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The death of the universe — and what it means for life | Katie Mack

Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows. The universe started with a bang — but how will it end? With astonishing visuals, cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack takes us to the theoretical end of everything, some trillions of years in the future, in a profound meditation on existence, wonder and the…

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Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows.

The universe started with a bang — but how will it end? With astonishing visuals, cosmologist and TED Fellow Katie Mack takes us to the theoretical end of everything, some trillions of years in the future, in a profound meditation on existence, wonder and the legacy of humanity within the immensity of time and space.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

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75 Comments

75 Comments

  1. Megumi Hayashida

    May 24, 2021 at 7:59 pm

    TED×Anxiety.

  2. James Mullis Jr

    May 24, 2021 at 8:08 pm

    I really don’t think the bang was the beginning, just the earliest event we can see as of now. Who knows what will find further back in time, or further forward.

  3. exeandrey

    May 24, 2021 at 8:16 pm

    She quite believe in her own words. Reminds a bit of self sured crazy People, or religious talks 🙏 hua hua

  4. Angela Pugliese

    May 24, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    Humanity on a whole are destructive Sad truth

  5. Rafael

    May 24, 2021 at 8:21 pm

    So sad … 😞
    Thought of Multiverse helps

  6. Eric Graham

    May 24, 2021 at 8:29 pm

    How does she know? Her delusional brain will stop existing much sooner than the end of the universe anyway.

  7. NullReferenceException

    May 24, 2021 at 9:44 pm

    Ask your crush out.

  8. chas ames

    May 24, 2021 at 9:45 pm

    Captioning is WAY off.

  9. Digital Dirk

    May 24, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    Those shoulders, square jaw, and Adam’s apple…
    That’s a guy, isn’t it…

  10. Renato Marques

    May 24, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    universe won’t end. It will just die. And then there will be a corpse. Who knows if anything will happen with it after 10^10^10^…^10^10 years.

  11. Klaus conte schertel

    May 24, 2021 at 10:38 pm

    First comment 😄✋

  12. Cory Y.

    May 24, 2021 at 10:40 pm

    How is heat death “trillions of years” in the future if 90% of all stars to ever be born have been born already (mathematically, this would equate to 1.3 million years given a consistent rate)?

    • Donald Hobson

      May 24, 2021 at 11:15 pm

      Because its nothing like a consistent rate. Also, the tiny red dwarf stars burn for trillions of years.

    • Cory Y.

      May 24, 2021 at 11:25 pm

      @Donald Hobson How do you know that red dwarfs burn on the magnitude of hundreds to thousands of times longer than all of the time that has elapsed in the universe up to this point?

  13. Wayne Woods

    May 24, 2021 at 10:47 pm

    The universe assembled us once. I’m sure it could do it again if needed.

  14. Davydh Trethewey - mawkernewek

    May 24, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    one factoid I heard lately was that there are approximately 3 times as many humans alive now as T-Rex’s ever lived

  15. Thomas K.

    May 24, 2021 at 10:56 pm

    To early to draw conclusions. Let’s find out where that cosmic slime came from in the first place. 😀

  16. Self-Education Methodology

    May 24, 2021 at 11:18 pm

    👋👏👏👏
    CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND MAKE YOURSELF PROUD 👌🏅

  17. Donald Hobson

    May 24, 2021 at 11:23 pm

    Ok, so the universe will end in however many billion years. A universe spanning space utopia from now till then is still pretty blomin good. (Yeah we don’t have the tech yet, but we will very soon on cosmic timescales)
    Slowly evaporating black holes surrounded by emptiness, might sound bleak, but ideal conditions to run really efficient computers. You could have vast empires of virtual minds living around those black holes.

  18. David Sanchez

    May 24, 2021 at 11:27 pm

    I am not sad because the Universe MAY end and disintegrate into nothing.. We are part of the Universe since the Big Bang (and before) and we will be part of it after any potential end (and even after). The concept of Time is what may induce anxiety to someone… But fear not, you all ALWAYS be part of the Whole Universe

  19. Sasha Townsend - Tulsa

    May 25, 2021 at 12:00 am

    I love the way this was done! ❤️

    Well done, Katie! 👏🏽👏🏽

    Beautiful!

  20. Baibhav Biswas

    May 25, 2021 at 12:20 am

    The notification for this video came just at the right moment when I was studying the concept of entropy and entropy generation. And just as the idea that if entropy is ever increasing and entropy generation is always positive, it means that the available energy of the isolated system (Universe) is decreasing. Which means the Universe is going to come to an end, with no available energy.

  21. JP MJ

    May 25, 2021 at 12:37 am

    😪

  22. delta7

    May 25, 2021 at 12:47 am

    So everything in the universe came from nothing, thus nothing is the potential for everything. So what’s the worry?

