TianaTate

12/17/14
HonorsCalculus
QCCQ

QQuote
Theydonteveknowthattheyarethere.Theyaremindlessparticles,afterall,andnot
eventhemselvesalive.Yetsomehowfortheperiodofyourexistencetheywillanswerto
asingleoverarchingimpulse:tokeepyouyouBillBrysonfromAShortHistoryof
NearlyEverythingpg.10.

CComment
Inthisquote,BillBrysonisdescribingtheimportanceofatomsinthehumanbodyand
theworldaroundus,especiallysinceatomsmakeupeverythingaroundus.Bryson
goesintodetailofmanyscenariosofthesignificanceofatoms.Heillustratesthe
existencesoftheworldwithatoms.Fromthebook,Brysoncreatesaimageofhow
somethingsosimpleasanatomcancreatesuchauniversethatwelivewhichisso
massiveandcomplex.

CConnection
IneverreallybelievedinsciencepastfromwhatIvelearnedfromclassesinmiddleand
highschool,sinceIamstronginmyfaithasaChristianIneverbelievedorwantedto
believeinthebigbangtheoryoranyformofevolutionatall.Myopinion/stancehasnt
changedonthatbutfromreadingAShortHistoryofNearlyEverythingIlearnedmore
abouttheexistenceofatomsintheworldandinourbodyinmydetailandcontext.I
learnedthesignificanceofeveryatomthatcreatesmybody.Fromreadingthepassage:
HowtoBuildaUniverseinthebookalsomademethinkmoreabouthowcomplexlife
is.Everythingisntassimpleasitseems.Somanythingsarehappeningineffectjustso
Icanbreatheonebreathofairtolive.BecauseofBillBrysonIhaveaverynew
perspectiveonlifeandeverythingaroundme,frombothascientificandreligiouspoint
ofview.

QQuestions
Sinceatomsareconstantlyrearrangingandformingintosomethingelseallthetime,
howlongwillittakefortheatomsintheworlddie?