Time crawls, until suddenly, it races.

Have you heard of the ghost elephants?

The rare find is in surprisingly good condition.

About a century ago, scientists were struggling to reconcile what seemed a contradiction in Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Published in 1915, and already widely accepted worldwide by physicists and mathematicians, the theory assumed the universe was static – unchanging, unmoving and immutable. In short, Einstein believed the size and shape of the universe today was, more or less, the same size and shape it had always been. But when astronomers looked into the night sky at faraway galaxies with powerful telescopes, they saw hints the universe was anything but that. These new observations suggested the opposite – that it was, instead, expanding. Scientists soon realized Einstein’s theory didn’t actually say the universe had to be static; the theory could support an expanding universe as well. Indeed, by using the same mathematical tools provided by Einstein’s theory, scientists created new models that showed the universe was, in fact, dynamic and evolving. I’ve spent decades trying to understand general relativity, including in my current job as a physics professor teaching courses on the subject. I know wrapping your head around the idea of an ever-expanding universe can feel daunting – and part of the challenge is overriding your natural intuition about how things work. For instance, it’s hard to imagine something as big as the universe not having a center at all, but physics says that’s the reality. The space between galaxies First, let’s define what’s meant by “expansion.” On Earth, “expanding” means something is getting bigger. And in regard to the universe, that’s true, sort of. Expansion might also mean “everything is getting farther from us,” which is also true with regard to the universe. Point a telescope at distant galaxies and they all do appear to be moving away from us. What’s more, the farther away they are, the faster they appear to be moving. Those galaxies also seem to be moving away from each other. So it’s more accurate to say that everything in the universe is getting farther away from everything else, all at once. This idea is subtle but critical. It’s easy to think about the creation of the universe like exploding fireworks: Start with a big bang, and then all the galaxies in the universe fly out in all directions from some central point. But that analogy isn’t correct. Not only does it falsely imply that the expansion of the universe started from a single spot, which it didn’t, but it also suggests that the galaxies are the things that are moving, which isn’t entirely accurate. It’s not so much the galaxies that are moving away from each other – it’s the space between galaxies, the fabric of the universe itself, that’s ever-expanding as time goes on. In other words, it’s not really the galaxies themselves that are moving through the universe; it’s more that the universe itself is carrying them farther away as it expands. A common analogy is to imagine sticking some dots on the surface of a balloon. As you blow air into the balloon, it expands. Because the dots are stuck on the surface of the balloon, they get farther apart. Though they may appear to move, the dots actually stay exactly where you put them, and the distance between them gets bigger simply by virtue of the balloon’s expansion. Now think of the dots as galaxies and the balloon as the fabric of the universe, and you begin to get the picture. Unfortunately, while this analogy is a good start, it doesn’t get the details quite right either. It’s the space between the dots that’s growing. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech The 4th dimension Important to any analogy is an understanding of its limitations. Some flaws are obvious: A balloon is small enough to fit in your hand – not so the universe. Another flaw is more subtle. The balloon has two parts: its latex surface and its air-filled interior. These two parts of the balloon are described differently in the language of mathematics. The balloon’s surface is two-dimensional. If you were walking around on it, you could move forward, backward, left, or right, but you couldn’t move up or down without leaving the surface. Now it might sound like we’re naming four directions here – forward, backward, left and right – but those are just movements along two basic paths: side to side and front to back. That’s what makes the surface two-dimensional – length and width. The inside of the balloon, on the other hand, is three-dimensional, so you’d be able to move freely in any direction, including up or down – length, width and height. This is where the confusion lies. The thing we think of as the “center” of the balloon is a point somewhere in its interior, in the air-filled space beneath the surface. Trying to figure out how the universe works? Start by contemplating a balloon. But in this analogy, the universe is more like the latex surface of the balloon. The balloon’s air-filled interior has no counterpart in our universe, so we can’t use that part of the analogy – only the surface matters. So asking, “Where’s the center of the universe?” is somewhat like asking, “Where’s the center of the balloon’s surface?” There simply isn’t one. You could travel along the surface of the balloon in any direction, for as long as you like, and you’d never once reach a place you could call its center because you’d never actually leave the surface. In the same way, you could travel in any direction in the universe and would never find its center because, much like the surface of the balloon, it simply doesn’t have one. Part of the reason this can be so challenging to comprehend is because of the way the universe is described in the language of mathematics. The surface of the balloon has two dimensions, and the balloon’s interior has three, but the universe exists in four dimensions. Because it’s not just about how things move in space, but how they move in time. Our brains are wired to think about space and time separately. But in the universe, they’re interwoven into a single fabric, called “space-time.” That unification changes the way the universe works relative to what our intuition expects. And this explanation doesn’t even begin to answer the question of how something can be expanding indefinitely – scientists are still trying to puzzle out what powers this expansion. So in asking about the center of the universe, we’re confronting the limits of our intuition. The answer we find – everything, expanding everywhere, all at once – is a glimpse of just how strange and beautiful our universe is. Rob Coyne, Teaching Professor of Physics, University of Rhode Island This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The post The Universe Has No Center: Astrophysicist Explains Why appeared first on Anomalien.com.

