The quiet rebellion of a little life • Hacker News Board

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#21

Post by meiraleal » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:36 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #13

lotsofpulp wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s pretty easy to live a simple life if you don’t expect cutting edge healthcare, the best education for one’s kids’, and living in colder/flatter places. If you expect a better than average quality of life, then you will have to compete for it. Unless, of course, you are lucky enough to be bequeathed a sufficiently large portfolio.

If you want an average quality of life you need to compete for it because the average person competes.

Or you are born to a developing country and get a remote job as a software engineer. Not much competition (at least until 2022).

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#22

Post by bdangubic » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:38 PM UTC

the irony in all of this, is that if social media were completely eradicated from the world and everyone had a chance to look inward in order to pursue being the very best version of themselves possible, both emotionally and logistically in their career pursuits, imagine the repercussions of this and how it would positively impact our society… but alas, i’m dreaming of a world where that could never exist again.

could not have said it better myself… I quit all social media and I cannot even put in words how much my life has improved since then. not only in personal aspect of not being subjected of nonsense of social media but also my social life has improved immensely. my friends of course are all on social media and any discussion that relates to it that spills into our group chats I am like “no clue and don’t give two shits about it” - glorious existence!

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#23

Post by uncletaco » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:40 PM UTC

bdangubic wrote: post #22

the irony in all of this, is that if social media were completely eradicated from the world and everyone had a chance to look inward in order to pursue being the very best version of themselves possible, both emotionally and logistically in their career pursuits, imagine the repercussions of this and how it would positively impact our society… but alas, i’m dreaming of a world where that could never exist again. coul…

Are you the author on an alt? This article and comment are the first time I've ever seen someone on this website not use capitalization.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#24

Post by notnaut » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:41 PM UTC

bdangubic wrote: post #22

the irony in all of this, is that if social media were completely eradicated from the world and everyone had a chance to look inward in order to pursue being the very best version of themselves possible, both emotionally and logistically in their career pursuits, imagine the repercussions of this and how it would positively impact our society… but alas, i’m dreaming of a world where that could never exist again. coul…

Is hacker news not social media? Or do you find that it works as a form of social media that is “good” whereas all these other forms you’ve abandoned are “bad?”

If it’s a simple matter like that, what ideas could other social media take from HN to improve?

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#25

Post by collingreen » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:42 PM UTC

DennisP wrote: post #19

deadbabe wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i don’t get it, most letters you read will be lowercase, what’s a few more in the grand scheme?

Also, periods are just a small percentage of the characters. Maybe we should skip them.

And spaces! They don't even have any content, just the wasted space! Let's drop those too.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#26

Post by pdimitar » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:42 PM UTC

meiraleal wrote: post #21

adrianN wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want an average quality of life you need to compete for it because the average person competes.

Or you are born to a developing country and get a remote job as a software engineer. Not much competition (at least until 2022).

Sadly no longer true. :(

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#27

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:44 PM UTC

spokaneplumb wrote: post #4

Is there some kind of reader-mode filtering site one can put a URL in to get a version that undoes this extra effort to remove capital letters? From what I’ve gotten of this piece I think it’s up my alley, but reading it is unpleasant. [edit] incidentally, if this fad doesn’t burn out soon we’re going to need a setting to fix it under the heading of accessibility. I expect there are several categories of people for w…

[deleted]

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#28

Post by SoftTalker » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:47 PM UTC

fireynis wrote: post #5

I always think these kinds of mentalities are based on people who have never been in dire straits or financially insecure. Living a simple life is almost impossible, pursuing wealth is probably the only way to be secure in a simple life. Even if you FIRE, you need to pretty aggressively pursue wealth at the beginning to make it work.

My reaction as well. Sure, one can have a fulfilling life without always chasing more, more more and it is might be worth thinking about cutting out some excessive consumerism, but this...

breakfast in bed on a sunday morning- sticky buns and black coffee, sharing a bed with my best friend. having more children. walking through the park while listening to the sounds of nature and kids laughing in the playground nearby. decompressing after a day at work on the couch with a cat who nestles besides my belly while i read, sip hot tea, and listen to tender jazz. cooking pasta for dinner, drinking wine, slow dancing in the kitchen with a lover. maybe starting a garden. farmers markets on weekends carrying a wicker basket full of apricots and hydrangeas. a soft, romantic, simple existence.

... this is the life of a wealthy retired person.

Most people who have a job where they aren't influencers, don't achieve anything, just go in for 8 hours a day and do ordinary work, are earning ordinary money, living in a small apartment, no pets allowed, have a marginally reliable car, can't afford to shop at the farmer's market, and with kids and homework and laundry and daily chores just want to get some sleep at the end of the day, spending three hours on cooking and enjoying a slow dinner with wine and music just isn't going to happen.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#29

Post by pdimitar » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:47 PM UTC

Meh. To have a little life you have to compete for a good job so you have a good pay.

The author frames it as if you can just semi-retire and still have $200K a year which is observably and factually absolutely not true. Like the tired Hollywood trope of "I am done working hard, let's just go live at this beach-front property and work whenever we like and oh, by the way, money is not a problem ever and how the frak did we buy this beach-front property again?". Like the old Angelina Jolie movie: "Life or Something Like It" (2002).

Glad that the author has such a privileged life but most of us have arrived at this "wisdom" by 25 year old at the most and the depressing conclusion is that you have to keep grinding just to have this "little life". Because if you stop or even slow down, it's mostly homeless life that's awaiting you, not a little one.

Re: The quiet rebellion of a little life

#30

Post by readthenotes1 » Mon, Jan 20, 2025, 7:48 PM UTC

xigency wrote: post #15

eluketronic wrote: post #11

I’ve wrestled with this idea since reading My Side of The Mountain when I was quite young. Our society and culture constantly reinforces the perceived need to make enough money to retire one day, assuming that there is a necessary amount of money one needs to continue living and that one should stop working at some point. The fear of exorbitant medical costs in our privatized healthcare system scare me into thinking…

I'm coming to terms with the fact that if I want to leave any inheritance at all I will need to be voluntarily turning down medical care at some point in my life. I'm only 30 and I know for certain that lifespan is not the parameter I want to optimize. Rather, it is quality of life.

Turning down medical care at some point in your life maybe the right thing to do.

I bet if you were to ask most doctors, one of the most heartwrenching things they are required to do is keep people alive and in pain long past the point of compassion.

I am not advocating for euthanasia, but within the last 2 years I have observed such cruelty only once averted