Movies that Show the True Size of the Universe

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About this video essay:
Examining the varying ways in which space movies try to capture and understand the unfathomable scale of the universe, and exploring the existential dread and wonder that arise from the effort.
0:00 Prologue
0:15 The Problem of Scale
2:38 How Movies Convey Size
5:14 Where Movies Fall Short
7:31 The Weight of Infinity
10:25 Overwhelming Time and Space
13:17 A Dialogue with the Cosmos
16:36 The Journey Home
19:46 The Space Game Paradox
Media included:
2001: A Space Odyssey; Ad Astra; Interstellar; Sunshine; The Tree of Life; Star Trek; Star Wars; Event Horizon; First Man; Prometheus; Alien: Covenant; Eternals; Dune; Godzilla; Gravity; Passengers; Rogue One; Voyage of Time; The Martian
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10 Books that changed my life: kit.co/likestoriesofold/10-bo...
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Music:
Piotr Hummel - Spectacular
Dexter Britain - The Time to Run
Dexter Britain - Your Own World
Slow Meadow - On a Bed of Green Blades
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Ryan Taubet - Starfall
David Morton - Eclipse
Oliver Michael - Taken From a Void
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[@LikeStoriesofOld]

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[@NeostormXLMAX]

This is why more space stories should stay in a single solar system, im surprised there is no terminology for “solar system” like “global” or “galactic”

[@tonyderosa5921]

The physics of large bodies of resting water never display anything other than a perfect level. Since 70% of the earth is covered in a substance known to lack the curvature required by the proportions of a geometric spheroid with a circumference of 24000 miles, it stands to reason that the mathematical extrapolation of all known “space” is fundamentally wrong due to the fact that earth is the baseline foundation of all subsequent measurements.

[@johnwolf2829]

On facing the end of everything with grace; "Girls Last Tour" On what space means to humanity; "The Expanse" On the cosmic ultimates; "The last legends of Earth" ..... in novel form only at this time, and it is THE novel that I recommend with them most enthusiasm.

[@jeffus]

I clicked the link but don’t see any lifetime offer. Is it too late already?

[@LikeStoriesofOld]

@@jeffus Hey! The offer is valid until the end of the month, if you click on 'get started' the option for lifetime should pop up :)

[@StewartFletcher]

Ad Astra, Interstellar, Sunshine, and First Man are all powerfully moving movies for me. Their grand, melancholic examination of existence just hits me so dang hard.

[@IDontBuyIt50]

I wondered where that one person who liked Ad Astra was.

[@davidbecquer3624]

Ad Astra makes me so mad every time I see it. It had SO MUCH potential and they just phoned in the most half-baked and boring script imaginable....

[@IDontBuyIt50]

@@davidbecquer3624 I know, the entire thing was a head scratcher of choices. A bunch of wasted cast members, going from a snail pace to the moon action that made zero sense then back to snail pacing. I am not a fan of Tommy Lee Jones either, but if you are gonna put him in an important role, it shouldn't look like he showed up for one afternoon of shooting.

[@StewartFletcher]

@davidbecquer3624 oh man I couldn't disagree more. I was so moved by As Astra. I thought it was incredible. The only part that felt REALLY bad was the weird monkey attack in space

[@jacksonw453]

​@StewartFletcher same I watched it in theaters turned my brain off a little bit and just enjoyed where it was going, made me feel emotions I enjoyed it even if I know many people didn't

[@47swankk]

this is the very reason as to why I will always have Interstellar as my favorite of all time. the emotion and stakes of the movie rely a lot on making you feel the incredible grandeur of the journey, it’s the only way for the movie to truly work.

[@LuisSierra42]

Gravity is pretty good as well, although its scale is smaller than interstellar

[@personzorz]

And yet, interstellar has some of the greatest problems with not dealing with scale of any science fiction movie ever. They're using goddamn chemical rockets smaller than a house to move around in an environment with velocities measured in fractions of the speed of light and distances measured in billions of kilometers. At those energy and spatial scales those artifacts might as well be inert plastic toys. It doesn't make any damn sense

[@wajahatrashid8424]

Narratively sure, but even Interstellar doesn't really show the scale of the universe that well.

[@47swankk]

@@wajahatrashid8424 no way you think this after seeing the Endurance look like a spec next to Saturn. Or seeing them go through the wormhole. Or when they pull off the maneuver on Gargantua.

[@jylyhughes5085]

Interstellar and Sunshine.

[@08Rolling]

Hence why, regarding modern books I love The Expanse. Specially the early ones and without getting into spoilers. Feels so grounded and on point that instead of basing sci-fi on an entire universe canvas they "limit" themselves to "just" the Solar System, as the books progress the sense of scale in them feels very rewarding as they narrate the bigger lingering threats in the endgame.

