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bakerman
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07-10-2020, 12:52 AM
1

So, we think we are so important ?

We, as a species, think we are so very important. We get all stressed out over dozens of things. But, does any of that truly matter ?

Step back, for a few minutes, and contemplate just how important we truly are.

We live in a galaxy that we call the Milky Way Galaxy. There are aprox 400 billion stars in our home galaxy. 400 billion.

No one knows for certain how many galaxies in the entire universe , but it is currently estimated there are 200 billion galaxies. How many suns is that? How many of those suns have planets ? Again, no one knows but it is estimated that there are more suns in the universe than there are grains of sand on all the beaches of earth. Contemplate that for a while.

When I find myself far out in the wilderness, and far, far away from any man-made light, and I locate an open meadow, and I stare at the cosmos. It makes me feel insignificant in the big, magnificent scheme of things.

I pretend that I am on a distant planet, and on a completely different galaxy. As I look up at the night shy, I imagine that one of those dots is our home galaxy. I now ask myself how important am I ?

Indeed, how important is the human species; how important is the planet earth when viewed from a perspective of the universe?
If the earth suddenly disappeared, indeed if our entire solar system disappeared, the universe would not care one bit. I would continue it's "starry business" as if nothing at all happened.

Note: Some of those bright dots are not single stars, but entire galaxies.


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07-10-2020, 02:25 AM
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Re: So, we think we are so important ?

TBH I don’t give a monkeys about the universe .
I care about this planet
The one we are destroying by our actions .
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07-10-2020, 04:58 AM
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Re: So, we think we are so important ?

I go out and look up at the stars and the moon and stand in awe at this beautiful world we are given to live on . Sadly there is much light pollution but as I look I wonder of our ancestors who also stood and looked and wondered. I do wonder at it all, asking questions, rarely I get answers and if I do I try to listen , and there are always more questions.

Incredible isn't it Bakerman
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07-10-2020, 07:19 AM
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Re: So, we think we are so important ?

Originally Posted by susan m ->
I go out and look up at the stars and the moon and stand in awe at this beautiful world we are given to live on . Sadly there is much light pollution but as I look I wonder of our ancestors who also stood and looked and wondered. I do wonder at it all, asking questions, rarely I get answers and if I do I try to listen , and there are always more questions.

Incredible isn't it Bakerman
Indeed it is. Personally, I believe that of the billions and billions of planets in the universe, the odds are very heavily in favor of life on some of those planets. Quite probably, intelligent life. Just think of all the intelligent life right here on earth: dolphins, whales, monkeys, and the great apes. Even our pet dogs are fairly intelligent.

I am also quite aware that no matter what eventually happens to humans, life will continue on earth.

Time. An endless amount of time is all that it takes for life to evolve into a myriad of forms. If we imagine a 24 hour clock and the earth formed at one minute after midnight it took most of the day for life to gain a decent foothold. At 11:45 pm dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was not until a few seconds before midnight that humans appeared.

We are new-comers here. From the time that the 1st humanoid creature stood up on its hind legs, up until now, is but a blink of an eye in the story of earth.
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07-10-2020, 07:34 AM
5

Re: So, we think we are so important ?

Originally Posted by Muddy ->
TBH I don’t give a monkeys about the universe .
I care about this planet
The one we are destroying by our actions .
Well stop it right now!
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07-10-2020, 08:29 AM
6

Re: So, we think we are so important ?

Please, let's not go down the path of earth's pollution.
There is already a nice long thread. "Extinction: The Facts".

I'd be happy, however, to discuss "Space and time"

Nasa's Hubble space telescope has some magnificent photos of two galaxies which are passing through each other. Space is so vast that the various suns and planets of each galaxy do not appear to be colliding.

Photo of two galaxies passing through each other.


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07-10-2020, 08:42 AM
7

Re: So, we think we are so important ?

I have trouble getting my head around the current universe..it’s too big..and then along comes this..
In a study published earlier this month, a team of theoretical physicists is claiming to have discovered the remnants of previous universes hidden within the leftover radiation from the Big Bang. Our universe is a vast collection of observable matter, like gas, dust, stars, etc., in addition to the ever-elusive dark matter and dark energy. In some sense, this universe is all we know, and even then, we can only directly study about 5% of it, leaving 95% a mystery that scientists are actively working to solve. However, this group of physicists is arguing that our universe isn't alone; it's just one in a long line of universes that are born, grow, and die. Among these scientists is mathematical physicist Roger Penrose, who worked closely with Stephen Hawking and currently is the Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University. Penrose and his collaborators follow a cosmological theory called conformal cyclic cosmology (CCC) in which universes, much like human beings, come into existence, expand, and then perish.
From Forbes
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07-10-2020, 09:10 AM
8

Re: So, we think we are so important ?

Originally Posted by bakerman ->
We, as a species, think we are so very important. We get all stressed out over dozens of things. But, does any of that truly matter ?
True that we are very small in the World and even smaller viewed from Space but we are very important in our own spheres and minds. This does truly matter.

Even those contemplating the bigger picture will think they are very important when push comes to crunch. All will instinctively take evasive action to avoid danger to themselves. If thinking they weren't important and didn't matter, they wouldn't bother doing so.

For instance, I'll bet all great thinkers would get out the road if a bus was bearing down on them.
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07-10-2020, 09:19 AM
9

Re: So, we think we are so important ?

Originally Posted by bakerman ->

Nasa's Hubble space telescope has some magnificent photos of two galaxies which are passing through each other.

Photo of two galaxies passing through each other.
They look like two giant hurricanes. Amazing images from Hubble.
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07-10-2020, 10:06 AM
10

Re: So, we think we are so important ?

Earth & it's inhabitants are very important to those who live here, so to us the rest of space is just an interesting array of bright lights.

I feel that hardly any of us will travel in the universe and, even if we do, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to live there.

I am afraid that I am one of those people who think that the time, energy and money we invest into traveling in space would be better used in looking after our own planet.
I remember the USA landing on the moon and, although it was an achievement, what benefits have we seen from the money that was invested into it?

Wouldn't be a better if the sky remained a beautiful mystery, rather than somewhere we need to invade?
 
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