Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#1

Post by v7engine » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 2:53 PM UTC

And how to become the best version of ourselves?

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#2

Post by toomuchtodo » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 2:54 PM UTC

Everyone's manual is built upon their lived experience, and only parts of each manual would apply to others. You are building your manual through your experience to become the best version of you one day at a time. Take that which is value from which you observe and are taught by others, discard that which has no value or does not apply in your context.

"We win or we learn." Try to win more than you learn over time.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#3

Post by tantalor » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 2:58 PM UTC

Here are a few well known ones off the top of my head:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#4

Post by nandyos » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 3:00 PM UTC

No manual because you are supposed to live your life any which way you want, but there will be consequences.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#5

Post by SMAAART » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 3:24 PM UTC

There is. You get to write it yourself; you get to be your own master/leader.

Critical thinking skills are the most essential tools, so is studying philosophy. You have agency, use it.

Of course you could always abdicate your agency to religion (pick one), or politicians, or influencers, or money/consumerism.

No matter how you dice it, the choice is always yours, and yours only,

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#6

Post by yawpitch » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 3:35 PM UTC

tantalor wrote: post #3

Here are a few well known ones off the top of my head: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran

Those aren’t operating manuals, and two of them basically sum up to “if the troubleshooting guide doesn’t work, wait till tech support is back in the office”. At least in the Vedas there’s a bit of a nod to “have you tried powering it off and on again?”.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#7

Post by taylodl » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 3:36 PM UTC

Why? Because we evolved, we weren't manufactured. WRT how to become the "best" version of ourselves, that depends entirely on how you define "best", and there's no universal agreement on that. That's why so many different "manuals" are available.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#8

Post by yawpitch » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 3:40 PM UTC

… ok, lemme see here.

    mySelf = Human.new()
    defer mySelf.recycle
    while myself.not_yet_dead():
        mySelf.improve()

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#9

Post by markus_zhang » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 3:44 PM UTC

We don’t know much about human minds. In additional, we don’t follow manuals. The brain doesn’t really always listen to our will. TBH I’d very much hope that I’m a machine that can devote to a single thing for an undetermined amount of time, never have burnout and can immediately context switch with minimum effort. But I’m not made of that.

Re: Ask HN: Why is there no operating manual on how to live life?

#10

Post by JohnFen » Thu, Oct 30, 2025, 4:05 PM UTC

There is no one way to do that.