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The most frightening thing about the universe [comic] (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by IFUCKINGLOVEMETH

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[–]prof88 191 points192 points ago

"Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." Arthur C. Clarke

[–]Minifig81Nyanyanyana 17 points18 points ago

God damn that is such a good game.

*Sorry. Geeking out.*

[–]tcp 2 points3 points ago

I assume you are talking about XCOM. Don't you find the latest in the series to be a bit arcade-like?

[–]Minifig81Nyanyanyana 11 points12 points ago

The turn-based strategy game?

No.. it's exactly like the original 1996 one, only with updated graphics, better features and VS multiplayer .. and that's why it's so damn good.

[–]spleendor 4 points5 points ago

Yeah, I remember people were freaking out about the removal of time units, but I find it's a lot more streamlined this way.

[–]PzGren 0 points1 point ago

I was skeptical at first but its fucking awesome

SP obviously but still

[–]tcp 1 point2 points ago

The turn-based strategy game?

Were you talking about something else besides XCOM in your original comment?

EDIT: Also, is anyone actually playing VS multiplayer? It is akin to Battle multiplayer in most Total War games. Without the campaign mode behind it, only being able to pick some units and do a single battle is not fun. Not to mention, the lack of proper physics on cover makes most maps extremely generic. On top of that, they are smaller than in the past.

[–]Minifig81Nyanyanyana 2 points3 points ago

This travesty.

Actual game play.

Which has been since remodeled into a third person perspective game.

[–]Sawta 1 point2 points ago

I had no idea that there was a separate XCOM remake, the game that Minifig81 was referring to was XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The one that you linked to does look pretty terrible.

[–]iamdanhi 1 point2 points ago

I never played the original but the new one doesn't feel like it really goes that in depth in any aspect. That's not a bad thing nor does it make it a bad game in my eyes, it's quite fun. But I am looking forward to Xenonauts to scratch that itch of wanting something similar but goes more in depth.

load more comments (7 replies)

    [–]THEsolid85 59 points60 points ago

    I don't find either possibility terrifying in any way. and of course we're not alone.

    [–]simpleunicorn9 91 points92 points ago

    Such certainty.

    [–]binarypancakes 88 points89 points ago

    Looking at it from a purely statistical standpoint, it would be fucking absurd if we were alone.

    [–]simpleunicorn9 49 points50 points ago

    Highly statistical. Zero evidence.

    [–]THEsolid85 109 points110 points ago

    At one point there was zero evidence the world was round. What's your point?

    The idea that we're alone, that life is exclusive to earth, is highly unlikely, culturally narcissistic, and completely illogical when you consider the depth and nature of the universe and life on this planet. Is it possible? Sure, because we haven't found any other life. But the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.

    [–]andthentherewasderp 97 points98 points ago

    But the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.

    whoa

    [–]Dat_KarmavoreSpace is deep 42 points43 points ago

    Dude.

    [–]iwillcontradictyou 14 points15 points ago

    This is like when the name of the movie is one of the lines in the movie.

    [–]babyjesusmauer 31 points32 points ago

    "I'm saying there are known knowns and known unknowns. But there are also unknown unknowns. Things that we don't know we don't know"

    [–]APeacefulWarrior 3 points4 points ago

    I never understood why people jumped all over Rumsfeld for saying that. Frankly, I think it was one of the only true things that ever came out of his mouth. It's the unknown unknowns that really fuck you up in life.

    [–]babyjesusmauer 0 points1 point ago

    You are right, but it was the context that makes that quote WTF material. He used that as justification for the invasion of Iraq, and that is why it was unacceptable

    [–]donttazemebro69 8 points9 points ago

    I was watching the show The Boondocks and Remmy said this once and it stuck in my head. I then use it on a written philosophy quiz in college that I had no fucking clue how to answer and I got a 100%. felt like sharing

    [–]ManUnited7 -2 points-1 points ago

    I could see this being paraded by religionists.

    [–]Hrash0 -4 points-3 points ago

    I think that he meant that absence of proof is not proof of absence. Which is absolutely true.

    [–]OriginallyWhat 20 points21 points ago

    it's like taking a cupful of water from the ocean, looking at it, and declaring fish don't exist because there is none in the cup.

    [–]MBSquared 4 points5 points ago

    Exactly. Also when people say there's zero evidence life exists in the universe, WE are evidence that it does.

    [–]bobthecrusher 1 point2 points ago

    An analogy that fits (from the other side) is taking a glass full of water from the ocean with a fish in it, and declaring that, because a fish is in the water in the glass, there are fish throughout the rest of the ocean.

    [–]WreckerOfRectums 9 points10 points ago

    At one point there was zero evidence the world was round.

    There has always been evidence that the world is round. If you look at the horizon, it's clearly curved. You're saying that, according to statistics, there must be more life in the universe; but really, we have nothing to base this off of yet. We don't even know exactly how life started on earth - so how can we even begin to calculate the probability of it existing elsewhere? It's an unknown now, and it would be somewhat unscientific to say that something exists ubiquitously, merely based off of one instance of its existence.

