5 ms·

Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young

50 points by vinutheraj 17y ago

telemachos 17y ago
WHEN I was one-and-twenty I heard a wise man say, ‘Give crowns and pounds and guineas But not your heart away; Give pearls away and rubies 5 But keep your fancy free.’ But I was one-and-twenty, No use to talk to me. When I was one-and-twenty I heard him say again, 10 ‘The heart out of the bosom Was never given in vain; ’Tis paid with sighs a plenty And sold for endless rue.’ And I am two-and-twenty, 15 And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true. (A.E. Housman A Shropshire Lad, XIII)
quizbiz 17y ago
I have an old HN thread bookmarked, "Ask YC: What would you tell your younger self?"[1]. I read it over a few times a year and I think that on some level, it has affected my perspective. The thing is, the advice given is nothing new, especially the message of "do what you love". [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=372573 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=372573
- wallflower 17y ago
  Thanks for that Ask YC link. Since I had to upvote it, I must have missed it! Feeling wistful because it's EOY and nearly EOD. There have been some wise Metafilter threads. "My son is graduating from high school in a week. I want to make him a Best of Ask Metafilter book with all the best advice from the hive mind." http://ask.metafilter.com/122353/Whats-the-Best-Thing-Youve-Ever-Seen-Here http://ask.metafilter.com/122353/Whats-the-Best-Thing-Youve-... http://ask.metafilter.com/27160/What-would-you-tell-20yearold-you http://ask.metafilter.com/27160/What-would-you-tell-20yearol... I sometimes think we old people (old as in relative) like to give advice because we have regrets or want to pay-it-forward or just want to get on our soapbox?
kingkongreveng_ 17y ago
Always remember: There is no sex in the champagne room. None.
icco 17y ago
Didn't this get turned into a popular song?
- icco 17y ago
  Aha! It did. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen, "The most popular and well-known form of the essay is the successful music single Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen), released in 1998, by Baz Luhrmann."
  - gaius 17y ago
    Yes I am not sure why we're posting song lyrics on HN now.
- gkoberger 17y ago
  I'm not sure about the legality of Grooveshark (it's run by a legitimate company, and they comply with any takedown notices- so, it's like linking to YouTube), however here it is: http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Everybody+S+Free+To+Wear+Sunscreen/7280048 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Everybody+S+Free+To+Wea...
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
guelo 17y ago
Sunscreen is harmful. The threat of skin cancer is much less than the dangers of the diseases related to lack of sunlight which is blocked by sunscreen. The diseases include osteoporosis, prostate cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, depression, colon cancer, schizophrenia, rickets, psoriasis, SAD, chronic vitamin D deficiency, diabetes and even obesity. Much better advice: Get out in the sun, lose the sunscreen!
- guelo 17y ago
  WTF? Could people at least give a reason why they're downvoting this. The info about the dangers of sunscreen is true. "Vitamin D deficiency is an unrecognized epidemic among both children and adults in the United States" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15585788 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15585788
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - dunstad 17y ago
    If you had said "Sunscreen can be harmful" as opposed to "Sunscreen is harmful", your message might have been better received. Sunscreen is just a tool. It can do good things for you if you use it properly, and bad things if you don't.
  - wtallis 17y ago
    Your comment implies that sunscreen can cause any of several conditions whose causes are actually completely unknown. The excessive use of sunscreen can merely exacerbate those conditions by further reducing vitamin D levels. For those of us who are healthy and drink plenty of milk, wearing sunscreen when we're out in the sun for a long time is a great way to stay healthy.
    - csytan 17y ago
      Agreed. In addition, you don't need much sun exposure to get satisfactory vitamin D levels. From the article: """ Sensible sun exposure (usually 5-10 min of exposure of the arms and legs or the hands, arms, and face, 2 or 3 times per week) and increased dietary and supplemental vitamin D intakes are reasonable approaches to guarantee vitamin D sufficiency. """
primodemus 17y ago
Instantes If I were able to live my life anew, In the next I would try to commit more errors. I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more. I would be more foolish than I've been, In fact, I would take few things seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would run more risks, take more vacations , contemplate more sunsets, climb more mountains, swim more rivers. I would go to more places where I've never been, I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans, I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones. I was one of those people that lived sensibly and prolifically each minute of his life; Of course I had moments of happiness. If I could go back I would try to have only good moments. Because if you didn't know, of that is life made: only of moments; Don't lose the now. I was one of those that never went anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, an umbrella, and a parachute; If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends. I would take more cart rides, contemplate more dawns, and play with more children, If I had another life ahead of me. But already you see, I am 85, and I know that I am dying. Jorge Luis Borges
- basugasubaku 17y ago
  The attribution of this poem to Borges is controversial. At least one Wikipedia article states that the original author is one Don Herold: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Herold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Herold EDIT: Curiously, the original article is often misattributed to Vonnegut: http://www.google.com/search?q=sunscreen+vonnegut http://www.google.com/search?q=sunscreen+vonnegut
nazgulnarsil 17y ago
humanity's greatest asset, by far, is our ability to learn from others' mistakes as well as our own.
julius_geezer 17y ago
One could go on and on giving examples; as good as any is near the end of T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land": Datta: what have we given? My friend, blood shaking my heart The awful daring of a moment's surrender Which an age of prudence can never retract By this, and this only, we have existed Which is not to be found in our obituaries Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor In our empty rooms.
yason 17y ago
I would remind my younger self to dare more and more boldly as the resulting gains can be great and the resulting losses are usually indifferent. In general I wouldn't want to change anything for there is really no experience in my life that I wouldn't have needed for growing, that wouldn't have tried to teach me something. However, the outcome of this teaching is gradually learning life. But you can't learn any quicker than you want to, and you will want to learn no more than you dare to receive. Thus, dare more and take whatever lesson that comes out of it.
wallflower 17y ago
Just watched the surprisingly good "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" "Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss. It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you. Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it. Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it. For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. "

