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Mapping Our Fate

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The Cyclical Serpent
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Abstract

In ancient times it was thought that gifted men and women—oracles, magicians, prophets, and priests— could predict the future, even forecast when the world might end, or if time might continue, in cycles, forever. Modern science no longer relies on tea leaves and tarot cards to divine the destiny of the cosmos. Yet we still look to the skies to foretell our fate, and we still believe that the rare man can produce, from his instincts and genius, a blueprint for our universal prospects.

Space acts on matter, telling it how to move. In turn, matter reacts back on space, telling it how to curve.

—Mistier, Thome, and Wheeler, Gravitation

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© 1995 Paul Halpern

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Halpern, P. (1995). Mapping Our Fate. In: The Cyclical Serpent. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6036-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6036-8_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-44923-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-6036-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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