    [–]stuckboy 4 points5 points ago

    simpleunicorn9 does have a point. The problem is that the statistics we use to try and work out how probable it is that extraterrestrial life (or indeed intelligent life) exists tends to be based on quite a fair amount of educated guessing. Depending which assumptions you make, you can obtain an estimate which either makes it look highly probable or extremely unlikely. Look up the Drake equation on wikipedia. Edited for grammar

    [–]Todomanna 7 points8 points ago

    It's not evidence of a lack of absence either. That's the point.

    [–]Sumaes 6 points7 points ago

    Understandable and valid point, but statistical figures in the order of billions of billions is enough soft evidence to push the likelihood of life elsewhere above that of the counter point - at least to those with an understanding of large numbers

    [–]Todomanna 14 points15 points ago

    Even considering that it's statistically likely, it's also statistically unlikely that we'll ever meet that life. Which may be the saddest thing of all.

    [–]Gareth321 4 points5 points ago

    Which is odd, as the probability that other civilizations have developed technology allowing them to travel the stars is high. This leads us to two likelihoods. Either, when a race or civilization reaches a level which allows it to attain faster than light travel, it destroys itself (or is destroyed); or FTL is impossible. Neither bodes well for interstellar travel.

    [–]MBSquared 0 points1 point ago

    Variety of life exists on our own planet. We are an example and evidence that life exists within the universe. That's should be enough for people to say "It probably doesn't stop on this itty bitty planet." Why would it? How is earth any more special? There are no elements here on earth that we don't see in the rest of the galaxy. This place is probably an incubator for life.

    [–]fap_then_nap 0 points1 point ago

    nice! great way of putting it.

    [–]HyperionCantos 1 point2 points ago

    Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to make that argument scientifically.

    [–]SiliconRain 0 points1 point ago

    highly unlikely

    How are you calculating that likelihood? The Drake equation, many terms of which we have absolutely no way to estimate?

    [–]THEsolid85 8 points9 points ago

    No. It's a rather simple equation: (hundreds of billions of stars x hundreds of billions of galaxies) + common fucking sense.

    [–]FISH_MASTER 2 points3 points ago

    The amount of stars in the OBSERVABLE universe is of the order of x1022 stars.

    If only 1% of those have planets that is in the order of x1020 planets in the OBSERVABLE universe. (Estimates on this vary depending on star size, planet size etc.

    Do people not understand just how large that number is.

    People who believe be are alone, or that there is no evidence are so arrogant and up their own arse.

    As a scientist I cannot say 100%, but FFS those numbers.

    [–]Hrash0 1 point2 points ago

    The Drake equation isn't the best way of calculating anything.

    It would be much more revealing to consider the probabilities of the individual steps in life's rise. We know the initial chemistry that kick started life on earth (Miller-Urey.) Did it require specific conditions and initial chemicals? No. On a universal scale are those conditions and chemicals hard to find? No, not at all. So does that increase the probability of life as we know it arising elsewhere? Yes it does, drastically.

    [–]SiliconRain 1 point2 points ago

    Does what increase the probability? And increase it from what? What are you talking about?

    The drake equation includes a term for what you're describing (from wikipedia):

    fℓ = the fraction of potentially life-supporting planets that actually go on to develop life at some point

    The exact mechanism of abiogenesis still very poorly understood. Just saying that you can find similar chemistry to the early earth in millions or billions of other places in the universe doesn't mean that life is likely since you have no idea what the likelihood of life arising is, given a suitable starting condition. It is entirely possible that life starting on earth was a one in a hundred-billion fluke. In fact, given that life has only started (as far as we can tell) once on earth in four billion years hints that the process for life arising from non-living particles is extremely rare.

    [–]Hrash0 0 points1 point ago

    Does what increase the probability? And increase it from what? What are you talking about?

    Sorry for being vague there; I meant that the relatively easy-to-find start point of life would increase the probability of life from the austere predictions the Drake equation normally yields.

    The drake equation includes a term for what you're describing (from wikipedia):

    fℓ = the fraction of potentially life-supporting planets that actually go on to develop life at some point

    There are two components to that term, broken down: the fraction of potentially life-supporting planets, and the fraction of those that go on to support life. Of the latter we know nothing, and that's where, at our current level of knowledge, I feel the credibility of Drake equation predictions fails.

    The exact mechanism of abiogenesis is still very poorly understood.

    I never said otherwise. I said we have a good idea of where it starts, with the water and the methane and the ammonia and the electric sparks.

    Just saying that you can find similar chemistry to the early earth in millions or billions of other places in the universe doesn't mean that life is likely since you have no idea what the likelihood of life arising is, given a suitable starting condition.

    But doesn't the fact that similar starting conditions are easy to find have an effect on the chance of life actually developing in the universe as a whole?

