Are we insignificant?

Astrophysics has both baffled as well enlightened me. We all know that this universe is vast. In fact, vast may not be the right word as vast is measurable. This universe is infinite and ever expanding. We are part of the Milky way galaxy which is not the only one out there. There are countless galaxies like ours. Amazingly, we don't know yet the number of stars and planets in our own galaxy. We know a bit about Sun, our very own star. It is huge. Its diameter is 1.3 million kms and it can house hundreds of earths in its sphere!

Thats mind boggling considering we find earth itself so huge. And then there are those millions of galaxies outside of earth and outside of our solar system. The question is what lies there and how far does it go? It is said that space is largely an empty dark matter. Except few incidents of stars collapsing or asteroids moving around when they lose gravitational force, there is not much daily action up there. Stars form and they can take billions of years before they run out of dust and gas before collapsing into a black hole. Black hole itself is an intriguing phenomenon. Scientists get sleepless nights over the anomalies of black hole. Energy...it is said that in this universe energy is neither created nor destroyed. It just changes its state. At the moment, a human body, is a combination of a number of living organisms i.e., energy. Countless microscopic organisms and live and feed off our skin. We don't feel their breathing, but they live there and protect our bodies from a number of viruses. Our human body is not just a living organism but also a carrier of living organisms. When we die, the energy in our body simply changes its form. We are a collection of atoms, the same atoms that formed after the Big Bang. Atoms will stay in the universe and that is why our light (not our consciousness) will forever be existing in space. This explains the concept of energy. But what about Black holes? Either we don't know about them enough or what we know is all we can possibly know. It is said that supermassive blackholes end up eating and gobbling millions of stars. The gravitational force of a black hole is so strong that even light cannot escape through it. Don't be mistaken by the recent pictures of black hole released by EHT. The picture does look like a fire ball donut but the light outside the black hole is nothing but radiation (which is also called the Hawking Radiation). So, what lies within the donut is a mystery. If it indeed gobbles everything without leaving any information, then that's a paradox in the world of physics which say that no energy is destroyed, no information is completely lost (in quantum physics). 

Another theory that is widely discussed is on the existence of Extra-Terrestrial beings. Surely, in this infinite universe, there must be more planets like earth that have the perfect atmosphere for living beings to prosper. For all we know, they may have been existing since billions of years. But how is it that for millions or billions of years that we have existed on the planet earth, we have never been contacted by these beings? Are they not interested in making a contact with us or are we unable to understand their ways of making contact? And if they have existed long before us, it is possible that they may be a way more advanced version of us. Maybe such advanced beings rely on a different language altogether which is beyond our comprehension hence they don't bother talking. As an example, do you talk to frogs? Do you tell frogs that you are feeling hungry or tired? No, you don't. Why? Because you know the frog will not understand!

These matters leave a pressing question. How much do we know of all that is to know? Is our knowledge not even 1% of the vastness of this universe. I believe the answer lies in the questions. Our curious minds have got us till here and maybe we will find more answers as we keep asking questions. Ranging from the elementary ones like 'why is the sky blue?' to 'what lies within a black hole?'. 

But in this whole vastness, what are we, who are we, why do we matter, why do our thoughts matter. Are we insignificant? 

I am sure you too have asked this question to yourself at some point in your life. The answers are not easy. Significance is not an absolute concept; it is always measured in relation to or in comparison to something. In comparison to the universe, we are indeed insignificant. But still, who is to decide what /who is significant and not. 

The answer is YOU. You decide. Not because the religious texts say so, but because this is the only way to live life for a human. We may be living in this vast universe, but we essentially live in our heads. Life is a mirror; we reflect our own thoughts on to this world and then the same reflects back on us. You can test this - the day you feel anxious, you will not be able to smell a rose. Your anxiety has not changed the property of the rose. It still smells great; you just can't feel it and acknowledge it. 

As a mere mortal in this infinity, there are two qualities that can solve the insignificance question in my view - curiosity and humility. One cannot go without the other. Curiosity can get us answers to some of our pressing questions like what is the purpose of our lives? Humility will help us remain grounded and keep searching till we find the closest answer. 

But maybe we are asking a wrong question altogether. May be instead of finding our purpose in life or our significance, we should just thank the unknown forces of nature for keeping us alive and thriving on this perfect planet called Earth. 

Thanks for reading! Always be brave and kind!

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