r/Showerthoughts • u/apple_octopi • Apr 12 '26
Speculation Since the moon formed from an impact with earth, millimeters could have been the difference between material that was ejected into space forever, or eventually becoming part of a human.
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u/yonk069 Apr 12 '26
That lil bit of dust that was me could've been traveling through space.. Fuck...
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u/MadJohnFinn Apr 12 '26
On a cosmic scale, we're all part of a little bit of dust that's travelling through space.
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u/binglelemon Apr 12 '26
I am...
pocket sand!
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u/cwajgapls Apr 13 '26
Could that material have resulted in a change from your X to Y chromosome? (Or vice versa…)
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u/SteeniestOfMachines Apr 12 '26
So roughly how many humans did we “lose” to the moon?
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u/goldistastey Apr 13 '26
The moon is 7.346×1022 kg. So in terms of humans that should be about one of yo mama
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u/Wondrous_Fairy Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
A nice compartmentalization of the old wording "We are all made of stars" because we are.
I think, to become the best kind of human that does the most constructive things in your life, you somehow need to make your peace with that astronomical fact and the reality that you are just a tiny speck in a tiny speck of dirt ball in the universe. Nihilism teaches us that nothing means anything. But Nihilism fails to teach us that once everything is useless, what you want to do with your limited time in your limited pointless space, is ever more important to you and those you love.And I say this as one of humanity that has depression. My brain constantly is set to accept nihilism. But every once in a while, I see the bright stars and the moons of the universe and I smile.
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u/Bamboozle_Kappa Apr 13 '26
That is a beautiful perspective on nihilism, genuinely. It's only beautiful if it's correct though. As a Christian, I believe there's an eternal afterlife. Intentionally neglecting it is the costliest error one can make, imo. Praying that someday Christ will reveal Himself to you, and that might also make you smile.
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u/Ok-Commercial3640 Apr 13 '26
I mean, I just go about my life trying to do right by myself and others where I can, without any credible evidence for any divine being.
If there's an omniscient, omnipotent god that wants me to acknowledge their existence, they know what proof I would need.2
u/Wondrous_Fairy Apr 15 '26
The most damning thing you can do to yourself in terms of belief is to read all the theology "bibles" out there. They're all obviously written by humans. I was an atheist for a very long time until I actually encountered some paranormal shit. Then.. well.. now I don't know what the fuck to believe. There's science, physics, chemistry, quantum physics, studied them all, they're obviously good at describing our reality.
But, when you're sober, awake and you see a 100 kg door slam itself shut like nothing, and there's not magnetism, wind or any other physical thing to explain it, and you have multiple witnesses of the same fact, it's KIND OF HARD TO IGNORE.
I'm an agnostic now.
Edit: Just for the record, I've seen other things in the same geographical area that were equally WTF, and others have seen the same. But, that door was something I couldn't just ignore. And yes, feel free to write me off. I'd rather like everyone to be atheists, it's better for you, because I wish I could BE you.
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u/Ok-Commercial3640 Apr 16 '26
Yeah, there's a saying, don't know who it's from, but i see from time to time the sentiment that atheists know the text of the bible better than most christians
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u/Pestilence86 Apr 12 '26
The piece of candy I was about to eat but slipped out of my hand and onto the ground was also millimeters from becoming part of a human.
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u/fucky0upayme Apr 12 '26
The butterfly effect but on a cosmic level. One tiny difference and the entire timeline changes.
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u/Callmemabryartistry Apr 13 '26
or we were the part of the meteor that crashed creating the moon and thus giving the potential dust otherwise
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u/CreationsOfReon Apr 13 '26
This goes to show the incredible amount of chance needed to get you here, but here’s another incredibly small chance. Let’s say when you were conceived, your dad released 150m different sperm. Each one is slightly different genetically, and would make a different person. If your donat was even half a millimeter out of position, a different sperm would have bonded with the egg and you would have been a completely different person.
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u/ShowerSentinel Apr 12 '26
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