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Skepticism

by Rob Rey

“The scientific way of thinking is at once imaginative and disciplined. This is central to its success. Science invites us to let the facts in, even when they don’t conform to our preconceptions. It counsels us to carry alternative hypotheses in our heads and see which best fit the facts. It urges on us a delicate balance between no-holds-barred openness to new ideas, however heretical, and the most rigorous sceptical scrutiny of everything – new ideas and established wisdom. This kind of thinking is also an essential tool for a democracy in an age of change.

One of the reasons for its success is that science has built-in, error-correcting machinery at its very heart. Some may consider this an overbroad characterization, but to me every time we exercise self-criticism, every time we test our ideas against the outside world, we are doing science. When we are self-indulgent and uncritical, when we confuse hopes and facts, we slide into pseudoscience and superstition.”

– Carl Sagan (The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark)

Oil on Panel
6 x 8 inches

$350 $350

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Rob Rey

Art to help make science a more meaningful part of our lives.

Cosmic Perspective is using the insights of modern science to see the big picture of the world and our place in it with a sense of belonging and connection. It’s understanding our scale within the universe - being humbled by a grand and awe-inspiring expanse of space and deep time. But it’s also seeing the very small with a sense of wonder for the staggering complexity of biology, chemistry, and quantum mechanics. Making an effort to comprehend the cosmos has a way of putting our lives, troubles, and pride in a helpful frame of reference, allowing us to refocus on what matters most. When we see the Earth as a lonely blue speck of oasis, it naturally sparks feelings of fellowship with all other earthlings. Through this panoramic lens, our terrestrial disputes and nationalist contentions are reduced to insignificance. Empathy and compassion become obvious ways to relate to one another.

In a time when our traditional sources of meaning are growing less resonant, Cosmic Perspective provides a new and inspiring scientific origin story of humanity, united by our shared atomic history as stardust. It provides a sense of kinship with all life on earth in our shared genetic evolution over four billion years of development. It provides a sense of belonging and responsibility as a crew member on this spaceship Earth, of which humanity now sits at the helm. It provides hope in our capacity to reason and understand the cosmos of which we are part, giving us new powers to cure disease and improve our lives. It provides us with purpose and necessitates cooperation to preserve and cherish our tiny planet, the only habitable place we know to exist.

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