If the universe is a giant, enormous, magnificently dumb machine, as appears to be the case, then I, and all other sentient beings, are significant in our own way. The Sun is far larger than I am, contains enough energy to instantly reduce me to atomic dust without anyone noticing, powers all life on earth and controls the destinies of trillions of objects affected by its orbit... but it can only overpower me. It cannot think, it cannot imagine, and it cannot invent. Of all the objects which have ever escaped solar orbit for any reason, the Voyager probe is the only one which has done so according to design.
That's not to say that my brains are anything remarkable compared with other humans, they surely are not. But, human sentience is, as far as we can tell, a very special and unique thing, and even if it turns out that it is not entirely unique, the relatively insignificant amount of mass in this universe which makes thinking brains, all the thinking brains, anywhere in the universe, regardless of their limitations, is in a sense more significant than all the mass making up giant stars and galaxies.
But, what is my insignificant opinion worth, anyway?
That's not to say that my brains are anything remarkable compared with other humans, they surely are not. But, human sentience is, as far as we can tell, a very special and unique thing, and even if it turns out that it is not entirely unique, the relatively insignificant amount of mass in this universe which makes thinking brains, all the thinking brains, anywhere in the universe, regardless of their limitations, is in a sense more significant than all the mass making up giant stars and galaxies.
But, what is my insignificant opinion worth, anyway?
