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The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once sagely remarked that "if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." Damn rightly noticed, especially when you consider that for several millennia of its existence, humanity has been actively gazing into the abyss and highlighting itself first with a candle, and then with a flashlight. We call this process science.

And you know what? There are scientific theories that, from one awareness of them, from one thought, send goosebumps running down the skin and make us feel sick. And in this viral thread you can meet netizens opening up about the creepiest pieces of science they've ever known.

#1

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn The theory of MAD, or mutually assured destruction.

It's a great theory for helping me sleep at night, but uh... It kinda only works if everyone involved is always rational at all times, and never feels they have nothing to lose.

Thankfully no human ever acts irrationally.

And certainly if they did, we'd never let them keep control of nuclear weapons!

That'd be insane.

Ha ha. Really insane.

Like, "insane" is honestly putin it mildly.

Phoenix042 , Oliver Cole Report

#2

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Just being alive is the most f*****g bizarre thing in the world.

redditshy , Roberto Nickson Report

#3

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Death. Just death. Blows my mind that one day we just cease to exist and people just go on with their life as if we were never there.

anon , Veit Hammer Report

Some people think that being afraid of science is basically weird, because it is thanks to science that we got to where we are, and modernity is not only about climate change, nuclear weapons and TikTok. It is also cutting-edge medicine, an opportunity to get to another continent in just a couple of hours, communication with people on the other side of the globe... But anyway, just seriously think about some scientific facts - and it really sends shivers down our spines.

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#4

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Alzheimer's/Dementia - anything where you lose your memory or become a burden to your family

Motor_Relation_5459 , Andrew Neel Report

#5

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Quite a common one, but space is SO BIG. Like, bigger than the amount that we can observe. Gives me the chills.

Backstage____ , Pixabay Report

#6

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn I suppose that at any moment you can have an aneurysm and bam you're dead and there's not much you can really do to prevent it or even predict it

DoopFoopHoop , Robina Weermeijer Report

What else is the problem - for many people, science has replaced religion, and the principles there are just completely different. "My answer was the usual, ‘science is not a belief system’ followed by a deeper explanation. The conversation circled around to faith. I shared that I saw no inherent conflict between my faith and science," Dr. Marshall Shepherd, a leading international expert in weather and climate, writes in his column on Forbes.

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"Many students (and parents) also suffer from 'science anxiety.' I am always concerned when I hear a parent say, 'I am not a science person nor is my kid.' Such statements train the child to succumb to parental insecurities or biases while setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy," Dr. Shepherd also notes, and it's actually hard to disagree with him.

#7

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Antimicrobial resistance.

What's really crazy is, we owe our modern prosperity (especially in the US) to antibiotics. Each particular antibiotic only works for a short period of time, before pathogenic bacteria becomes resistant to it. We've been though numerous different antibiotics since the discovery of penicillin, and pathogenic bacteria have become resistant to almost all of them. We're running out of antibiotics that are still effective.

About 4 or 5 years ago, I learned that there were babies born in India who had infections that were resistant to all known types of antibiotics.

There's a good chance that in our lifetimes, we'll see people dying from common infections due to the lack of effective drugs to treat them.

uglyugly1 , Edward Jenner Report

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#8

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Any AI smart enough to pass the Turing test, is smart enough to know to fail it

Shadeslaer , ThisIsEngineering Report

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#9

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn The Carrington Event. In 1859 the sun spewed a huge amount of highly-charged plasma that brushed against the Earth's magnetosphere and caused every electronic device on Earth to receive a huge electric shock. At the time, "every electronic device on Earth" consisted of a few telegraph machines. Some simply ran even while disconnected from their power supply for a while, some melted.

If an event like this were to happen today (we're overdue for one), it would pretty much destroy every single electronic device, including all of the infrastructure used to generate and distribute electricity.

There would be widespread blackouts everywhere, and no way to contact anyone to call for help or find out what state the rest of the world is in. And no way to fix it other than re-creating centuries worth of scientific advancements by hand.

