Science educator‚ astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson has an incredible talent for taking complex ideas about the cosmos and making them more accessible for the average person to understand.In a clip from a conversation with Steve Berlett on the “Diary of a CEO Podcast‚” Tyson flips the script and uses the cosmos to help us better understand ourselves. But there’s one big problem getting in the way of coming to this universal understanding: our egos.“Your ego is incompatible with the cosmic perspective‚” Tyson says in the clip. “The cosmic perspective shows you how small we are‚ in size‚ in time‚ in space‚ and if you go in with a high ego‚ you might resist that. You might say‚ ‘No‚ I'm important.’ But I think of it differently.”Tyson believes we can push past the feeling of insignificance that comes with understanding the vastness of the universe by realizing how we are inseparable from everything in the cosmos.“We know one of the greatest gifts of modern astrophysics to civilization‚ dare I call it a gift‚ is the knowledge that the atoms of your body are traceable‚ not only to The Big Bang‚ origin of the universe itself‚ but especially to stars that manufactured those elements and later in their lives‚ on death‚ exploded scattering that enrichment across gas clouds‚” Tyson says in the clip. “So that their next generation of stars would have planets. And on at least one of those planets‚ life.”“So‚ we are not just figuratively‚ we are literally stardust‚” he continues. “You have kingship with the cosmos. That feeling to me is greater than any other you could have possibly walked into the room with.”The notion that we are made of stardust isn’t entirely new‚ but it needs to be repeated so every generation can understand. Astronomer Carl Sagan popularized it in his 1973 book “The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective” in the following passage:“Our Sun is a second- or third-generation star. All of the rocky and metallic material we stand on‚ the iron in our blood‚ the calcium in our teeth‚ the carbon in our genes were produced billions of years ago in the interior of a red giant star. We are made of star-stuff.”Sagan hosted TV’s original “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980-81). Tyson hosted the follow-ups‚ “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” (2014) and “Cosmos: Possible Worlds” (2020).Tyson argues that connection with the universe is what makes us special. Not the unique qualities and characteristics that we have been taught to value. For the astrophysicist‚ being of this universe and made of such formidable material is enough for us to consider ourselves special.“So why not look around and say‚ ‘I'm not special because I'm different. I'm special because I'm the same as you‚ as others‚ as the tree‚ as the brook‚ as the animals‚ you know‚ the woodland creatures‚” Tyson said. “And we can all sit here and look up at the night sky and say‚ 'Yes‚ we have kinship with the cosmos.' I feel large because of that‚ not small.”

Matthew Ables’ family had a Magic Kingdom coupon book from 1978 sitting in a desk drawer and he thought it was an old souvenir. "It's been collecting dust since before I was born and I always assumed it was an old family keepsake until I realized that it's never been used and there's no expiration date‚" he said while inspecting the ticket book with a magnifying glass‚ in a TikTok video with over 9 million views. “Which means I've either found the golden ticket here‚ or I'm delusional thinking that the Mouse is going to let me use it to get inside nearly half a century later‚” he continued.So‚ he flew to Orlando‚ Florida‚ to see if it would work.I tried getting into Disney World using a 46 year old ticket #disneyworld #disney #themepark #funny #fyp @matthewables I tried getting into Disney World using a 46 year old ticket #disneyworld #disney #themepark #funny #fyp Upon arriving at a ticket booth at the Magic Kingdom‚ Matthew got nervous because the woman who worked there began "aggressively" stamping “VOID” on his coupon book and then left. Luckily‚ she returned with a yellow ticket he could use to get into the park.It’s fantastic that Disney honored the ticket even though it was 46 years old. Especially because today‚ that would have cost $164‚ which shows that Disney World prices have risen much‚ much higher than inflation.If ticket prices rose with inflation‚ it would only cost $37.64 to get into the Magic Kingdom in 2024.Some of the commenters on the video noted that people showing up with extremely old tickets isn’t uncommon at Disney parks. "I used to work Magic Kingdom Guest Relations. This exact scenario would happen a few times a week!" Allison wrote.

The epitome of authentic rock and roll. The post Ann Wilson: The singer Chris Cornell called “a vocal force of nature” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

Wayne Kramer‚ co-founder‚ guitarist‚ and singer for Detroit’s legendary MC5 has died (on 2/2/24) at the age of 75. MC5’s first three albums (the live “Kick Out The Jams” featuring the title track – 1969‚ “Back In The U.S.A. – 1970 and “High Times” – 1971) are widely regarded as landmark Punk oriented Rock albums. “His band the MC5 basically invented Punk Rock music and was the only act to not chicken out and performed for the rioting protestors at the 1968 Dem National Convention‚” wrote Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello. The post MC5’s Wayne Kramer Has Died appeared first on RockinTown.

Avenged Sevenfold’s’ immersive interactive concert‚ created in collaboration with AmazeVR‚ will be released on Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest on February 28th. Frontman M. Shadows said the experience “will resemble a cross between a music video‚ live concert and first-person video game.” AmazeVR’s Avenged Sevenfold’s concert experience has viewers donning ski goggle-like VR headsets to watch the band’s performance‚ which was filmed last year.  “When you go play a show‚ there’s something about that that can never be replaced‚” added M. Shadows. “So it’s about fully stepping into what the tech does well‚ and then fully stepping into what the live show does well.” The post Avenged Sevenfold’s Interactive Concert To Arrive This Month appeared first on RockinTown.