I've been thinking about this so much. When I say time I mean history, or... I think it's human to confuse history with time. That's for sure. No, listen. Other animals don't have time – they're simply part of the universe. But people– we get time and history. What if the world had continued on? Try to imagine a Nobel Peace Prize winner of the year 3056, or postage stamps with spatulas on them because we ran out of anything else to put on stamps. Imagine the Miss Universe winner in the year 22,788. You can't Your brain can't do it. And now there are'nt any people. Without people, the universe is simply the universe. Time doesn't matter.
The quote reflects on the human perception of time, emphasizing the tendency to conflate it with history. Unlike other animals, which exist as part of the universe without a concept of time, humans experience a linear progression of events that shapes their understanding of the world. This unique human trait leads to an interest in the future and how history might evolve alongside it.
The speaker invites readers to imagine a distant future, filled with fantastical scenarios that highlight the absurdity and vastness of time. By envisioning events like a Nobel Prize in 3056 or unusual postage stamps, the quote underscores the limitations of human imagination when contemplating time that stretches beyond our comprehension. Ultimately, the absence of people renders the universe indifferent to time, reinforcing the idea that human experience is tied to our perception of history.
