amicus
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2003
- Posts
- 14,812
Musings…2K7
2007...another day, another year, another number in a long, long compendium of Sol and the ‘Third Rock from the Sun’, with countless revolutions and perturbations.
We live in a time unlike any preceding; although each new year, one can legitimately echo those words, be it 360 BC, 1AD or 1066 or 1252, or 1776 and so on.
But I draw attention to the period of time roughly following the Industrial Revolution, the bare beginnings of the scientific enlightenment of modern man.
And here, some 150 years later, one can survey the spectrum of accumulated knowledge and information and quite reasonably say: ‘indeed, we live in a truly unique time in Human history.’
We cannot identify the precise instant but we know that the Universe came into being about 15 Billion years ago. We know, with that same certainty, that the Earth and our Solar system is about 4.5 Billion years old.
We also know, within certain parameters, how the earth evolved from a molten object circling the sun, into its present form.
We have an understanding of Plate Tectonics and how the Earth’s continents have moved and are still moving. We understand Volcanism and have somewhat of a handle on the planet’s weather system and what drives it.
We understand much, but not all, about the physical nature and laws of the Universe, those that keep all things in place and moving and why.
We finally comprehend Darwin’s Theory of the Evolution of Life to a point where it has long ceased to be a ‘theory’ and is indeed, accepted fact.
With our technology, we have explored the vastness of interstellar space and concluded that we may be one of, ‘billions and billions’, of intelligent life forms, or that we may truly be, all alone in the vastness of time and space.
Billions and billions of human lives have come and gone in the millions of years the strata faithfully recorded for our curious eyes and minds; millions of species have come into being and then gone extinct, leaving little more that fossil remains for us to unravel.
We have delved without and within beneath the microscopic level to genes and chromosomes and molecules and atoms and find it within our power to both alter and create life forms at our choosing.
Thus when I postulate at the beginning of this that we live in a truly unique time in human history, I do so with all the accumulated knowledge in mind and repeat, we live in a time unlike any before us.
I could have and perhaps did, say that, at the advent of the new Millennium, six short years ago as 2000 rolled in and was celebrated. But in those short years, information geometrically expanded and our ability to deal with concepts and numbers via digital means has compounded the depth and wealth of our understanding.
I felt a vast and overwhelming loneliness a few days ago when considering these thoughts and I thought of the thousands of forms of religion and belief intended to ease our pain as we became aware of our mortality. Not that I sought a Supreme Being to ease my pain, but the true and absolute realization that indeed, we are alone and sentenced to life and nothing more.
I used to think, with a sort of snobbish intellectualism, that those of faith, were so as they lacked the mental acuity to face reality and deal with it in human terms. Some pundit once wrote, “If there was no God, man would create one…”, an approximation and I cannot recall the Philosopher who penned those words…Voltaire or Nietzsche perhaps…
Although I personally could not adopt a ‘faith’ at this late date, I no longer feel the superiority to those who do. Thus the ultimate meaning and purpose of life will remain for me as it always has, inherent in the function of life regardless of its duration.
Those who question the theory of a Supreme Being by asking, “Well, what was there before God and don’t tell me He always existed!”, might well temper there query by asking the same question concerning the ‘Big Bang’ theory, “what existed before that?”
Since the vast majority of humans never question those basic assumptions concerning our existence and most have no interest in scientific matters and very few are even aware of the geography of the planet or the events of the day, I doubt these musings will generate much discussion.
There is not much overall to glean from this post, I know, I knew that as I considered trying to put the words together.
It wasn’t really an epiphany about the totality of accumulated knowledge, nor even the conclusions that sprang forward I wished to share, although that is part of it.
Perhaps it is the inherent irony of the old saying, “Ignorance is Bliss”, that it may be ultimately true.
Happy New Year.
Amicus2k7
2007...another day, another year, another number in a long, long compendium of Sol and the ‘Third Rock from the Sun’, with countless revolutions and perturbations.
We live in a time unlike any preceding; although each new year, one can legitimately echo those words, be it 360 BC, 1AD or 1066 or 1252, or 1776 and so on.
But I draw attention to the period of time roughly following the Industrial Revolution, the bare beginnings of the scientific enlightenment of modern man.
And here, some 150 years later, one can survey the spectrum of accumulated knowledge and information and quite reasonably say: ‘indeed, we live in a truly unique time in Human history.’
We cannot identify the precise instant but we know that the Universe came into being about 15 Billion years ago. We know, with that same certainty, that the Earth and our Solar system is about 4.5 Billion years old.
We also know, within certain parameters, how the earth evolved from a molten object circling the sun, into its present form.
We have an understanding of Plate Tectonics and how the Earth’s continents have moved and are still moving. We understand Volcanism and have somewhat of a handle on the planet’s weather system and what drives it.
We understand much, but not all, about the physical nature and laws of the Universe, those that keep all things in place and moving and why.
We finally comprehend Darwin’s Theory of the Evolution of Life to a point where it has long ceased to be a ‘theory’ and is indeed, accepted fact.
With our technology, we have explored the vastness of interstellar space and concluded that we may be one of, ‘billions and billions’, of intelligent life forms, or that we may truly be, all alone in the vastness of time and space.
Billions and billions of human lives have come and gone in the millions of years the strata faithfully recorded for our curious eyes and minds; millions of species have come into being and then gone extinct, leaving little more that fossil remains for us to unravel.
We have delved without and within beneath the microscopic level to genes and chromosomes and molecules and atoms and find it within our power to both alter and create life forms at our choosing.
Thus when I postulate at the beginning of this that we live in a truly unique time in human history, I do so with all the accumulated knowledge in mind and repeat, we live in a time unlike any before us.
I could have and perhaps did, say that, at the advent of the new Millennium, six short years ago as 2000 rolled in and was celebrated. But in those short years, information geometrically expanded and our ability to deal with concepts and numbers via digital means has compounded the depth and wealth of our understanding.
I felt a vast and overwhelming loneliness a few days ago when considering these thoughts and I thought of the thousands of forms of religion and belief intended to ease our pain as we became aware of our mortality. Not that I sought a Supreme Being to ease my pain, but the true and absolute realization that indeed, we are alone and sentenced to life and nothing more.
I used to think, with a sort of snobbish intellectualism, that those of faith, were so as they lacked the mental acuity to face reality and deal with it in human terms. Some pundit once wrote, “If there was no God, man would create one…”, an approximation and I cannot recall the Philosopher who penned those words…Voltaire or Nietzsche perhaps…
Although I personally could not adopt a ‘faith’ at this late date, I no longer feel the superiority to those who do. Thus the ultimate meaning and purpose of life will remain for me as it always has, inherent in the function of life regardless of its duration.
Those who question the theory of a Supreme Being by asking, “Well, what was there before God and don’t tell me He always existed!”, might well temper there query by asking the same question concerning the ‘Big Bang’ theory, “what existed before that?”
Since the vast majority of humans never question those basic assumptions concerning our existence and most have no interest in scientific matters and very few are even aware of the geography of the planet or the events of the day, I doubt these musings will generate much discussion.
There is not much overall to glean from this post, I know, I knew that as I considered trying to put the words together.
It wasn’t really an epiphany about the totality of accumulated knowledge, nor even the conclusions that sprang forward I wished to share, although that is part of it.
Perhaps it is the inherent irony of the old saying, “Ignorance is Bliss”, that it may be ultimately true.
Happy New Year.
Amicus2k7
). Seriously, a good "wonderment" on your part. As to the above, and the universe, life, etc:
