31–40 of 68 posts
"Master, what shall I do until I reach enlightenment?" "Chop wood, carry water." "And what will I do after I reach enlightenment?" "Chop wood, carry water."
"Master, then why bother?". "Before you will hate it. After you will love it."
The problem isn't with that. Life is full shit. You may not be a contributor to that, but many people are. Stop doing Shit. If you are a programmer and you know that your presence adds no value then quit!
Stop doing Shit. Go and do interesting things. Doesn't matter if you are working for someone else or you are employing people.
I don't actually feel the need to change the world. There are some things I enjoy tinkering with, and I've been involved in a couple of minor political causes, but I clearly don't feel the same urge that this person does to get out there and remake the world. And so I am not likely to quit my job (which pays quite nicely, doesn't overstress me, and brings me the security to relax at the weekends and in the evenings)…
Very few people change the world in the sense the author means (Mark Zuckerberg, Larry/Sergey, loads of scientists, etc).
But if you can set out to change someones world, I think you'll find your work more interesting and rewarding.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People who feel some overwhelming need to Change The World are basically projecting: Their "world" (internal mental landscape, personal life, whatever) is in desperate need of an overhaul. (Edit: I know because this was me, say, 20 to 30 years ago. Then I fixed my personal crap. I no longer feel like lecturing everyone else about what they "should" be doing.) I won't even read the piece. I skimmed it. This is the clo…
Right. Most people that have really improved the world have not done so by telling other people what to do, but by doing something themselves. But I think you're wrong in that everyone that tries to change the world only has personal issues to overcome, and if they do everything is alright. Believing that is pretty much solipsism. Sometimes the world really is wrong and can be fixed.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So your goal in life is essentially to relax?
Good Lord No. I also want to make life better for my fiancee, and make sure that I'm in a secure position for raising children. If my job was making me unhappy then I'd move to a different one. And I've quit jobs before when the management were doing things I disapproved of. And I give money to charity, and (as I said) get involved in occasional political things (like the voting reform referendum earlier this year).
It's not quit your job. It's stop doing shit. Some companies like Facebook are changing the world. So by working on Facebook you are contributing to the world change that Facebook does. The problem isn't with that. Life is full shit. You may not be a contributor to that, but many people are. Stop doing Shit. If you are a programmer and you know that your presence adds no value then quit! Stop doing Shit. Go and do in…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think people are opposed, just skeptical.
Sure they are, I debated enough to recognize that. I even debated with medical professionals and scientists to this effect. They think it's "unnatural" (whatever that means). For a short while there, my post had a negative score. They don't like to engage, but they are opposed.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think people are opposed, just skeptical.
Sure they are, I debated enough to recognize that. I even debated with medical professionals and scientists to this effect. They think it's "unnatural" (whatever that means). For a short while there, my post had a negative score. They don't like to engage, but they are opposed.
Or are you only talking about quality-of-life improvements, rather than lengthening life expectancy? Assuming this is even possible, I think the problem with it would be the psychological toll of a death to the survivors - while always sad, the death of an elderly loved one is less jarring than the death of a loved one in their prime ("it was his time") - so keeping everyone in their prime right up until their death would eliminate a powerfully useful coping mechanism.
It's not quit your job. It's stop doing shit. Some companies like Facebook are changing the world. So by working on Facebook you are contributing to the world change that Facebook does. The problem isn't with that. Life is full shit. You may not be a contributor to that, but many people are. Stop doing Shit. If you are a programmer and you know that your presence adds no value then quit! Stop doing Shit. Go and do in…
> It's not quit your job. It's stop doing shit.
I think it applies to much more than one industry in one small country.
The whole idea of a limited time in your life where you can make a difference is ridiculous and choosing other journalists and managers as examples of people who have seen the light and quit their jobs just reaffirms my choice of an engineering career. Maybe I'm not finding the cure for cancer but at least I'm not sitting around dispensing bad advice.