  23. weston saathoff

    May 25, 2021 at 12:52 am

    Shamans know more then these clowns

  24. Fightosaurus

    May 25, 2021 at 12:59 am

    Pessimistic to assume that in hundreds of billions of years, we’ll still be looking at it all from only the Milky Way

  25. Doctor Goop

    May 25, 2021 at 1:26 am

    “We have an immense power to understand it (the cosmos)”. We understand the cosmos like an insect understands algebra – not at all. We think we’re smart and that we’re “exploring space” truth is we’ve never been in “space”. We circle the globe and come back. A few times, FIFTY YEARS AGO” we went to the moon. Going to my mailbox is more cosmically significant than anything we’ve ever done on a cosmic scale.

  26. Henri

    May 25, 2021 at 8:45 am

    the english subtitle is not in sync, it’s way off

  27. Stephen Catton

    May 25, 2021 at 10:15 am

    Correction “In the beginning, we think there was light as we haven’t been able to detect anything that came before it”. Also, don’t tell Greta as she will have it down to a couple of 100 years

  28. Stephen Catton

    May 25, 2021 at 10:17 am

    Damn the sjws are wrong …. we are all victims

  29. Phil Latella

    May 25, 2021 at 10:51 am

    Maybe, just maybe, beyond the reach of the telescope is a force that some call creator. I choose to believe this reality. Some will call it foolish, fairytale, imaginary friend, yet nobody really knows. Choose your own path and respect that of others is how I decided to reconcile this.

  30. Robin Rheaume

    May 25, 2021 at 10:53 am

    “The universe is everything, and if it’s expanding, some day it will break apart and that will be the end of everything.”
    “Why is that your business? You’re here in Brooklyn! Brooklyn is not expanding!”

  31. Meyotra You Tube Channel

    May 25, 2021 at 11:16 am

    Time to meditate

  32. John Otvos

    May 25, 2021 at 11:26 am

    …we *believe* we know that The Universe had a beginning. Hubris to say “we know”. “Science is a body of knowledge, it’s not the truth.” ~ Zach Bush This video is a great example of mechanistic materialism. Then there’s ‘that which transpires behind that which appears’.

  33. meabby

    May 25, 2021 at 12:12 pm

    Wow such positivity 😑

  34. eterna invidie

    May 25, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    its stupid to think of the universe or its death when you still eat animals=when you are still an animal.

  35. Thomas Atkinson

    May 25, 2021 at 1:57 pm

    Speaking from the perspective of the cosmos: I like her, she gets me! Perhaps we could hang out.

  36. Miller's Language School

    May 25, 2021 at 3:07 pm

    Fear and encouragement! Management tool…

  37. Hendra Adi Saputra

    May 25, 2021 at 3:10 pm

    I think logically, if we die then we experience emptiness / unconsciousness, when a random infinite universe accidentally creates us physical body form that coincides with our current state now, then we will rise again and regain consciousness, and we unconsciousness will feel consciousness again in an instant moment, because the unconsciousness never knows or never realizes how much time has passed, even though our unconsciousness lasts for a very long time, for example millions of years or billions of years, maybe even trillions … years, of unconsciousness will only be felt as an instant moment and conciousness again.

  38. Gail G

    May 25, 2021 at 3:31 pm

    You miss something important, Ms. Mack. Yes, the body of the PHYSICAL universe is coming to an end at some unquantifiable time, just as your own bod’s life is coming to an end at some point. That doesn’t mean that YOU, Ms. Mack, or the spirit of the universe, will come to an end. We don’t have the scientific evidence to formalize that conclusion, though in my experience, there is MORE THAN ENOUGH TESTABLE subjective evidence to support the idea. Physical life comes to an end. Period. You seem to forget that both you and the universe are made from energy and energy can neither be created nor destroyed. You seem to have not taken the time to consider the alternatives before you tell people who are already in horror, watching their societies and governments crumble around them. RIGHT NOW. I hope you find something more interesting and uplifting to think about and study.

  39. Forau DNB

    May 25, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    **starts watching Sagan to feel happy again**

  40. Brayson Tay

    May 25, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    People will be kicking themselves in few weeks if they miss the opportunity to buy and invest in bitcoin .

    • Anderson James

      May 25, 2021 at 4:54 pm

      Trading on your own is very risky, I’ve lost alot trading for my self.

    • Marcus fred

      May 25, 2021 at 4:57 pm

      I lost £1200 carelessly trading on a platform then I was referred to Mr Anthony Flores he recovered the loss and made an extra profit of £4600.

    • Green Anderson

      May 25, 2021 at 5:03 pm

      I tried trading on my own but it only left chasing shadows.

    • Christian Andrew

      May 25, 2021 at 5:06 pm

      Trading without a professional like Mr Anthony Flores is like gambling with your money.

    • John james

      May 25, 2021 at 5:10 pm

      With the current price of Bitcoin, I can say fully I trust the process and I can go into Bitcoin trading full time.i actually needed this push.