    It is entirely possible that life starting on earth was a one in a hundred-billion fluke.

    It could also be relatively common---my guess is as good as yours at this point.

    ... Yes, our current dearth of information regarding this allows us a bit of freedom, enough to allow us to believe what we want to believe.

    In fact, given that life has only started (as far as we can tell) once on earth in four billion years hints that the process for life arising from non-living particles is extremely rare.

    I think I understand this--but please, would you elaborate?

    [–]Plastic_Chicken -4 points-3 points ago

    Haha, please tell me you're not an Atheist? Because that would really make my day if you were.

    [–]Sumaes 3 points4 points ago

    I'd recommend watching Neil DeGrasse Tyson's thoughts on this subject. He gets to the relevant point in the first ~5min, but the rest of the talk is great as well

    [–]MBSquared 0 points1 point ago

    Earth is evidence that life exists within the universe.

    [–]crnulus 2 points3 points ago

    I don't think you understand how science works. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

    [–]EpershandCosmic 4 points5 points ago

    Yeah, I mean if you look at the Hubble Deep Field. There are so many galaxies out there. How can one planet inside the all those galaxies be the only one with life.

    [–]IFUCKINGLOVEMETH[S] 17 points18 points ago

    Imagine if it was.

    [–]EpershandCosmic 8 points9 points ago

    Then we better stop dicking around.

    [–]KNueve83 5 points6 points ago

    There has to be a First civilization. While unlikely, it could be us.

    [–]doctormoose 4 points5 points ago

    I suddenly feel very little.

    [–]apostrophie 2 points3 points ago

    Isn't it liberating?

    [–]Hrash0 2 points3 points ago

    Then it's all that much more worth protecting and revering it, knowing that's all there is.

    [–]ryanyahhhBong ripper 1 point2 points ago

    I just want to give people a little perspective on the Hubble deep space field for those who don't already know. Say you took a sand grain and held it out at arms length pointing towards a dark spot in the sky. This is the area of the sky that was looked at in the HDSF picture. Even in the least dense parts of the sky, this is what you will find.
    Also, search "Millenium Simulation Max Planck Institute" on YouTube. This will help you visualize the structure of the universe. Note: Each area of light that you see are galactic clusters, not individual galaxies. Also look up the distances shown in the first part of the video to help get an idea of the distances travelled in the video.

    [–]Endless_Summer -2 points-1 points ago

    The odds are equal. We are just as easily alone as not.

    [–]mefansandfreaks -1 points0 points ago

    Statisticaly speaking, the chance of a carbon-based-lifeform-friendly planet and everything needed to make a simple lifeform come to life out of thin air seems also absurdly close to 0

    [–]therealpersona 4 points5 points ago

    except for the fact that we're made up of the most commonly available elements in the universe. there is nothing unique about us at all. we look just like the rest of the universe.

    [–]mefansandfreaks 1 point2 points ago

    It's not only about elements being there...

    [–]long_live_king_melonHappy trees 1 point2 points ago

    Well think about this. The universe never ends. It goes on forever. So you can be pretty certain that there is some other life forms somewhere out there. To think that there isn't is extremely self-centered.

    [–]MBSquared 0 points1 point ago

    What's funny is that people look up and say "I've looked at 500 of these planets up close and have yet to see life! We must be alone!" Yet, we're here. People ignore the fact that we ARE life, so the possibility of us being alone doesn't really make sense. Our own true frame of reference is our own planet and yet, life exists. It's arrogant to think life somehow DOESN'T exist simply because we can't see from our itty-bitty perspective. If anything, we should admit we don't know and be more certain of that than if we are alone or not.

    [–]juma606 0 points1 point ago

    Much, certainly.

    [–]Mobius01010 -1 points0 points ago

    If life can occur once (given appropriate circumstances), it can arise infinitely many times, as long as those circumstances exist.

    [–]Pineapple264 5 points6 points ago

    The terrifying part is we probably wont be the first to advance enough to colonize other planets, and the first may be the same as or worse than us when it comes to colonization. Were assholes to the local population, bringing disease, and oppression, kicking people out for ourselves. I Hope we are first, or at least advanced enough to defend ourselves by that time.

    [–]Hrash0 2 points3 points ago

    Have you read Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke? It explores the idea that we're not the first, and that there could be species so far ahead of us that they would simply become Overlords to us.

    [–]Pineapple264 1 point2 points ago

    I haven't. Have you seen doctor who?

    [–]Hrash0 2 points3 points ago

    I haven't. Have you read Ringworld by Larry Niven, which includes some entertaining yet nonetheless ridiculous notions of extraterrestrials messing with human evolution?

    [–]derpawan 1 point2 points ago

    I haven't.

    [–]Endless_Summer 1 point2 points ago

    You are alone right now. We all are.