What’s the connection between Angel Reese winning the BET Sportswoman of the Year Award for the third year in a row and the anti-ICE riots currently raging in Los Angeles?Most would say nothing, but Jason Whitlock sees a common thread: Both reflect a calculated strategy, led by black feminist women, to antagonize white evangelical Christian conservatives and deepen cultural divides. To explain what’s going on in California, Jason points to a 2018 Netflix documentary series titled “Wild Wild Country,” which tells the story of an Indian guru named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh who, after experiencing government pushback, moved his “religious sex cult” out of India and into rural Oregon after reading the U.S. Constitution.Rajneesh figured he could “pull these shenanigans in America and use the U.S. Constitution to set up [his] own little sanctuary city,” Jason explains. Over time, as the commune grew, leaders began recruiting homeless Americans, busing them in from multiple states, in order to “change the voting demographic in Oregon.”Jason reminds that “the census doesn’t care if you’re a legal or an illegal U.S. resident” when determining how many congressional seats a state receives.California, one of the deepest blue states on the map, is fiercely protecting their illegal aliens because millions of deportations would amount to less seats in the House and thus less legislative power. Like Rajneesh, “people on the left have read the Constitution” and have decided to “game the system.”Rajneesh’s plot, however, didn’t end well for anyone. Pushback from locals culminated in the cult launching the largest bioterrorism attack in U.S. history. They also committed immigration fraud, attempted murder, voter suppression through busing and sedating homeless people, and wiretapping.Violence and chaos in the streets of L.A. as ICE conducts lawful raids and deportations is the modern day equivalent, Jason says.But what does all this have to do with Angel Reese?“The reason why they’re getting away with [these riots] is because there is a mentality pervasive in America that black women are at the root of,” says Jason. “You could see it last night at the BET Awards.”“Anything that trolls and/or bothers the so-called white evangelical Christian conservative man — there’s a group of people led by black women who think that’s a positive,” he explains.Last night at the BET Awards, which were hosted in Los Angeles, California, Doechii, who won Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, used her acceptance speech to criticize President Trump for “using military forces to stop a protest.”“I feel it’s my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people — for black people, for Latino people, for trans people, for the people in Gaza,” she added, as the crowd erupted into “wild applause.”Jason says Doechii’s speech was anything but authentic, as she, like many other celebrities, was likely “installed” in order to “influence the masses into idiocy.” These installed icons, who have “taken a check,” he explains, are there to influence the black community to support insidious ideologies by claiming “it’s the black thing to do.” As an added bonus, these ideologies antagonize the white conservative evangelical community, which Jason says is the supreme goal of black feminist women.Reese — even though she can “barely make layups” and is an “embarrassment to the WNBA” — won Sportswoman of the Year for the third consecutive year precisely because she “antagonizes white Chrisian men and conservatives,” he argues. She, too, has been purposefully installed as part of the revolution against white conservatives, Whitlock claims.Both Reese’s award and the anti-ICE L.A. riots are orchestrated to exploit racial tensions, Whitlock explains, serving a destructive agenda to undermine conservative values and American unity.To hear more of his theory, watch the episode above.Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Rap artist Doechii used her victory speech at the Black Entertainment Television Awards to go on the attack against the policies of President Donald Trump and garnered a lot of support from the audience. Doechii, whose real name is Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon, won the award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist and then launched into an invective against the president on Monday evening. 'I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.' “As much as I’m honored by this award, I do want to address what’s happening right now outside of the building," said Hickmon at the Peabody Theatre in Los Angeles. “There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order,” she added. “Trump is using military forces to stop a protest, and I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”RELATED: Hollywood director defends child drag shows during rambling Oscars victory speech Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images "What type of government is that? People are getting swept up and torn from their families, and I feel it's my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people," she continued. "For black people, for Latino people, for trans people, for the people in Gaza, we all deserve to live in hope and not in fear. And I hope we stand together, my brothers and my sisters, against hate, and we protest against it!" she concluded. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

