced in brown dwarfs and carbon takes place in a set of nuclear fusion reactions inside massive stars.

Our bodies are made up from the same elements. It is not wrong to think that stars made the basic building blocks of our bodies. Then, a master craftsman arranged them in a special way that the elements function together for some purpose, just like in Minecraft you can craft staff from other elements. Now the master craftsman and his like can inhabit the bodies to play the game.

However, let’s not forget where we come from. The Sun is our closest star. The Sun gives life to all living creatures on earth including us. Without it, nothing would be alive. Think about it. Plants and other creatures like phytoplankton, rely on the sunlight for the photosynthesis process to make them grow. These plants make or become food for animals, and humans. Animals are also food for other animals that are higher up in the food chain – this includes humans who consider themselves right on top of the food chain. Looking back through the food chain, we are still “eating” sunlight, or depending on it for life.

So the Sun not only gave us the bodies, but also nourishes and sustains them. Without sunlight, our bodies would not make vitamin D. The Sun could be a highly intelligent and altruistic entity. It does not discriminate about who gets its life-giving energy. It shines on good and evil without judgement. The ancients were not wrong by worshiping the Sun.

Having said that, I now realise that it was not just the ancients. I have been born and raised as a Catholic but have been worshiping the Sun all my life. So are billions of others, without even realising it. Every time they pray and say Amen at the end they give worship to the Egyptian sun-god Amun, which was also sometimes spelled Amen.

As you can see, you’re not just a mortal human. You’re made of the same stuff as the planet earth and made by the stars. I’m sure the ancients knew all this…