Astrophysics and huckleberries. Wes Janssen.

streams in the desert. wolves on a wild shoreline. the deep, icy sky at night. fragments from my journey among the stars*. "As soon as man does not take his existence for granted, but beholds is as something unfathomably mysterious, thought begins." - Albert Schweitzer

cosmological science | big backyard | absolute truth | mountain lion | book reviews | wildlife photos

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ever hear a science fiction fan triumphantly pronounce that "the science fiction of today is the science of tomorrow"? for the most part, it's not a demonstrably reasonable statement. the science fiction of today is an entertainment product containing very little appeal to the analytical mind**, and the science-fiction of tomorrow will look a great deal like the science fiction of today. ** (as an example consider those nifty sound effects when a starship fires its 'photon torpedoes' or when a starship is blown up. in the absence of a medium to conduct sound waves, as is the case in space, there is no sound. i mean no offense to the reader who enjoys sci-fi, and who at this point may be protesting -- "lighten-up, it's just fantasy, just fun stuff." i have nothing against fun [per se]. fun is fun. for some fans however, it seems that science-fiction is embraced as an alternative science and as a philosophical footing. i just have fun pointing out that this is quite silly. and in that vein, i continue to have fun...) ever see a star trek tv show where the chief engineering officer informs the captain that the starship enterprise has lost power and therefore has "stopped dead" in space? perhaps the engineer should enroll in a high school physics class. newton knew three hundred years ago that if the starship enterprise were cruising at 'warp factor 2', [ignoring that his skeptical mind would demand to know exactly what a warp factor is] and its engines lost all power, it would continue to move in uniform motion until something with sufficient mass or energy changed its motion. einstein's relativity informs us that at no time could the enterprise, or any other physical object, actually be motionless. this concept is not an esoteric abstraction, it is easily demonstrated: let us suppose that the starship has been described as having "stopped dead" in intergalactic space. we must ask -- stopped dead relative to what? if the position of the craft is not changing relative to a given galaxy, or other object (and this is the only way in which the engineer and captain might perceive the craft as having come to a stop), this means that the starship's trajectory and velocity are identical to this object -- this object which is not at rest, rather it is moving away from or toward each of the universe's hundred billion plus galaxies. when our captain asks his navigator to check the craft's position relative to another object, he will find that the starship is either tending toward this object or away from it and is not "stopped dead" in space. (okay, you're not so sure. "what about the 'constellations'," you ask. "they've been 'there' for ages," you say. but 'there' is, of course, relative. these local stars actually move along vectors highly similar to our Earthly journey through space. more distant objects seem not to move because of the distance involved and the insensitivity of casual observation).

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i am presently developing ideas for this site. it will have a focus on quantum and astronomical physics, wildlife and wilderness conservation, philosophy, theology, logic, and good non-fiction reading, because these are my interests... the meditations and considerations of one infinitely more impressed with the majestic doings of God than the small, desperate doings of man.

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it is my desire to promote an honest, broad skepticism (by which I mean merely a methodological skepticism, not a dogmatic skepticism which is ultimately self-contradictory). should you examine my writings about issues of science and philosophy, i hope that this broad skepticism is apparent. first and last, an honest skepticism must examine itself. in the absence of this self examination, all so-called skepticism and so-called "thinking" is a fog of self deception. the 'cutting edge' of our advancing knowledge is also the border to the great realm of our ignorance. as the old truism states -- the more i know, the more i know what i don't know. yet we cannot say that all is uncertain, for such a statement is logically self-contradictory. Solomon said, "whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." well said. let us then resist stupidity as best we can.

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"A person starts to live when he can live outside himself." - Albert Einstein "Is not the absence of inwardness also lunacy?" - Soren Kierkegaard

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contemplating coniferae, considering corvidae, conjoining with cactaceae. oooo, that's gonna leave a mark ... click on the roadrunner to traverse the mountainsides and deserts of my "big backyard"...

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photos on this page: Coyote Canyon and Sheep Canyon Creek, Anza-Borrego Desert, San Diego County, California. Kayaking in Clayoquot Sound, western Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Killer whales (orca), San Juan Islands, Washington. nuts and bolts: This site is best viewed in at least 800 by 600 pixels (1024 x 768 preferred) and at least 24-bit color. The pages that contain the most images will load slower (not an issue for broadband surfers). I hope that the site is easy to navigate. Welcome to my small collection of photons.

family photos: page 1. page 2.

night sky photos: click.