PTIMOPTIMISTICISTC URADIPISNIHILISMEV Kurzgesagt
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Optmisitic Nihilism Speech by Kurzgesagt Narrated by Steve Taylor
LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET, CONSECTETUR AD EU IMPERDIET NULLA. MORBI SIT AMET NISI FELIS. F ALIQUAM CONDIMENTUM VITAE LECTUS. VESTIBU VEHICULA, ORNARE VULPUTATE TURPIS. PELLENTE NULLAM NON FELIS MASSA. SUSPENDISSE TORTOR LAOREET EST. FUSCE ALIQUET IMPERDIET PURUS S LOREM, VEL VOLUTPAT JUSTO SEMPER ULTRICIES. S VIVERRA JUSTO. MORBI ELEMENTUM, EX A CONDIM NDIM QUIS PLACERAT VELIT NISL NEC EST. FUSCE VIVERR TINCIDUNT AT LECTUS ET ALIQUET. ORCI VARIUS ARIUS N ENT MONTES, NASCETUR RIDICULUS MUS. NULLAM NAS GRAVIDA SED SAPIEN ID IMPERDIET. DUIS SIT A TEMPOR. SUSPENDISSE CONSEQUAT CONSECTETU ONSECTETU LUM POSUERE TINCIDUNT MAGNA, EU ELEIFEND O AUGUE. SED SUSCIPIT ORCI NON MOLESTIE LESTIE IACULI SENT SODALES EST ET SCELERISQUE DAPIBUS.PRO HENDRERIT VITAE. SUSPENDISSE EU MI VEHICULA, POSUERE RUTRUM EST NEC PLACERAT. AT. SUSPENDIS PER, EST FELIS SAGITTIS DOLOR, NEC ALIQUET NIBH AUGUE, LAOREET NEC DOLOR VEL, SCELERISQUE CELERISQUE E EUISMOD LEO. MAECENAS MAXIMUS ID D MAGNA SI MPERDIET ET MOLLIS SED, MATTIS SED LECTUS. PR
DIPISCING ELIT. PROIN SED TINCIDUNT IPSUM, FUSCE ELEMENTUM DUI NEC DIAM PHARETRA ULUM MAURIS MASSA, SA, FERMENTUM AT NIBH ESQUE FEUGIAT GIAT PORTTITOR ANTE UT SAGITTIS. R JUSTO, O, GRAVIDA A AUGUE EGESTAS, TRISTIQUE SIT AMET ACCUMSAN. SED IMPERDIET EUISMOD SUSPENDISSE PELLENTESQUE FACILISIS DIAM, EU MENTUM SUSCIPIT, MAGNA ENIM ULTRICIES NISI, RA EFFICITUR ANTE A TEMPOR. SUSPENDISSE NATOQUE PENATIBUS ET MAGNIS PARTURIHumanDIS existence M SEMPER DIGNISSIM EST VEL MOLLIS. MAECEis scary and confusing. AMET MAGNA SEM. AENEANA few BLANDIT PHARETRA hundred thousand years ago, became conscious and found ourUR LACINIA. ALIQUAM ERATwe VOLUTPAT. VESTIBUselves in a strange place. It was filled other beings. WeUT could TELLUS eat some; ODIO. SED EU LACINIA ANTE.withINTEGER some could eat us. There was liquid IS. UT ET NEQUE EGET RISUSstuffPORTA PORTA. PRAEwe could drink; things we could to make more things. The dayOIN PORTA LECTUS ARCU, ETuse FEUGIAT TELLUS time sky had a tiny yellow ball that warmed our skin.FELIS. The night sky was FRINGILLA DOLOR NEC, EFFICITUR SED filled with beautiful lights. This place was obviously made forULLAMCORus. Something SSE CONVALLIS, NISL EU ELEMENTUM was watching over us. We were home. H LIBERO UT MAGNA. PELLENTESQUE DOLOR This made everything much less scary and confusing. EUISMOD ORCI. AENEAN EGET VULPUTATE DUI, ID IT AMET PELLENTESQUE. PHASELLUS LIGULA MI, 3 RAESENT IN LEO TINCIDUNT, FAUCIBUS ANTE NEC,
UNIV But the older we got, the more we learned about the world and ourselves. We learned that the twinkling lights are not shining beautifully for us, they just are. We learned that we’re not at the center of what we now call the universe, and that it is much, much older than we thought. We learned that we’re made of many little dead things, which make up bigger things that are not dead, for some reason, and that we’re just another temporary stage in a history going back over a billion years. We learned, in awe, that we live on a moist speck of dust moving around a medium-sized star in a quiet region of one arm of an average galaxy, which is part of a galaxy group that we will never leave.
