Getting to grips with our place in the universe can offer a grand source of comfort
IN HIS 1980 book The Restaurant At the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams imagined a torture device called the Total Perspective Vortex that would subject its victims to “just one momentary glimpse of the entire unimaginable infinity of creation”. The result? Instant death.
His invention was a send-up of the idea that contemplating the staggering vastness of the universe inevitably induces existential dread. But as we discover in our special issue, which celebrates the centennial of Edwin Hubble’s discovery that ours is not the only galaxy, there is no need to fear the cosmic perspective. In fact, there are good reasons to reckon with our place in the grandest scheme of things.
The first is that getting to grips with the scale of the universe (see page 31) and the mysteries it contains – from the origins of space and time (page 32) to the prospects for life elsewhere and multiple universes (pages 33 and 39) – is awe-inspiring. Like any epic vista, it offers a way to transcend the self, which has been shown to reduce stress and enhance our sense of connection with others. Besides, confronting our cosmic insignificance is arguably a source of comfort anyway, since it reminds us that nothing we do really matters much at all (see page 36).