For decades, academic leaders insisted on "neutrality" when it came to life’s most important questions — whether God exists, what defines the highest good, and how to live a virtuous life. But that neutrality was always a ruse. Now the roof is caving in.In Los Angeles, rioters burn police cars, wave foreign flags, and earn praise from elected officials who call them “peaceful demonstrators.” These aren’t isolated incidents. They reflect the long-term effects of a philosophy cultivated on campus and subsidized by taxpayers.The neutrality myth has run its course. The wolves are no longer pretending to be sheep.The recent unrest didn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s the predictable bloom of a poisonous seed — one we let grow under the false belief that the First Amendment demands silence in the face of subversion. It doesn’t. And this strategy from America’s enemies didn’t begin last week. It’s been unfolding for decades.Attacking the American orderArizona State University, the nation’s largest public university, offers a snapshot of the broader national crisis. It imports professors from elite graduate programs and churns out activist graduates steeped in a worldview that condemns the United States as irredeemably evil.Look at the student organizations ASU endorses — like MEChA, whose stated mission reads like a political ultimatum:“[We] devote ourselves to ending settler colonialism, anti-Black racism, heteronormativity, borders and prisons because our liberation does not exist until these legacies of colonization are abolished.”In 2024, ASU suspended the campus chapter of the far-left Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán — and only suspended them — after the group declared, “Death to the ‘Israeli’ entity! Death to the ‘American’ entity! Long live Palestine! Long live Turtle Island!”("Turtle Island" refers to a Native American creation myth that North and Central America rest on the back of a giant turtle.)Despite the suspension, MEChA remains listed as an active club on campus. The group still enjoys faculty support.This isn’t about revising reading lists or replacing Shakespeare with indigenous poetry. “Decolonizing the curriculum” masks a much larger goal: revolution. This is a coalition of radicals — communists, LGBTQ+ activists, pro-Mexico nationalists, anti-Semitic “Free Palestine” organizers, land acknowledgment militants, and Islamist groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations — who align not because they share values, but because they share a target: the American constitutional order and its Christian foundations.And yet naïve liberals and sentimental Christians often fall for the rhetoric. These groups invoke empathy, community, and sacrificial love — virtues rooted in the Christian tradition. But they weaponize those virtues. They wear sheep’s clothing to cloak their wolfish designs.Rather than reform through representation, they aim to abolish representative government entirely. They don’t seek equality before God; they demand a transfer of power — to a Native tribe, to Mexico, or to some vague utopia where oppression has been deconstructed out of existence and LGBTQ sex litters every street corner.That may sound absurd. It is. Mexico, after all, functions under cartel rule and bleeds citizens who risk everything to escape. But revolutions don’t require coherence. Absurdity often accelerates them. These movements aren’t governed by logic or principle. They run on resentment — the fury of those who believe life cheated them.What the moment demands is moral clarity. That begins with rejecting the lie of neutrality.Neutral education is a lieA “neutral” education doesn’t exist. Every curriculum is built on a view of the “good life.” Every professor teaches from a vision of what humans are and what we are meant for. When we allowed universities to abandon the pursuit of wisdom and virtue — to stop teaching that God created us and that our rights come from him — we didn’t establish neutrality. We created a vacuum — and radicals rushed in to fill it.As a professor, I’ve seen firsthand how godless academics