so what is human existence how can you
actually sum it up it turns out it's
really pretty simple we are dead stars
looking back up at the sky everything
you are I mean literally the iron in
your blood comes from the instant before
a star dies you know you cut yourself
and you see that red from that that
oxygenated hemoglobin and that was the
instant of a death of a solar system the
universe began with only the element
hydrogen the very very simplest atom
that exists and the only thing in the
universe that can make a bigger atom is
a star the entire periodic table every
element you've ever heard of was
processed inside the body of a star and
that star then unraveled or exploded and
here we are all a star is is a dust
cloud that is collapsing under the force
of gravity that's it and when you
compress gas together it actually heats
up there's a time when that's hot enough
to set off a nuclear fusion reaction and
that actually supports the star there's
this nuclear explosion inside supports
the star against further collapse but
that nuclear fusion reaction is using
fuel it's using hydrogen and so
eventually that will burn out and the
collapse of gravity will keep going in
the case of a more massive star the
gravity crushes ever more and more
tightly things get hotter inside you
create things like carbon and oxygen and
nitrogen and so finally you get to the
element iron fuses iron together and
instead of energy coming out Energy's
actually absorbed and the core of the
star collapses and that sets off the
most violent brilliant reaction we know
of called a supernova reaction
everything outside the element of iron
everything heavier all the gold all the
silver all of the lead all the uranium
that's formed in that supernova
explosion
single star will glow as brightly as an
entire galaxy as as hundreds of billions
of stars in that moment of death and and
that's what you are that that is
literally what your body is is that
instant of death
you know it is so tempting I mean humans
have done this for deferred for
literally tens of thousands of years to
think of the Stars as eternal the stars
will all burn out someday there's only a
certain amount of stellar fuel of
hydrogen the stars are burning through
it and then the stars as we know them
will all die out in some trillions of
years and the universe will be dark for
the rest of time whatever that means but
think about that we're actually living
in Eden right now we're living in a time
when this you know 10 billion year
lived' thing the Sun is pouring down
free energy we are using it we are
evolving we are becoming sentient we are
looking out at the universe and and what
an amazing thing to think that that's
only for a tiny little brief part of the
universe's history and everything else
will be dark it does give you an
ownership about how no how wonderful
this time is how wonderful your life is
right now your literal life but also how
wonderful this time in the universe is
and someday I wonder if people will have
myths about you know the days when stars
rain down free sunlight free energy
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you
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