  41. Ignė B

    May 25, 2021 at 4:06 pm

    It does sound bleak. I mean, having in mind that us as individuals are temporary is quite sad, maybe joyful for a few. But knowing the whole existence, the whole universe is going to end at some point is also weird to grasp. It could be depressing but it also is freeing and so beyond our imagination and ability to comprehend that it doesn’t see possible at all.
    However, if anyone needs comfort, I like to think that we do live in a plane that is more than 3 dimensions, time is at least one more. And leaving a trace in the physical realm is not the only thing – we do experience time as heading forward but perhaps part of us will always remain in the history, living on the same moments in a different moment in time, the one that has passed as well as the one that we are still going to observe in the future. See, I’m using the word observe as perhaps it has already happened. And who knows, maybe after it all ends, it will come backwards, we don’t know if time is an illusion rather than something real. What if everything is cyclical?

  42. Morg B

    May 25, 2021 at 4:47 pm

    I have followed Katie for nearly a decade, and this is oddly the first time I’ve heard her out loud. This was beautifully written and well-spoken. Thank you

  43. totalfreedom45

    May 25, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    Very cool video, Katie! 🥰
    What is the future of our universe? _Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality,_ Chapter 13, 2014, by Max Tegmark has an in-depth analysis.
    *_Love_* is the only thing we have. Without love life is meaningless.
    💕 ☮ 🌎 🌌

  44. Milford Kemp

    May 25, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    I don’t believe you!

  45. Ice Ice

    May 25, 2021 at 6:18 pm

    The subtitles aren’t in sync with the audio of the speech. Don’t know if I’m the only one that has this problem.

  46. Happy Reaper

    May 25, 2021 at 6:28 pm

    man made climate change will be responsible for the death of the universe

  47. Jordan Peters

    May 25, 2021 at 6:44 pm

    The observable universe is probably a miniscule fraction of the whole. Big Bangs are probably going on regularly all over the place.

  48. Conundrum

    May 25, 2021 at 9:05 pm

    Death of the universe? About time! Can’t stand this crap anymore!

  49. YSF 73

    May 25, 2021 at 11:14 pm

    wow

  50. Eric C.

    May 26, 2021 at 12:20 am

    Why? Because that sandcastle is glorious!

    Enjoy the sandcastle and thrive therein!

  51. Bean.

    May 26, 2021 at 3:14 am

    Everyone trying and pretending to know the truth– the end of the world. But no one really know it except the Creator.

  52. Zachery Bush

    May 26, 2021 at 5:32 am

    There are ways to survive the universe form dying either we become advanced to stop the universe from dying or make your own universe or move to another universe.

  53. firrial eksa

    May 26, 2021 at 7:03 am

    from atom to galaxy
    from beginning to end 🙂

  54. Isabelle Howard

    May 26, 2021 at 8:33 am

    im high should i watch this???? im lowkey scared

  55. blueplanet hand

    May 26, 2021 at 9:54 am

    BIG assumption that there’s only 1 universe 😲
    Multiverse theory is a genuine possibility & another assumption that advanced civilizations can’t travel between universes, comparably but different to how they would between galaxies.

  56. Caroline Ong

    May 26, 2021 at 10:38 am

    Everything that begins, ends. – Katie Mack

  57. Ban Joo Cheng

    May 26, 2021 at 11:42 am

    @Youtube May I know what happened to the subtitles which are not in sync with the speech?

  58. Tom D

    May 26, 2021 at 5:33 pm

    Memento Mori

    • NullReferenceException

      May 26, 2021 at 9:57 pm

      Amour Fati

  59. Rafael

    May 26, 2021 at 5:44 pm

    Every time I watch video like this, my thanatophobia hit so hard, it’s uncomfortable live know the end is real, I would rather not have learned about it in the past.

  60. ML

    May 26, 2021 at 10:25 pm

    Garbage

  61. Craig Marshall

    May 27, 2021 at 2:51 am

    Really gave me the feels! ❤️

  62. Cool Robot

    May 27, 2021 at 10:11 am

    This is all just theory and speculation based on the very little information we have.

  63. Skills for Great Life

    May 27, 2021 at 7:25 pm

    We all should Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see ourselves running with them…..

  64. Alwyn Nito

    May 27, 2021 at 8:33 pm

    random stuff; It’d be nice if vents were lined with that anti stick stuff (I can’t remember the name, static related) to just keep dust floating on by for less fire hazards (dust build up). Edit: Why aren’t vacuum space layered mirrors a norm yet??? To prevent fogging up

  65. Cumulus Terraticus

    May 29, 2021 at 6:34 pm

    ⚡🌟⚡
    🌌🌫🌬🍵🥄
    Universe is what U make of it 🤔

  66. Adventure Awaits96

    May 31, 2021 at 6:45 am

    “We became self aware only to realise that this story is not about us”

  67. NeonVisual

    May 31, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    Technically it will be Milkdromeda by then.

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