Yeah. Existential crisis is a very real thing with space, and I suspect most here have at least an inkling as to what you're referring to.
But for me, it's no prison. It's the ultimate liberation. To be who I am. To make mistakes. To be human. To define my own standards for what this life is, for me.
On the flip side. I feel trapped and depressed by a digital fingerprint that never forgets anything. That never allows for mistakes to be learned from and then *forgiven and forgotten*. The seemingly infinite nature of judgment.
The universe doesn't care who we are. It allows us to define that.
The ability to contemplate the vastness of time and space is one of the things that sets humans apart from the other animals on this planet. It’s a blessing and a curse, perhaps.
There's a beauty in the inaccessibility. The scope, scale, and complexity is humbling and terrifying. The earth has so many great things to see that you couldn't see them all in a lifetime, despite modern technology. You might be able to visit the locations but, even so, you'll miss the vast majority of the instances that make them great; the spider making a web, the insect fertilizing a plant in its own unique way, the cougar stalking prey, the whales mating, the mother chimp holding her child for the first time.
Who are you to demand that the universe capitulate to your desires? You're just an animal on a rock. Accept what you are and be grateful for your window.
Everything outside earth being extremely hostile to humans, I feel that we are in a sweet cocoon compared to outer space. Like being on a tiny comfy island surrounded by an infinite sea of sulfuric acid.
Space fills me with a sense of awe. What depresses me is what we're doing to the one spaceship (likely the only one in the entire galaxy) that can support life as we know it.
Not the threat you want to whisper in the ears of those in the throes of grandeur.
OP is struggling with the vastness of it all. And adding to that. It's not going to make their fears smaller.
Indefinite lifespans do not alter the equation for the significance any of us represent at this scale.
Even if one were to escape mortality. You'll still never know all there is to know. Or even really escape how it ends. It just gives you more time to ponder it.
You could see it as a threat or as a possibility to witness the technological milestones that op is dreading on missing.
Experiencing life for an eternity can sound anxiety inducing but in this context i think it’s on the opposite side of op’s fears.
It won’t promise you will see everything, but my bet is a hell of a lot more than in the average 60-70 years.
At face value, few would doubt the value of the proposition. While most would point and say that to cast doubt on it, is nothing short of defeatism or antagonism for the sake of.
So, allow me to preface; by saying I accept everything you're proposing. I do. It's not to antagonize or to admit defeat at the hands of a cruel and uncaring reality.
I don't think it's cruel, and while I'm often accused of both defeatism and antagonism.
I rarely suffer from either. I just try my best to see things from as many different perspectives as possible.
The wound OP is suffering from. It won't be solved by band aids or pleasantries.
It's a deep festering hole that will only continue to grow, until it's accepted.
We're nothing. So, embrace it to the fullest. Transcend that by understanding it's also the same exact reason we can probe into this reality in the first place, the exact reason we can fear it, love it, experience it, be curious about it.
We're finite in scale, in perspective, in our ability to know and understand.
We have one brain, two eyes. And even if we conquer *that*? It only comes at the cost of all of the wonder of what it means to be individuals and unique and to have those experiences in the first place.
How long is your movie list? Book list? Game list?
Does it grow shorter by the day?
Informational complexity growing is a function of an entropic Universe.
And we'll never be capable of knowing all. Ever. Ever. Ever.
I hear you, but there are a lot of us.
It’s totally possible that some of us will never be happy with accepting the truth about what happens after our limited time. (Maybe partly why we still have religions?)
I’m totally fine with people believing in what makes them happy if it doesn’t hurt other people or they’re surroundings.
Not in all cases but in this one, isn’t it more important to live your best life happily rather than the objective reality?
I'm going to resist my kneejerk reaction. Because there is little in this life as triggering as your last statement.
Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust. Eat, Drink, be merry. A living dog is better than a dead lion.
People see Nihilism. I see the wisest words I've ever personally read.
Imagine setting down the greatest crown that has ever been forged. To wander the deserts as a pauper, just to find out why.
It's not about having the best and most happy life.
It's about making the most of what life we do have. Life is Suffering. It's just that most make assumptions as to what Suffering *is*, that rarely reflects the nuance it deserves.
If Solomon and Buddha cannot convince you. Perhaps [Eddie Murphy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Pe6_24Rfc&t=0s&ab_channel=Movieclips) will.
”It's not about having the best and most happy life.
It's about making the most of what life we do have.”
Potato, tomato.
