I hope the day comes when we look upon the 100th birthday the way we now look at a second birthday.
Why?
Because life, and being alive, are good.
A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
191–200 of 254 posts
Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#192Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#193Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because life, and being alive, are good.
Hmm, that seems extremely reductionistic, and sounds like you do not know anyone with bad or unpleasant lives. It also sounds like you're probably pretty young.
Life is by definition good. No other definition of good has any coherence.
The fact that in the vast majority of cases, people who are faced with life-threatening adversity, struggle in an effort to overcome it rather than consigning themselves to death, suggests this is the overwhelming perception held by people.
Natural selection ensures that the perception that life is good will always be the dominant one amongst any species.
Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Tomorrow is my 65th birthday. Congrats! > the day after tomorrow, I am pitching my 3rd startup to investors. I'm still pretty active (58) but there is no way I'm going to do another run, I'm happy tinkering with stuff, spending time with kids and working on average 3 to 4 months per year. I always saw money as a means to an end, just another tool in the toolbox. I don't need more of it so that part of the drive is…
Why do you assume the poster above you is in it for the money?
I didn't. In fact a close reading of their comment suggests that they are not.
Why did you assume I assumed that instead of asking: "Do you believe the poster above you is in it for the money?"?
And given this comment of yours: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36589357 I find it curious that you would project that onto others.
Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
How did they get screwed? I feel like I kind of got screwed going into SW. I have friends who make 1/3 the money as athletic trainers, but just seem to love their life so much more. Maybe when we’re 60 things will change, but seems like a bad tradeoff.
There are happier because their work is finite. They do athletic sessions, they are done, their time then is their own. As software dev/lead/manager/pm you are never done, there is always next thing to do. This why some devs become SREs - your shift is over, you are done.
I think you got it flipped. It’s a lot easier to switch off as an SWE compared to SRE. I moved to SWE precisely for that reason.
Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hmm, that seems extremely reductionistic, and sounds like you do not know anyone with bad or unpleasant lives. It also sounds like you're probably pretty young.
Life is by definition good. No other definition of good has any coherence. The fact that in the vast majority of cases, people who are faced with life-threatening adversity, struggle in an effort to overcome it rather than consigning themselves to death, suggests this is the overwhelming perception held by people. Natural selection ensures that the perception that life is good will always be the dominant one amongst…
You're defining life as a moral good. That is not part of its definition.
Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
Life is by definition good. No other definition of good has any coherence. The fact that in the vast majority of cases, people who are faced with life-threatening adversity, struggle in an effort to overcome it rather than consigning themselves to death, suggests this is the overwhelming perception held by people. Natural selection ensures that the perception that life is good will always be the dominant one amongst…
You're defining life as a moral good. That is not part of its definition.
I think it implicitly is.
Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#199Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you assume the poster above you is in it for the money?
I didn't. In fact a close reading of their comment suggests that they are not. Why did you assume I assumed that instead of asking: "Do you believe the poster above you is in it for the money?"? And given this comment of yours: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36589357 I find it curious that you would project that onto others.
Your comment is entirely centered around money and how, since you have enough, you will not bother with startup stuff. You are mistaken about why people create startups, and I do believe you missed that this is not the reason the top poster is knee deep in a startup at 65, otherwise you would not have made the comparison, or you would have acknowledged the situation was different. In a way, you tried to one up the top poster by presenting yourself as someone beyond the need for money.
I see you went into my comment history. The one comment you mention, I have to admit, is not written well. My point was simply that you cannot turn your hobby or passion into your main activity if that activity does not earn you enough money to make a living.
Re: A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
The poster above says he has enough money, so that’s why he does not want to bother with investor, acquisitions, metrics, etc. The underlying assumption is that money is why you want to get into startups, which I think is not correct.
If I go cut trees in the forest, it'll just be for the money, because I like computers and sitting down. For someone that loves physical exercise and the outdoors, and has an appreciation for falling trees, it'll be their passion. I can describe a situation where I decide to not cut trees if I don't need the money without passing judgement on others that do it for love. Assuming they are connected was your mistake. I…
EDIT : I found the message about being beyond money to be patronizing, but I regret that I couched my comment in a way that was not charitable. Hence this edit.