[@watcher805]

*thus, not hence

[@riku9745]

I lovedthe idea that Mormons would be the first ones to risk a generation ship to go to Tau Ceti. In the later books, one of the author's background in biology marks it as one of the most realistic staples of sci-fi. Fantastic, if not the best scifi series to date.

[@supercowopp]

Expanse was so good. I really gotta read the books.

[@a.morphous66]

Something the show does excellently to remind us of the sheer scale of the solar system is constantly refusing to give space battles an interesting backdrop Most visual depictions of space fights place them in front of planets, moons, stars, nebulae, other such things that break up the void. There's this implication that all important happenings will be confined to the very, very comparatively small areas where you can clearly see celestial bodies. Because of this, it's also taught us to think of the solar system as a pretty small unit of space measurement. But the vast majority of space is just... empty. Far beyond the reach of anything familiar, just you and dark matter and distant specks of light. And that's not just interstellar space. The Expanse denies us reference points. It sets many of its most important moments out there, in the... uh, the expanse. It's all confined to one solar system, sure, but that's three billion kilometers in both directions, and compared to the planets whose size is measured in tens of thousands, it never lets us forget just how big a billion is.

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

It irritates me when a series (cough star wars cough) oscillates between "space travel is complex, navigating space is a highly specialised skill, you need to charter a ship" and "this senator/ambassador/shopkeeper/child can cross the galaxy solo in a single-seat craft"

[@mastpg]

...especially when they locked in a perfectly fine abstracted concept of how "light speed" works in their universe.

[@daniel4647]

it's because it's Star Wars, basically Harry Potter in space, so nobody cares. If they did that in Star Trek then I'd be slightly annoyed, but in Star Wars it doesn't matter.

[@Ma55ey]

​@@daniel4647cough.. spore drive... cough... red angle suit.. lol

[@auriculus3058]

I guess because Star Wars is classic hero's journey fantasy where a "chosen one" magically is able to defy the rules of the worldbuilding

[@vincento7129]

Star wars isn't science fiction; it's science fantasy.

[@filipsperl]

I think Sunshine does something similar to Rogue one in terms of conveying the scale in one shot. In the first shot, we see what we presume is the Sun, but after traveling to it for quite a while, we notice that it is actually just the reflection of it in the ship's shield. Then the camera turns around and the ship is miniscule compared to the star. It was pretty powerful when I first saw it

[@Leprutz]

Sunshine is a masterpiece. Many people did not get it and stil do not get it. This same scene die catch me off guard to. What I felt was mesmerized.

[@CMCDragonkai]

Sunshine is a movie best watched alone in the cinema.

[@SacredDaturana]

Dune Part 1 has a reverse example of this in one of its early scenes. You see the planet Caladan, and then a tiny highliner cuts across the foreground, and then an even tinier shuttle flies out from its chasms. And then as it lands in a plaza with the assembled Atriedes forces you see how truly massive even that apparently tiny shuttle is compared to our human perspective. It's masterfully efficient filmmaking that, along with the sparse narration, makes you understand so much about the universe of Dune in a sequence that's less than a minute.

[@ZEROmg13]

in another life, i was a Fremen of Sietch Tabr.

[@Joe_Dominates]

Dune quickly became one of my favorite films

[@hugues215]

With time, you'll understand how shitty this movie is.

A masterpiece

[@vintagejock3951]

i remember that scene. It was amazing to say the least

[@TABandiTA]

Sunshine is such an underrated movie

[@genghisgalahad8465]

It's rated under?? How?

[@dr.lionhunter9988]

Yup!

[@odynith9356]

Such a great movie.

[@deathstriker9076]

It was great until the slasher third act.

[@robmildon8612]

Always going to remember those last scenes of Sunshine in the cinema, tears of awe streaming down my face at our tiny works contrasted against the colossal annihilating majesty of the Sun.

[@438019]

Sunshine is so underrated as a great story that never quite got picked up as a gripping sci fi space story. I felt the same way, small and humbled.

[@relight6931]

Our one true God, with capital g.

[@mattvjmeasures]

I really enjoyed the film, but "nuking the sun to give it a kick-start" is a bit daft🙂

[@Leprutz]

Same here. The whole movie was such a captivating experience that I would like to watch it again in cinemas.

[@Leprutz]

Bro. Intersteller is much dafter to be honest. Sunshine still seems pretty grounded as to every other sci fi I have seen. Apart from 2001 a space odyssey. @@mattvjmeasures

[@ikemeitz5287]

The Tree of Life is unlike anything I have ever seen. I am so glad you brought it in here. It is, just a little bit, actually life-changing.

[@J5L5M6]

Very much agreed!

