pyrrhosrepublic:

I get the general sentiment of this, but it still kind of irks me.

If by significance we mean something like “physical size” then yes, clearly a human being is less significant than an enormous astronomical body. Then again, compared to something very small such as an electron, a human would be vastly more significant.

If by significance we mean something like “how extended our influence and importance is” then clearly mammals like us don’t really matter much to things outside of Earth. Then again, why choose such a framework? And is it even sensical to talk about significance to things like inanimate stars? I hold things to be significant in my life if I value them or find them important. A galaxy can’t value anything, so really it is as insignificant to itself as we are to it.

I don’t know about insignificant. I think that might be the wrong adjective. In astronomical terms, we are very small - even the sun is a pretty small star. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that much, I guess.