    [–]LukaCola 0 points1 point ago

    Read this

    [–]THEsolid85 1 point2 points ago

    And? Feel free to make a point. I'm over-rating my ability to not be afraid, relative to how not afraid I actually am? Huh? I think I understand the half-assed point you're trying to make from the Darwinian perspective regarding human ignorance, but the link has very little to do with the context of the conversation.

    [–]LukaCola 0 points1 point ago

    It was more a reference to "and of course we're not alone"

    It's foolish to have such certainty about something that hasn't been proven.

    [–]fixinducks 1 point2 points ago

    We can only ever view 2 at a time. That how our brain works, division. There's more to it then we know, and until we know, I'm of the opinion, I am the universe.

    [–]bravoredditbravo 0 points1 point ago

    I was waiting for a poem or haiku based novelty account, but no one showed up. I am the disappointed

    [–]sbjf 0 points1 point ago

    I think the possibility that we're alone is a lot more terrifying (even though it isn't really terrifying, it would just be sad)

    [–]Shadyfrenzy 0 points1 point ago

    Does the fact that you know this quote have a connection with the new XCOM game?

    [–]tehgreatist 0 points1 point ago

    i actually disagree with that. there is nothing at all terrifying (to me) about being the only planet with life in the universe. a little disappoiinting, maybe, but i wouldnt call it scary.

    now, if there was a race of alien bug people who were planning to take over earth, that would be terrifying.

    [–]lol_lolz 0 points1 point ago

    I personally feel that the first is more terrifying.

    [–]mikedamike 1 point2 points ago

    Arthur C. Clarke why you so chicken-shit?

    [–]BallsackTBaghard -1 points0 points ago

    I think neither are terrifying. It's not like you will ever know.

    [–]angrydeuce 85 points86 points ago

    I can't even entertain the notion that we're the only life in the universe. I mean, we've found living creatures in places right here on Earth that just a few decades ago we would have considered totally at odds with organic life. There are creatures right here on Earth that can live in environments ranging in temperature from near absolute zero to over 300°F, withstand 1,000 times the radiation that would be lethal to humans, and go without water for a decade...even having survived the vacuum of space for a few days, unprotected, and lived.

    How could we possibly be the only life in the universe when confronted with the immense diversity of life on just our own planet? Even outside of that, there is the possibility of non-carbon based life, such as silicon-based life forms...things we can't even really imagine yet.

    To me, the idea of us being alone in the universe is equivalent to looking out across the ocean and assuming that it's a vast, empty body of water based solely on the fact that we don't see any fish at that exact moment. Ludicrous at it's core.

    [–]cedricchase 33 points34 points ago

    Even our hypothesis about silicone-based life are based on life as we know it here on Earth. I imagine the universe contains ...some really crazy stuff...

    [–]angrydeuce 23 points24 points ago

    I just hope I live long enough to see it confirmed, once and for all. Finding life on another world, even if it's simple single-celled organisms, will lead to fundamental cultural changes on Earth.

    I can't wait for the mission to Europa. I think this should be one of our highest priorities, because if we're gonna find life anywhere in our solar system, it's probably going to be there, under the ice.

    [–]ColdChemicalNyanyanyana 7 points8 points ago

    I just hope I live long enough to see it confirmed

    If you're comfortable with the idea of digitizing your consciousness, I don't think that will an issue. The technological singularity isn't that far off.

    [–]angrydeuce 6 points7 points ago

    Dude, I would so be an internaut :)

    [–]cssherSpace is deep 3 points4 points ago

    Sign me up!

    [–]cedricchase 6 points7 points ago

    Off-topic, but I just started a new world in minecraft with the seed "Europa" and it is fantastic.

    [–]Hrash0 2 points3 points ago

    I just want to make certain that the craft we send is bathed in chemicals and whatnot before we send it out to make sure we don't plant crap in Europa ourselves...

    Has anyone read Contact? that'd be awesome.

    [–]angrydeuce 0 points1 point ago

    Yeah, I read one write-up of a proposed mission that used extreme heat as both the mechanism with which the craft would tunnel through the ice and a means of sterilizing the craft before it makes contact with the moon itself. I'm not sure how the heat was generated but I believe it was via nuclear reaction.

    Either way, I think the recent probe of Lake Vostok was a good test of the technologies necessary to do this.

    [–]richd506 10 points11 points ago

    We know one thing is for certain. We know that life in the universe is possible by mere virtue of the fact that we exist. And if anyone were to look at the question objectively, the idea that we are the only ones is far more unlikely and absurd. If we were the only ones, that would mean we are the greatest fluke of nature that ever existed.

    [–]okmkz 2 points3 points ago

    Or that a wizard did it.

    [–]goatworship 2 points3 points ago

    If we were the only ones, that would mean we are the greatest fluke of nature that ever existed.

    The prospect is so preposterous that it would make the notion of us being an intentional creation more plausible. A creation of what must surely be something cruel and sinister that intended for us nothing more meaningful or interesting than perpetual loneliness in the company of ourselves alone.

