Ask HN: What have you done that mattered? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What have you done that mattered?

#21

Post by giantg2 » Mon, Sep 27, 2021, 5:12 PM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #20

mindcrime wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I've contributed anything that truly mattered to society. And I probably never will. Consider time-scales and scope. On the time-scale and scope of "lifetime of the universe" where everything dies in the end, and the universe probably ends as a cold, lifeless nothingness, I think it's fair to say that pretty much nothing matters at all. On the other hand, at a more local level, if a homeless person is p…

> Heck, just saying "thank you" or "you look nice" or paying some other compliment to a fellow human at the right time and place might actually be something that really mattered although you may never wind up realizing it. It has happened twice in my life that something someone said -- just in my earshot, not even directed at me -- has caused me to make a major change in my life that was very much for the better. The…

It could go the other way too. Stuff I've said in earshot of other could have cause them to make bad changes too.

Re: Ask HN: What have you done that mattered?

#22

Post by runjake » Mon, Sep 27, 2021, 7:46 PM UTC

Not much.

- Raised a few decent humans.

- Saved a few people's lives (violence, accidents, drowning). I seem to show up in the right (wrong?) places at the right times.

- Helped a few animals.

Re: Ask HN: What have you done that mattered?

#23

Post by superflit2 » Mon, Sep 27, 2021, 10:00 PM UTC

A lot.

1. Saved a friend from killing his cheater girlfriend;

2. Saved a lady from Rape;

3. Mentored a guy selling Coconut at beach to learn programming and now his is buying a House for his mother;

4. Shredded a mortgage application from a friend 1 month before the real state going bust, saving him Thousand of dollars

5. Mentored a lot of people helping cope and fix their problems.

I am not perfect not even a "decent" guy. I am just polite and gentle. Open doors to people, helping people carry stuff from the car to the house. Etc.

Then if you think I have all figured it out? Lame guess.

31k in Debt, no direction on career and working long hours. Not super smart. Not social skills aware.

Just your normal asperger guy that like to help.

Re: Ask HN: What have you done that mattered?

#24

Post by cm2012 » Tue, Sep 28, 2021, 12:27 AM UTC

I've paid millions of dollars in federal and state taxes, which mostly goes to social security, medicare and medicaid which are vital services for the poor.

Of course I have lots of random things outside of that but when I look at the scale of it it's probably the biggest.

Re: Ask HN: What have you done that mattered?

#25

Post by JohnFen » Tue, Sep 28, 2021, 3:46 PM UTC

runjake wrote: post #22

Not much. - Raised a few decent humans. - Saved a few people's lives (violence, accidents, drowning). I seem to show up in the right (wrong?) places at the right times. - Helped a few animals.

I think you understate your actions. Raising decent human beings is something that matters to us all. Saving someone's life is something that means literally everything to those people and their loved ones. It's hard to matter more than that.

You've done quite a lot.

Re: Ask HN: What have you done that mattered?

#26

Post by runjake » Tue, Sep 28, 2021, 6:02 PM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #25

runjake wrote: post #22

Not much. - Raised a few decent humans. - Saved a few people's lives (violence, accidents, drowning). I seem to show up in the right (wrong?) places at the right times. - Helped a few animals.

I think you understate your actions. Raising decent human beings is something that matters to us all. Saving someone's life is something that means literally everything to those people and their loved ones. It's hard to matter more than that. You've done quite a lot.

Yeah. I meant "not much" with regard to tech/work. I'm just a code monkey/netadmin/sysadmin, haven't done much except keep the gears turning.

WRT to some of those people's lives, I've checked in with a couple of those people years after and they have families and kids now, so that is indescribably-heartwarming to see, but not in a back-patting kind of way, if that makes sense.