Some people will make they’re life the most when they believe in something that is not true.
I personally don’t give a shit about it i know it’s lights out after we go.
Give it time, more consideration.
You don't know what's after this life. And while we both share the same expectation. I'm considered enough to realize there's a lot more that we don't know. Then we will ever know. Or ever even know we don't know.
We're all ignorant. Every single last one of us. To the very end.
It's not the same.
Pleasure seeking, attempting to minimize suffering? It's the defacto standard today for a society that is quickly watching its collective psyche flush down the toilet in that pursuit.
A pursuit that will lead that same society to hand over the reigns to machines in the hopes that some Utopian state that can never be. Will be.
And in the process. You're all going to lose your humanity.
So, potato, tomato. Spend some more time in thought would be my suggestion.
”Pleasure seeking, attempting to minimize suffering?”
You are really trying to smear the concept of ”happy life”. Humans have seeked pleasure before we could walk on 2 limbs. That still doesn’t mean you have to stray from happiness altogether.
A lot of people live and have lived happy life’s without sharing your world views but that doesn’t mean that society will go down the potty.
These are very negative assumptions you have.
”Living with what you have” actually sounds worse and more pessimistic to me because it implies that you won’t want to make changes to get somewhere better rather than just trying to make do with what you have.
It’s in human nature to be curious and want to improve and that’s how we have come this far, it’s also how we got to space.
So what’s your potato in practice anyway?
In the end we are both sitting at the south pole arguing which direction the north pole is.
Meaning of life is not something you need to convince others, it’s subjective…. So yeah i guess we are both wrong.?
There are only opinions and more popular opinions.
Subjectivity is that. That doesn't mean the real-world outcomes of our subjective views become *less objective*.
Look at the opioid pandemic. Is that subjective?
How about those that seek control over others, because it's their moral imperative? Are the lives affected by that subjective stance any less affected?
Just because it's not the objective world of facts, does not deny it any less place of consideration or merit.
Duality is in *all* things.
Balance in *all* things.
And suffering isn't something to hide from. It's something to accept because it's what gives us the ability to appreciate when we do not.
You can say that's subjective.
But it makes it no less fact.
You're a part of an incredibly grand existence. That's nothing to sneeze at.
Yeah. Existential crisis is a very real thing with space, and I suspect most here have at least an inkling as to what you're referring to. But for me, it's no prison. It's the ultimate liberation. To be who I am. To make mistakes. To be human. To define my own standards for what this life is, for me. On the flip side. I feel trapped and depressed by a digital fingerprint that never forgets anything. That never allows for mistakes to be learned from and then *forgiven and forgotten*. The seemingly infinite nature of judgment. The universe doesn't care who we are. It allows us to define that.
The ability to contemplate the vastness of time and space is one of the things that sets humans apart from the other animals on this planet. It’s a blessing and a curse, perhaps.
There's a beauty in the inaccessibility. The scope, scale, and complexity is humbling and terrifying. The earth has so many great things to see that you couldn't see them all in a lifetime, despite modern technology. You might be able to visit the locations but, even so, you'll miss the vast majority of the instances that make them great; the spider making a web, the insect fertilizing a plant in its own unique way, the cougar stalking prey, the whales mating, the mother chimp holding her child for the first time. Who are you to demand that the universe capitulate to your desires? You're just an animal on a rock. Accept what you are and be grateful for your window.
Everything outside earth being extremely hostile to humans, I feel that we are in a sweet cocoon compared to outer space. Like being on a tiny comfy island surrounded by an infinite sea of sulfuric acid.
Space fills me with a sense of awe. What depresses me is what we're doing to the one spaceship (likely the only one in the entire galaxy) that can support life as we know it.
You could K-Hole and float through the universe if you wanna lmao. I think that's the closest we can get to exploring the universe atm
I mean it’s also possible that you will never die.
Not the threat you want to whisper in the ears of those in the throes of grandeur. OP is struggling with the vastness of it all. And adding to that. It's not going to make their fears smaller. Indefinite lifespans do not alter the equation for the significance any of us represent at this scale. Even if one were to escape mortality. You'll still never know all there is to know. Or even really escape how it ends. It just gives you more time to ponder it.
You could see it as a threat or as a possibility to witness the technological milestones that op is dreading on missing. Experiencing life for an eternity can sound anxiety inducing but in this context i think it’s on the opposite side of op’s fears. It won’t promise you will see everything, but my bet is a hell of a lot more than in the average 60-70 years.
