C/D: After human extinction, nothing humans have ever done will matter anymore

I had this thought while thinking about what happens when all humans are dead. Assuming that we never come into contact with an alien civilization, none of our accomplishments will ever be appreciated by anyone. Everything we did, everything we created, all that was only made to serve humans. With humans out of the picture, none of it will matter anymore. Even more so after the Sun goes out, Earth is destroyed, and there is no trace left of our species's existence. What do the world's greatest scientists like Stephen Hawking and Neil deGrasse Tyson think about this?

once Earth burns out it will be like no one ever existed

Nothing really matters at present either. All we have done and known will be lost once we die. Future generations will know and they will die too and yes, information will be passed on as time goes by but in the end, nothing truly matters. There really is no heaven or hell. We die and we simply cease to exist like it is with any other organism, including insects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record

It will count if an alien species ever discovers our existence and gets to marvel at us the way we have marveled at past human civilizations

awesome999 posted...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record

Yeah, but what are the odds of that ever being discovered?

chill02 posted...

once Earth burns out it will be like no one ever existed

Sounds great.

True.

I met a traveller from a GameFAQs quorum,
Who saidTwo vast, trunkless cargo pants
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, in the forum,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose glance,
And wrinkled nose, and eyes askance,
Tell its sculptor well those vidya games knew
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless guides,
The memes that mocked them, and the Hoth that lied;
On the sticky topic, these words yet glare:
My name is Vegymandias, King of Kings;
View my gimmick, white cutiesplease care!
Nothing beside remains. In the wan mist
Of that low-karma account, boundless and sad
The empty topics stretch on, tbh

Shadow-Moses posted...

Nothing really matters at present either. All we have done and known will be lost once we die. Future generations will know and they will die too and yes, information will be passed on as time goes by but in the end, nothing truly matters. There really is no heaven or hell. We die and we simply cease to exist like it is with any other organism, including insects.

Yes, this. This is my thought exactly.

Shotgunnova posted...

I met a traveller from a GameFAQs quorum,
Who saidTwo vast, trunkless cargo pants
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, in the forum,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose glance,
And wrinkled nose, and eyes askance,
Tell its sculptor well those vidya games knew
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless guides,
The memes that mocked them, and the Hoth that lied;
On the sticky topic, these words yet glare:
My name is Vegymandias, King of Kings;
View my gimmick, white cutiesplease care!
Nothing beside remains. In the wan mist
Of that low-karma account, boundless and sad
The empty topics stretch on, tbh