    This is by far the more frightening scenario without question. Bring on hostile invaders in comparison, as their existence would at least imply the possibility that friendlier company is out there to find.

    [–]sobe86 1 point2 points ago

    But... what if the many worlds theory is true, and there is more than one version of our universe, and in almost all of them life did not arise? Then only in universes where life exists could this question possibly be asked by anyone, (see also the Anthropic Principle). The information that we have (life originated in at least one universe) may not give us much information about how unlikely such an event is.

    [–]xblacklabel91 3 points4 points ago

    That's the type of thing that blows my mind.

    What if there's other civilizations out there similar to us technology-wise, in a different galaxy, but haven't been able to make contact due to the sheer expanse of the universe, or if they're still not advanced enough? What if another civilization has beamed radio waves at us but life on earth wasn't advanced enough to recieve the signal? What if other civilizations have risen and fallen (think star-wars) millions/billions of years ago? Space is so damned huge we really can't begin to comprehend how large it is, you think the voyagers are really far out (ha) there? It's absolutely nothing on a cosmic scale, even our radio broadcasts haven't reached far at all.

    I highly doubt we have been or will be the only life out there, given the sheer number of stars and planets out there, life could easily exist elsewhere within our galaxy, let alone the other multiple billions of galaxies.

    [–]Pancake_Lizard 2 points3 points ago

    Someone has to be the first.

    [–]Hrash0 2 points3 points ago

    Yes, true, but that's a technicality. I'm sure that it's possible for the evolutionary tree to have grown on another world concurrently to ours.

    [–]sobe86 0 points1 point ago

    The problem with your argument is it seems possible that life only began once on our planet, and all of this diversity actually originated in one event, which was not guaranteed. For this reason, it seems like it would be impossible to gauge how rare such an event is without looking at other planets. I understand that people think that the universe is so large, there must be another planet it has happened to. But in my mind, this means making an estimation on a probability for which we don't have much convincing evidence.

    [–]CountPanda 0 points1 point ago

    I don't think there are many people who say they know there isn't from what we know. We KNOW we're only looking at a cup of water from the ocean, but just because it's easy to imagine we are not alone, it is not valid to state from one data point life exists elsewhere. We only have one planet with life. One data point.

    My opinion is life exists elsewhere, almost definitely. This isn't a scientific opinion, but an opinion. Sentient, intelligent life SOMEWHERE else in the universe... probably. Sentient, intelligent life elsewhere in our galaxy (which really would be the only thing that matters, I can't see us traveling to other galaxies for millions and millions of years, if even then), I'd probably say 50/50 chance. 50/50 chance in our galaxy there is intelligent, self-aware creatures. We have no evidence to believe there's mold, moss, or maybe even simple multi-cellular organisms elsewhere in a galaxy, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't. No reason to believe our own self-awareness was anything other than an accident though. No reason to believe that has popped up anywhere else. No evidence for it. But still, my unscientific opinion gives it a 50/50 chance.

    [–]wkdown 1 point2 points ago

    I really like your looking out on the ocean for fish metaphor.

    [–]pocket_eggs 0 points1 point ago

    I can entertain the notion that if you consider the known universe spending 100 billion years as an attempt, that it takes 1040 attempts before you get one lowly worm.

    What are the odds of life emerging on any world? Maybe one in a million, maybe one in a googol. There's no way to know.

    [–]sbjf 0 points1 point ago

    Your argument misses the topic. For life to be in harsh places on earth, there simply has to be evolution and migration. For life to be on a different planet, there has to be creation of life, which is a wholly different matter.

    [–]penisinthepeanutbttr 13 points14 points ago

    I think the first is less terrifying. I would welcome other worldly creatures as long as they are pleasant...the lonliness terrifies me even more...its depressing.

    [–]CountPanda 5 points6 points ago

    Have you read The Foundation series? Undoubtedly humans would branch off and become alien enough to each other. Wouldn't be the worst thing to have the universe to ourselves, able to populate, explore, and learn without the threat of viscous, non-sentient but intelligent creatures that only want dominance (like we probably would.)

    [–]IFUCKINGLOVEMETH[S] 16 points17 points ago

    I found this on /r/frisson and xposted it here. :)

    [–]okmkz 0 points1 point ago

    As a mobile user, I can't see the sidebar. What is this frisson of which you speak?

    [–]JawnF 1 point2 points ago

    "Have you ever felt a sudden, passing sensation of excitement, a shudder of emotion from an epic moment of a song, or a climax of a movie? That is what is called "frisson", a word rooted from the French word meaning "Goosebumps" or "Shiver". It has been linked to rises in dopamine levels. Feel free to discuss frisson, and post links that give you some really great vibes. :)"

    [–]domy94 4 points5 points ago

    If Earth was just another barren rock like Mars, and there was no life in the universe, all of existence and time would be kinda pointless, wouldn't it? At least that's what I imagine, millions of years passing by without anything happening besides rocks circling stars; nobody exploring.

