For school I got to read A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking, which explains some of the crazier aspects of physics so that the ordinary person can understand. This rather humorous quote appears near the beginning of the book. Sometimes, I wish that we could all return to a simpler age, when it was acceptable to believe that the world sat on the back of a turtle.

Some decades ago, a well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: “What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant turtle.” The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, “What is the turtle standing on? “Your very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady, “But it’s turtles all the way down!”

Stephen Hawking, A Briefer History of Time

On my reading list this week:

Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffery Overstreet: The second book in the Auralia Thread. I’m really enjoying these books, and I find the fantasy world fresh and original.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens: Little-known fact about me: I absolutely love the Victorian era, Victorian London and generally all things Victorian. Including Charles Dickens books. I’m only halfway through the first chapter, but I’m already very intrigued. Charles Dickens is a true master of writing.

The Life of the Caterpillar by J. H. Faber: I’m doing this for school and I really like J. H. Faber’s books, even though I’m not a big fan of bugs. I also read another one of his books, The Life of the Spider, and I found it very interesting and informative, not like a dry, boring old textbook at all. My only regret is that many of the beautiful butterflies and moths that are described in The Life of the Caterpillar are only found in France.

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