And this group is only one of thousands that, together, make up a galaxy supercluster. But even our supercluster is only one in thousands that make up what we call the observable universe. The universe might be a million times bigger, but we will never know.
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VER We can throw words around like two hundred million galaxies or trillions of stars or bazillions of planets, but all of these numbers mean nothing. Our brains can’t comprehend these concepts. The universe is too big. There is too much of it.
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But size is not the most troubling concept we have to deal with. It’s time, or, more precisely, the time we have. If you’re lucky enough to live to one hundred, you have five thousand two hundred weeks at your disposal. If you’re twenty-five now, then you have three thousand nine hundred weeks left. If you’re going to die at seventy, then there are two thousand three hundred and forty weeks left—a lot of time, but also ...not really.
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Age 25 1,300 weeks elapsed
Death at 70 2,340 weeks left
Death at 100 3,900 weeks left
And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? And then what? 8
Your biological processes will break down, and the dynamic pattern that is you will stop being dynamic. It will dissolve until there is no you left. Some believe that there is a part of us we can’t see or measure, but we have no way to find out, so this life might be it and we might end up dead forever. This is less scary than it sounds, though. If you don’t remember the 13.75 billion years that went by before you existed, then the trillions and trillions and trillions of years that come after will pass in no time once you’re gone.
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Close your eyes. Count to one.
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That’s how long forever feels.
And as far as we know, in the end, the universe itself will die and nothing will ever change again. Our videos induce existential dread in many people, and the last few minutes probably haven’t helped. So, for once, we want to offer a different way of looking at these things: an unscientific, subjective point of view, the philosophy of Kurzgesagt, if you want. Please take it with a grain of salt; we don’t know any more about human existence than you do.
We counter existential dread with:
Optmisitic 12
c Nihilism. 13
What do we mean by that? Well, to summarize, it seems very unlikely that 200 trillion trillion stars have been made for us. In a way, it feels like the cruelest joke in existence has been played on us.
We became self-aware only to realize this story is not about us. While it is great to know about eletrons and the powerhouse of the cell, science doesn’t do a lot to make this less depressing.
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Okay, but so what?
You only get one shot at life, which is scary, but it also sets you free. If the universe ends in heat death, every humiliation you suffer in your life will be forgotten. Every mistake you made will not matter in the end. Every bad thing you did will be voided. If our life is all we get to experience, then it’s the only thing that matters. If the universe has no principles, the only principles relevant are the ones we decide on.
If the universe has no purpose, then w Humans will most certainly cease to exist at some point, but before we do, we get to explore ourselves and the world around us. We get to experience feelings. We get to experience food, books, sunrises, and being with each other. The fact that we’re even able to think about these things is already kind of incredible.
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we get to dictate what its purpose is.