[@Corrupt_be]

Hadn''t heard of it, but thanks to this video I'm going to go watch it :D

[@ikemeitz5287]

@@Corrupt_be awesome! It requires some patience and willingness to follow where the director leads, but if you do, he REALLY takes you places.

[@CMDR_Verm]

@@Corrupt_be Same here.

[@Daemonworks]

A closely related peeve of mine is that when writers just keep pushing the "bigger stakes are higher stakes" button, despite it being incredibly well known that past a certain point going bigger stops working because we stop really relating to the inflate scale of things. We can all relate to a threat to a person, their family, their friends, their neighbourhood, but keep scaling up to city, region, state, etc and somewhere along the lines, unless the large threat is handled exceptionally well (mostly by ensuring that the larger scale is tied down to also be very personal), it shifts from a threat the audience feels into one they can only get as an academic concept. But often they'll "raise" the stakes /only/ by going larger, and the second you cross that invisible line, you haven't raised the stakes, you've dropped them onto the floor.

[@squirlmy]

You've described what makes Oppenheimer so great. Not just threat of the bomb, but the entire Cold War is given a face, and the stakes that are so high.

[@dr.lionhunter9988]

This video was truly outstanding. I have a deep appreciation for Sunshine, and I believe your video brilliantly captures why it remains a mesmerizing and profoundly moving cinematic experience that few other films have managed to emulate to this day. It certainly warrants greater recognition and admiration. During my PhD, I had the privilege of working for Buzz Aldrin's son for four years, and I never missed a chance to reference Sunshine whenever we delved into discussions about how films portray the vastness of the universe and the existential depths of human existence.

[@nuntana2]

Did he like Sunshine, too?

[@dr.lionhunter9988]

Yes!@@nuntana2

[@Leprutz]

Thank you. I though I was the only one who thought that way. I haven't seen a better sci fi cinematic experience than sunhine. It is so emotional on every level and helps us actually understand that we cannot grasp at all what scale at universe level really is.

[@amazingkris]

I feel that Alien really nailed it in realistic human terms, but obviously not on the wild cosmic scale. A massive cargo vessel chugging along in the vastness of space, seven tiny creatures sleeping in their cryobeds, waiting to be brought out to perform their task, then back to the fridges again. Meanwhile, it passes quietly by a massive ringed planet like a dot. You get an almost devastating sense of insignificance without it being comical, which almost automatically goes away when you realize you were standing on a planet all along.

[@meraggelm]

This is my absolute favorite KZbin channel in English! Your video essays are so deep and so beautifully done! Keep amazing us, and keep up with your astounding work!

[@shlck6734]

Sunshine is one of the most underrated films ever. A very powerful film.

[@concept7968]

LSOO, this is my first comment on any of your videos even though I have watched most of them. I think it's finally time to say, you have actually impacted my life with your work here on KZbin. There is a feeling I have after watching a profound film that I am neither capable of expressing in words, nor have I come across anyone who is...except for you. There is something your channel offers that no other film analysis/video essay channel does and that is, along with a succinct summary of the film, you are able to convey how it made us, the viewers, feel. This is no easy task and is worthy of commendation. Furthermore, the way you extract a common theme from several different films and convey it as one coherent thesis, is remarkable. I know I echo many of your viewers when I say, please continue doing what you're doing as it's not falling on deaf ears. You are doing more than entertaining us, you're allowing us to reconnect with that visceral feeling that we experience immediately after engaging with profound content. Thank you for your work.

[@adamnorton3506]

Beautifully put and 100% agree. I often find myself deep in thought and moved profoundly by these fantastic videos. Outstanding.

[@andrewdoyle7726]

^

[@phipsn8412]

Ad Astra has been my favorite movie ever since I've seen it the first time in theaters, back in 2019. Since then I saw barely anyone talk about it or even mention it, so I am more than happy to find it here in, once again, one of your incredible essays!

[@rossbooth4635]

It's underrated.

[@dudeabides5807]

Sunshine really did leave a lasting impression on me. Many Sci-Fi dipictions of the vastness of Space often feel sterile, the vacuum punctuated by wonderous imagery with nothing else inbetween. Somehow Sunshine managed to create a presence within the nothingness that truely shows how insignificant our lifeforms are, in relation to the true nature of the universe.

[@J5L5M6]

For me, due to it's combination of human spirit breaking restriction and how they never actually show the voyage, "GATTACA" has always felt like it deserves a place among the greatest sci-fi space films. The beauty of sacrifice and how the Jude Law 'Jerome' is also embarking on a journey to the unknown is so infinitely ;) beautiful.

[@thomashiggins9320]

I think The Expanse addresses the issue of vastness about as well as any science fiction has, in the past few decades. The fact that it takes place in the Solar System -- and presents how long it takes to simply communicate, much less travel (even with improbably efficient engines) even within those boundaries -- allows one to truly appreciate that one moment at the end of Season 3. The thing is, that moment took more than *30 episodes* to set up.