    [–]Azumikkel 1 point2 points ago

    If space is endless, such an universe theoretically exists somewhere.

    [–]rAxxt 3 points4 points ago

    This thinking is complicated when you realize that it would, basically, take an act of god to ensure that we were completely alone in this universe.

    [–]FsmvCosmic 6 points7 points ago

    It's not terrifying. Right now, we're alone, the only possibility is that we find life or stay the same and finding life is not a terrifying prospect but a beautiful one.

    [–]LookLikeJesusLiving life in peace 2 points3 points ago

    Thank you, I agree. Do not fear, all is well. We are part of something even more amazing than we'd ever guessed.

    [–]Lone_Sword 2 points3 points ago

    I personally prefer this version of the pic, those it doesn't have the quote in it.

    [–]BlackenedHeart 0 points1 point ago

    The most frightening thing is that out of all the planets in the universe I was born here, as a human, and I have to spend the rest of my miserable existence stuck in this species' shitty little survival games because no one wants to grow the fuck up.

    [–][deleted] ago

    [deleted]

    [–]VoteLobster -1 points0 points ago

    Huh?

    [–]metroid23 9 points10 points ago

    /r/whoadude translator:

    I'm much too inebriated to comprehend this.

    [–]epsiloniusRasta man 4 points5 points ago

    simple, and yet this thought remains powerful because it's still far from being answered, I got the chills a bit.

    [–]bebobli 0 points1 point ago

    It's very much answerable. Highly likely to not be alone due to math and biodiversity. See posts above yours.

    [–]PhiliSlothical 2 points3 points ago

    Anyone have this as a background/wallpaper? If you guys do, would you mind posting it here for me? Much appreciated

    [–]lessthanjakePill popper 6 points7 points ago

    Here's the background with text edited onto it

    And here's the original without the text

    [–]Delfaras 2 points3 points ago

    I get a 403 forbidden , so here's the imgur mirror : http://i.imgur.com/A1D9b.jpg

    [–]DawgzSpace is deep 0 points1 point ago

    That is now my background, thank you.

    [–]Cradd710 0 points1 point ago

    I like this one, I found it on a wallpaper collection a few months ago. I would credit the creator but I don't remember who it was. here ya go

    [–]Doomsayer189 0 points1 point ago

    I have a slightly different version.

    [–]jacknash 1 point2 points ago

    hah! this is my current background. found it a while ago.

    it's the same thing but with the Calvin & Hobbes title font.

    [–]nbarnacle 0 points1 point ago

    Scary as hell

    [–]Untz234 1 point2 points ago

    If that was edited so that you can see C&H and the quote, that would so be my cover photo

    [–]Bored 0 points1 point ago

    ...or there are other universes too

    [–]bert-rhodes 0 points1 point ago

    Very cool. I would love to have this in a Facebook timeline friendly size

    [–]lessthanjakePill popper 0 points1 point ago

    Here's the background with text edited onto it

    And here's the original without the text

    [–]tuoder 1 point2 points ago

    Every time time I see this reposted, I'm frightened by the shitty use of clone stamp. You see two bright stars, one over the other, over and over in this image.

    [–]Spongi 0 points1 point ago

    This isn't that scary. If we're alone that means all the space of the universe is ours. Then we can just create new forms of life to populate it!

    [–]Cradd710 1 point2 points ago

    This is my wallpaper on my laptop, except the space scene is a really awesome cloud nebula or something like that.

    here

    [–]dramafreak219 0 points1 point ago

    new desktop background

    [–]dabaushazspoke 0 points1 point ago

    Karma for your goodbye!

    [–]fluxaxion 0 points1 point ago

    There's probably life out there. We'll probably never see them =[.

    [–]Roflkopt3r 0 points1 point ago

    It also can be a very encouraging thing to have things that are just out of reach and can't get to you. And it's not like we would have to be alone has humans, much rather an emptiness outside can also give a feeling of unity.

    "I have fallen all the way to the ground... no, that's not it. The height of the stars has not changed one bit."

    [–]SadGruffman 1 point2 points ago

    might have used this as my facebook headline. If someone could authorize the quote with IFUCKINGLOVEMETH, I'd gladly update it.

    [–]myusernameranoutofsp 1 point2 points ago

    Definitely the second one. What's scary about the first? That they might kill us? Then there are two scenarios: one where we can die out and there will be no life in the universe, or two where we die out but life in general goes on. From there, it's scarier not having any other life in the universe. Add that they probably won't wipe us out and we're good.

    [–]MrJMaxted0291 0 points1 point ago

    Option 1 is scarier.

    [–]drinkredstripe2 0 points1 point ago

    Stop fucking with my head

    [–]SleepingOnMoonshine 0 points1 point ago

    Well that isn't the MOST frightening thing about the universe, but out of the two, I'd say it would be being alone.

    [–]fora-mejora 0 points1 point ago

    Woah, dude.

