Earlier quoted context omitted.
But with a big house you could sleep in a different bedroom every night!
A big house has space for my friends.
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Your human-size life
31–40 of 52 posts
Re: Your human-size life
#32The core thesis is really only true if money can't be exchanged for some expectation value of additional years of healthy life. Up until fairly recently (say 20 years) that was the case. You couldn't really do a lot with a lot of money to swing odds, any more than you could with just a little money and some forethought. The free stuff like planning, exercise, and calorie restriction outweigh everything else, and by t…
"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". Perhaps we'll find the same is true about life itself. We'll live twice as long, but we'll be twice as cautious, twice as likely to say 'tomorrow'. Everything has to end. Even the human race. For me the deadline gives our activities meaning. Ironically, even your eager desire to extend longevity only has a sense of urgency and interest because we die…
I may still be too young at 25, but I can't think of a single time in my life where the threat of eventual death was a motivator of any kind. maybe as I get older it'll come, but only because it'll be just over the horizon. If I lived 800 years instead of 80, it might motivate me for the last 30 years, but that still gives me an extra 690 years of being motivated by other factors (happiness, comfort, pride, love, whatever floats your boat).
Re: Your human-size life
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
But with a big house you could sleep in a different bedroom every night!
A big house has space for my friends.
That's a great point. According to the 2nd episode of the 3rd season of Startup (https://gimletmedia.com/episode/season-3-episode-2/) the twitch guys got rich, bought a big house and dedicate one floor to helping/mentoring startups. You could say they just in it for the money (get rich off another startup) but I suspect they're really enjoying themselves.
Re: Your human-size life
#34The problem with those of us who make money in the tech field is that it's often pretty much binary.. all work pretty much all the time (and decent to great money) or no work (living on savings). Add to this employer's resistance to hire if you have you haven't been working lately... :/
I've thought of this. I've been living off savings for quite a few years, but it would be nice to do a bit of work for extra money / challenge / variety. But it seems unlikely that anyone would employ me.
Re: Your human-size life
#35The core thesis is really only true if money can't be exchanged for some expectation value of additional years of healthy life. Up until fairly recently (say 20 years) that was the case. You couldn't really do a lot with a lot of money to swing odds, any more than you could with just a little money and some forethought. The free stuff like planning, exercise, and calorie restriction outweigh everything else, and by t…
Looking at society as a whole, there's not much to be gained by increasing lifespan. There's no shortage of people being born. They come up to speed quickly to be able to do useful things (20 years or so). There are a few people doing great work even in old age, who couldn't easily be replaced by somebody younger, but I'd say they are an exception. There's no reason to think those particular people would be chosen for life extension first.
Re: Your human-size life
#36“The best things in life are free. The second best things are very, very expensive.”
― Coco Chanel
Re: Your human-size life
#37Money cannot bring happiness, but lack of money can certainly bring, and most likely will bring, unhappiness.
In the US, lack of money can also bring, literally, death. Healthcare is very expensive.
Re: Your human-size life
#38Re: Your human-size life
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sadly, you must have other goals besides personal happiness. But given that you only live once, why would you prefer a different goal?
Because it's selfish and boring.
I think if you read the original, the choices discussed were personal happiness vs money and status. Choosing happiness in that context is wise, not selfish.
Also, I think you're confusing happiness with the pursuit of pleasure. Most of the science suggest that happiness requires both enjoyment and a greater purpose.
Apparently you're unselfish and deep; maybe you could be less judgmental, too.
Re: Your human-size life
#40> In the early years of this blog I wrote a lot about the personal struggles of people who had attained financial independence only to find out that it revealed that money was not what was standing in the way of happiness.
Spoken like a rich person!
For the poor and working classes who live month-to-month -- which is a large and growing chunk of Americans -- money (or the lack thereof) is a huge source of stress, fear, and -- yes -- unhappiness. It probably also shortens your life.
And probably means you're not even getting one seat at whatever MLB or NBA game you'd like to go see. Might even mean you're not sure you're going to get to keep that one single bedroom you'd like to sleep in.