Rosemary Durham

Dad, Where Did We Come From? Rosemary Durham

'It was a dark and stormy night' is the introduction to Snoopy's perpetual novel. The phrase has been perennially used as a euphemism for a melodramatic written novel called purple prose. However, in this case, the phrase is an apt description for real cosmic beginnings. The beginning of the universe has long been a question for kids to philosophers and scientists. Although the query of 'where did we come from?' is the same, the approach and an acceptable answer is very different. Our objective is to address the topic on all three levels. The first segment is a straight forward compilation of primarily Nasa low-tech information. The second segment is math and science. The third segment is philosophical with a bow to religious tradition. Our target profile is secondary educated without physics class. Achieving such a goal is challenging, since the topic is steeped in physics and astro-physics. Enough new evidence is presented that information of value should be available across the understanding spectrum. As a scientist and a theologian, my ideas can run into the deep woods. However, my co-author's daunting task is to drag the information back to understandable reality. Even in the science and math discussion, we hope to use adequate pictures and illustrations so that at least the concepts are visible, if not the subtlety.