About

The idea behind Crumbly But Good is one of finding richness and joy in the messy imperfections of our universe.

Take the name, Crumbly But Good, this phrase, uttered almost in passing by Carl Sagan in episode 9 of the series Cosmos, acknowledges that the pie is not a simple thing. Crumbly is an adjective which means “Easy to break into small fragments”. The contraction, but, implies that, in spite of its crumbliness, the pie remains good.

Crumbliness is an integral part of pastry and is not typically regarded as a negative attribute which makes the typically contrarian contraction seem potentially out of place. Had the contraction been and, the phrase crumbly and good would provide little opportunity for additional complexity given that the episode describes the life cycle of stars and the basic elements of which they are composed. And reduces the crumbliness to a simple attribute of the pie and could have been easily replaced with warm, aromatic or gooey. Prefacing the episode about atoms and stars with something that is crumbly, breaking down into an immensely complex collection of smaller pieces, and yet it remains good, allows the complexity to exist as it is, without judgement. There is a simplicity to good which pairs well with the chaos of crumbliness. That juxtaposition of the simple and the chaotic provide the canvas upon which the Universe and all of its richness can be explored.

Let’s explore.