the story of more

 

.

The mass extinctions of long ago were dramatic periods of destabilization that resulted in widespread reorganization—exactly what we are starting to experience today. At the end of a mass extinction, the tree of life has lost several branches—and yet, afterward, life does go on. Plants regreen the earth and animals repopulate the oceans; different species take over and different landscapes result; and time resumes its relentless forward march.

There will be life on planet Earth after the sixth mass extinction, but we are not able to imagine it any better than the dinosaurs could have imagined a world dominated by mammals walking on two legs, driving bulldozers, and flying airplanes.


—Hope Jahren
The Story of More

.

In short, the greatness of nature, and the subtle and unspeakable care with which she works is a source of unending contemplation.


—Galileo
in a letter to Federico Cesi in 1624,
after gazing into a microscope for the first time

.