How scale changes everything

[summers]

Another thread I posted was a catalyst for this thought: On a large or long enough scale, nothing matters. Here are a few examples:

Size:

• What happens on the other side of the planet probably won't affect you.
• When the moon finally crashes back into the earth, basically destroying it, the rest of the solar system will be fine.
• If the sun were to disappear, and all objects in the solar system got flung into space, they would probably never interact with any other celestial object.
• If our galaxy disappeared, the rest of the universe would go on like nothing happened.
• Even if our local group of galaxies disappeared (this is HUNDREDS of TRILLIONS of stars), the rest of the universe wouldn't even notice.

Time (even crazier):

• Over millennia, only a very few people are remembered. Think about history books - how many people from 2000+ years ago are mentioned?
• Over hundreds of thousands of years people probably won't even be around, and their contributions, short of the voyager probes and objects still orbiting the planet, will be completely lost.
• Over billions of years, the earth will be gone, no one (human or alien) will ever know it existed.
• Over trillions of years, everything that is currently known about the universe will be gone (even if there were beings left capable of understanding this) (this is due to the theory of expansion basically blacking out the cosmic radiation background)
• (This is the craziest) According to certain theories, over a long enough time, the universe will be the same as if the big bang never happened (this is very simplified). In essence, nothing and everything wind up being exactly the same, given enough time.

:)

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

For me remembering that 820 000 people killed themselves in 2016 or whatever the stat is had a bit of a sombering effect. Trying to visualize everyone and realizing that every single one of them had more or less the same perception/thoughts/experiences/life/etc as me (ignoring the shallow stuff). Placing myself among the hundreds of thousands, right in the center, and starting to wave. I can't see myself in there, not even with binoculars.

 

[Makko]

We're just a session of Dwarf Fortress installed on a bored god's laptop.

 

[TheAmazingCriswell]

On a large or long enough scale, nothing matters.

This is akin to saying that the scribbles I produced in kindergarten are indistinguishable from a Velázquez painting when viewed from a far enough distance; it's true, but not terribly helpful.
While we are able to conceptualise on a large scale, we effectively live on a small scale.
If someone chops off my arm, I won't be able to rationalise the pain away by considering it to be a triviality in the grand scheme of the universe that objectively doesn't matter; it still hurts.
A large-scale lack of objective meaning does not isolate me from subjective pain on a small scale. In fact, our subjective experience is all that matters at the end of the day.

 

[UseItOrLoseIt]

Scale changes everything. But that changes nothing.

 

[summers]

This is akin to saying that the scribbles I produced in kindergarten are indistinguishable from a Velázquez painting when viewed from a far enough distance; it's true, but not terribly helpful.
While we are able to conceptualise on a large scale, we effectively live on a small scale.
If someone chops off my arm, I won't be able to rationalise the pain away by considering it to be a triviality in the grand scheme of the universe that objectively doesn't matter; it still hurts.
A large-scale lack of objective meaning does not isolate me from subjective pain on a small scale. In fact, our subjective experience is all that matters at the end of the day.

Totally understand. My point wasn't to trivialize anyone's pain or experiences. Just pointing out something that really made me think.

I believe it also works the other way, on a small enough scale, both in time and space, what happens is completely disconnected from the macro world. Particles basically follow a different set of rules than objects at the atomic scales of size and time.

 

[motel rooms]

For me remembering that 820 000 people killed themselves in 2016 or whatever the stat is had a bit of a sombering effect. Trying to visualize everyone and realizing that every single one of them had more or less the same perception/thoughts/experiences/life/etc as me (ignoring the shallow stuff). Placing myself among the hundreds of thousands, right in the center, and starting to wave. I can't see myself in there, not even with binoculars.

A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders when I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't special. It was incredibly hard, I used to be very proud of myself for being a fighter/survivor.

I have only one thing to do and that's
Be the wave that I am and then
Sink back into the ocean...

-- F. Apple

 

[FuneralCry]

Yes, nothing does matter. Our individual lives mean nothing, therefore it frustrates me that I have to exist and suffer in the first place. It is all just for the sake of it.

 

[L-L]

We are just the 'best' apes that nature and evolution have spat forth.

 

[Alwaysbadtime]

I have only one thing to do and that's
Be the wave that I am and then
Sink back into the ocean...

Holyshit...You quoting Fiona Apple? I used to luv her. I tried with her new album but couldn't get into it. She once said she would croak young...and then took it back. Money and artistic stimulation will give someone a reason to go on I guess.

 

[mustard_glass]

It's depressing but also uplifting at the same time, isn't it? If nothing matters and we're just specks of dust floating in space then you can't really "fail at life". Failure and success are just made up concepts afterall.
Whenever I'm upset or sad about something I like to re-watch this video and remind myself just how insignificant these feelings are. Sunny nihilism :)

 

[motel rooms]

Whenever I'm upset or sad about something I like to re-watch this video and remind myself just how insignificant these feelings are. Sunny nihilism :)

Yeah, I guess that stuff works until the pain gets really real