What Makes Life Meaningful?

This TED-Ed video presents a hypothetical conundrum that makes you ponder the meaning of our lives. We think of ourselves as more important than the other life forms around us because of our bigger brains and our unrelenting progress away from other animals. But if we had to make the choice, would we renounce our higher thought processes, or at least those of future generations, for survival? How "happy" does a species need to be to justify risky choices to preserve it? Or should we just let humanity go extinct? Is life even worth the effort if we didn't have memories, imagination, and culture? And who has the authority or the wisdom to make that decision, and then live with its consequences? Those are questions that might make your brain hurt. (via Geeks Are Sexy)