    This picture is my desktop background.

    No lie.

    [–]FineFuse 0 points1 point ago

    /r/Xcom

    [–]speenis 1 point2 points ago

    I have yet as to

    Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

    [–]EMBigMoose 0 points1 point ago

    What's most frightening is that there is a comma splice and no one has crucified you yet.

    [–]LaGrrrande 0 points1 point ago

    "Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."

    [–]RJhasCrestedsGreen green trees 0 points1 point ago

    Oh my god. Thats horrifying.

    [–]zelmerszoetrop 0 points1 point ago

    This is my desktop, but without the quote.

    [–]Muff_Ryder 0 points1 point ago

    I find neither frightening in the slightest. I find comfort in both because I know life will continue as it has for a while ..

    [–]bigbangbilly 0 points1 point ago

    How about we make our own "intelligent life" on another planet?

    [–]Atario 1 point2 points ago

    I have as yet to determine

    Fixed

    [–]CalmBalm 0 points1 point ago

    Gamma-Ray bursts are kinda scary too.

    [–]rathatJungle love 1 point2 points ago

    Many people, when thinking about the vastness of the universe feel "insignificant" and "tiny" which frightens people. I feel just the opposite.

    Sure it's big, big enough where light from the big bang can not even reach all of it as space expands faster than light. But it's not infinite. Sure it's pretty empty and even what is there, only a small percent is not dark matter or energy. But there are over 125 billion galaxies with up to a trillion stars in each, more stars total than seconds since the big bang. Sure there are stars millions of times more massive than our own sun, but this one is ours.

    You are not insignificant and tiny, you are a human, the future explorers of the universe. Not trees, bacteria, fish, dogs or monkeys, or any other of the over 1 million known species on our pale blue dot named Earth.

    We are the part of the universe that gets to discover itself.

    [–]hot_pot 0 points1 point ago

    i have a version of this as my wallpaper haha

    [–]XsalvieXNeat! 0 points1 point ago

    These two lil fuckers always have something deep to say.

    [–]Brioux 0 points1 point ago

    ZEKENT

    [–]ford2city 1 point2 points ago

    If you ever read any H.P. Lovecraft you will learn that the first one is what you should be worried about...

    [–]feralcrat 0 points1 point ago

    The second one (being alone in the universe) is both frightening and interesting in a dead space kind of way. It too is Lovecraftian -- that is if you believe Lovecraft's works to be an allegory of creatures and horrors that lurk within the psyche of society/civilization. Not to mention that madness and insanity are also major themes in his writings.

    [–]jonosaurus 0 points1 point ago

    The idea of no life is exciting too- humans and other animals populate other planets, and eventually their evolution will diversify. I find that just as fascinating. If Star Trek turns out to be wrong, we can MAKE it right! Over a few millennia, I mean.

    [–]FeculentUtopia 0 points1 point ago

    Definitely scarier to think we're the only intelligent life in the universe. What if we are, the possibility exists to spread through and come to fully understand the universe and what might lie without, but we blow it?

    [–]MBSquared 1 point2 points ago

    I don't understand the notion that we are alone in the universe. The blueprints of life obviously exist within the universe. That means under the right circumstances, life can be made if everything falls together correctly.

    Also, WE are evidence that life exists in the universe. Just look at us and all the variety of life here on earth. No way this somehow just happened and can't happen somewhere else. Everything seems to be getting more complex as well, from a tiny dot that exploded into the universe (big bang) to gasses forming stars, stars forming galaxies, then life spawning from those stars, advancing from tiny itty bitty cells to complex organisms to complex technology. It's advancing. That can't just be by chance, can it? Can an aware conscious being that can build something beyond itself just chance??? Not saying it's god, but shit there's something going on.

    [–]feralcrat 0 points1 point ago

    Given the following timeline of life on earth:

    • 4.6 billion year old Earth
    • 3.6 billion years of simple cells
    • 1 billion years of multicellular life

    It's safe to say that a planet that could ever support life will very likely already support it in its simplest bacterial form. But whether it's multi-cellular life might be another story entirely. There might not actually be any guarantees that an ecosystem of single cell organisms will ever evolve into multi-cellular life. Looking at the timeline, 2.6 billion years is a pretty damn long interval of time to be stuck in a lesser, primordial state. Perhaps it's a bit of gamble whether it gets past this stage of evolution (in a timely manner).

    [–]das427troll 0 points1 point ago

    I feel really happy that you reposted my link :D

    Congrats on the karma! I'm living the karma glory through you right now :P

    [–]Toggle2 0 points1 point ago

    Calvin and Hobbes are my Favourite Existentialist Philosophers.

    [–]Bongsc2 0 points1 point ago

    Nice Douglas Adams quote. Here's another one for ya! "The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be." - Douglas Adams ( see how I credited him at the end? )

    [–]Rahavin 0 points1 point ago

    Really? The latter would be much more frightening. It would ignore logical mathematics in favor of ultimate improbability. On that, I would think that those who are religious, and favor such things, would find the former much more terrifying, undermining their geocentric basis for understanding all existence. I do not know much of Arther C Clarke, but this statement seems to ring loudly of religious sentiments.

