It's actually one of the things I enjoy about it. It is a reminder of just how unimportant we actually are. All of the rat races and stress and worry we endure and/or put ourselves through is ultimately for nothing. Since it doesn't matter anyways, might as well live it in the most free and self fulfilling way one can.
Whether something is important or unimportant is something that only humans, and possibly some animals, and possibly some AI, can reason about. Most of the universe does not reason, and does not think that things are important or not.
Importance is a local concept, and it can be quite relevant locally.
https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
I agree so much. For all we know yet, there's nothing out there. Nothing conscious or even sentient. So our lives and the life on earth are infinitely important.
I never understood this `we're but a speck`. Do you know of many other specks with life ?
The universe has been around long before humans existed, and it will be here long after humans no longer exist. If humans are the best the universe has, then that's just a sad bit of commentary. Not understanding the but a speck is just denying fact. We may be the only speck with life, but we're just a speck with life. If the life on this speck was able to hop from speck to speck and utilize all of the universe, we could have a conversation.
Consider this: In the movie, the Truman show: Truman is living on a giant hollwyood soundtage with thousands upon thousands of cameras following his every move allowing the TV Audience to subjectively experience his life - his life is writ large on the minds of billions of people- but it is only one life.
Now imagine instead- If the Universe is conscious, instead of that being one big conscious observer looking down; perhaps instead we (each of us humans, animals etc as life act as living observers) living our first person subjective perspectives like a multitude of cameras for the universe to experience itself on Earth
And we can imagine that happening at all scales simultaneously across all living worlds and other forms of mind throughout the cosmos, ie consciousness as first person observers might be as innumerable as the number of stars in the sky, and these living perspectives or subjective cameras are dotting the whole immensity all unify to provide the universe with an eye on itself in infinite perspective ..
Doesn't that make up for humans being puny tiny lifespans - we (our insignificant bodies) are just disposable cameras for consciousness
How does existence of life outside Earth (or lack of it) change importance of our life in the grand scheme of things?
It's important because we seem to be the only (visible) thing that can scheme.
I'm not so sure. I've watched my cat sit there and scheme. Sure, it may be not much further than "what's this thing do if I bat it with my paw?" or "what's that taste like?" or "can I train my hooman to refill the food dish if I incessantly whine and be as annoying as possible?", but they are definitely thinking about it. Then again, I've watched my cat stare off into space as if he's pondering the mysteries of the universe, but he's probably just trying to figure out the best route he could take to get that squirrel if he could just get outside.
Or perhaps the universe is overflowing with minds we haven't found yet!
I am sometimes tickled and intrigued by the (very New Agey woo-flavored) idea that consciousness is the fundamental building block of reality, not matter.
It makes absolutely no sense and at the same time makes about as much sense as anything.
“… we are the universe, experiencing itself subjectively.”
Fine. s/important/significant/ or any other word you feel befitting.
"Momentary masters of a fraction of a dot"
- Carl Sagan in Pale Blue Dot
This attitude is referred to as optimistic nihilism, if anyone wants to look more into it.
I've been trying to adopt this mindset myself in recent years.
It's helped me "cope" and accept certain things about my life. It's not how my mind developed initially, so it doesn't come naturally to me and I sometimes fall into old habits. So, sometimes I need to remind myself to practice it.
Anyway, thanks for the reminder! :)
Yep. Plus, with the Rubin telescope online, we have a pretty high resolution and high frequency scan of the solar system where we could detect anything that could hurt us pretty far out, probably even wandering black holes.
Like, if nothing really matters on a universal scale, then you're free to define your own meaning without all the pressure
I tried to do that, and ended up sitting at home watching TV eating chips. At the end of the day I felt way more tense and unsatisfied than whole day of working and worrying. Even "enduring" a jog or a gym gives more satisfaction.
So, I conclude, since our biology is tuned for that -- it's better to keep worrying and enduring, and we will be happier. There must be a contradiction somewhere though.
> There must be a contradiction somewhere though.
Yes, nobody said anything that you had to be a couch potato stoner person. We don't live in the world of Star Trek Federation, so we all have to do whatever job we do so we can afford the basic things we need. However, we get paid for 40 hours, so I'm not giving them 45, 50, or 60 hours. I'm not working 5 days a week, and then donating a 6th. My time is my time. I give you what you pay me for, and then I take my time back. My favorite quote from a coworker when I was very young, "I give them what they give me, 40 hours."
During my time, I can do whatever I want to do while not stressing about the J.O.B. Whatever I left on Friday will still be there on Monday. I'm not a doctor, so nobody is going to die because I didn't check my email or slack. The rat race ended for me a long time ago
I wish. I'm a business owner, no one gives a thought about my hours.
Or my income for that matter -- just make 100% sure paid all the salaries, taxes, insurances -- if I come up negative, well, sucks to be me then, dude.