Lately I’ve really been feeling the perspective. A couple weeks ago I had a nifty turn of conversation with Double-A and Talktalk. I don’t think I got my point across but it wasn’t for lack of trying. I think I nearly bored them to tears.
When I was about 16 or so it struck me- the real statistical possibility of my existence. I had been thinking about lottery odds, and somehow got to thinking about aliens (I did mention being 16 right?) and about whether or not they’ve visited us… and so on. I won’t try and map my whole train of thought.
Anyway, as a race we’re notoriously egotistical. From presuming we’re made in God’s image to presuming we’re the pinnacle of His creation, and putting ourselves at the center of the universe.
We’re not at the center. We’re somewhere in the middle of one arm of an unremarkeable galaxy, which is itself only middling-young as far as the universe goes. Following the Big Bang Theory, most of the universe was here long before our galaxy showed up.
Life, however, is likely. Everything science has yielded so far indicates that given a not-to-uncommon set of conditions, life will out. So yes, there is life elsewhere in the universe. Plenty of it. We’re not even *that* special.
So, relatively speaking, we’re just another blip on the screen.
But *you*. Think about it. With the universe as big and ancient as it is, what are the chances of *you* existing? Think about it. Literally. You can think. You’re aware. You exist. What are the odds? So infinitesimally small that they aren’t worth thinking about.
Makes you wanna smell some roses or something.
So where was I? Right. Perspective. Things are really really big. I’m here. You’re there. West coast. Back east. England. Croatia. Australia. Seems like a long walk to anywhere. That’s all I’m saying, really.
To make a very graceful understatement, it’s cool we met.
AH, dj. yet again, you say what’s been on my mind a lot today. That last paragraph, about how we all ended up Here (where ever that is for You), well, it’s a bit question. Had we made one tiny other decision, we’d be totally somewhere else or just not be at all. I’m here and I like it.
p.s. regarding whether or not we are at the Centre of the Universe, I’ll be happy to prove sometime why we actually are at the Centre of the Universe (that’s only cheating a little since Everywhere is the centre of the Universe.)
COMMENT:
I agree with Evgenya. We are at the center of the Universe (and everywhere is the center of the universe)
it’s is cool that we have met!
Evgenya,
Why are we at the centre of the universe?
Lena
Hmmm. I love this post… it makes me think of all sorts of people.
Thank you.
We have given our earth a container, our moons orbit has one, and our solar system is a container too. I damn near bust a blood vessel trying to imagine what is outside our whole universe.
Try picturing it as a sphere spinning around something totally huge. We are beyond tiny. Why are we here and stuff…my brain hurts…
*toddles off with head in hands
Hi Lena. I’ll try to answer your question in a sentence or two: Since Time and Space didn’t exist before the Big Bang, then where ever the Big Bang happened was realy the Onlywhere*. Technically, the Big Bang happened EVERYWHERE so by definition everywhere is the centre or nowhere is the centre. Therefore, looking out into infinity into all directions from any place (e.g. dj’s living room) makes that the centre of the Universe.
*coined by aa in a moment of linguistic creativity.
Now Toki, you ask a really good question that I can only give an opinion instead of an answer to. I believe that being Happy is the Point to our mere 80 years on this planet. But attaining TRUE happiness comes in very specific ways: not through aquisition of money, power, etc., but rather by doing what you need to do (some sort of mission in life that only you can define, not what others tell you you _should_ do.) Now the hedonistic side of us all can definitely be part of the picture, it just depends how much weight you give it.
(I hope that makes some sense. I haven’t had my coffee yet this morning. Dj, did you hear that… I come to your post BEFORE my coffee. where have my loyalties gone?)
[sigh]
I don’t think I need to post, because a certain person knows exactly what I’m thinking and dreaming.
But on another note, it got me thinking: We’re here for what, 80 years on average? 100 if you’re lucky, or if you see it another way, unlucky. But in the grand scheme of things, we barely register, so I’m thinking a lot harder about doing what’s going to make me happy, as opposed to what I *should* do. Is that hedonism or self preservation?
The answer to that lies somewhere and if someone could give me an *unbiased* opinion, it would really help me make that decision :)
*winks* at Toki, *bows* to Ev’s wisdom on raison d’etre.
Ah, but Evgenya, we can only all be at the center of *something*, implying that the Big Bang happened *somewhere*. I’ve been running on the mind-bending concept that the universe is All, and therefore the epicenter of the Big Bang in Universal Ground Zero. Everything is moving away from it.
Hmm. It made more sense in the shower. *goes off to shower again…*
ack!
[covers eyes]
no more science wisdom, I’m three hours ahead over here and it still too early to wax poetic on how we came to exist and all that jazz ;)
as for my personal reason for being? I’m still trying to figure out how the fruit on the bottom got there :)
OK Toki. I get the hint. :) no more science-talk in the morning but I just have to respond to dj’s last comment. bare with me:
It’s subtle point and yet a philosophically interesting one. If we look out into the Universe and every galaxy we see is moving away from us, doesn’t that mean that we are at the center of the Universe? (This was first observed by Edwin Hubble in the 1920’s, after whom the famous Hubble Space Telescope is named after.) The obvious answer seems to be ‘yes’, but actually the answer is ‘no’. The common analogy is an image a loaf of raisin bread baking in the oven. As the bread bakes it gets bigger, and every raisin moves away from every other raisin. Now imagine that you are sitting on one of the raisins (ignore the heat of the oven and the misleading fact that there is an edge or a crust to the bread). All the other raisins are moving away from you, so you might conclude that you are at the centre of the loaf of bread. But if you were on a different raisin you would also see every raisin moving away from you and would also conclude that you are at the centre of the loaf. The same thing is happening in the Universe. No matter where you are in the Universe, every galaxy you see is moving away from you. That’s why we don’t usually talk about the centre of the Universe since there really is no Centre, or equivalently, Everywhere is the Centre. Even you!
ok. I’ll stop now. dj, you and I can take this up one day with a paper and pen.
Yeah, I was hoping we’d be more about the “how great it is to be alive” and less about just where exactly we parked the universe. It’s all good though. I LOVE philosophical debate.
And cheese. I love cheese. And chocolate. And caramel. And kisses…
LOL
I totally understand exactly what ev is talking about…which makes me either brilliant or truly crazy ;)
Well, let me correct myself, I understand everything execept for that “CENTRE” stuff, hehe, you canadians and your spelling…sorry, I couldn’t resist a dig, you know I love you!
dj, I love talking about stuff people here just don’t understand…and I also love being alive :)
and I love chocolate, caramel and kisses too! how about that!
*taps dj on shoulder
“You have only posted twice this month.”
*steps back out of push up range