    [–]BoonskiManoonski 0 points1 point ago

    Something so deep posted by IFUCKINGLOVEMETH

    [–]wafflesburger -2 points-1 points ago

    I don't see how either are frightening

    [–]IFUCKINGLOVEMETH[S] 20 points21 points ago

    I think to appreciate just how scary the idea is, you first must feel the profound infinitude, the endlessly large emptiness of the universe.

    Imagine there's a big hole in the ground, a giant, cavernous endless abyss. Imagine how terrifying it would be to stand on the edge of that hole.

    Then look up and realize you are in fact already in the middle of such an abyss, one that stretches out in every direction. Endless in every which way, including the dimension of time. You have already fallen into the hole!

    Each star is bigger than you can possibly comprehend, but it looks like a pinpoint of light to you. The distance between just two stars is even more unfathomable than that. And then you ponder that distance multiplied by a hundred billion stars and all their planets, and that's all just one galaxy. 100 Billion stars in each of the 100 Billion galaxies, forming, dying, supernova, condensation into planets through endless ages and aeons.

    Imagine that we are alone in all of that.

    Then, imagine we are not.

    [–]kamakazebear 1 point2 points ago

    One thing that stops me freaking out about this is that at one point, just traveling across the earth was an impossible task. The thought that there were more humans out there across the vast seas, huge mountain ranges and deep valleys was incomprehensible. As someone else said in this post, humans are afraid of the unknown. One day it won't be the unknown, one day we will find out what's out there.

    That or the Mayans were right and we go extinct next month. Then we wont know.

    load more comments (4 replies)

      [–]Aesthenaut 3 points4 points ago

      Humans are afraid of the unknown. Especially when nothing like it has ever been known.

      Would you try to survive in the rainforest alone for a month with no prior knowledge of the other creatures?

      [–]Aesthenaut 4 points5 points ago

      Everybody was kung fu fighting. Those cats were fast as lightning.

      [–]Squishpoke 0 points1 point ago

      It all comes down to "what's the point of our existence?" That's what I believe what some people are afraid of deep down.

      [–]DeadpanWalking -1 points0 points ago

      Fear leads to anger, anger to death, yada yada.

      [–]dontwanturvalidation -2 points-1 points ago

      No, the other frightening thing is that in all probability life does exist (since there are billions of galaxies), and that they have the means to contact us but choose not to. Its frightening because it shows just how fucked up we are. Just think of all the billions of life forms that have chosen NOT to contact us. We must be the shame of the cosmos.

      The worst part is that we cannot seem to see just how fucked up we are. We right in the midst of it - yet we have no perspective on how insane we are.

      That's one take on it, but its not water tight. Maybe this is tough love. If that's the case, then every advanced civilization must have first hand experienced that this is a phase we all have to go through - we can't be changed by someone else, we have to change ourselves. Insanity is (must be) the best motivation for becoming sane.

      [–]Azumikkel 1 point2 points ago

      This saddens me. Not because I believe that's actually true, but I realized that it's more likely that no lifeform in the universe has ever gotten far enough to find a way to contact us, and as big as the universe is, many of those lifeforms have very likely existed for way longer than mankind.

      [–]SisRob -2 points-1 points ago

      Definitely the second. At least for me.

      [–]aqaspecification 0 points1 point ago

      Definitely the second one.

      [–]lazyslacker -2 points-1 points ago

      Would've been even better if proper grammar had been used.

      [–]sporvath 0 points1 point ago

      Can we get a high res of this ?

      [–]thethingofcreepySpace is deep 0 points1 point ago

      Alone. That word fucking got me

      [–]joedude 0 points1 point ago

      This is the most terrifying thing about the universe??? really? how about the fact that everything is just varying densities of vibrations that go on to infinity?

      [–]amvisuals 0 points1 point ago

      I vaguely remember 15 years ago when believing we are not alone was considered a ridiculous thought...almost taboo.

      [–]Vexar 0 points1 point ago

      So when Contact came out? I always assumed we weren't alone, even as a kid in the '80s.

      [–]amvisuals 0 points1 point ago

      I think i chose the wrong words...but definitely its not popularf anymore to even assume weare the only ones in the universe

      [–]mtme -2 points-1 points ago

      We aren't alone. God is there with you.

      [–]pieceofeverything -1 points0 points ago

      Many people also don't realise or don't believe that there are "myriads of myriads" of angels in the universe, some right here on earth along with Satan and his demons. Even though the Bible describes them as living in an "invisible spirit realm" they can influence people and things in many different ways. I believe that one tactic Satan uses to foster peoples disbelief in God is to convince people that there are "aliens" and that humans are not unique to the universe.

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