I find it very saddening that so many people here are speculating that Ilya committed suicide. It's disrespectful to speculate, especially in such a case. Get a life.
Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
191–200 of 251 posts
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#192I hope he had a cryonics contract. .... In reading the above, some people might think it insensitive to 'peddle' this here, and I almost censored myself because of that. But that's not helpful at all. People are dying unnecessarily because they don't understand physics, cognitive neuroscience, and the possibilities the future allows. May he live again conditional on him being cryo-preserved. Otherwise, it is sad news…
I agree with your sentiment - it is, however, questionable to bring this up in threads like these where the community is still reeling from a loss. While I believe cryo preservation is a good idea in general, you must know that most people don't do this and are in fact strongly opposed to the idea. That means you are unlikely to convince people who are not already in favor of the concept. Also in this special case please keep in mind that the guy committed suicide, so talk about cryonics is just about the opposite of what is needed right now.
Saving people from destruction includes much more mundane things, such as getting timely and competent help when mental health problems arise - and, just as importantly, striving to keep a community friendly and supportive. Clinical depression is often a chronic and idiopathic illness, but crises can still be triggered by external influences and social support does play a critical role in the way an afflicted person deals with their problems. And that is something we should be working on.
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not just our community. There are twice as many suicides as homicides in the U.S.[1] Yet, every nightly newscast is sure to cover the murders. How many talk about the suicides? Worse, suicide is the leading cause of death among college students [2]. It's an epidemic that no one talks about. We've already lost two freshman at MIT this year. [1] http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/09/01/suicide-vs-homicide-b... [2] h…
Well at least suicide is a legitimate personal choice. Murder is not.
To me, suicide is murder of self. Who's sicker: the one murdering another, or the one murdering oneself? Also, many murderers kills others first, then themselves.
Maybe this Diaspora fellow thought people wanted to kill him, so he thought he'd do it himself to save them the trouble because he'd already let them down once. Who knows.. but that's an ill thought process to have.
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Suicide isn't a mental illness like depression and OCD and Schizophrenia. While I do agree that this isn't the best time for "ethical theory," I also agree with thomasgerbe in that suicide is a fundamental human right. If one has no desire to continue living, who are you to force them to?
Of course suicide isn't a mental illness. How about you have a look at some facts from the US NIMH [1], how about I summarise some poignant facts: "Research shows that risk factors for suicide include: depression and other mental disorders, or a substance-abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors." So, you're happy to c…
I never condemned anyone, nor did I say that I support suicide. What I support is the ability to choose freely the course of one's life.
I'm curious to know what percentage of the general population suffers from mental and/or substance abuse disorders, in comparison with that 90%.
And no, I have not known anyone personally who has killed themselves, at least not to the best of my knowledge. I do know, however, that I myself suffer from a number of "mental disorders" and at one point found myself a good bit suicidal.
If someone close to me did kill themselves, of course I wouldn't just say "ah well," that's being unrealistic. I'd be just as affected by it as if they got hit by a bus. My views on death are much different than most, though, so regardless of the manner or intent, it wouldn't affect me anywhere near the same way as you. No position changed, you lose your bet.
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> If you ever believe the possibility of something like happening is > .00001, do something, anything. If you don't know what to do, contact me (see my profile) and I'll help in any way I can. Its a nice thought, but people in this position often don't want help. My best Friend was doing a PHD in a Biochemistry related field at University College London back in 2003. He was an outgoing person, had a hot girlfriend a…
Unfortunately, an outgoing personality is a great way to protect yourself from people asking you the very painful question of "what's wrong"...I know now, after wrestling with depression for years, that sometimes it's harder to face your depression and explain your pain to others than it is to simply be depressed in the first place. What better way to defend yourself than by acting exactly opposite of how you really…
I wrote about depression a while ago - http://sk.or.at/elou9l - maybe you will find words that help you in my post. Always remember: You only fail in things that you do, not in who you are.
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a hard time seeing Diaspora overtaking Facebook or G+ for that matter, especially with the former becoming more entrenched with site authentication. Certainly, success is subjective but I think the expectations for Diaspora was to be a legit alternative to Facebook and now G+. And while it is an alternative, it's not popular enough for most people to switch over. Furthermore, Diaspora got widely criticized wit…
It doesn't have to overtake either to be a success.
And in fact; given that both G+ and FB now have features (particularly privacy features) inspired by Diaspora suggests success to their original goals.
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure about how it is in USA but a lot of countries have strict rules around the media reporting suicides, so it is deliberate that the topic is under reported. Naturally a lot of people disagree with this and there's constantly heated debate on the future of the media's role.
Yeah, they are completely avoided in Australia, only time you really hear about one in the media is if it was a public figure. I don't really think this is the right thing to do, it masks that there is any problem so it doesn't get the attention it needs.
The usual codewords are "Police say there were no suspicious circumstances".
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#198Horrible. This news is so tragic I really can't focus on anything else now. Which is probably the way it should be. Our community stresses the importance of achievement, success, and technology so much that it's easy to forget what's really most important: each other. Sometimes it takes terrible news like this to jerk us back to that reality. I never knew Ilya, but if any of his friends of family visits this forum, p…
You seem to be implying that he committed suicide, and that you could have done something about it.
Do you have any information about this? And why would you have been helpful in this situation?
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#199Baruch dayan H'emet. This is very tragic. Nothing else to say. Rest in peace.
Re: Diaspora Co-Founder Ilya Zhitomirskiy Passes Away At 21
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well at least suicide is a legitimate personal choice. Murder is not.
Just like how Depression is a choice and OCD is a choice and Schizophrenia is a choice. Your views on mental health are a bit last century.
Depression is a choice? You surely don't know how Depression work. You don't choose getting into a car accident, in the same way you don't choose Depression. Stuffs happen, not because people "chose" it.