The Power of the Power of Ten
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11.27.07
Some say that the photograph of the Earth floating in Space shot from Apollo 8 kick-started the environmental movement, showing that we were all in it together on such a small blue marble. Others have said that Charles and Ray Eames' Powers of Ten taught us about scale, our small place in the universe. Kottke reminds us that no matter what you watch, the original Eames version shown above, the fabulous and funny Powers of Ten Simpsons on the Couch version, or the National Film Board 1968 version by Eva Szasz, shown below, they all put us in our place.
See also COSMIC VIEW: The Universe in 40 Jumps by Kees Boeke, 1957, reproduced online.
Thanks to ::Kottke.org for the memories.
from the ::Simpsons version
UPDATE: Commenter Andrew MT tells us about another version: "I saw this IMAX film (when I was around 15 or so) before I saw the original Powers of Ten, and I must say that the improved computer generated graphics, beautiful music, and narration by Morgan Freeman blow the original film out of the water." Linked to below: (Thanks Andrew!)
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- The Top 9 Green Viral Videos
- Just Say No to Polite Small Talk This Thanksgiving: How to Handle 7 Hairy Topics and Keep the Peace
- 2 Wheels, Not 4: Pedal Towards Bicycle Activism in 10 Revolutions Per Minute
- Focus Earth Episode: Man Vs. Nature
- Cool the Earth Puts Climate Change in the Classroom
- 16 Big Green Ideas We're Thankful For
Comments ()
