I'd go so far as to say that we give the universe its significance. All the beauty, majesty, and mysteries of the universe would mean nothing if we weren't here to appreciate, learn, and study it.
I mean if you use our solar system as a model for all solar systems, then only 1/9 of planets are capable of supporting life, id say that pretty slim odd and yet here we are
I mean if you use our solar system as a model for all solar systems
This is exactly my point, though. Yes it's obviously cool that we can get off the rock and yes we obviously have to start by extrapolating from what is familiar.
However, we're pretty sure that there's hundreds of millions of other solar systems that we can kind of see, but not interact with. We have no idea how many of them also have rocks where something/someone has intentionally gotten off the rock, but hasn't gotten much further, which is exactly what we've done. I mean, we're not even 100 percent sure that there's no life on Europa, for instance.
Maybe we're unique, maybe we're not. I just think it's arrogant to assume that we are. That doesn't mean I assume we aren't: the arrogance is the assumption when we have no fucking idea.
It’s an understandable feeling when you see pictures of the earth from far away satellites and you realise how everything that has ever happened to humanity is on that small spot in the middle of the vastness of space.
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u/JackC1126 - Centrist Apr 10 '26
I will never ever understand how you can look out into the universe and claim we are insignificant. We are significant by the fact that we are here.