Submitted by vapournova t3_zr6wab in space
Bekklor t1_j11yicu wrote
We might come and go, but we have a chance and opportunity to make an impact that reverberates long after we're gone. Sure, the far flung future seems bleak, but we can't control that, so I don't spend energy thinking about it.
atre324 t1_j122ya5 wrote
This. I also think when we worry about humanity’s place in the cosmos, we are really worrying about our own impact in this world. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that it doesnt even have to be anything special- just being kind to others is the easiest way.
To quote Contact… “In all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other.”
8andahalfby11 t1_j126gur wrote
Yup. We're human. We're designed to walk no more than 10 miles a day on average, interact with a group of no more than 140 people, hunt and gather food, remember a general oral history, and die around age 40-something. Instead, we drive or ride over a hundred miles just on our daily commute, are expected to moderate a thousand social media friends, do high school calculus, and have people living into their hundreds. We're already pulling way, way, WAY more weight than we're designed to; the heat death of the universe is so far out of our hands, and not our problem. Best to focus on that circle of 140 people.
StarChild413 t1_j12syzc wrote
so should we design ourselves for greater circles, lifespans, memory and endurance
8andahalfby11 t1_j12u5nr wrote
Is that still human?
dustysquareback t1_j12x8lw wrote
> die around age 40-something.
Probably not true at all. Many primitive humans lived long lives if they got through childhood. It was the high infant and child mortality that drove the average lifespan down.
Mediocre-Oil2052 t1_j12y86a wrote
Seriously? Have you considered viral infections, contaminated food/water sources, and overall organ failure without the aid of even semi-modern medicine? Sorry if parts of that are redundant but sometimes it is nice to have several redundancies in place.
New-Distribution3195 t1_j12ejne wrote
Even if you make in impact in this world, it will be gone and you will be forgotten. Everyone of us will be forgotten sooner or later.
Zealousideal-Ad-2546 t1_j12ib4b wrote
I see what you mean, I think.
zzzrice t1_j12rarv wrote
Sure. Everything is impermanent. But disregarding the meaningfulness of positive impact because of this fact is actually not necessary. In fact it is very useless, and defeatist. An action or impact can be meaningful and impermanent. The very fact that it’s done in the face of its impermanence can give it meaning. Besides, if things weren’t impermanent, new phenomena could not appear. There would be no birth.
Bluepaperbutterfly t1_j12n2jc wrote
All I want is the bleak nothingness, because then there is no conscious awareness of the cycle.
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