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At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

theguardian.com

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Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#141

Post by komali2 »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #104
_ink_ wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would they not want to revive you? How awesome would it be, if we could revive someone who lived around the year 1500, 1000 or even 0? I expect people in the year 3000 (if there are still people around and if they have it relatively good) would see it equally when looking to the year 2000.

> " How awesome would it be, if we could revive someone who lived around the year 1500, 1000 or even 0? " One or two of them, maybe. Probably the most famous ones. All of them, including ordinary people like you or I? Not a chance.

I would be much more interested in what a tenth century peasant had to say considering all the famous ones were the only ones whose perspectives we get to see.

The historical gaps concern the other 90% of the population.

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#142

Post by nickthemagicman »

unrequited wrote: post #90

I recently came across a quote that was en eye opener. "Its better to be grateful than to be regretful."

It's also better to be RATEful than regretful.

Rate that stuff on Yelp so other people don't have to have regret.

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#143

Post by seibelj »

weregiraffe wrote: post #115

"Women are directly adapted to act as the nurses and educators of our early childhood, for the simple reason that they themselves are childish, foolish, and short-sighted — in a word, are big children all their lives, something intermediate between the child and the man, who is a man in the strict sense of the word." -- Arthur Schopenhauer

And this is why wisdom tells us that all people are complex figures that can’t be put into “good” and “evil” buckets. If you look close enough at any historical figure they have lots of skeletons. I have yet to find the pure person who passes all of the current year’s litmus tests.

I still respect MLK even though credible reports say he observed and encouraged a rape, and John Lennon even though he beat his wife, and Michael Jackson’s music despite horror so unmentionable I won’t describe it here.

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#144

Post by komali2 »

staticman2 wrote: post #97
knorker wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One would hope that the rule of law and private contracts still exists in 50-300 years.

There's an expression called ruling from the grave to reflect the difficulty of enforcing a contract after you are dead. The same principle applies as those frozen people are dead in every legal sense and practical sense and likely any biological sense.

I would be extremely motivated to revive them and promote reviving them because I would also want to be frozen and revived. I assume this would be even moreso the case if society develops reviving technology, and therefore knows it actually works.

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#145

Post by dredmorbius »

playingchanges wrote: post #113
podgaj wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if I never loose my money it is worthless! Ha! Sorry, no. It is our attachment to things that determine their worth.

Technically money that is never spent (lost) is kind of worthless tho

Money spent is exchanged, not lost.

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#146

Post by komali2 »

cryptica wrote: post #116
blhack wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>To an atheist, uncertainty is the source of all hope. Isn't that somewhat backward? To an atheist, the certainty that they won't be going to an afterlife seems to be a source of hope, and for the religious person, the idea that they might is the same.

I don't know about other atheists, but I get some comfort knowing that the universe will continue to exist long after I die. I don't believe that there is a god but that doesn't rule out the possibility of some kind of afterlife or reincarnation or alternative form of consciousness. There are still a lot of possibilities on the table and these possibilities are a source of hope. When you think that your consciousness…

> based on empirical evidence

Small nit but my so far amateur understanding of philosophy of mind indicates to me that there isn't empirical evidence connecting Mind to neurochemistry so clearly. Neither, of course, is there any evidence of the reverse, that a non physical Mind can magically influence the physical world through the brain interface.

As an atheist, delving into the materialism vs dualism philosophical debate was fascinating. I was always a stout materialist but learning it hadn't managed to fend off every philosophical thrust was difficult but enlightening.

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#147

Post by biolurker1 »

biolurker1 wrote: post #121
biolurker1 wrote: post #3

I wish more people would learn about cryonics. It's either 0 or something above zero probability.

One would wonder on the rules of the forum where 500ers can downvote a comment that sparked such a nice discussion. Internet never ceases to dissapoint.

Classic downvoter downvoted :) do it again!

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#149

Post by jcims »

My wife passed this year from cancer. Looking back we had no idea how close we were to the end, and in the last few weeks her beautiful mind was influenced by the disease. I’m sure someone on HN is going through this at least adjacently and my recommendation is to not wait to the end to have important conversations. For those that aren’t going through this now, maybe for a little while live life like you are...it might inform your priorities and perspective.

My 17 year old daughter was already dealing with a life-altering chronic disease and losing her mom plus all of this pandemic bullshit has really made a mess. She broke down crying last night struggling over the idea of death and that everything seems to be pitted against her. It’s hard to know exactly what to say in those moments, maybe some of these words from a person at the doorstep will help her.

For what it’s worth we do have her seeing both a counselor and a psychiatrist but that only goes so far...at the end of the day it’s you and your thoughts staring at the ceiling while you’re trying to get to sleep for the 5am shift tomorrow.

Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on

#150

Post by andreilys »

wunderflix wrote: post #118
shekharshan wrote: post #46

“All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise and will become separated from me”— Siddhartha Gautama. As a Buddhist we do “contemplation of death” meditation on a regular basis. It involves imagining our last few hours on our deathbed. It is a wonderful exercise to help put things in context. It makes you behave differently towards people you meet, even strangers.

Sometimes, when I talk to my 4 year old son, I imagine how we will have our last goodbye talk on my death bed. How we will both know that this is the last moment together, how we both will be mourning. It makes me incredibly sad, and, at the same time it helps me to make better decisions in life. Choosing spending time with him instead of surfing the web for no reason for example.

I’d also invite you to contemplate the reverse: a last goodbye talk on his death bed.

I find contemplating the absence of others to be much more powerful than my own return back to the void.

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