Our Inevitable Demise…or not?

So I am finishing up reading “Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. It is a book about the universe…how it works, what we know, what we don’t know, pretty much how mind boggling and awesome it is. If you want to feel insignificant in the most ultimate way, definitely read this book.

We are just one planet, in one solar system in one galaxy. I know you know this, but really think about it. There are billions of galaxies in the universe, trillions (or more—what’s after trillion?) of stars, and who knows how many planets. There could even be other universes out there. What’s more is that in the book, Tyson makes it clear that it is extremely egocentric of us to truly believe that we are the only planet with life in the entire universe. There are even reasonable chances for life in our own solar system on a moon of Jupiter or in the depths of Mars. Ultimately, there is no reason for us to feel special.

Not only does a feeling of insignificance overwhelm me when reading this book, but it also makes me realize how volatile our futures are. In a month, a year, a decade, a century, a millennium or in millions or billions of years the human race could be completely wiped off the planet with microorganisms at the bottom of the ocean having to start the evolutionary track all over again…that is, if there is even a planet left.

What I want to do with my life is end poverty and its associated suffering that far too many humans are still faced with. No matter how noble this may sound in an average conversation about my life goals, it is ultimately a waste of my time if you look at the big picture. What good is drinking water for all or universal education when an asteroid could easily crash into Earth killing all intelligent life? Or in five billion years when the sun dies and engulfs the Earth? Or the impending collision of the Milky Way with the nearest galaxy due in seven billion years? Or the inevitable end of the universe? I guess in order to have meaning in my life’s work, I need to shift my whole purpose in life. I don’t think I can sleep contently at night with my end goal being ending poverty on our planet. Rather, the end of poverty has to be a means for a different end—the development of the human race in order for us to resist the fate of the dinosaurs.