subtle_feather
Verified
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2008
- Messages
- 637
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- 16
Fair warning: this is going to get philosophical, so if that is not your bag, run away!
Still here? H'okay..
There are a few things that are, with almost complete certainty, going to happen. When any one of those things does happen, life on earth (with the exception of some bacteria) will, for all intents and purposes, cease to exist. Some examples:
1. At any moment, even as I type this, an asteroid of a size greater than 1 km in area could strike the earth with absolutely no notice whatsoever. We are always on the lookout for these things, but we can't look in all directions at once. If such an asteroid struck earth, the shockwave would explode with the power of a hundred or so nuclear bombs, and the ensuing dust cloud would blot out the sun, ensuring that whoever wasn't killed by the bang would be killed by the whimper. This is what killed the dinosaurs.
2. A similar effect would be achieved by the explosion of a supervolcano like the one located underneath Yellowstone National Park. The explosion would wipe out the Midwest in an instant and the ensuing dust and gas clouds would spread out to cover the Earth. Most likely, few or none of us would survive. The supervolcano at Yellowstone erupts about every 200,000 years or so according to the geological record. Last eruption? You guessed it, about 200,000 years ago.
3. The magnetic field surrounding the Earth is what protects us from the lethal cosmic radiation that would otherwise invade Earth from the distant cosmos. No one is precisely sure what powers govern the magnetic field, but it is certain that it is changing. If it were to disappear, again, life as we know it would end suddenly.
I often think of these things, and when I tell other people about them, they often ask me why I would want to contemplate something so terrifying on a regular basis. It is terrifying, but I also find it useful to think about those things because it helps me to realize that it is important to make the most of every moment of precious life that whatever cosmic chance made us possible has given us.
There are some that will view these as religious events. I do not hold that view. I think they are reminders that life is fragile, and that, if our species is to survive, we have to work together above all, and expand into space.
I wonder, what do you make of all this? Too scary to think about? Does it make you sad? Happy? Do you ever think about it at all?
Still here? H'okay..
There are a few things that are, with almost complete certainty, going to happen. When any one of those things does happen, life on earth (with the exception of some bacteria) will, for all intents and purposes, cease to exist. Some examples:
1. At any moment, even as I type this, an asteroid of a size greater than 1 km in area could strike the earth with absolutely no notice whatsoever. We are always on the lookout for these things, but we can't look in all directions at once. If such an asteroid struck earth, the shockwave would explode with the power of a hundred or so nuclear bombs, and the ensuing dust cloud would blot out the sun, ensuring that whoever wasn't killed by the bang would be killed by the whimper. This is what killed the dinosaurs.
2. A similar effect would be achieved by the explosion of a supervolcano like the one located underneath Yellowstone National Park. The explosion would wipe out the Midwest in an instant and the ensuing dust and gas clouds would spread out to cover the Earth. Most likely, few or none of us would survive. The supervolcano at Yellowstone erupts about every 200,000 years or so according to the geological record. Last eruption? You guessed it, about 200,000 years ago.
3. The magnetic field surrounding the Earth is what protects us from the lethal cosmic radiation that would otherwise invade Earth from the distant cosmos. No one is precisely sure what powers govern the magnetic field, but it is certain that it is changing. If it were to disappear, again, life as we know it would end suddenly.
I often think of these things, and when I tell other people about them, they often ask me why I would want to contemplate something so terrifying on a regular basis. It is terrifying, but I also find it useful to think about those things because it helps me to realize that it is important to make the most of every moment of precious life that whatever cosmic chance made us possible has given us.
There are some that will view these as religious events. I do not hold that view. I think they are reminders that life is fragile, and that, if our species is to survive, we have to work together above all, and expand into space.
I wonder, what do you make of all this? Too scary to think about? Does it make you sad? Happy? Do you ever think about it at all?