[@riku9745]

You have to read the books. My god youre missing out on so much depth.

[@blahanger4304]

As a kid I found the concept of infinity fascinating, and when I could not sleep I tried to imagine it for some reason this makes mae calm and sleepy. Still works.

[@HishamA.N_Comicbroe]

Glad to see an essay on this topic. I've always been really interested in seeing how the scale of the universe is potrayed in movies & other media. I really wanna write a story based on that (which I already have some idea of).

[@belladonnahigh9206]

I once dreamt about space, one and only dream in which I could, to some extent, control the narrative, and the space in it was so vast, the distances between where the two last people, sister and her brother in cryo, buried in some asteroid, and the stars she went to was almost like in another dimension, that's how far it was, and an overwhelming dread took over me when I "realized" the scale of it all... How the story went was so exotic, something out of this world. It's, now when I think about it, comparable to our forever lost childhoods, which whatever we do, will never reach for it again. Those memories are still in my brain, but every cell, even the one holding said memories, has since changed many times over, almost as if we're not even the same people we were before, when everything was simple, easy and most importantly, carefree. We will never get back those feelings. We surely never again will be carefree, because we saw the devil. Growing up we learned not everyone is a good person, nothing is simple, and the world, time and again, throw at us different kinds of evil. One of them, perhaps the most evil of all, human beings. They can destroy your life in mere seconds, taking away everything away from you, your dignity, possessions, your mental health, self-esteem, ultimately your life, either by self-hatred or by their hands. We are the biggest enemies of ourselves, cause we can very vividly recall the worst memories, that can haunt us forever. We can relive the past through memories, but unfortunately we tend to focus on the bad things. I cannot remember the last time I was happy, like truly happy, but can easily recall everything bad. In that sense, we stay connected to the long gone past, yet it is unreachable at the same time. And so it is, my childhood feels like a completely different life, someone else's even, like in some sort of another dimension, that I have no access to. I wish I could so so much. A time, where people actually met. A time without the biggest threat to human kind - social media, which feeds us with death, fear and nihilism. That nothing really matters, what I do or do not do, it will fade away along with the greatest minds of the past, present and future. Sometimes I ask myself, what is the difference between living in a forest and human settlements. There is almost none, no matter how great tech we achieve, the former at least gives me some peace. We didn't evolve to live in concrete jungles, depression by far proves it, which unfortunately I am a victim of too. Depression really changes perspective on alot of things. For one, you are the center of the galaxy, everything revolves around you, your pain, eternal suffering, losing people you thought were your friends. It hurt at first. Now I am bothered when someone calls and wants to hang out, because I cannot exit like in games when I'm bored. So, I live on this tiny, lonely speck of dust, alone by myself and wish to leave the Matrix, wake up from this nightmare, this simulation created to torment me and test my limit till I give up. When I sleep, sometimes there are no dreams, there's just the void, in which I don't feel anything, and it suits me. I'm sure everyone experienced it, you go to sleep, some time passes, you wake up and that's it. That's how I think about death. Will it matter at all, in the grand scheme of things? Not at all. We are here just for few seconds, and by the time double the amount of that will pass, some new specie will become sentient, only to discover our bones and nothing besides that, just another primitive beings, because our buildings and especially electronics, will long since disappear, as will they, and those after them until the Sun cooks our planet, long before it swallows it, leaving no trace of this conversation, us, Earth.

[@Gandalf-The-Green]

The Expanse did a pretty good job at scale for a SciFi show, I remember when Alex, the pilot of the Rocinante, plotted a course around the Jovian moons using only gravity and thrusters (which would have actually taken a few months but yeah, it's called The Expanse, not The Suspense) anyway we got to imagine somewhat how huge the Jovian subsystem is.

[@M-elephant7777]

just the fact that communication between mars and earth is on a 20+ minute delay and earth to jupiter communications has a 45 minute delay alone really sells the idea that space is utterly massive

[@Gandalf-The-Green]

@@M-elephant7777 Yeah, and that's not even that bad. It's like the average time it takes a millennial like me to respond to your messages lol. I love Isaac Arthur's KZbin channel and my understanding from his videos is that if an alien species has the means to discover us, send probes to our solar system, decipher our language and contact us, then they will have more historians studying earth and our civilization than we have historians, period. Take that for scale, this blew my mind.

[@M-elephant7777]

@@Gandalf-The-Green I'm a millenial too, don't worry haha

[@squirlmy]

Are you in acedemia, or spent a long time in school? Because I don't get how that would be impressive. I believe there's also more Chinese studying English than there are English speakers in the US. Is that also impressive?