wield the First Amendment as both shield and sword. They argue that “free speech” protects those who seek to dismantle the very system that guarantees that right, while insisting those same protections exclude Christian ideas from the classroom.But the Constitution doesn’t require taxpayers to subsidize sedition. Nothing compels a university to hire professors who publicly call for the abolition of the American republic.RELATED: Academia fuels the fire that torched Jewish grandmothers in Boulder Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty ImagesThis isn’t about banning ideas. People can believe whatever they want. But taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to underwrite the education of young Americans in philosophies that teach them their country is an imperial cancer.If a professor wants to advocate abolishing the United States, let him do it honestly. Declare it on the syllabus. Reject public funding. And stop pretending any of this qualifies as neutral education.A little truth in advertising would go a long way. Imagine just a few basic reforms.Preparation: Professors should demonstrate a grasp of foundational truths — about God, goodness, virtue, wisdom, and the greatness of the U.S. Constitution. Anyone who denies these basics has no business teaching at a taxpayer-funded institution. Private universities exist for that. Once upon a time, American universities valued this knowledge, often requiring courses in natural theology for all students.Transparency: Require state-employed professors to disclose if their courses promote a political or ideological agenda — especially one hostile to the principles on which this country was founded.Accountability: Tie public funding to standards that reflect the values of the citizens footing the bill. That includes respect for the rule of law, representative government, and the God-given rights enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.Reform: Restore universities that teach what used to be obvious — that God is our Creator and knowing Him is the highest good of human life. State dollars come with strings. Those strings should include love of God and country.That last point may sound idealistic, but it’s far more grounded than the utopian fantasies now taught with your tax dollars. It takes human nature seriously. It acknowledges the need for redemption, the pursuit of virtue and wisdom, and the moral order built into creation.It’s time for students, parents, donors, governors, pastors — and yes, President Donald Trump — to recognize what the Los Angeles riots truly represent: not just political unrest, but philosophical collapse. The neutrality myth has run its course. The wolves are no longer pretending to be sheep. They’re outside your child’s classroom, dressed in regalia, holding a metaphorical Molotov cocktail.Enough pretending. The time for reform has come.

More chatter has emerged about a new high-end AMD gaming GPU possibly waiting in the wings, with the latest rumors saying that the AMD Radeon RX 9090 XT is “40% faster” than AMD’s current top-end graphics card, the Radeon RX 9070 XT. The new GPU is likened to the AMD Radeon VII, a high-end graphics card that AMD launched in 2019 to squeeze high-end performance out of its Vega architecture, with 16GB of high-speed HBM2 memory. Although the latest AMD GPUs aren’t seeing any love in the May Steam Survey, we’ve been really impressed by their performance for the money. We even gave the top-end chip a score of 9/10 in our AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT review, earning it a place on our best GPU guide, although real-world pricing makes it a harder sell now. Continue reading AMD could be cooking up a new gaming GPU that's "40% faster" than the 9070 XT MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 9070 XT review

Dune: Awakening is a survival MMO with fantastic base-building, immersive and unique character development, and a seamless open world, but when you really dive into the details, it's so much more than that.

A woman went to the emergency room after getting bits of a venomous spider in her eye.