Humans and the Universe Episode 8: The Mystery of Human Existence in This Very Moment

Return to the Science Library

Humans and the Universe Episode 8: The Mystery of Human Existence in This Very Moment

As we have seen so far, in the 13.8 billion-year history of the universe, the time during which humanity has existed is extremely short, and the period within that which we can call civilization is even closer to a mere instant.

Here, I would like to shift our perspective slightly. It is not a question of it being "short," but rather, "why now, of all times?"

It didn't have to be "now"

Of the 13.8 billion years of the universe, the time frame in which humans can exist is limited. It took billions of years of preparation for stars to be born, planets to form, and life to grow there. Conversely, once the universe grows old and most of the stars have burned out, there will not be enough material for new life to be born. In other words, the "window" in which life and intelligence can exist is not open indefinitely throughout the history of the universe.

Even so, the period during which that window is open is unimaginably long compared to a human life. If that window were to last for tens of billions of years, the timing of one's birth could have been anywhere within that window. It could have been at the beginning, in the middle, or toward the end.

And yet, I was born at this very limited point called "now." Not in any other era, but in this very one.

There is probably no reason for choosing "now"

There is no clear answer to this mystery. Perhaps there is no special reason why it had to be "now."

This is close to the sense of "coincidence" we considered during the Fermi Paradox. Out of the countless possibilities that could have existed, this universe happened to satisfy the conditions for life to be born, life happened to sprout on this planet, and at this very timing of "now," my existence happens to possess consciousness.

The more I try to find a reason, the more I realize I cannot reach an answer beyond "coincidence." However, this is a fact that should be accepted as a starting point rather than a disappointing conclusion.

The paradoxical freedom of only being able to choose "now"

What is interesting is that even though this is a "coincidence of now" amidst such vast possibilities, humans do not have the option to live in any time other than "now" in the first place.

One can think about wanting to be born in the past or the future. But that is only within the realm of thought; the only time one can actually experience is always "now." Even though we have been handed only a single point in the vast time axis of the universe's 13.8 billion years, humans can only live in that one point. Conversely, it also means that this one point is something that cannot be replaced by anyone else and is definitely one's own.

A single point in vast time. That sense of loneliness and that sense of certainty may actually be two sides of the same coin.

A quiet affirmation of being an instant

Up to this point, we have looked at the "distance" between humans and the universe from several angles: spatial loneliness, the coincidence of physical constants, the act of observation, and the shortness of time and the mystery of being at the single point of now.

From any angle, the existence of humans is far too small and far too short compared to the vastness of the universe. However, that smallness and shortness do not diminish human existence; rather, they seem to quietly confirm just how irreplaceable this very moment is.

From the next episode, we will finally turn our eyes to the second half of this series: the "end" of the universe. When faced with the death of the sun, the end of the Earth, and the end of the universe itself, how can humans face it? I would like to think about it from there.

(To be continued in Episode 9)