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SYSTEM ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION MEAT VA NESS MARS BASE ROGUE PLANETS ORGANIC FOO MOON BASE DEEP SEA NUKE PLASTIC POLLUTION THEORY HOMEOPATHY THE GREAT FILTER UNIVER ARGUMENT BLACK HOLES WHITE DWARVES AUTO DECAY GENETIC ENGINEERING GAMMA-RAY BURS LYPSE FERMI PARADOX NUCLEAR ENERGY MALARI THE SIZE OF LIFE AGING THE SKYHOOK NUKE A CI COLONY THE COMPLIMENT SYSTEM ELECTROMAG CONSCIOUSNESS NEUTRON STAR MARS BASE ROG END OF SPACE HUMANITY WORMHOLES MOON B ALTRUISM STRING THEORY HOMEOPATHY THE GRE THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT BLACK HOLES WHITE ENERGY VACUUM DECAY GENETIC ENGINEERING ANTIBIOTIC APOCALYPSE FERMI PARADOX NUCLE SKYHOOKHOLD BOMB THE SIZE OF LIFE AGING TH THE EGG ANT MEGACOLONY THE COMPLIMENT S CINES STRANGE STARS CONSCIOUSNESS LONELIN DYSON SPHERE THE END OF SPACE WORMHOLES BACTERIOPHAGE EGOTISTIC ALTRUISM STRING TH BASIC INCOME MICROBIOMES THE SIMULATION A TION18OVERPOPULATION FUSION ENERGY VACUUM
ACCINES STRANGE STARS CONSCIOUSNESS LONE OD DYSON SPHERE THE END OF SPACE WORMHOL It’s easy to think of ourselves as N BACTERIOPHAGE EGOTISTIC ALTRUISM STRING separated from everything, but this is not true. We are asSIMULATI much RSAL BASIC INCOME MICROBIOMES THE the universe as a neutron star or OMATION OVERPOPULATION FUSION ENERGY VAC a black hole or a nebula. Even better, actually, we are its thinkSTS SPACE ELEVATOR RED DWAVES ANTIBIOTIC AP ing and feeling part: the centre organs of the universe. We are IA THE BIG BANG EMERGENCE SKYHOOKHOLD BO truly free in a universe-sized ITY NEUTRON STARS DEEP SEA THEso we EGG playground, might ANT as well MEG aim to be happy and to build GNETIC POLLUTION MEAT VACCINES STRANGE ST some kind of utopia in the stars. GUE PLANETS ORGANIC FOOD DYSON SPHERE TH It’s not as if we’ve found out BASE PLASTIC POLLUTION BACTERIOPHAGE everything there is to know—weEGOT don’tINCOME know why the rules of the EAT FILTER UNIVERSAL BASIC MICROBIO universe are as they are, how life E DWARVES AUTOMATION OVERPOPULATION came into existence, what life is. FUS have no idea what consciousGAMMA-RAY BURSTS SPACEWe ELEVATOR RED DWAV ness is or if we are alone in the universe. But we can try to find EAR ENERGY MALARIA THE BIG BANG EMERGENCE some answers. There are billions HE SKYHOOK NUKE A CITY NEUTRON STARS of stars to visit, diseases to cure,DEEP people to help, happy feelings to SYSTEM ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION MEAT VA be experienced, and video games to finish. NESS MARS BASE ROGUE PLANETS ORGANIC FOO MOON BASE DEEP SEA NUKE PLASTIC POLLUTION There is so much to do. HEORY HOMEOPATHY THE GREAT FILTER UNIVERSA ARGUMENT BLACK HOLES WHITE DWARVES AUTO M DECAY GENETIC ENGINEERING GAMMA-RAY 19 BU
TRON STARS DEEP SEA THE EGG ANT MEGACOLON C POLLUTION MEAT VACCINES STRANGE STARS C So, wrapping up, you’ve probably PLANETS FOOD DYSON SPHERE THE EN used up aORGANIC good chunk of the time to you. If this is our one SEA available NUKE PLASTIC POLLUTION BACTERIOPHAGE shot at life, there is no reason not to have fun and live as happy asFILTER UNIVERSAL BASIC INCO OPATHY THE GREAT possible. Bonus points if you made MENTtheBLACK DWARVES AUTOMATIO life of otherHOLES people better.WHITE More bonus points if you help build a CUUM DECAY GENETIC ENGINEERING GAMMA-RA galactic human empire. NTIBIOTIC APOCALYPSE FERMI PARADOX NUCLEA NCE SKYHOOKHOLD BOMB THE SIZE OF LIFE AGIN TRON STARS DEEP SEA THE EGG ANT MEGACOLON TROMAGNETIC POLLUTION MEAT VACCINES STRAN NESS MARS BASE ROGUE PLANETS ORGANIC FOOD CE WORMHOLES MOON BASE DEEP SEA NUKE PLA EGOTISTIC ALTRUISM STRING THEORY HOMEOPA L BASIC INCOME MICROBIOMES THE SIMULATION DWARVES AUTOMATION OVERPOPULATION GENETIC ENGINEERING GAMMA-RAY BURSTS NTIBIOTIC FERMI PARADOX Do the APOCALYPSE things that make you feel good. BIG BANG SKYHOOKHOLD You getEMERGENCE to decide whatever this means for you. HE SKYHOOK NUKE A CITY NEUTRON EGACOLONY THE COMPLIMENT SYSTEM MEAT20 VACCINES STRANGE STARS CON-
NY THE COMPLICONSCIOUSNESS ND OF SPACE EGOTISTIC COME MICROON OVERAY BURSTS AR ENERGY NG NY NGE D ASAN
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Typography Optimistic Nihilism was designed by Jefferson Duan in the Sam Fox School of Art & Design Fall 2019 semester. The typefaces used are Mrs Eaves by Emigre and Neutraface Display by House Industries. Works Cited Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell. “Optimistic Nihlism.” YouTube, narration by Steve Taylor, 26 Jul. 2017, https://youtu.be/MBRqu0YOH14.
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