[@ReaperPLUR]

If I remember correctly, that scene was scrutinized because of the Rosinante being like half the size of the moons but with all the science in the show most ppl including the OP saw it more as a nitpick than a problem

[@izsvemira]

Your essays bring tears to my eyes

[@rjfink]

Dude could read a chicken soup recipe and I’d get choked up

[@MissJiggy2U]

What you said about how frustrating it is to be trapped in tiny consciousness and fragile body hit very hard for me. I frequently feel like there's so much more I want that I'm just not capable of like "this". Which is why I am trying so hard to figure out how to "astral travel"

[@Dave100DT]

Seriously, there's never enough love for Sunshine. Also thank you for covering this hidden gem in your podcast! Fantastic episode. The only thing I disagree with is that I think the ending needle drop is perfect. It's a weird choice, for sure, but after many many rewatches the song's just stuck in my brain, following the awesome and emotional ending. Anyways, keep up the great work!

[@alexcoyg3281]

Best decision i ever made in my film watching life, was to watch "Sunshine" without watching any trailers or clips, best movie experience

[@odynith9356]

Such an incredible movie.

[@houseis]

Awesome to see someone talk about Sunshine. That movie was huge for me yet very few people have seen it. Also it's score is so good and used in other movie trailers, really is an awesome film I watched as a teenager 16 years ago. I'm from the same country as one of the actors too, Cliff Curtis ✓ New Zealand

[@kiplingmartin4903]

Yup good movie. The only issue I had was they ignored the gravity problem.

[@thepositivepictureshow]

You are by far my favorite video essayist and the wholehearted inspiration behind my own channel. The way you verbalize philosophy and the sweet, somber serenity of your videos always moves me deeply. Thank you for your work.

[@kilroy987]

I made a small demo where you're traveling to near Io. Jupiter is in the background. In movies, usually, if you're near Io, Jupiter is nearby FILLING the screen. When Jupiter doesn't look that big near Io at all. I mean it's big, but only like 20 degrees of the sky big (40x times bigger than the moon), not taking up half your view.

[@JRexRegis]

On a related topic, I recently calculated the average brightness of the sky if each of our planets had an atmosphere comparable to Earth - it's actually insane how bright the sun is, *Pluto* would get roughly ten times the light Earth does from a full moon, if it had an atmosphere to scatter it.

[@moonsofix]

This is what I love about your channel. Your appreciation of the abstract and unknowable, the strange and the mystic. Great vid!

[@aurigo_tech]

Regarding size I always loved the depiction of V'Ger in the first Star Trek movie. We know that the Enterprise herself is pretty big, like an aircraft carrier. But when it slowly glides through the inner landscape of V'Ger it truly looks tiny in comparison. Similar, the time aspect was depicted well in "Passengers", when the two protagonists realize they have to stay out of cryo sleep, live their life and eventually die of age on that relatively short trip of just a few lightyears, without ever seeing the destination. And that despite the ship going at a significant fraction of lightspeed.

[@pudding7876]

Your essays always move me so much. Thank you as always ❤

[@incars1000]

Another absolute banger Tom, was in a weird headspace from a recent piece of media and this helped distract me, albeit with a different form of existentialism! Keep it up

[@thegirlwhodreamed-jx6qc]

I have to say that this is one of your best edited videos ever, it truly is an experience in itself.

[@ChinaMo]

I have been watching your channel since I happened upon your vid on that movie with Orlando Bloom and how it was about Stoics and Kant, and in all honesty, every video you make is like medicine for my soul. If I could afford to donate, I would. And hopefully one day I will, because other than maybe 5-10 other subscriptions I have, you make the stuff that actually contributes to my consideration and growth! Thank you so much for doing what you do!!

[@stateofchange6006]

Genuinely appreciate all of your videos. It means a lot. You were made for this.

[@purekinema]

Another essay masterpiece, perfectly explaining the magnetic allure of ambitious space films and the hurdles they face in capturing infinity. This video itself feels like a similar ambitious attempt and a successful one.

[@helios7170]

You are an exceptionally skilled editor. I love the way you weave these themes together and your narration is so moving, the music so well chosen, you often leave me with a deep sense of awe. Thank you

[@rajpassy4154]

You somehow made a video essay that puts into words what I search for when I watch space cinema. Brilliant work!

[@Br0ski31]

It never ceases to amaze me how your videos continually draw me in and capture the very essence of what i found truly fascinating about the relationship between art and life. I can say with absolute certainty that your channel is by far one of the best channels ive ever subscribed to. Thank you for making this channel and sharing your views with the world.

[@mattiasalegro]

Final montage is so inspiring. Watched on nebula but needed to come back here and say thanks.

[@soyacan]

Incredible work, one of the best videos I've ever seen on youtube and on one of my favorite topics too!

