Category Archives: The Evidentialism Files

Cosmic Cold Spots


You’re looking at one of the weirdest things in the known universe. Here are 5 of the wildest factslaps about the Eridanus Supervoid:

1. It’s a Billion Light-Years Wide

This void stretches across a billion light-years—big enough to fit 10,000 Milky Ways side by side with room to spare.

2. It May Explain the Cosmic Cold Spot

This region of the sky is mysteriously colder in the cosmic microwave background, and this giant void might be the reason why.

3. It’s Nearly Empty

The void has up to 30% less matter than average—galaxies, gas, even dark matter are missing. That’s an unprecedented cosmic no-show.

4. Light Loses Energy Traveling Through It

Photons crossing it may cool off due to the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, like cosmic headlights dimming in a bottomless fog.

5. Some Think It’s a Bruise from Another Universe

One fringe theory: the void is a scar from a collision with a parallel universe. No joke—this is a real hypothesis being studied.

The Mighty Dandelion

Dandelions and the Fibonacci sequence are connected through a fascinating principle of natural design.
The seed heads of dandelions exhibit what botanists call phyllotaxis – the arrangement of leaves, seeds, or other plant parts that follows mathematical patterns. The seeds in a dandelion head are arranged in spirals that follow Fibonacci numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc.).
If you look carefully at a dandelion seed head, you can see two sets of spirals – one going clockwise and another counterclockwise. Typically, the number of spirals in each direction corresponds to consecutive Fibonacci numbers. For example, you might count 21 spirals in one direction and 34 in the other.
The seeds also grow at what’s called the “golden angle” of approximately 137.5 degrees. This specific angle is derived from the golden ratio (approximately 1.618) and equals 360° divided by the golden ratio squared. When new seeds form at this precise angle from the previous seed, it creates the most efficient packing arrangement possible.
This 137.5° angle ensures that no two seeds are directly in line with each other from the center, allowing maximum exposure to sunlight, air, and optimal use of space.
That mathematical precision isn’t unique to dandelions – it appears in many plants including sunflower seed heads, pinecones, and the arrangement of leaves around stems. This is the math of life.