A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy • Hacker News Board

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#101

Post by Retric » Sun, Jul 07, 2019, 7:30 PM UTC

em-bee wrote: post #100

Retric wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure why a religion making sense would have any relationship with it being correct. Physics for example involves some very non intuitive things that are verifiable. Suggesting you can intuit the non verifiable parts of existence seems like hubris in that context.

intuition is not needed. if the point of religion is to solve social problems, take a look and check if the religion in question does solve social problems. does prayer or meditation make you feel better? do the laws proposed help you interact better with others? all these things can be verified. you need to look at what each religion claims, and what the outcome in that religious community is.

I don’t think most people view religion purely as a solution to social problems.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#102

Post by em-bee » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 1:00 AM UTC

Retric wrote: post #101

em-bee wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

intuition is not needed. if the point of religion is to solve social problems, take a look and check if the religion in question does solve social problems. does prayer or meditation make you feel better? do the laws proposed help you interact better with others? all these things can be verified. you need to look at what each religion claims, and what the outcome in that religious community is.

I don’t think most people view religion purely as a solution to social problems.

religion is supposed to help with self improvement and help people live together, build a community. what else is there? if religion does not achieve that, then what's the point?

humanity should continuously improve our society. globally.

we progress scientifically, and we should (and do) progress socially. the latter is the purpose of religion. every religion, when introduced, has induced social progress. if a religion is no longer serving that function, then it's time to move on.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#103

Post by who-knows95 » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 8:06 AM UTC

em-bee wrote: post #23

applecrazy wrote: post #3

This is beautiful. It's amazing how the good side of the Internet really shines through in these pieces. Things like the 7,000-word script and professionally-narrated audio story for the kid to listen to are examples of how people sometimes go out of their way to do an amazing thing for little to no recognition, and that's what makes it even more wonderful. I believe this is what Internet communities should aspire to…

according to the original post, the audio story should be shared with the elite dangerous community. i tried looking for it without luck. maybe it's not out yet. i look forward to listening to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Q7JB-ku-Q

this is it here.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#104

Post by fatnoah » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 2:52 PM UTC

applecrazy wrote: post #3

This is beautiful. It's amazing how the good side of the Internet really shines through in these pieces. Things like the 7,000-word script and professionally-narrated audio story for the kid to listen to are examples of how people sometimes go out of their way to do an amazing thing for little to no recognition, and that's what makes it even more wonderful. I believe this is what Internet communities should aspire to…

> Things like the 7,000-word script and professionally-narrated audio story for the kid to listen to are examples of how people sometimes go out of their way to do an amazing thing for little to no recognition, and that's what makes it even more wonderful.

...and these things happen far more than we realize. My "dad" wasn't my biological dad. He married my mother when I was four and he was the one who was there for me for my entire life, so much so that I've never even known (or cared to know, beyond a passing interest in my health history) who my biological father is.

One quirk of that is that my "dad" never formally adopted me. About a week before he passed away, we had one last time alone as a family before inviting friends & relatives for a last visit. During that, he mentioned that he regretted not officially adopted me. Thanks to several local folks, including a local lawyer, local probate judge, a city clerk in another state, and probably a couple more, were were able to complete the adoption and present my dad with the paperwork and an updated birth certificate that lists him as the father within four days.

With the Internet especially, we see the worst of the worst, but I personally feel that it's overwhelmed by the good, and stories like Michael's show the power to bring people together.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#105

Post by applecrazy » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 3:16 PM UTC

fatnoah wrote: post #104

applecrazy wrote: post #3

This is beautiful. It's amazing how the good side of the Internet really shines through in these pieces. Things like the 7,000-word script and professionally-narrated audio story for the kid to listen to are examples of how people sometimes go out of their way to do an amazing thing for little to no recognition, and that's what makes it even more wonderful. I believe this is what Internet communities should aspire to…

> Things like the 7,000-word script and professionally-narrated audio story for the kid to listen to are examples of how people sometimes go out of their way to do an amazing thing for little to no recognition, and that's what makes it even more wonderful. ...and these things happen far more than we realize. My "dad" wasn't my biological dad. He married my mother when I was four and he was the one who was there for m…

That's beautiful, thanks for sharing your story.

