Seeing 1
Cole writes that when we find ourselves contemplating something much larger or much smaller than ourselves, in great detail, it is "magically seductive". This is because of the wonder and amazement that this new perspective brings to our otherwise limited human-scale perception. Her descriptions of the geometric and physical principles that allow bugs to walk on the ceiling and mice to survive huge falls showed me how unaware I was of the incredible world of small organisms. I never really thought about how amazing it is that bugs can walk upside down and fly but if they get soaked in water they are rendered completely useless. The information about stars and the "tug of war" between nuclear reactions and the force of gravity also greatly affected the way I now think about the universe its relationship with its inhabitants.
Seeing 2
Cole ends her essay by quoting another author because the quote has a very final tone to it. The author quoted concludes that we will never truly be able to understand the vast differences between large and small scale perspectives. The quote is also very detailed and summarizes Cole's points without being redundant. If she had ended her essay with the first sentence from her first paragraph and footnoted Schrodinger, then the conclusion paragraph would be missing the imagery of the "triangular circle" and the "winged lion" as well as the finalized tone. It seems Cole works other authors into her essay where their specific work and research are most pertinent, for example, quoting microbiologist Norman Pace in one of her paragraphs that discusses microorganisms and paraphrasing author J.B.S. Haldane's essay about size when discussing large scale perspective.
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