CapnFang , ISS Expedition 23 crew Report

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But be that as it may, it used to be somehow easier in the good old days, wasn't it? To live, firmly knowing that above us is a solid sky with stars evenly nailed to it, through which the sun runs with the punctuality of a mail train. Live confident that if you strictly follow the rules specified in the holy books, you will definitely go to heaven... Live without thinking about how this world really works, and what awaits us when we cross that fine line... Science helps us replace faith with knowledge, but sometimes that knowledge is scary as hell.

#10

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn People in large groups become really bad at making decisions, planning, and making accurate judgements.
It doesn’t matter if the group is made of genuinely intelligent people, the above is always true.

Rusty-Wheel , Min An Report

#11

The brain is so complex that we can't understand it fully, ergo the brain is so complex that it doesn't understand itself.

Ponder that for a moment.

_spookyvision_ Report

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#12

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn That since 9/11 more soldiers [take their own lives] than die in war.

DanMittaul , Art Guzman Report

However, another fundamental difference between knowledge and faith is that knowledge is not absolute, and what was previously considered an immutable scientific truth may well be refuted tomorrow. After all, as Omar Khayyam once wrote, “Strange, is it not that of the myriads who before us pass'd the door of darkness through, not one returns to tell us of the road, which to discover we must travel too.” So now just read and scroll this list to its very end - and add your own scary scientific facts in case you have some, as we're sure you do.

#13

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Atoms are 99.99% empty space. The nature of all seemingly solid matter is an illusion.

osunightfall , Tara Winstead Report

#14

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn naegleria fowleri (brain eating amoeba) has a 97% fatality rate and it’s immune to most antibiotics

Old_Championship3196 , iccsafe Report

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#15

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn There have already been five mass extinction level events

justandswift , Elviss Railijs Bitāns Report

#16

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn the fact that we will never ever be able to know everything. like theres a limit to what we can know and theres so much out there that will we just never discover.

another one that scares me is that we are all alone on this floating rock. i doubt we are the only intelligent life in this universe but its possible that we are in a sense and that it self scares me so much.

starfire1905 , Nina Uhlikova Report

#17

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn That humanity has changed so drastically in the last 100 years that it scares me how different life will be in even 50 years from now

JP1426 , Vlad Alexandru Popa Report

#18

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn There are between 6-10 nuclear missiles that are missing.

No sovereign nation has a clue where they are, or who has control of them.

PatMenotaur , Kilian Karger Report

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#19

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Your brain recalls memories when you die but your brain also recalles memories wrong so you're basically lying to yourself right before you die

IndianaJonesDoombot , Robert Șerban Report

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Nikki Sevven
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Memory is like a game of telephone. When you recall a memory, you're actually recalling the last time you recalled that memory, not the memory itself. If you get one detail wrong during the first recall, the error becomes a part of what you remember as real.

Max Fox
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not only when you die, but throughout your life. You remember things that never happened, as well as remembering things wrong.

Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look up a psychological experiment on flash memory involving what people remember they were doing when they first heard about the Challenger explosion

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Glengoolie Blue
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who cares anyway? You won't have time to make any mistakes based upon the incorrect memories.

JM
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The secret to true happiness is gaslighting yourself. You're welcome.

Lyone Fein
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your brain might recall some things incorrectly. That doesn't mean it always does in all circumstances. Sometimes you remember things accurately (thus being able to do well on exams, for example). So the conclusion reached by the poster is not necessarily the case.

Androgyny Lunacy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Eh i don't feel disturbed by this one. I've had anxiety my entire life. I'm hoping to go out without the conscious knowledge that I am dead.

Donkey boi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've clinically died twice, and I never saw that whole 'life flash before my eyes' or any of that shite, both experiences were directly related to incident that got me there. One endlessly painful, the other, a bit of pain before empty peace.

Danish Susanne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It dosn't matter then. The point is how to avoid doing it throuhout your life.

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#20

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn We’re either alone in this universe or we’re not

HalfChineseJesus , Greg Rakozy Report

#21

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn The fact that we've only searched a little bit of the whole ocean.

