Wisdom Builder

Three Tidbit Stories

Topic:

Spirituality

Meaning within reality.

MODE:

Speed: 1.00

Spirituality.

3 random tidbit stories in about 3 minutes.

Idea 1.

A Spirituality Story.

David Hume.

Born 1711.

Lived from 1711 to 1776. 12 Generations Ago.

30 Philosophers, Chapter 27: Hume and Skeptical Empiricism.

David Hume was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, and one of the great voices of empiricism. Empiricism is the view that human knowledge begins in experience. He did not ask us to believe nothing. He asked us to believe carefully. For Hume, confidence should rise only as evidence rises.

Hume’s skepticism was disciplined humility. Although he would likely just say “the Sun will rise tomorrow” in everyday conversation, when it mattered, he would be more precise. If it mattered, he would say, “Yes, the Sun has risen everyday of my life, and long before that, so it will almost for sure rise tomorrow.” See the difference? Concluding the Sun will rise tomorrow is too strong. A more accurate statement is to conclude the Sun will almost for sure rise tomorrow. That little doubt, that better nuance, is what he was after.

This means miracle, religious, metaphysical, and everyday claims all deserve different levels of confidence depending on the support behind them. When Hume said human life is of no greater importance to the universe than an oyster, he was not making life meaningless. He was stripping away cosmic ego. Meaning is not handed to us by the universe. It is something we build through experience.

That makes Hume a powerful guide for secular spirituality. He helps us keep awe without surrendering judgment. Meditation may bring peace; and grief may reshape identity. Those claims fit ordinary experience and can be explored with evidence. But when a spiritual claim leaps into miracles, hidden realms, or supernatural certainty, Hume tells us to slow down. The stronger the claim, the stronger the support must be.

I wrote that Spirituality Story,

and posted it to TST 5 years ago.

Idea 2.

A Spirituality FAQ.

Why hasn’t Voyager been damaged by space dust?.

Short answer: Space is so vast that the odds of Voyager 1 or 2 hitting something is that rare.

Long answer: The fact is that both do encounter space dust along their journeys. They were designed to endure the impacts of small dust particles of less than 1 mm commonly found in space. It’s also true that hitting a half inch rock would be catastrophic, especially at their high speeds. Voyager 1 is travelling at 17 kilometers per second (38,000 mph), and Voyager 2 at 15 kilometers per second (34,000 mph).

How sparse is space? In between things like comets, space only has a few atoms per cubic meter, typically just a few hydrogen atoms. If space were denser, light would struggle to make it to us. For example, light would be mostly blocked if there were billions of hydrogen atoms per cubic meter, or a mix of many millions of heavier atoms. To compare, air to humans seems transparent, like there’s nothing there. In reality, air has about 25 billion-billions of atoms per cubic meter and we have no trouble seeing light traveling many thousands of miles. To simplify, over the vastness of space, the density of our air would for sure block out distant galaxies. Bottom line, if the Voyager vehicles could travel through air, they can travel through space much easier.

While half inch rocks and even boulders are nearly invisible in space, and there was some question whether either might hit one, space is that vast and they did not. The successful operation of the Voyager spacecraft over decades now serves as practical validation of our understanding.

I wrote that Spirituality FAQ,

and posted it to TST 2 years ago.

Idea 3.

A Spirituality Story.

Non-Surface Human Population Tipping Point.

2450 (+/- 75 years)

17 Generations From Now (from 2020 CE)

The population of humans not living on land will exceed the population living on land. The non-surface population will live in floating cities, underground, on the bottom of the ocean, in orbiting space stations around Earth, the Moon, and Mars, as well as on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. Potentially, there will also be populations living underground on Mars and the Moon if it turns out that living below the surface is more practical. There will likely be a few floating space stations between Earth and the Moon, and between Earth and Mars, and perhaps a few beyond Mars.

Analysis: As humanity approaches a population of 10.5 billion by 2100, we will begin to seriously explore how to fully maximize Earth and local space. The urgency will be driven by longer life and technological advancements that make our current AI aspirations look primitive. In preparation for the challenges of building permanent floating space stations beyond Mars, humanity will construct massive floating cities and underground cities, followed soon after by aquatic cities on the ocean floor. Simultaneously, we will perfect space station technology, including orbiting, surface, and underground habitats focusing on the Moon, Mars, and its two moons.

By the time humanity reaches biological immortality by about 2200, life in these exotic areas will become “normal.” People will die mainly from accidents or a refusal of medical treatment. They will live large portions of their first century in ocean-floating cities, underwater stations on the seafloor, and space stations. Starting in about four generations, some people will be born, raised, and die without ever having seen land on Earth. Their reality will be shaped by their environment, whether it is one of the ocean cities, an aquatic station on the sea floor, or a space station within view of Earth.

By 2350, within another ten generations or so, our bond to terrestrial Earth will be replaced with a bond to where they were born. As always, some people will migrate from one place to another for various reasons.

Viewpoint: The time from now to then will feel as distant as the Middle Ages feel to us today. Future generations will look back at us in the same way we look back at figures like Michelangelo, Copernicus, and William Shakespeare.

Vacations: Options for yearly vacations will include traditional natural destinations like forests, beaches, and islands, as well as entertainment-based destinations like Las Vegas, Disneyland, and Paris. If you live in one of the orbiting space stations or on the Moon, you will have access to your own Disneyland and Las Vegas attractions. Someone growing up in one of the aquatic stations on the ocean floor might venture yearly to the surface.

Beyond yearly vacations, once-in-a-lifetime adventures lasting nearly a year will include experiences like a Martian adventure, where you travel to the Moon, visit the large space stations between Earth and Mars, and explore the space stations orbiting Mars and its moons, Phobos and Deimos. You could then either visit the surface of Mars and/or its moons or venture out to the large space stations established beyond Mars. Naturally, your choice for a once-in-a-lifetime trip will depend on where you grew up. If you grew up on Mars or one of the distant space stations, your once-in-a-lifetime vacation might be a trip to Earth.

Timeline:
2025-2035: Initial Martian and Lunar Bases. Space Tourism Begins.
2035-2050: Expansion of Orbital Stations. Underwater Habitats.
2050-2100: Space Station Network. Underground Cities. Increased Non-Surface Population.
2100-2150: Advanced Lunar and Martian Colonies. Permanent Underwater Cities.
2150-2200: Orbital Habitats. Interplanetary Trade and Travel. Cultural Shift.
2200-2250: Massive Space Stations. On-water, underwater, and underground cities.
2250-2300: Population Growth. Advanced Technologies.
2300-2350: Self-Sustaining Habitats. Interplanetary Colonization.
2450: Non-Surface Population Tipping Point.