Our Expanding Universe
Remember that bit in Annie Hall where the young Alvy Singer tells the doctor why he won’t do his homework anymore? “What’s the point?” he says, “the universe is expanding.” That’s kind of my reaction to the news that the Earth may survive the sun’s demise. Oh, no, wait; I’m more like the doctor: “It won’t be expanding for billions of years yet.” Also, since all life on the planet would be wiped out, am I expected to retain some proactive nostalgia for a big rock? Only a physicist could be that sentimental, apparently.