[@connor56347]

This is one of your best videos yet!

[@foxdown]

Like Stories of Old! my friend!. This time you really managed to make me cry. You put 'EVERYTHING' in this video, everything that made me who I am the first time I watched it!. BRAVO!. I've never thanked any KZbinr for their work before! Thank you for this video! You shook me to the core, not everyone can achieve this, bravo! This is exactly why I follow your videos. Not the other weird you tube movie reviewers!.

[@kimberlicornell9454]

Elegantly put, sir. Your voice is melodious and easy to listen to while remaining immersed in your concept

[@modernoverman]

This was a really moving essay for me. Thank you.

[@Thedelroyale]

Your videos are more than just informative, they are a wholesome experience. A deep dive into feelings and notions that would have, perhaps otherwise, remained unmentioned. You talked about absolute beauty in one of your previous videos; you talked about how we desire to grasp more and more of it but inevitably fail to do so in its entirety. Ironically though, you create videos that are just that: beautiful... and the beauty you are expressing in these essays "reflect what's in our hearts, thereby articulating parts of ourselves that we couldn't put into words on our own". Your essays "tune into our inner feelings, making them come alive with vibrant ecstasy". You do this for me, and I'm sure for many of us who watch your essays. Thank you for showing us what matters. Thankyou for helping us find ourselves.

[@citizenearth71]

Thank you for putting such efficiently precise words to my private obsession with these cinematic stories. So satisfying.

[@buttertool6211]

Space and the incomprehensible and humbling nature of infinity is why I love Superman, especially the notion that yes, he is almost all-powerful, he can become a god, maybe even God Himself but the fact is that he sees infinity and eternity every single second, and that's why he's in love with life itself, with the universe, with whatever number of universes are out there of whatever number of infinities are out there too. Because it's impossible not to fall in love when you see either just enough or everything

[@heero086]

I am so glad I found your channel. Thank you, thank you

[@mateosimon4237]

Great, fantastic documentary👍👍. And I agree with your assesment of Sunshine; it's a great, profound film and probably the most underrated film ever

[@OnlyCitrus]

Time to rewatch Sunshine then. Beautiful video as usual my friend.

[@terencebaotran]

KZbin needs more contents like this. Contents that make feel like i have been meditating for 5 hours straight after finishing the videos.

[@WormholeJim]

the blockbuster hit "The Long Sleep", ever saw that? It's an 65 hour marathon odyssey about an astronaut travelling in 600 years in cryosleep. When he wakes up and gets near his mission area, there's a technical failure causing him to leak most of his available oxygen and short-circuit the oxygen-renewer. he radios for spare parts and upon realizing his message won't reach home for next 50 years or so, with the reply being another 50 years returning, and never mind when the spare part might arrive, he has a nervous breakdown and then he dies. It's pretty awesome with a lot of good points about why warpdrives and teleporters are way more practical.

[@lunarvision]

Absolutely beautiful and profound video. You are a great reviewer of film.

[@dgodiex]

oh wow that was gorgeous. Thanks LSOO!

[@Kennyancat]

Beautiful video. Thank you!

[@0FAS1]

Great video as usual. I always find it amusing of how the cosmical scales introduce both the sheer scale and ungraspable weight of being and the utter weightlessness which makes it all possible in the first place. I find myself constantly returning to a view in which everything has this quality of utter incomprehensibility; in which all wholeness is made whole through the void that encapsulates it. Where the isolation of the void is necessary for light to be visible at all.

[@erasmuus]

Fantastic work. Your perspective really speaks to me. Keep up this great work

[@MouseGeist]

What a beautiful video, well done!

[@olveaustlid4383]

The best representation I've seen of large scale was a YT by melodysheep: "TIMELAPSE OF THE FUTURE: A Journey to the End of Time". It is time that is the scale that go up though, instead of distance.

[@BadassRaiden]

This video, like all of your videos, was so absolutely beautiful. The only thing that would make it better - is a full list of all the music tracks you used 😝 I need them Tom. I need them.

[@rameenana]

Awesome video mate.

[@zacklucas7781]

Fantastic work!

[@j.campbell4497]

Very well said, captures the existential experience nicely

[@msid7748]

Been a long-time subscriber, but I haven't seen your videos in a while. I think this is the first time I've seen your face. It's great to put a face to that wise-sounding voice of yours.

[@Zed-fq3lj]

What a sublime experience watching this video! Thank you so much good man! May your words echo throughout the universe!

[@ADavid42]

excellent work, as always. Thanks for sharing.

[@alejandrosilva2080]

Incredibly well narrated! very nice script loved it!!! very cool concepts too!

