Extinction does not feel as bad as it should

And we will all go together when we go What a comforting fact that is to know Universal bereavement, an inspiring achievement Yes, we all will go together when we go -- We Will All Go Together When We Go by Tom Lehrer "Everyone dying" does not emotionally feel that bad to me. I know that it is quite a bad thing intellectually, but I have a missing mood. I'm guessing I'm not alone here. When people say things like "If anyone builds it, everyone dies", there is an implicit assumption that everyone is on the same page that "everyone dies" is a really bad, perhaps even the worst, outcome. But not everyone feels this way, and among those, not many have shut up and multiplied to correct for their brain's biases. I thought it would be useful to explore possible reasons why extinction may not feel as bad as it should. Extinction lacks some negative features of lesser catastrophes To be clear, I am not a death fan or extinction enjoyer, I want us to all live forever. The lack of these negative features in extinction clearly does not outweigh the negative fact of the deaths themselves, but are something that some parts of your brain may unduly weigh. No one is left to suffer One reason death is bad is that the people who remain must now suffer the loss of the deceased. This is the thing that causes the most visceral bad feeling when I think of death. If 10% of people die, then probably you or some people you know will be among the 10%. That's a lot of people mourning loved ones and fr…