Do very many of us really matter

[Tintypographer]

When we consider the billions of people who exist today and billions from before us, aside from a few Abraham Lincoln's and Isaac Newton's and Leonardo daVincis etc can we really say that the world is impacted if we die by catching the bus or not. Is there anyone who can say they expect to have made a lasting impact 1000 years from now? We can think of people like Christ or Cleopatra or Hannibal who are known for their legacies but do we really need to worry that our impact of a death by suicide will have a butterfly effect lasting 1000 years or more? People will still have lives and deaths and depression then like the did 1000 years ago.

I just done believe that in 1000 years my life or death at any time willl matter, butterfly effect or not.

 

[Alexerini]

I guess it depends on your perspective. If you take look at it at the context of humanity, yeah nobody is gonna remember us in 1000 years. Philosophically? Many ideas regarding it, though probably you'd be thinking of nihilism. Physically tho we all matter in terms of causality, every action we take or don't take will lead to a string of cause and effect results.

 

[nervousandanxious]

Good point and kind of sad. Many of us won't have much of a lasting impact on society unless we have great careers or have helped other people immensely. I feel like my life was sort of worthless. I didn't do much and don't have much potential . Life is too hard, it's tough finding a job, making a living etc. it's all hard work and some ppl aren't equipped for the real world ...

 

[Tintypographer]

I understand nihilism and I'm willing to concede that a lot of people matter, do great things and will have a lasting impact. I just don't see myself as a mid level data scientist calculating performance metrics for quarterly forecasts as a cig in a machine for billionaires ever mattering at all. Someone else can do what I do, it's nothing special. I know a few people close to me would be hurt but in 10 generations would the ripple effect really matter? Heck in two generations will whatever crap I produce matter at all? I'm not a craftsman, I only work to pay the mortgage for the family and if I'm gone they can handle things. The question I ask myself is, is anything i.do really original or special and I'd have to say no.

 

[TimeToBiteTheDust]

Our existence is meaningless. In many years what we have done with our lives will be forgotten. We only came here to experience this shitty world and to suffer. Hope humankind extincts someday.

 

[Meowkin]

It's natural to feel guilty when you think you're going to deprive others of something and guilt is an effective human deterrent which is why it gets used when someone doesn't want the other to do something. Like all choices, ctb has its pros and cons.

I think in the largest of large scales, no one really matters. I think even those who have had a large impact on the world don't have complete universal impact. Just as an example, I don't think Jesus matters very much to Hindus.

On the other hand, in our circle however small, there's a chance we matter. Sometimes we matter to one or two people or even to just a cat.

Whether someone has a great impact on the world or not, I don't think it's wrong to ctb. It's a matter of choice and I don't see why a person should be held back from exercising that choice because of their impact on the world.

 

[mediocre]

It's only us humans that think since we exist we must be special or here for a purpose. It's not true life is meaningless. We are born, we suffer, we have highs and lows, then we die.

 

[deadpixels]

How many people exist today?
More than 7000000000
How many will still exist in 150 years?
0

That's how significant we are

We may think that certain people, due to their power to reshape the future of humanity, may be special in any way but if any person in history had died prematurely, or never existed at all, humanity would continue just fine. Things would have happened in a different way but that it, just in a different way, not necessarily better or worse.

Humanity as a whole could have never existed or could cease to exist. What difference would it make:?

 

[Aap]

I think if you measured your impact now to those close to you, you might view the question in a different light. Why worry about 1000 years? Why not be concerned about 10,000? Focus on the here and now and the things you can control, rather than worrying about a day that may never come or come to a world that barely resembles the one we have now.

 

[ImpetuousGnome]

By any objective standard, probably not. However, I can't think of any objective standard by which to measure a life or its effect on the world. If you want to know whether or not your life and death will actually mean anything, you need to think of the standards by which you are measuring first. Will your early death make a huge death in census records? Probably not. A huge difference in the life of your family and friends? Almost certainly. You specify that it won't matter 1k years from now if an individual dies at a young age to our descendants, but this is just as likely as a ton of other conclusions. Assuming peoples' values don't change much between now and then, I don't think a great deal of people will mourn for the death of someone who died 1k years ago, rather they would only know about or be interested in society as a whole at that time. A society is made up of individuals like your friends and family, the members of your community, or even your favorite cashier at the local grocery store. All the people that will miss you once you're gone. Their lives will change, leading them to act differently, which will change the course of the society they belong to, even if only slightly. in 1000 years, the ripple of your life will be faint, probably insignificant, but it isn't now. Your loved ones won't disappear with you, they'll be left to muddle on. The only difference in their lives will be a void where a friend, brother, mother, or wife used to be. Who do you care about more, the inhabitants of Earth in 1000 years, or the people you know now?

 

[SpottedPanda]

I certainly believe I don't matter. I have no kids, no significant other, few friends. I feel like I'm not going to impact the future of humanity in any significant way. I'm not even a productive member of society. I'm on state disability benefits. With no kids, I find it hard to feel invested in the future of society, let alone my own future.

All this is why I feel little to no guilt about finding an exit strategy

 

[Kumachan]

Matter to whom? You have to be specific, otherwise the question is absolutely and utterly meaningless.

 

[Bct]

For whole humanity? Most likely not. Only few will matter and have big impact.

For our circle of family and friends? I think we are matter for them, depending of our closeness.

 

[last_tour]

You can look down this entire list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicides
they're more famous than we'll ever be, but i doubt any of us think anything more than 'cool story'.

Theres no garuntee your family members will feel an impact about your death either... My grandparents on my fathers side and my mother always hated each other. When my grandfather died my mother said she was glad he died. I didnt care much either. Same with my uncle and my mothers grandparents who I knew really well as a kid. DIdn't really effect me emotinally. It could be because we all lived so far away (different countries) and hadn't met for years. One time I lived away from my parents and when I wanted to CTB it didn't even cross my mind my parents would be effected because i hadn't met them for years. I sometimes think they would be glad i died since im really only a burden to them at the moment. We don't really have a good relationship either.

You should really check though if your parents aren't just 'toxic parents' and aren't just using you to fill their emotional needs. When they say they don't want you to go they actually mean they can't use you anymore to feel better about themselves.