The universe inside us

…Andrew Davison, a theologian at the University of Oxford who has written about the implications of extraterrestrial life, said in an interview that one of the “great provocations” of the cosmos is that, in it, “human beings seem unbelievably small, but also it bears witness to our greatness.”

He added, “We are a kind of being that can have that whole universe inside us, in our thoughts.”

For many astronauts, what begins as a scientific endeavor becomes something spiritual. Frank White, a space philosopher, coined the term “the overview effect” in 1987 to describe the shift in perspective that some astronauts said came from viewing Earth as merely one small sphere in an endless expanse...

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/us/artemis-landing-splashdown-moon.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

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The Brain—is wider than the Sky— 

For—put them side by side— 

The one the other will contain 

With ease—and you—beside— 

The Brain is deeper than the sea— 

For—hold them—Blue to Blue— 

The one the other will absorb— 

As sponges—Buckets—do— 

The Brain is just the weight of God— 

For—Heft them—Pound for Pound— A

nd they will differ—if they do— 

As Syllable from Sound

— Emily Dickinson, c. 1862