Let’s take it back, way back, back to when the entire universe was condensed into a single point in space and time. Let’s reset the clock, and start from zero. The Plank era, which lasted from zero to approximately 10^-43 seconds, is the closest that current physics can get to the absolute beginning of time. The theory of general relativity proposes a gravitational singularity before this time and it is hypothesized that the four fundamental forces (electromagnetism, weak nuclear force, strong nuclear force, and gravity) all have the same strength, and are possibly even unified into one fundamental force, held together by a perfect symmetry. At this point, the universe spans a region of only 10^-35 meters and has a temperature of over 10^32°C. Now let’s fast forward to 1 second, the Hadron era. The temperature of the universe cools to about a trillion degrees Celsius, cool enough to allow quarks to combine into Hadrons (like proton and neutrons). Fast forward to about 3 minutes and we begin to see nucleosynthesis (Mastin, 2016).
Woah, sorry about that, I got a little carried away. I went too far back. Let’s talk about how long humans have been around. The modern form of humans only evolved about 200,000 years ago. Civilization as we know it is only 6,000 years old and industrialization started only in the 1800s (Howell, 2015). Putting that into perspective, the universe has existed for over 13.7 billion years. Some quick math will tell you that humans have only been around for 0.0015% of the lifespan of the universe. Good luck with your FOMO!
Okay, I just realized, you might be wondering why I just shared this knowledge with you. In all honesty, I’m wondering the same thing! I think I’m just fascinated by astrophysics and also because it’s all a lie!
Wait what? Hold up! Did I just say I think everything we know about the universe is a lie? You must probably be thinking I’m crazy! (I am actually, but that’s beside the point.) Simply put, yes, it’s all a lie, but before you form a mob and chase me through the streets with pitchforks and torches, let me explain!
How many times have you heard the phrase “…make a change in the world…”? You might have heard it in a speech; your friend might have used it; someone probably told you that you’ll make a change in the world; heck, you might have used the phrase yourself!
But have you ever wondered what that means? There are over 7.6 billion people on this planet alone (yes I am not discounting the possibility of extraterrestrial life) and that number is increasing as you read this.
Each one of those individuals has dreams, aspirations and ambitions. Everyone wants to do something with their lives. It ranges from mere survival to wanting to be the king of the world (no I don’t want to be the king of the world, it’s just an example).
When someone says, they want to make a change in the world, are they suggesting that they want to affect every one of those 7.6 billion individuals. I don’t want to crush any of your dreams but that sounds a tad bit unrealistic.
See the thing is, every one lives in their own world. (Ooooo so that’s what the title is about!) Yes, I wrote all of that to tell you that everyone lives in their own world. Well, that’s it. Good night folks!
Psych! I’m not done. This is the cool part. Since everyone lives in their own world, your task of changing the world has become 7.6 billion times easier! All you have to do is change one person’s world. And then another, and then another! And hopefully they will do the same, causing a chain reaction that will grow at an exponential rate and then go out of control and blow up causing nuclear meltdown and – (damn it, I got carried away again with my sci-fi fantasies mwahaha!)
So how can you change someone else’s world? It’s simple. Start small, keep a smile on your face, I heard it’s contagious. Give someone an honest and sincere compliment. Hold the door for the person behind you, and the person behind them if you’re feeling really ambitious. And then slowly but surely, you’ll see even more opportunities to help others. And like we always say,
“Never say no to opportunities, because that yes can change your life.”
And so to conclude, I want to encourage all of you to take initiative and make a change in someone else’s world. And don’t tell your physics professors about what I said earlier about our knowledge of the universe being a lie. They’re probably already worried about that!
References
Howell, E. (2015, December 23). How long have humans been on earth? Retrieved from Universe Today: https://www.universetoday.com/38125/how-long-have-humans-been-on-earth/
Mastin, L. (2016, September 20). Timeline of the Big Bang. Retrieved from The Physics of the Universe: http://www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/topics_bigbang_timeline.html
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