[@lihtan]

Almost 2 years ago we had a geomagnetic storm that got up to an impressive KP-7. I will always remember that night. The entire sky was filled with a canopy of dancing neon green tendrils, with little flashes of magenta and white. Witnessing the grand scale of this beauty actually overloaded my nervous system. I fell to my knees, then lied down on the grass, staring straight up at the sky. The trees that were previously on my periphery faded away. My entire field of view was now filled with stars, and shimmering of plasma filaments. In that moment, it truly felt like I was visiting some nebula in deep space, peering further beyond into the depths of the infinite. My nervous system was at full saturation at this point trying to perceive the multiplicity of all this. It became a full-on psychedelic odyssey. The bandwidth of my nervous system was so fully consumed, that I had force myself to start feeling my body again, just so I could stand up and take a break!. There's only a so much a human being can take in all at once. It made me wonder that when humanity begins venturing into the cosmos and sees it with his naked eyes, would he even be able to cope with the enormity of it all?

[@MartinRybacki]

VEEERY good put together video VERY good!! Thank You !

[@TitusTiddies]

I always end up quietly weeping by the end of your videos, LSOO❤️‍🔥 thank you 🙏

[@1000Orgasms]

Fantastic channel. Goosebumps.

[@josvandeneynde5849]

Hi Tom, another great video that I enjoyed from beginning to end! Content-wise, you seem to have hit another sweet spot as people from all corners of the world and of all religions at least once in their life ponder the question: “What is the meaning of the great infinite vastness of the universe and our role as humans in it?” And you wonderfully articulate how movies try to deal with this topic. But your message about the incomprehensibility of infinity and about how scale comparisons lose meaning when they feel infinity-like to human eyes or human imagination, could be improved by drawing a line between infinity as an existential philosophical concept and infinity as a mathematical concept. Coming from an engineering background, I've encountered plenty of mathematical infinity expressions in my lifetime. And as weird or as unnatural as the concept of infinity seemed in the beginning, there came a time where it felt as comfortable as thinking about how the sun rises every day. There is just a certain familiarity about it now that doesn't go away. As a result I'm able to reason and think in infinity terms when thinking about how mathematical models behave in contrast to each other when approaching infinity, even though I'm not able to "visualize" infinity by for example imagining an infinite amount of apples. The idea that it is possible that an infinite amount of terms are added up and still result in a tangible comprehensible finite amount was even a harder pill to swallow and seemed so counter-intuitive in the beginning. In essence what I'm trying to say is that for scientists, engineers and mathematicians infinity is very real and comprehensible, and reasoning and working with large numbers is a field in and of itself (there are even cases where working with exponents or logarithmic scales no longer works, and other methods have been established). And what would the world today be if humans of past centuries wouldn't have believed that we were able to conquer certain infinity-like amounts? Like how we're now able to send a message to the other side of the world in less than a millisecond, compared to traveling a year by horse to deliver that same message. I'm not saying ALL infinities will be conquered by humanity, but there are certainly a couple of infinity-like challenges that we will be able to conquer at some point in the future, given the exponential progression of scientific knowledge. This doesn’t mean that we're close to solving these problems today, but I think we can get a whole lot closer to solving them by taking a leap of faith in the ability of humans to deal with very large amounts of time and space. Amounts that only seem infinite compared to our very short existence on this tiny pale blue dot, but become tangible in our unlimited imagination. Because what is an ocean but a multitude of drops?

[@k.s9098]

Interesting opinion, and one I think probably resonates with many people who have dealt with mathematical infinities. However, to push back on this a little, I found the opposite sensation you had in terms of infinity becoming comprehensible and reasonable. When I first began seriously working infinity in a real analysis course, I had the same sensation. It becomes second nature in some sense, working with mathematical infinity via limits, series and sequences becomes mechanical and the philosophical side gives way to the mathematical reasoning and conclusions you arrive at. Even the harmonic series, a famous example of a non-convergent series that at first, intuition suggests it must converge. When you see the proof as to why it doesn't converge, you feel assured and return to that comforting feeling that you understand, in some mechanical and mathematical sense, that you get infinity. It wasn't until a grad course I took in Measure Theory that I felt some discomfort with the concept of infinity. Cantor's theorem based on taking power sets to show there exists an infinite number of infinites, and more profoundly still that infinities differ in some notation of size dents that feeling of comprehension you once felt. In coming into contact with the rigour at the foundation of ZF set theory, things like the Axiom of Choice wreak havoc on your mind and impress upon you the bizarre shit that arises when you consider the infinite. I think infinity is something Math has been forced to impose a great deal of structure on such that it can be tamed and utilised as a tool, but justifying these structures becomes a philosophical debate. In summary, I came out of that course feeling like understanding, and specifically, working with mathematical infinity is entirely different to comprehending the essence and grandeur of infinity itself.