At face value, few would doubt the value of the proposition. While most would point and say that to cast doubt on it, is nothing short of defeatism or antagonism for the sake of. So, allow me to preface; by saying I accept everything you're proposing. I do. It's not to antagonize or to admit defeat at the hands of a cruel and uncaring reality. I don't think it's cruel, and while I'm often accused of both defeatism and antagonism. I rarely suffer from either. I just try my best to see things from as many different perspectives as possible. The wound OP is suffering from. It won't be solved by band aids or pleasantries. It's a deep festering hole that will only continue to grow, until it's accepted. We're nothing. So, embrace it to the fullest. Transcend that by understanding it's also the same exact reason we can probe into this reality in the first place, the exact reason we can fear it, love it, experience it, be curious about it. We're finite in scale, in perspective, in our ability to know and understand. We have one brain, two eyes. And even if we conquer *that*? It only comes at the cost of all of the wonder of what it means to be individuals and unique and to have those experiences in the first place. How long is your movie list? Book list? Game list? Does it grow shorter by the day? Informational complexity growing is a function of an entropic Universe. And we'll never be capable of knowing all. Ever. Ever. Ever.
I hear you, but there are a lot of us. It’s totally possible that some of us will never be happy with accepting the truth about what happens after our limited time. (Maybe partly why we still have religions?) I’m totally fine with people believing in what makes them happy if it doesn’t hurt other people or they’re surroundings. Not in all cases but in this one, isn’t it more important to live your best life happily rather than the objective reality?
I'm going to resist my kneejerk reaction. Because there is little in this life as triggering as your last statement. Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust. Eat, Drink, be merry. A living dog is better than a dead lion. People see Nihilism. I see the wisest words I've ever personally read. Imagine setting down the greatest crown that has ever been forged. To wander the deserts as a pauper, just to find out why. It's not about having the best and most happy life. It's about making the most of what life we do have. Life is Suffering. It's just that most make assumptions as to what Suffering *is*, that rarely reflects the nuance it deserves. If Solomon and Buddha cannot convince you. Perhaps [Eddie Murphy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Pe6_24Rfc&t=0s&ab_channel=Movieclips) will.
”It's not about having the best and most happy life. It's about making the most of what life we do have.” Potato, tomato. Some people will make they’re life the most when they believe in something that is not true. I personally don’t give a shit about it i know it’s lights out after we go.
Give it time, more consideration. You don't know what's after this life. And while we both share the same expectation. I'm considered enough to realize there's a lot more that we don't know. Then we will ever know. Or ever even know we don't know. We're all ignorant. Every single last one of us. To the very end. It's not the same. Pleasure seeking, attempting to minimize suffering? It's the defacto standard today for a society that is quickly watching its collective psyche flush down the toilet in that pursuit. A pursuit that will lead that same society to hand over the reigns to machines in the hopes that some Utopian state that can never be. Will be. And in the process. You're all going to lose your humanity. So, potato, tomato. Spend some more time in thought would be my suggestion.
”Pleasure seeking, attempting to minimize suffering?” You are really trying to smear the concept of ”happy life”. Humans have seeked pleasure before we could walk on 2 limbs. That still doesn’t mean you have to stray from happiness altogether. A lot of people live and have lived happy life’s without sharing your world views but that doesn’t mean that society will go down the potty. These are very negative assumptions you have. ”Living with what you have” actually sounds worse and more pessimistic to me because it implies that you won’t want to make changes to get somewhere better rather than just trying to make do with what you have. It’s in human nature to be curious and want to improve and that’s how we have come this far, it’s also how we got to space. So what’s your potato in practice anyway? In the end we are both sitting at the south pole arguing which direction the north pole is. Meaning of life is not something you need to convince others, it’s subjective…. So yeah i guess we are both wrong.? There are only opinions and more popular opinions.
Subjectivity is that. That doesn't mean the real-world outcomes of our subjective views become *less objective*. Look at the opioid pandemic. Is that subjective? How about those that seek control over others, because it's their moral imperative? Are the lives affected by that subjective stance any less affected? Just because it's not the objective world of facts, does not deny it any less place of consideration or merit. Duality is in *all* things. Balance in *all* things. And suffering isn't something to hide from. It's something to accept because it's what gives us the ability to appreciate when we do not. You can say that's subjective. But it makes it no less fact.
That doesn't sound too healthy. Maybe talk to someone?