The universe is expanding. That's what Matt said, over cocktails. Any given point could be the center. Here I lost my grip on the concept, if not the cocktail.
Matt switched tacks, trying to put the problem in terms I'd grasp. It's like a raisin bun, he said. Here Matt, who helped launch the Webb Space Telescope, showed his own ignorance. My interest is never piqued by raisins.
As the dough expands, he explained, the raisins separate. To any given raisin, everything seems to be moving away. It considers itself the center. Now I could see the point: Raisins are self-centered.
I was inspired to knead a batch of buns, hoping the analogy would hold if I switched to currants. In the oven, the buns expanded; the currants moved apart. I can't say if any considered themselves the center of the universe. I ate them. Now they're the center of my universe.
