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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Pointlessless

Logically, if intelligent life continues onward without an extinction event, there will inevitably be an end to history. The point at which every permutation of every given event has already occurred. Literally a moment when nothing is new, because nothing can be new. With infinity as our time frame, it is an unavoidable inevitability. Given, one far beyond a time we could ever conceive, and certainly one we will never live to see. Yet, that does nothing to deter the ineluctable truth of limited options in a limitless time frame.

Now this... this is a pretty bleak concept.

Imagine being born into a time in which it is literally impossible to do anything new. Feels pretty futile doesn't it? As if our lives didn't feel pointless enough, we've got this atom bomb of futility looming ever-present in our genetic future.

Once you come to terms with this fact, you knock down one of the massive barriers preventing happiness for both the people alive at that time, and for ourselves right now. By imagining this world, we can learn a bit more about life, its meaning (or lack thereof), and our innate desire for agency.

At least we can have the hope of doing something novel. It's something we dedicate our lives searching for or creating. But future people will be denied that at birth. No possibility of leaving their mark on history. All the history books have already been filled and shut.

On the other hand, does that necessarily void meaning in one's life?

How many times have you been in a situation that is as old as mankind itself? Ever been sweet on someone who didn't even realize you existed? Ever fought with the urge to spill your heart out to them for fear of rejection? Ever been stabbed in the back by a friend? Or cheated on by a lover? These things have happened in nearly identical ways since our earliest ancestors. It's part of the human condition, and it is timeless. Despite knowing you're involved in a situation that has been played out billions of times and billions of ways by billions of people, it doesn't remove the meaning that you feel from it, does it? You still feel like it matters, even if it only matters to you. You still feel a sense of agency even when the possibilities have previously been exhausted by others. Because they're not you. You are you. This is your experience on your path. It is yours alone.

Live your life. Fuck history.