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A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

latimes.com

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Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#81
post #4

Wow, such a winner: Long, healthy life full of accomplishments within a community where he is liked and he likes them back. I wonder what people like Peter Thiel have to say about it, would he consider Rudy Marcus a "winner", maybe bigger one than himself? I recall something about Thiel looking down on the life choices and motivations of scientists.

> > I wonder what people like Peter Thiel have to say about it Who gives a fuck? He's just a guy, much like this guy is just a guy. Don't waste space and give me your take as opposed to mentioning other people, because they are not here and they cannot debate, while you are and can.

Sure, here is for you can fill for your demands: https://form.jotform.com/232027549131046

Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#83

Hi there, old person here. Tomorrow is my 65th birthday. I had vowed to myself that I would completely and totally retire, Finally, at 65. But then, this "thing" cropped up and the day after tomorrow, I am pitching my 3rd startup to investors. I wonder, am I crazy. But I feel passion for this project. So, I am throwing myself into the fray again, there is no logical reason to do so. So, Rudy, I understand.

65 is the new 45 :) Sounds like there's a perfectly logical reason to do the 3rd startup: you're passionate about it. Best of luck!

Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#84

Hi there, old person here. Tomorrow is my 65th birthday. I had vowed to myself that I would completely and totally retire, Finally, at 65. But then, this "thing" cropped up and the day after tomorrow, I am pitching my 3rd startup to investors. I wonder, am I crazy. But I feel passion for this project. So, I am throwing myself into the fray again, there is no logical reason to do so. So, Rudy, I understand.

Self actualizataion is at the top of maslow's hierarchy of needs ... go for it and be your best self! All the best!

Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#85

Hi there, old person here. Tomorrow is my 65th birthday. I had vowed to myself that I would completely and totally retire, Finally, at 65. But then, this "thing" cropped up and the day after tomorrow, I am pitching my 3rd startup to investors. I wonder, am I crazy. But I feel passion for this project. So, I am throwing myself into the fray again, there is no logical reason to do so. So, Rudy, I understand.

On the opposite note, I'm planning to retire the day before my 30th birthday that's coming soon. Not that I'm going to be completely divorced from my firm, but I've delegated most of the day to day work. I'm planning to spend the rest of my time working on some startup ideas, as well as focusing time spending with family and friends (especially some close ones who have less time than me).

I originally planned on getting my MBA from HBS, but due to some of the above circumstances, I decided to delay those plans. They were very understanding though.

Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#87

I’ve been fortunate enough to know a few older people who really loved their work and were excellent at it. All of them had one thing in common: they didn’t want to retire. Meanwhile all of my peer group is obsessed with FIRE and dream of retiring early. All of us are also involved in pretty meaningless work that has no measurable impact on the world (five lines of code to a million line codebase is hardly world chan…

Most people don't contribute much to the real progress of human societies so it makes sense to FIRE so that they can at least recollect themselves and regain some passion for whatever.

I for one is at my 40s but I definitely feel older than the 100yr old in the article. I lost all of my passions of the tech in the previous 2 years and just want out when I have the $$$.

Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#88

I feel like one of the secrets to living longer is to have a reason to get up every day, a purpose to fulfill in life. And this guy certainly has one.

> a purpose to fulfill in life

I add like to sense of stability there as well. If there is the nature unpredictability involved, waking up everyday is quite a challenge. Unless you consider unpredictability into your framework, getting paid to do things you love doing can be quite difficult. The person has achieved the highest accomplishment in his field, he has tenure and thus from the outside perspective he is living a much more stable and routine life.

Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#89
post #7

How is this legal?

Why would it be illegal? It clearly is something he wants to do, and something his employer wants him to do.

In the US, various forms of age discrimination against people over 40 have become illegal over the years, including mandatory retirement. So the law is moving the other way.

Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea it’s pretty disheartening that these r common experiences. Admittedly, I don’t kno a ton about UBI but I’d imagine the idea of giving people more security so they can pursue their interests in careers and not have to suffer thru a daily grind solely for a paycheck is a tenet of it

100% yes. I usually think of / describe that aspect of UBI (theoretically) as "the job all other jobs have to compete with." Like - there's a floor on how shitty a job can be, if no job is a valid alternative.

I like that framing, thanks. And thinking about that vision, I think people all too often conflate being a cog in a corporate machine with being “a contributing member of society.” Not discrediting the notion of everyone pulling their weight in a community, but the frequency that I encounter that take in the mainstream always irks me
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