Freaked Out when Thinking about where we are and why we exist?

Question

Is it weird to be kind of freaked out about why we(people) exist, and where we are in the Universe? I look at pictures of outer space and find myself thinking and pondering sometimes where the hell are we? What is out there? we are on some planet living life. Who are we? are we just some biological stuff? What exists outside of space, outside of all the blackness of space? Is there something greater? Why are we humans, animals that can actually think about this stuff?

I realize no one knows, but anyone know of any good books about this stuff? I hear Cosmos is something about this?

Answer 1

yes. after living for 32 years I stop and find myself wondering at the stars much like I did when I was a kid, but now I see it in a different angle.

I have much the same feelings as you and IT DOES bring a sense of fear to me, maybe not fear but a feeling of helplessness and pointlessness.

now people came up with the idea of string theory and now I find the IS no point anymore........

we are all but 1 possibility within an INFINITE amount of them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkYhc3SJXYo

I do like the music though.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOkAagw6iug

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxoQTt-UiJw

Answer 2

Wondering about our existence and pondering our fate is what sets us apart from every other creature on this planet (that and manufacturing rubber singing fish). "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan is a good start. It's written in easy-to-understand language and he has a real passion for his subject. You could also try "A Brief History of Time" by Prof. Stephen Hawking although this one gets into it deep. Put basically, we are the result of 3.5 billion years of random mutations of the primordial slime that life on this planet began with. Not really auspicious beginnings but 3.5 billion years can really improve things. More and more, it's beginning to look like life will take hold wherever it has a chance to and our existence shouldn't be a surprise. Even though our survival is doubtful at best at least we'll leave behind a legacy of sorts to say "we were here".

Answer 3

It is a bit humiliating to ponder just how incredibly tiny you are in the scope of things on a universal scale, but then again feeling insignificant isn't a very fun use of your time, and I think that's where things like religion come into play.

Read "Death by Black Hole" by Neil deGrasse Tyson. It's a collection of essays about various astronomy questions and events; it's cleverly written and will keep your interest, and the information and topics he covers will blow your mind a little more with each chapter.

Answer 4

I have read many books on cosmology, astronomy, and various subjects in science, but I believe Cosmos is the definitive book for people who have a wonder and fascination with the Universe and our place in it. You really can't do much better. Get it if you can. I guarantee you will want to read it more than once. Or you might want to get the series: 13 episodes available on tape and DVD, originally aired on PBS. Stunning! Sagan opens perspectives little considered by the average person and they are marvelous.

Answer 5

Cosmos is the answer for sure.

I'm sure you can find the episodes on a TVLinks-like website out there. They are hardly dated and give us a great foundation in science and why we are here and eventually what we can do for the future.

I also like reading any thing by or about Richard Feynman. I really would jump into his words of wisdom. Feynman's Rainbow is good and Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character.

~n

Answer 6

IMHO (and experience), what you need is not so much an answer to greater existential questions but you need to get laid.

No offense, I am totally serious. The kind of answers you are looking for do not have an intellectual, but they do have an emotional resolution. All that emptiness and yearning for something higher is really nothing more than our wish to be loved and our need to be held.

And, well, if you, after having had some good sex with the woman/man you love more than anything else, still have questions left, nine years of university level physics/astronomy culminating in a PhD will sort them out.

But get the love and sex part done first... it's way cheaper AND it might actually eliminate your need for (meta)physics.

Answer 7

Yup, everything you know, own, love, and hate all amounts to nothing in the universe. We spend our lives working for capitalism and corrupt leaders, for what? it reminds me of How the Grinch Stole Xmas, where you learn in the end that they all live on a snow flake but have no idea. Yeah dude, get some acid or good salvia and think about it then, it will blow your mind away (in a good way)

Answer 8

Have you seen the movie Men In Black? I'm sure you have. What if our whole universe is just a tiny marble owned by an alien? Really creepy if you think about it; it could be a possibility since we don't know what's beyond. I think you'll find this video interesting too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4oAHPqeKSM

Answer 9

It's really beautiful, no? We are made of star stuff, and our evolution is the universe's way of knowing itself.

A good book would be Neil Van DeGrasse Tyson's book Origins.

Answer 10

I think the same way as you. There no answers,
I am sorry, I have not looked up about Cosmos.
Yes, I think the same you do.
Just have not research it.