[@kirandeepchakraborty7921]

Love these surreal videos about Life, Cosmos, and Philosophy. ❤

[@MadScientyst]

Hands down one of the best written, produced & expository pieces I've ever seen on the concept of scale in the Universe! Thank u for highlighting most of the best Movies in the same context as well. I'd like to hear /see your take on 'Lucy' as a suggestion given the penetrating insight demonstrated. IMO, it's one of the best Movies ever done that goes all the way down to the molecular level & backtracks to the 'Big Bang.' Subscribed as well, your contect is indeed fascinating!! 🤩🤩

[@bodhibt]

Your videos are profound. Thank you.

[@Incogneto1981]

Such a good video!

[@nabilbassal8874]

I love this REFLECTIVE channel

[@kildogery]

I need to rewatch Sunshine. Amazing video.

[@kildogery]

I need to rewatch The Tree of Life

[@bananahammockandspamsandwich]

Brilliant, just beautiful.

[@sleepingbackbone7581]

Started watching without any real expectation. Didn't expect it to be this good, though. Kudos to the creator, making one nice calorie rich food for thought. Thank you.

[@alvanosm]

Well done!

[@diesel8869]

My favorite youtube channel.

[@arnthorsnaer]

Would have been nice to see some of Star Trek The Motion Picture in the “A Dialog With The Cosmos”. It’s fairly underrated, especially relevant is the VGer sequence VGer’s want to merge with it’s creator after having explored the infinity of the cosmos.

[@natancopeincraft]

17:31 says it all 🌗 The eschaton/eskaton...🌗 Your videos are incredible. Thank you for your time and wherever the source comes from.

[@Macionik]

No other channel in the entire youtube or even the internet gives me the goosebumps that you do. You're a fucking Maestro.

[@SphinXxxs]

Is this curious archive but for stories ,holy I love it so much

[@fearthehoneybadger]

The biggest challenge of our space movies is in amazing audiences that are becoming ever more sophisticated.

[@tonyderosa5921]

Earth is topographically level. Space is mathematically misconstrued to fit a presumptive cosmology. Physics doesn’t lie. The problem isn’t scale. It’s hubris.

[@mastpg]

Uhhh....if "sophisticated" means informed-knowledgeable and not delusional, then amazing them should be easier. The reality is well beyond amazing.

[@NoaWarrior]

Yeah I wouldn't say sophisticated. Audiences are less wondrous, less humble.

[@zacharywong483]

Fantastic script, as always!

[@gridcoregilry666]

great editing , esp "the journey home"!!!

[@thelordgamer8707]

nothing beats a good Like Stories of Old video, really get's you thinking

[@MrSpikeshinobi]

Woohoo, new LSOO video! Today is a good day.

[@Harshsingh-sf1ri]

It's a good life.

[@markheys9393]

This is a brilliant youtube video thankyou .

[@ariley1133]

12:30 I would say that while nothing in cinema does this, the series The Expanse does bring this up, and makes the case (albeit that it should be either avoided or navigated with great care) that as human beings we are not made for space, and no matter how slick you make your ships or suits, we’re too vulnerable, too Earth bound. So… fast forward evolution with a proto-molecule to make humans space-ready. Just have to overlook the negative side effects like erasing all personality or individuality to become basically the Predator/Xenomorph/Lawnmower Man exemplar of the universe. And as always, love your work.

[@greenfox42]

3:26 ❤❤❤❤❤❤ that’s when I knew this video won my heart

[@theunbreaking]

His content almost always moves me to tears

[@yurkdawg]

Thanks for yet another wonderful video! I also watch every "scale of the universe" video I can find. In fact I have spent several hours just studying and zooming into a super high resolution image of the Andromeda Galaxy. It is hubris to think we can understand astronomical scales (not to mention actual *infinity*) But I have to believe that on some level it's possible to just get a small glimpse into what Clarke/Kubrick term "Beyond the Infinite." Isn't that the fundamentals of Absurdism? The juxtaposition of the vastiness of our imagination/dreams with the utter insignificance compared to the size of the universe (heh or possibly *multiverse*) Side note: you mention Hitchhikers Guide, but have you read about the "total perspective vortex" in the sequel "Restaurant at the End of the Universe?" Very briefly (and I apologize for the poor retelling) it is a punishment reserved for the worst criminals, where the prisoner is put into this device that lets them see, in perfect clarity the actual size of the universe, and true to scale how small we are compared to if. (It is described visualizing the entire universe, and "on a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot a sign reads 'You are Here.'" ... everyone who enters becomes completely and permanently insane after experiencing this vision.) ...lol I love those books! 😂

[@leethrelfalllt]

Watched Ad Astra quite a few times and enjoyed every viewing. Such a thoughtful film with many themes running through it....😀