In 1920, Robert Frost wrote his classic poem, Fire & Ice: Some say the world will end in fire; Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great and would suffice. The astronomer Harlow Shapley wrote in a 1960 "Science and the Arts" presentation that he inspired the poem. According to a Wikipedia anecdote, Shapley describes an encounter ...