Evolution of a thought

We all stand on the shoulders of giants.

Past knowledge serves us as foundations for the future leaps. But it is important to understand where that past knowledge came from. Understanding those fundamentals gives us deep insights into the future leaps that are feasible.

How did we realise the universe was larger than we thought, what was the leap of thought?

In the 1500’s there was a supernova event. Supernovas are so bright it can be seen during the day. It lights up the night sky and depending on the distance can look like a pretty huge star. Obviously, after the explosion over time, the energy will dissipate and the light will fade.

At the time, the prevailing theory was that there is a disc of fixed stars that envelop the earth at a distance. When the supernova event was sighted and it dimmed away, it did not fit into that model.

The question - what the fuck just happened?

Based on prevailing knowledge, one of the suggestions made was perhaps this star was a passing star and grew in brightness when it moves close and dimmed as it moved away. This was radical shift from the fixed sphere model. The possibility of the universe being larger than what we thought and more distributed arose out of this one incident.

We have learnt a great deal since but it is important to know that this was the moment in time where the question of the grandness of the universe got re-evaluated. It is important to keep revisiting the foundations of how a thought evolved in order to take the leap to the next level. It helps you identify flaws in thinking, if any, as well.

Your ability to innovate, to develop, to grow depends on your understanding of where things started out.

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