where the hell are we?
according to former NASA scientist James O'Donoghue, relatively speaking, mother Earth orbits dear Sol at speeds of roughly 107.2k km/h, and dear Sol's orbit through the Milky Way is roughly 7.7x that, at around 828k km/h.1
you are probably located hundreds of miles away from me in a place that exists only in my imagination. a whole universe of possibilities lies waiting to be collapsed, as the fickle certainty of where you are relatively speaking rightfully eludes me.
conversely, I am located in a dorm room, lit dimly by orange string lights, sat behind a desk with my computer and its peripherals atop its surface, with various knickknacks strewn about like leaf litter on a forest's floor.
at the time of writing this, it is the middle of the night, and I am contemplating where I am relative to the vast, inexplicable everything that surrounds me. this is a common thought of mine, and one of many existential yet inconsequential notions that passes me by every now and then. I've learned quite a while yet not too long ago that these things don't have any real bearing on my life, and there isn't much reason to panic about the far flung could-be's and what-if's, which has helped lighten the mental load and let me worry about the various what-are's instead. I digress.
the question still remains: where the hell are we? is that even a question that can be answered? should be answered?
or should I just try and go to bed?2
probably yes.↩