How significant is the human race?

[DavidS]

 

[del]

are you considering applying for membership?

 

[DavidS]

are you considering applying for membership?

I'm already a "star."

 

[editec]

Well...dogs seem to like us.

Beyond that?

Not much.

 

[Amanda]

I think every person is important. Our contribution can be insignificant or incalculable. Maybe we only influence 1 life... it doesn't matter, it's still worth doing.

When you are done, life is over, will you think your life didn't matter? I don't know for me, but I hope not. I think that anything positive that we contribute is worth doing. With all the terrible, nasty things I've done, I still hope my positive contribute will out weigh them.

I don't know how you view God, but I hope that he will be able to see I had a good heart. Sometimes I think that might be hard to recognize.... but I think if anyone could understand me God could. Do you think there's value in trying to be a good person? Or is it all pointless?

 

[catzmeow]

usually, the stuff you post is stupid, David. But that was pretty cool.

 

[catzmeow]

From the movie Contact:

Young Ellie: Dad, do you think there's people on other planets?

Ted Arroway: I don't know, Sparks. But I guess I'd say if it is just us... seems like an awful waste of space.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

It's only mankind's vanity which makes him create deities in his own image, and believe he can destroy earth's environment. But the truth is, we're insignificant on the grand scale, and even the planetary one. When we eschew this vanity, it will be quite liberating.

 

[Jon]

The Hubble Deep Fields are amazing to look at. I have one of them hanging on my wall in my office at home. It's overwhelming, really, to see the number of galaxies that exist beyond the reach of any of us. And until someone figures out how to travel faster than the speed of light, the human race will never get to see those places. Who knows how many inhabited planets exist just within our galaxy, much less in the universe.

It's also scary knowing that the photos from the Hubble Deep field are actually 13 billion years old. Who knows what's happened to those galaxies in the meantime? They could have all collapsed into a black hole, and we won't know about it anytime soon.

 

[Iriemon]

It's pretty significant to me!

 

[Zoom-boing]

"I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a human being? Or was I the man of the future? If there were other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world? So close - the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet - like the closing of a gigantic circle. I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens. The universe, worlds beyond number, God's silver tapestry spread across the night. And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon nature. That existence begins and ends in man's conception, not nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too. To God, there is no zero. I still exist!"

Scott Carey, The Incredible Shrinking Man, 1957

 

[DavidS]

I think every person is important. Our contribution can be insignificant or incalculable. Maybe we only influence 1 life... it doesn't matter, it's still worth doing.

When you are done, life is over, will you think your life didn't matter? I don't know for me, but I hope not. I think that anything positive that we contribute is worth doing. With all the terrible, nasty things I've done, I still hope my positive contribute will out weigh them.

I don't know how you view God, but I hope that he will be able to see I had a good heart. Sometimes I think that might be hard to recognize.... but I think if anyone could understand me God could. Do you think there's value in trying to be a good person? Or is it all pointless?

What if your life doesn't matter?

Do you know the guy who shined Washington's shoes on the very first inaguration? Or who Blagovich's barber is? Do you know the names of every single US soldier who has died in Iraq or Afghanistan?

The point is - life IS insignificant to the outside world. Life is only relevant to your friends and family - those who love and care about you. Those are the people you should be living for and worry about what they think of you.

But when you look at these absolutely BEAUTIFUL images from the Hubble - one must say to themselves - G-d is truly a great architect.

 

[Amanda]

I think every person is important. Our contribution can be insignificant or incalculable. Maybe we only influence 1 life... it doesn't matter, it's still worth doing.

When you are done, life is over, will you think your life didn't matter? I don't know for me, but I hope not. I think that anything positive that we contribute is worth doing. With all the terrible, nasty things I've done, I still hope my positive contribute will out weigh them.

I don't know how you view God, but I hope that he will be able to see I had a good heart. Sometimes I think that might be hard to recognize.... but I think if anyone could understand me God could. Do you think there's value in trying to be a good person? Or is it all pointless?

What if your life doesn't matter?

Do you know the guy who shined Washington's shoes on the very first inaguration? Or who Blagovich's barber is? Do you know the names of every single US soldier who has died in Iraq or Afghanistan?

The point is - life IS insignificant to the outside world. Life is only relevant to your friends and family - those who love and care about you. Those are the people you should be living for and worry about what they think of you.

But when you look at these absolutely BEAUTIFUL images from the Hubble - one must say to themselves - G-d is truly a great architect.

I think every life matters. Maybe I'm just stupid and naive, but it wouldn't be the first time I heard it. But I think if you only affect 1 other person your time is not wasted. It doesn't matter if 6 billion people don't see it, if only 1 notices it's important. Even if that 1 doesn't notice it can still be worth doing.

But I agree, God is so great I can't begin to put it into words.

 

[Iriemon]

I think every person is important. Our contribution can be insignificant or incalculable. Maybe we only influence 1 life... it doesn't matter, it's still worth doing.

When you are done, life is over, will you think your life didn't matter? I don't know for me, but I hope not. I think that anything positive that we contribute is worth doing. With all the terrible, nasty things I've done, I still hope my positive contribute will out weigh them.

I don't know how you view God, but I hope that he will be able to see I had a good heart. Sometimes I think that might be hard to recognize.... but I think if anyone could understand me God could. Do you think there's value in trying to be a good person? Or is it all pointless?

What if your life doesn't matter?

Do you know the guy who shined Washington's shoes on the very first inaguration? Or who Blagovich's barber is? Do you know the names of every single US soldier who has died in Iraq or Afghanistan?

The point is - life IS insignificant to the outside world. Life is only relevant to your friends and family - those who love and care about you. Those are the people you should be living for and worry about what they think of you.

Why isn't that important enough?

But when you look at these absolutely BEAUTIFUL images from the Hubble - one must say to themselves - G-d is truly a great architect.

No, one could say other things to oneself.

 

[José]

Originally posted by Iriemon
It's pretty significant to me!

Good answer, Iriemon!!

There's no doubt the human race is pretty significant inside the human brain.

The only question that remains to be answered by future generations (if it's answerable at all) is whether the human species is important outside of the human brain.

 

[José]

The same thing can be said about the concepts of good and evil, just and unjust, fair and unfair.

Their existence as human subjetive values can't even be questioned.

Their objective existence, their external validation through a personal, moral god is a whole different story.

But the idea of Jesus, Hitler, Gandhi, Stalin and Mother Teresa having the same "human value" outside of our skulls is too hard to be contemplated by most people.

 

[Iriemon]

Originally posted by Iriemon
It's pretty significant to me!

Good answer, Iriemon!!

There's no doubt the human race is pretty significant inside the human brain.

The only question that remains to be answered by future generations (if it's answerable at all) is whether the human species is important outside of the human brain.

The OP did not ask to whom the human race was important.

And unless there is some supernatural entity to whom the human race is important (many believe so) the answer probably is that except to other humans (and maybe a few dogs and cats) the human race is not terribly important.

But so what, eh?

 

[Dr. T. Sanchez]

Those stars have some weird names. I think the next new star should be called "Jeff".

And what is up with Saturn having all of those rings? Shouldn't other planets have rings? Saturn should be forced to share its rings. And what about Jupiter with all of those moons, and Earth only has one moon? Jupiter should be forced to share its moons. Our solar system is SO unfair.

 

[Old Rocks]

Since the human race is the only species I have membership in, that species is pretty important to me. To the rest of the universe?