Does everyone die at 91?
Your Life
111–120 of 132 posts
Re: Your Life
#112Every time an existential post is made here, I have to remind people: As technologists you guys should have a little more confidence/faith/whatever in the progress we're making every passing day, than is evident from the tone of most of the comments here. Smart-phones, social media, startups, IPOs, these are huge blind spots of technology. It makes you think that's all there is to it. Technology is much more than tha…
even if we accomplish all this and more, we have still not answered the question, "what is the 'good life'?" because that is not a technical question. we can put off death. we can increase quality of life during the later years of life. and this is important and beneficial work. but, nothing in this work intrinsically speaks to existential issues we face. we may use these technologies as a paradigm through which to a…
First to respond to reasoning behind my first line, maybe I should've said "Every time an existential post _like this_ is made." It's pretty clear that one of the points of the website showing the 52x90 grid is to remind us that we have only a few decades of life left. (And I believe that's the wrong way to look at it in this day and age.) And people responded accordingly in a depressing manner. This has happened multiple times in the past, hence my "I have to remind people".
As for the rest of your response (and after reading your other comments), honestly you're not making a whole lot of sense. Should we stop using technological solutions to make our lives better as much as we can, because they don't solve all your existential issues? (or did I commit a red herring again by thinking you might be committing a 'perfect solution fallacy'?).
Also thanks for the ad hominems.
Re: Your Life
#113I hate stuff like this.
"Tick tock" et cetera. I get terribly depressed thinking too much about it.
Re: Your Life
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you believe getting old, and sick, and miserable, and then dying, is good or natural or the way it is supposed to be, then I respectfully disagree with you [0]. [0] https://carcinisation.com/2014/07/13/an-anti-deathist-f-a-q/...
eventually even atoms will stop spinning. i think what the commenter was getting at, is that, immortality is impossible, and so finding meaning in a life that must eventually end, is still important. also, your argument, red herring. the commenter didn't say, let's all be happy that old age is crap. at all. that was you. you said that. why? idk.
Again you're not making much sense. 'To reconsider getting old and dying as negative' is as close to 'consider philosophies in which old age and dying is not negative' as it can get.
Please look at a description of 'red herring' [0] and kindly elaborate how it applies to my response.
Re: Your Life
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
You have not offered any argument, you have simply said "if you don't see it my way, you should reconsider". Why should I reconsider? What about your view do you feel is better than living healthier for longer? The way I see it, if you take advantage of doctors at all you are already competing against your own ideals. We have made huge leaps in health such that even if we die at 80, our lives will have been much more…
One argument is that death and limited lifespans are advantageous for the species overall. More sex, gene mixing and having offspring is better and allows for faster adaptations. Plus ideas can change faster as culture changes. That said, there may be ways to overcome this and I still think it's worth working on not having to die. Though trying to determine purpose behind existential questions becomes difficult prett…
Advantageous for species in general, maybe, but for an increasingly knowledge-based species, I don't think this still holds true. We spend our first 20+ years in training just to be able to contribute to society, and then only have 40-50 productive years left to work. This seems incredibly wasteful.
I'd be interested to know how our species' life span has changed over the past few million years. We live significantly longer than other great apes, that's probably relevant.
Re: Your Life
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
You have not offered any argument, you have simply said "if you don't see it my way, you should reconsider". Why should I reconsider? What about your view do you feel is better than living healthier for longer? The way I see it, if you take advantage of doctors at all you are already competing against your own ideals. We have made huge leaps in health such that even if we die at 80, our lives will have been much more…
Asking for someone to offer an argument for the claim that "it is worth while considering other life philosophies other than those that lead to chasing immortality and viewing the end of one's own life as a negative", is kinda, well, quite frankly you sound either too naive to the world to understand the wisdom in such a claim, or you are too stubborn to allow any world view other than yours to be entertained. Either…
So your response is that if a cute soundbite is not enough to have me nodding agreeably maybe I am not wordly enough?
You have made the exact same argument that you are defending, it boils down to "you do not understand my world view, if you understood more maybe you would."
I understand not everything fits in a comment box, but when you choose to participate in a discussion then a one line excerpt of "wisdom" is hardly useful. You cannot just imply someone is wrong and not discuss why. This isn't twitter, there is room to get started.
All I ask is some substance above "Have you considered that you might be wrong?"
Because yes, I have considered that, and I am eager to talk about it.
Re: Your Life
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
You have not offered any argument, you have simply said "if you don't see it my way, you should reconsider". Why should I reconsider? What about your view do you feel is better than living healthier for longer? The way I see it, if you take advantage of doctors at all you are already competing against your own ideals. We have made huge leaps in health such that even if we die at 80, our lives will have been much more…
Asking for someone to offer an argument for the claim that "it is worth while considering other life philosophies other than those that lead to chasing immortality and viewing the end of one's own life as a negative", is kinda, well, quite frankly you sound either too naive to the world to understand the wisdom in such a claim, or you are too stubborn to allow any world view other than yours to be entertained. Either…
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Re: Your Life
#118A good friend of mine has a 365x100 rectangle on his (high res) display. As a reminder that it is small, yet he has less days in his life than pixels in this rectangle. And every day spent not on a worthwhile project is a great loss. A modern, sobering memento mori, I would say.
Because in their death bed one often says "I wish I worked on more worthwhile projects"?
I would.
Here "worthwhile projects" is not about more clients, money or the HN front page. It's not about work - it's about passion (often - hobbies, side-projects, etc).
Isn't really that no-one says at h[ei]r deathbed "I wish I wrote that book; now this story is lost forever."?
Re: Your Life
#119A good friend of mine has a 365x100 rectangle on his (high res) display. As a reminder that it is small, yet he has less days in his life than pixels in this rectangle. And every day spent not on a worthwhile project is a great loss. A modern, sobering memento mori, I would say.
And "entertaining myself" is not a worthwhile project? In a nihilistic way, it's hard to argue that anything's more important. "Go now, and die in what way seems best to you." - Denethor
I guess you can s/worthwhile project/entertaining myself, and the message stays the same.
Re: Your Life
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
You have not offered any argument, you have simply said "if you don't see it my way, you should reconsider". Why should I reconsider? What about your view do you feel is better than living healthier for longer? The way I see it, if you take advantage of doctors at all you are already competing against your own ideals. We have made huge leaps in health such that even if we die at 80, our lives will have been much more…
One argument is that death and limited lifespans are advantageous for the species overall. More sex, gene mixing and having offspring is better and allows for faster adaptations. Plus ideas can change faster as culture changes. That said, there may be ways to overcome this and I still think it's worth working on not having to die. Though trying to determine purpose behind existential questions becomes difficult prett…
> ...advantageous for the species...
What about saving premature babies and babies with congenital diseases?