Astrophysics
is perhaps the most magnificent and humbling subject to study. Just think about
the scale of things. Hundreds of billions of large galaxies in the universe and
our Milky Way is just one of them; each large galaxy containing hundreds of
billions of stars; our own Milky Way containing around 400 billion stars. (Note
the usage “large galaxy” – there are trillions of other dwarf galaxies, which
contains stars in the order of hundreds of millions). All these stars –
baryonic matter as they are called – consist of a mere 15% of the total matter
in the universe; the remaining 85% is presumed to be Dark Matter. Bring in Dark
Energy into the equation and what I mentioned above – the hundreds of billions
of galaxies containing hundreds of billions of stars is a mere 4%.
In
this blip – the 4% - exists a star which we call the Sun. Around the Sun are
several asteroids and satellites and comets and planets – one such planet is
called the Earth. In this planet are numerous forms of life; out of which one species
which supposedly dominates the planet is the Homo Sapien aka Humans. (Dominates
in what sense? Perhaps the destructive ability because there are several trees
which live longer, several trees and animals that are larger and several
micro-organisms that more numerous in number.) There are around 8 billion
humans on this planet – and I am just one of them.
For
me though, this isn’t the mind boggling part. Our universe is about 14 billion
years old; our Sun around 4 billion and our planet Earth around 3 billion years
old. In those 3 billion years all the oceans and rivers and mountains and
forests and deserts were formed. (Life was extinct around 6 times in that time
period.) Humans arrived at the scene around 70,000 years back, and our history
goes back around 5,000 years.
Let
us be hopeful that humankind will overcome the climate crises and forge ahead.
What would happen a thousand years in the future – year 3023! What would things
look like 10,000 years in the future? Imagine a world one billion years in the
future...
It
boggles my mind, but don’t forget that a billion years into the future,
although an unfathomable period of time for us, is just another lap for the
universe. In that time the Sun would complete another 4 rounds around the Milky
Way, that’s all. What would be the state of technology in that era? What our
culture and civilisation would be like? What would we be like? And the most
fascinating question to me, one of great philosophical import – how would
humankind remember us? I take that question very personally. What would be the
significance of my life, of my actions, my accomplishments, my wealth and fame,
a billion years from now?
Will
my actions have any consequence? Absolutely yes! I certainly believe that my
actions will have consequences (thanks to the butterfly effect) a billion years
from now. What work I do, what values I pass on, how I treat the people around
me and how I nurture the next generation will have a massively compounded
effect a billion years from now. But... will that be remembered?
This
is the most humbling aspect. Yes, our work, our actions, the love that we
spread, the kindness we show... it will have an impact. But is anybody going to
remember that? All the wealth that we accumulate, the fame that we seek, the
power we crave, all our seemingly glorious accomplishments in a lifetime of 100
years – what would that amount to a Billion years from now. Kind of makes
you... rethink why we do what we do doesn’t it? Makes me wonder, and once again
look at how I want to live my life.
For what purpose? How? Why?
(Hope you enjoyed this article. There are a few books
that gave the insights I shared above and helped me develop this perspective:-
1. - Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
2. - Astrophysics for People in a
Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
3. - Elephant in the Universe by
Govert Schilling
Keep
reading, keep growing)
Love
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