rationalskepticism.org

Nebogipfel wrote:I'm going to go against the grain here....

"Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements– the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life– weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars

That's a great quote. Should have stopped there.

and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode.So forget Jesus; the stars died so that you could live."

That's just silly. I'm pretty sure Krauss doesn't actually think that stars feel emotions such as kindness, or that particular stars decided to blow themselves up in order to create the human race. So why say such a thing?

It's just asking for a quote mine.

Nebogipfel wrote:

Animavore wrote:He said it because he was talking in front of an buch of atheists at a convention and wanted to crack a joke at the theists expense.

Ah. Context is everything.

One of the most poetic facts I know about the universe is that essentially every atom in your body was once inside a star that exploded. Moreover, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than did those in your right. We are all, literally, star children, and our bodies made of stardust.