If the world isn't ending, how does that impact the choices we make?
Is the world ending? For real this time?
It might certainly seem that way, considering constant political upheaval, relentless environmental distress and a general perceived failing of the human race. As it turns out, this is not a new way of thinking. It may very well be as old as civilization itself.
And perhaps more importantly, it might be the exact piece of false logic keeping us from making crucial decisions that can shape our future … the very, very, very far distant future.
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, a YouTube channel that uses animation to “explain things with optimistic nihilism,” explores this existential quandary in a video titled “The Last Human – A Glimpse Into the Far Future.”
The video begins with a not-so-simple question: When will the last human be born and how many people will there ever be?You can watch the full video below:
Making an assumption that the current birth rate would stay the same (unlikely, but for the sake of discussion), that would mean the global population would increase by 125 million people each year. Combine that with the fact that the average collective life span of most mammal species before extinction is somewhere around 1-10 million years, and we can conservatively estimate that there is still a whopping 800,000 more years before a real apocalypse is upon us.
Yes, even under a cynical lens, we might be looking at a future of 1.2 quadrillion people yet to be born.
Of course, galactic catastrophes can happen. A supernova, gamma ray bursts … the things sci-fi movies like to scare us with. But even those must fall under very specific parameters in order to pose a real threat. And if they did happen, humanity is still “relatively safe from extinction, maybe even for billions of years.”
Things get even more complex if we consider we might eventually leave Earth.
“If future people can colonize, say, 100 billion stars and live there for 10 billion years, while each generating 100 million births per year, then we can expect something like a hundred octillion lives to be lived in the future. This is a 1 with 29 zeros, a hundred thousand trillion, trillion,” the video states.
The potential for added zeros grows and grows from there. In this futuristic scenario, we could see a blending of colonized galaxies. Yes, galaxies. Plural. Which, the video concludes, could give us a potential for a tredecillion lives. Never heard of a tredecillion? It means a million, trillion, trillion, trillion potential people.
“Every generation assumes they’re important enough to witness the apocalypse and then life just goes on,” which the video explains is a phenomenon called societal pessimism. However, because the potential size of the future could in fact be vastly greater than our present comprehension, it might behoove us all to think of civilization as being at the beginning of its story, rather than the end.
The future is still in our hands
With this in mind, there might be an even more powerful moral imperative attached to our actions today, something explored in a school of thought referred to as longtermism. Longtermism doesn’t argue that human life most certainly will go on, but focuses on the possibility that it could. And because of that, we might want to examine what the long-term consequences of our choices could be for those future generations, ethically speaking.
After all, if there’s even a chance that billions of people could still be born despite our seemingly bleak current circumstances, then maybe we owe it to ourselves as a species to not throw the tredecillion babies out with the bathwater.
It’s a fascinating thought experiment, not to mention a pretty cool argument in the name of rational optimism. Plus, it’s made all the more palatable with fun graphics. Thank you, In a Nutshell!
The Frenchman's monologue was absolutely spot on 
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.