I agree, the good parts of the Internet are more apparent if you know where to look. The darkest corners, however, are highlighted more by the news, perpetuating a cycle of negativity and pessimism.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#106

Post by sdegutis » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 4:06 PM UTC

em-bee wrote: post #36

sdegutis wrote: post #34

Or alternatively, these are very important days in a person's life where serious thought and reflection might actually be needed, in the event that there really is something after this life, and our decisions in this life do actually have consequences on that. But instead, this person was offered constant distraction until the very end.

i am going to disagree here. what he was offered was companionship and compassion in his suffering. distraction from the pain, sure, but not distraction from reflection. playing games like this does not prevent you from reflection. i haven't played elite dangerous yet, but other games like it. these games are not a mindless distraction. they can be, but they don't have to be. you play an intelligent being, and how yo…

> "in the end, death is not a punishment, but a release from suffering."

That's a very big assumption, and one to be very careful about when making decisions about what choices to encourage others to make in their final days. In fact, it's a belief itself, yet you're treating it as if it's a fact and one we can safely live by and encourage others to live by. That's very serious.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#107

Post by em-bee » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 5:14 PM UTC

sdegutis wrote: post #106

em-bee wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i am going to disagree here. what he was offered was companionship and compassion in his suffering. distraction from the pain, sure, but not distraction from reflection. playing games like this does not prevent you from reflection. i haven't played elite dangerous yet, but other games like it. these games are not a mindless distraction. they can be, but they don't have to be. you play an intelligent being, and how yo…

> "in the end, death is not a punishment, but a release from suffering." That's a very big assumption, and one to be very careful about when making decisions about what choices to encourage others to make in their final days. In fact, it's a belief itself, yet you're treating it as if it's a fact and one we can safely live by and encourage others to live by. That's very serious.

it's not an assumption but an interpretation based on how life after death is described. and of course yes, it's a belief. sorry for not making that clear. without any belief, death is nothing, just end of life.

whether this belief is reasonable or not, you'll need to decide for yourself by researching relevant sources. i did not intend to encourage anyone to live by it, rather my intention is to console those who are grieved by the loss of a loved one.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#108

Post by em-bee » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 5:14 PM UTC

who-knows95 wrote: post #103

em-bee wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

according to the original post, the audio story should be shared with the elite dangerous community. i tried looking for it without luck. maybe it's not out yet. i look forward to listening to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Q7JB-ku-Q this is it here.

you are my new hero! thank you! i'll ad that to my lineup of audio dramas and books that i am currently listening to right at the top so i'll get to it soon.

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#109

Post by em-bee » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 5:17 PM UTC

em-bee wrote: post #22

the original longer version of this article is here: https://westhorpe.net/2019/07/an-open-letter-to-frontier-and...

another relevant link taken from the youtube post of the audio story: http://www.drewwagar.com/elite-dangerous-saga/michaels-story...

Re: A video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy

#110

Post by fatnoah » Mon, Jul 08, 2019, 6:44 PM UTC

applecrazy wrote: post #105

fatnoah wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Things like the 7,000-word script and professionally-narrated audio story for the kid to listen to are examples of how people sometimes go out of their way to do an amazing thing for little to no recognition, and that's what makes it even more wonderful. ...and these things happen far more than we realize. My "dad" wasn't my biological dad. He married my mother when I was four and he was the one who was there for m…

That's beautiful, thanks for sharing your story. I agree, the good parts of the Internet are more apparent if you know where to look. The darkest corners, however, are highlighted more by the news, perpetuating a cycle of negativity and pessimism.

>The darkest corners, however, are highlighted more by the news, perpetuating a cycle of negativity and pessimism.

I've basically stopped watching the evening news as a result of this. A guy stealing a wheelchair 2,000 miles away makes the local news, but 100 people helping someone out doesn't merit a mention anywhere.