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8/8/2019 The Cosmology of the Contemporary American Educational System
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By Eileen McKusick
8/8/2019 The Cosmology of the Contemporary American Educational System
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Cosmology is the study of the Universe in its
totality, and by extension, humanity's place in it
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Our assumptions about the nature of realityand the Universe inform all of the sciences ²each and every human discipline is influenced
by our governing cosmology
It sets the stage
that the humandrama is played
out on
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´A cosmic creation story answers
the questions asked by children.
Where does everything come
from? Why do things die?
Children want to understand
their place in the universe.
They wonder about their roles.
They have an inherent need for
a cosmic story.µ
Brian Swimme
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She believed cosmological education and the sense of connection it engendered were of central importance inchildhood and could be introduced as early as age 6.
´Naturally within the child is a movement, a creative forceto develop themselves into splendid, beautiful human
beings in tune with the harmony of the cosmosµ.´Let us give the child a vision of the whole universe« for
all things are part of the universe and are connected witheach other to form one whole unityµ
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Our understanding of the Universe and ourrelationship to it gives rise to our values whichdefine and guide the choices we make.
The tribe is united by
its creation story,
by its cosmology.
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Each culture had an oral tradition of the storyof creation and of humans place in the universe
Religion was the defining cosmology in ourculture until the rise of the scientific revolution
God as the first cause
of the universe gave
way to «
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Big Bang Theory
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The universe began as infinitely tiny andinfinitely dense ² then it exploded and hasbeen expanding ever since- 13.7 billion years
Originally proposed by Roman Catholic Bishopand scholar Georges Lemaître in 1927
Confirmed by Edwin Hubble·s 1929
observation that the universe is expanding .He is responsible for what is now known as´Hubble·s Lawµ
Roman Catholic Bishop)
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Two ideas provide the backdrop
for the commonly held belief that
the Universe is expanding:
Redshift ( how much of the visible starlight is at thered end of the light spectrum ) is proportional to distance and that it is an indicator of velocity
The larger an object's redshift the farther away it isand the faster it is moving away from the observer.
However, Hubble always said ´ifµ«
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Took cosmology out of the realm of story, religion,
metaphysics and the domain of the common
person and turned it into an elite science.
Precise calculations for determining the speed at
which the universe was expanding and the
distance of the stars from us became the defining
aspects of cosmology.
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Cosmology nowdefined bymathematicians inincomprehensibleformulas
No cosmologyeducation orstories
Can you find yourplace in thisequation?
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Matter is composed of discrete particles ² solidbuilding blocks
The universe and everything in it is machine-like implying a creator who was separate fromcreation
Everything is separate from everything else No need for a god active in daily affairs
Created the spiritual vacuum we have today
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Meaningless, inconsequential life
Sound doesn·t travel through the emptyvacuum of space² we are all alone in the
universe and no one can hear us
Sun is a thermonuclear furnace burning itself out; the universe is winding down and is
going to die Black holes suck in light
Dark matter and dark energy lurk unseen
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Educated into a sense of emptiness anddisconnection - education prepares us to be goodconsumers
Belief in ¶hard work· keeps people working so they
can be good consumers Marketplace has taken the place of the cosmos Education is largely reductionist, looking at the
pieces of everything but not at how they interact asa whole.
It·s no longer anyone·s job to consider the big picture as cosmology has been hijacked by themathematicians.
Specialists are rewarded and compensated.
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No longer see the earth as a ´nurturing motherµ
Exploit nature and each other
Economy is more important than ecology
Social Darwinism leads to survival of the fittest² competition rather than cooperation
A sense of isolationism, powerlessness,disconnectedness and meaninglessness
A ´Cosmology of Separationµ
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Max Planck, uponaccepting the NobelPrize for physics in
1918 said, "We havenow discovered thatthere is no such thing as matter, it is all just
different rates of vibration designed byan unseenintelligence.µ
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´Isolated material particles are abstractions,their properties being definable and observableonly through their interaction with other
systemsµ Niels Bohr An elementary particle is not an independently
existing entity. It is, in essence, a set of relationships that reach outward to other
things.Frijtof Capra
Shift from objects to relationships
T hings should be defined not by what it is
in itself but by its relations to other things
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The behavior of any part isdetermined by its nonlocalconnections to the whole
Electrons do not have objective
properties independent of the mindof the observer In atomic physics the sharp division
between mind and matter, betweenobserver and observed can no longer be maintained
Universe is a connected web of relationships but how is itconnected?
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People have been talking about this awarenessof connectivity for decades, but little has reallychanged. What is missing is the larger view,
the cosmic backdrop. Regardless of thequantum view of connectivity, we still live in acold disconnected mechanical
gravity-driven vacuum of space-
Or do we?
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´The cosmic theatre has outgrown the Newtonianstage, and we need a larger setting to understandthe broader cosmic drama. Instead of a vision of isolated bodies turning gear-like in a vacuum, weneed a vision of electrical circuits embedded in aconducting medium whose components drive eachother and may be in resonance. We have left thefamiliar world of solids, liquids and gasses. We
have entered a world of plasma, where the rulesare different and more complex. We now live in anElectric Universe."
From ´The Electric Universeµ
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Acknowledges the electrodynamic force in theuniverse. Contends space is not electricallyneutral.
Everything is connected through electriccurrent conducting plasma filaments(Birkeland currents). Plasma fills interstellarand interplanetary space.
No need for big bangs, black holes or invisibledark matter and dark energy in an electricuniverse model ² force of electrical interactionsis far far greater than gravity alone.
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EU Theorists have made accurate predictions for stellarevents that have ´surprisedµ mainstream cosmologistsand astrophysicists.
The theory and proponents are ridiculed and deniedaccess to telescopes and technology. NASA will notfund any research that does not support the Big Bang.
´Like the church of Galileo·s day, refusing to open its eyes to
any version of the order of the cosmos but its own, today·sastrophysicists have closed their eyes and minds toobservations that may disprove their dogmaµ.
Donald Scott ´The Electric Skyµ
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If EU theory is correct,all things areconnected at the
Quantum, Cosmicand ordinary realitylevels ² in an electrickind of way
The actions of everyone impact theeverything
Celtic symbol for unity
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If everything is connected and the actions of everything affect everything else, how does ourknowing this influence our values?
A
sense of cosmic values and responsibilities canhelp us transcend the selfish and insignificantconcerns of our culture.
xCooperation
xCommunity
xReverence
xRespect
x Stewardship
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Scott, Donald ´The Electric Skyµ
Thornhill, Wal ´The Electric Universeµ
Capra, Frijtof ´The Turning Pointµ
Ostrom, Martin, & Zachartis, ´Autopoisesis and the Cosmology of
PostmodernAdult Educationµ, Adult Education Quarterly,Aug 2008
Schaefer, Patricia, ´Emerging Adolescence: Finding One·s Place inthe Cosmosµ, T he N AMTA Journal, 3/2000
Swimme, Brian, ´The Resurgence of the Cosmic Storytellersµ, The
N AMTA Journal, 12/1998 Root-Bernstein, McEachron, ´Teaching Theories: The Evolution-
Creation Controversyµ, T he American Biology T eacher ,Oct 1982
