Don't look up

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I just got done watching the film Don't Look Up. I remember that I felt distinctly sad watching the earth's last moments... Perhaps it was because I felt that it was only a matter of time before a similar scenario played out in real life.


The idea that we and everything that we know will one day come to an end is humbling. I can't help thinking, if we can all cease to exist in a flash, then what does that say about our significance and about the meaning that we have attached to so many things? We think we are so important that some of us actually have an anthropocentric view of the entire universe. That is to say, we believe that we are the raison d'etre for all that exists. The idea that a comet strike could obliterate everything and make it seem as if we never existed makes me realize how ridiculous that idea is.

Does the fact that we possess this state of mind called intelligence that allows us to take note of our surroundings and to study them and attempt to master them make us a somewhat different and more noteworthy species? Are we really different in that sense? Do other species possess the same traits but simply have a less observable impact than we do (from our perspective)? Alternatively, do whatever unique traits we have and our unfortunate tendency to increasingly view ourselves as being separate from our surroundings mean that we pose a threat to the greater good?

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