I wouldn't even get wet from the sea on the surface, I don't wanna see whatever the f**k's down there

5keletonj4zzw1zard , NEOM Report

#22

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn When you look up at the sky you aren't really looking up. Gravity keeps ypu grounded, and you're really staring down into an infinite fall

Good-of-Rome , Max Andrey Report

#23

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Gamma blasts scare the c**p out of me they could happen at any time and nothing can stop them

wetlettuce42 , European Southern Observatory Report

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#24

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn When you get rabies and didn't get treated until the symptoms show up, you're dead. When you experience single symptom of rabies you're already dead, there's nothing you can do about it. Also rabies symptoms can take long to show up, the incubation period for rabies can last up to years. So if you were bitten or scratched by an animal with rabies years ago, the symptoms could show up right now and you will die.

567stranger , Andrea Piacquadio Report

#25

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn It's thought our galaxy is full of rogue planets wandering free from their original star. At any time one of these planets could wander through our solar system radically throwing off the fragile balance of our orbits. A big enough planet passing close enough could send us careening into the sun.

Fun_Boysenberry_5219 , David Menidrey Report

#26

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn The teleportation theory, that teleporters don't actually move you from place to place but kills you by breaking you down to molecular level and create a exact replica of you on the other end who thinks it's you because it has your memory. And as more and more people will use it they will keep getting replaced by a different person each time.

SuvenPan , Dan Senior Report

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#27

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Ionizing radiation. The concept feels like cosmic horror to me. Like an invisible curse, that can kill you just for stepping into a forbidden place.

Ok-Organization9073 , Alper Çuğun Report

#28

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn The Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way Galaxy and it is moving at us at the rate of 70 miles a second. However, we have 5 billion years to get ready.

imflukeskywalker , CajunAstro Report

#29

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn If you get hit hard enough in that spot on the back of your head where your spine connects to your skull, you die instantly.

DemonFrage , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

#30

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn There are microorganisms and bacteria crawling around your eyes. Academically, I know that we think they are helpful and fight disease. However, I don't like the notion of stuff crawling around in/on my eyes.

BobTheGC , Amanda Dalbjörn Report

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#31

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn There is a thought that if there were a big enough landslide on the Canary Islands (which is a real possibility), if it were large enough it'd cause a giant tsunami causing significant damage to the Eastern United States. I've seen some of the models, they look quite grim.

llcucf80 , Magic K Report

#32

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn Parallel Universes and just the idea of them freaks me out for some reason. There could be a version of me with different hair color or dead. Who knows.

iwant2die69420 , Lucas Sandor Report

#33

30 Frightening Scientific Facts That Folks In This Online Group Had The Misfortune To Learn It is possible that the universe exists at a false vacuum level and at some point, any time or anywhere, vacuum decay could occur, sending a wave of destruction out in every direction. The only solace is that if it did occur, it would probably spread at no greater than the speed of light, so if it occurred in some other galaxy, humanity would be long gone before it reached here. Of course, that also means it could have already occurred in multiple places and at multiple times and the universe is just being destroyed bit by bit.

DarthWoo , Juskteez Vu Report

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#34

The Dark Forest Theory. It’s an explanation as to why we haven’t heard back from aliens yet. They are purposely keeping quiet as there is no way to know if another life form may perceive you as a threat and decide to kill you off. Whoever pulls the trigger first is the winner. Everyone is a hunter. So, why risk reaching out?

10Luke01 Report

#35

We will be dead, longer than we will be alive.

tads73 Report

#36

The Earth is at the centre of the *observable* universe

silently_sweet Report

#37

More of a philosophical theory but the idea that everyone apart from me is simply a philosophical zombie. No actual consciousness, sentience, or "soul" but rather just a body that is extremely convincing at being sentient.

fj668 Report

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#38

I don't remember the specific name but it basically was a theory that consisted on this cycle in which humans would be able to create an intelligent AI which simulated a "new [virtual] universe" like the Sims, in which then the "humans" in this new universe would basically do the same and this would repeat over and over again.

BarnitzkeMG Report