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The happiest I've ever been

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Re: The happiest I've ever been

#281

Post by ane »

joshkojoras wrote: post #249
bengale wrote: post #35

In the nicest possible way, this is basically the oldest lesson there is. You weren’t happy because you optimized your feelings or had the right opinions. You were happy because you stopped focusing on yourself and became responsible for other people. Six kids needed you, in the real world, every week. That kind of outward focus kills emptiness fast. Chasing happiness, moral righteousness, or political engagement jus…

^^ This comment sums up the entire philosophy of happiness very well, although you first have to go through life to get the context to understand it. I'm over 40 and single and childless. I work in Tech, have a good salary, a house, a car, investments and a second property. I have everything people work for in life but I'd give it all up for a family. I wish I hadn't been so proud and arrogant and full of myself when…

It is a good reminder that most of us that work in software engineering will never build anything remarkable and will fade into history. Even if you do brilliant engineering work for a company, said work was commissioned by the company and the intellectual property rights belong to said company. It wasn't yours to begin with.

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#282

Post by abc123abc123 »

joshkojoras wrote: post #249
bengale wrote: post #35

In the nicest possible way, this is basically the oldest lesson there is. You weren’t happy because you optimized your feelings or had the right opinions. You were happy because you stopped focusing on yourself and became responsible for other people. Six kids needed you, in the real world, every week. That kind of outward focus kills emptiness fast. Chasing happiness, moral righteousness, or political engagement jus…

^^ This comment sums up the entire philosophy of happiness very well, although you first have to go through life to get the context to understand it. I'm over 40 and single and childless. I work in Tech, have a good salary, a house, a car, investments and a second property. I have everything people work for in life but I'd give it all up for a family. I wish I hadn't been so proud and arrogant and full of myself when…

Plenty of time left. Create a tinder account, or adopt a child. Adpoting a child is the most self-less thing you could do. There are countries where single men are allowed to adopt. If you are rich, move there, become resident, adopt, and move back. Problem solved! As a bonus, being a single father then makes it more probable for you to meet a woman.

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#283

Post by komali2 »

zwaps wrote: post #269
paulryanrogers wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one chooses to be born. Once they are, they may find that procreation is impossible for them or just not something they'll do well or even want. None of these is necessarily depressing. We have no shortage of humans, so there's no need to try to shame the childless. Nor those who focus on themselves.

Not to contradict your conclusion but many countries definitely have an extreme shortage of new humans

Lines on a map are just that. Globally we're doing fine. And anyway, constant growth can't continue forever, it's probably a good thing if we stabilize or even shrink a bit.

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#284

Post by komali2 »

boca_honey wrote: post #196
asdfe3r343 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure why not get trapped youself with responsibilities and work your life off making rich people even richer.

That's just childish. Eventually you'll have to learn responsibilities (towards other people) are a privilege and necessary for a full life. You'll just keep getting (more) bitter and lonely until you understand that.

I think what they mean is that "responsibility to society" has been co-opted by capitalists such that even our own children are a resource we're expected to raise to further contribute to endless growth and someone else's profit margins.

None of us are really contributing to each other when we work, or the commons, since that's all been purchased and is being rented back to us.

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#285

Post by komali2 »

XorNot wrote: post #105
idiotsecant wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's always funny how many people think that the only font of altruism is taking care of children who have your DNA , like that's some kind of selfless act. It is, in fact, the ultimate vanity of which humans are capable. Raising little variations of yourself might make you feel good, but if you think it's a unique path to a fulfilling life I suggest you are the one in the little bubble.

I think what usually gets mixed up is how the responsibility works, and biological children sit at the overlap. The thing I most crucially remember about my son being born is that it felt downright easy to simply dive into all the things I would now be doing: because there was no one else. I either got it done or it didn't get done. Someone else's kids on the other hand there is a choice: their parents. It's not abso…

I think this mindset might be unique to western "atomic families." I have friends that would talk similarly about this kind of responsibility to cousins or non "genetically related" people in their village.

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#286

Post by jurgenburgen »

littlexsparkee wrote: post #239
jimbokun wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are on course to have far more elderly people than young people. A global retirement community without even any grandkids to visit them strikes me as a depressing dystopian future.

I see less burden on earth's environment as a positive.

More likely it will be a larger burden on the environment. If there are no future generations to care about then why bother investing in a better future?

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#287

Post by littlexsparkee »

ionwake wrote: post #272
littlexsparkee wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see less burden on earth's environment as a positive.

not necessarily connected to the number of people but the type - if they are all conservationists that would be a net positive, not counting OTT population numbers.

we're talking about aging in advanced economies - those are folks with heavy footprints. if the west could be content with africa's growth and allowing for more migration, this problem is licked.

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#288

Post by littlexsparkee »

jurgenburgen wrote: post #286
littlexsparkee wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see less burden on earth's environment as a positive.

More likely it will be a larger burden on the environment. If there are no future generations to care about then why bother investing in a better future?

the earth regenerates itself, provided we stay out of the way. if anything there's more motivation to care when the degredation slows down and makes change feel tangible.

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#289

Post by steezeburger »

bengale wrote: post #138
steeleyespan wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve spent too much time talking to Claude, because this sounds exactly like one of its messages

Absolutely! That’s a great point. For real though, I’m not wasting tokens on comments. I do wonder if we will pick up habits when interacting with them a lot though.

I 100% thought this was written by an LLM. You copy its style if it wasn't. Or it has copied yours! Lol

Re: The happiest I've ever been

#290

Post by steezeburger »

ionwake wrote: post #273
bengale wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely! That’s a great point. For real though, I’m not wasting tokens on comments. I do wonder if we will pick up habits when interacting with them a lot though.

For real the grammar is so good its sus, did you aprse this through claude?

I don't think the grammar is "good", it just uses speech patterns like LLMs do.
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