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Life Is Short (2016)

paulgraham.com

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Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#21

Post by ElFitz »

college_physics wrote: post #9

If anything, human life got remarkably longer in the last century. Any feeling that it is "too short" is not an objective reality (compared to what?) but indicates the failure of collective societal mechanisms to put the individual at emotional ease with reality and their existence and role in it. Eliminating all existential angst of the human animal is likely impossible as various absurd religious constructs (after…

> If anything, human life got remarkably longer in the last century.

Well, yes and no. That we live longer than our ancestors seems obvious and is a very common belief.

And average life expectancy has indeed increased.

But it really isn’t that clear cut.

For example: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181002-how-long-did-anc...

Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#23

Post by Ma8ee »

tropicalbeach wrote: post #16
jdkee wrote: post #4

"One great thing about having small children is that they make you spend time on things that matter: them. They grab your sleeve as you're staring at your phone and say "will you play with me?" And odds are that is in fact the bullshit-minimizing option." This. He is right about this.

I mean most of the time there running around breaking things and being loud wouldn't say that's great. It's better when there older.

That mostly happens when they feel they don't get enough attention from you. Sometimes you really are busy with something else, like trying to prepare food for them or answering messages from your pestering boss. But often it is because you are trying to be clever at HN instead of giving them your undivided attention.

Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#24

Post by raydiatian »

Here’s my perspective on life: dying is probably the whole point of your life, or perhaps coming to terms with it, and conquering your fear of it. All other forms of “importance” derive from this root.

- It is is unlikely anything you do will “matter”. Out of ~117 billion people to have ever lived over countless millennia, the lives of note throughout history are what? 10k? 100k? Even if it’s 1b meaningful lives that weren’t just an aggregate in the wave of babies, you’ve got a worse than 1% chance of being meaningful. Or, perhaps all lives are significant on a level we are incapable of comprehending. If it defies comprehension, what is the use in crafting a meaningful life?

- you have only the present, and your unreliable recollection of the past to mark your existence. The present is ephemeral, the past is mutable, and neither carry any clear indication that the experience of either matters beyond themselves. Time is sending us all beyond the threshold of both, as best we can tell. With such imperfect information, what planning can you rationally do? To quote Stephen Covey, if it is out of your hands, why worry?

- some of the largest structural entities mankind has ever built are based on the “afterlife” (ie religion), and many possess a concept of heaven and hell. In addition, there are more modern attempts to inspect the qualia of death. The notion of going to heaven or hell intersects with the notion of having a good trip or a bad trip. And of course now I have my shining Joe Rogan moment where I cite the huge DMT trip awaiting most of us (assuming your death not by complete annihilation, such as nuclear explosion, or other).

Therefore, the only thing that you really need to plan for is getting to the end of your road, and not having your exit DMT trip be sponsored by the ninth circle of hell, if you can.

In conclusion it really doesn’t matter. Time eternally marches forward, there are no actual stakes because everybody is damned. Include the notion that we as a society do a pretty dog job of (1) not producing fucked up people (2) not fucking people up as it all goes and (3) pledging to change that, so it’s basically just a daydream that mankind will ever transcend to be anything of transcendent/indisputable value. Don’t know how to phrase the last part.

Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#25

Post by kovac »

_8j50 wrote: post #15

8 years with your kids is short, 8 years with cancer is long, 8 seconds with your hands on a hot stove is very long. If you succeed in developing a good or at least occasionally enjoyable life, your perspective on life is different than others barely enduring it at all. In general, it is short in the way of a bell curve. It is long when you are a child or at the end of a long life enduring hardships of old age.

That's brilliant. Really put things into perspective.

Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#26

Post by jaakl »

ElFitz wrote: post #21
college_physics wrote: post #9

If anything, human life got remarkably longer in the last century. Any feeling that it is "too short" is not an objective reality (compared to what?) but indicates the failure of collective societal mechanisms to put the individual at emotional ease with reality and their existence and role in it. Eliminating all existential angst of the human animal is likely impossible as various absurd religious constructs (after…

> If anything, human life got remarkably longer in the last century. Well, yes and no. That we live longer than our ancestors seems obvious and is a very common belief. And average life expectancy has indeed increased. But it really isn’t that clear cut. For example: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181002-how-long-did-anc...

The only thing what has changed is childhood mortality. If you take statistical lifetime of most animals (say frogs) and count in all offspring with hope to describe their average life duration then it would be low number of seconds. Human as such seems to have always same lifespan programmed in, just natural early mortality has been taken away. Basic statistical bias. Does almost removed early mortality really make our species stronger/better is another question. Removal of one natural survival test may have its own consequences.

Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#27

Post by thewakalix »

college_physics wrote: post #9

If anything, human life got remarkably longer in the last century. Any feeling that it is "too short" is not an objective reality (compared to what?) but indicates the failure of collective societal mechanisms to put the individual at emotional ease with reality and their existence and role in it. Eliminating all existential angst of the human animal is likely impossible as various absurd religious constructs (after…

I wouldn’t want to die tomorrow. Is that desire “objective reality” or not? If it is, how is that different from not wanting to die a century from now?

Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#29

Post by 10x_contrarian »

ElFitz wrote: post #21
college_physics wrote: post #9

If anything, human life got remarkably longer in the last century. Any feeling that it is "too short" is not an objective reality (compared to what?) but indicates the failure of collective societal mechanisms to put the individual at emotional ease with reality and their existence and role in it. Eliminating all existential angst of the human animal is likely impossible as various absurd religious constructs (after…

> If anything, human life got remarkably longer in the last century. Well, yes and no. That we live longer than our ancestors seems obvious and is a very common belief. And average life expectancy has indeed increased. But it really isn’t that clear cut. For example: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181002-how-long-did-anc...

I feel it's destructive for people to hold this incorrect belief. People living into their 60s and 70s was very common for all of recorded history. By ignoring this, modern people are less incentivized to criticize and challenge their modern lives and the societies we live within.

Re: Life Is Short (2016)

#30

Post by quickthrower2 »

jmathai wrote: post #7
robg wrote: post #2

Another stat I read recently: Parents spend ~75% of their child’s life with them before the age of 12. Puts into perspective the good and bad influences long before they fly from the nest.

I was explaining to my 12yo son when he wanted to play video games instead of hanging with the family that I only had 6 more Christmas eves while he lives at home.

Cousins is the solution: kids get bored hanging around with olders talking about interest rates etc. Mixed age play amongst kids is magic.
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