It seems to me that there is really no "longest" (time or whatever) and no "briefest". There is only "longer" and "briefer" - no limit. That is the nature of infinity which I believe is the nature of existence.
All the scientific discovery and application now occuring is the result of an evolutionary process of progress. The more physical knowledge we obtain, the more we can develop an understanding of spiritual causation. Nothing happens without some sort of energy cause and the ultimate energy Source is the infinite spiritual consciousness which human beings call the Creator.
Or maybe there is just a big guy in the sky making decisions about human activities (which makes no sense). Or maybe there is no cause or source and somehow intelligent existence happened anyway (which also makes no sense). Or maybe everything we see as real is just an illusion/dream and at some point we will awake to reality, and in that case it doesn't have to make sense.