50 points by vinutheraj 17y ago

WHEN I was one-and-twenty I heard a wise man say, ‘Give crowns and pounds and guineas But not your heart away; Give pearls away and rubies 5 But keep your fancy free.’ But I was one-and-twenty, No use to talk to me. When I was one-and-twenty I heard him say again, 10 ‘The heart out of the bosom Was never given in vain; ’Tis paid with sighs a plenty And sold for endless rue.’ And I am two-and-twenty, 15 And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true. (A.E. Housman A Shropshire Lad, XIII)

quizbiz 17y ago

I have an old HN thread bookmarked, "Ask YC: What would you tell your younger self?"[1]. I read it over a few times a year and I think that on some level, it has affected my perspective. The thing is, the advice given is nothing new, especially the message of "do what you love". [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=372573 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=372573

wallflower 17y ago
Thanks for that Ask YC link. Since I had to upvote it, I must have missed it! Feeling wistful because it's EOY and nearly EOD. There have been some wise Metafilter threads. "My son is graduating from high school in a week. I want to make him a Best of Ask Metafilter book with all the best advice from the hive mind." http://ask.metafilter.com/122353/Whats-the-Best-Thing-Youve-Ever-Seen-Here http://ask.metafilter.com/122353/Whats-the-Best-Thing-Youve-... http://ask.metafilter.com/27160/What-would-you-tell-20yearold-you http://ask.metafilter.com/27160/What-would-you-tell-20yearol... I sometimes think we old people (old as in relative) like to give advice because we have regrets or want to pay-it-forward or just want to get on our soapbox?

kingkongreveng_ 17y ago

Always remember: There is no sex in the champagne room. None.

icco 17y ago

Didn't this get turned into a popular song?

icco 17y ago
Aha! It did. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_Sunscreen, "The most popular and well-known form of the essay is the successful music single Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen), released in 1998, by Baz Luhrmann."
- gaius 17y ago
  Yes I am not sure why we're posting song lyrics on HN now.
gkoberger 17y ago
I'm not sure about the legality of Grooveshark (it's run by a legitimate company, and they comply with any takedown notices- so, it's like linking to YouTube), however here it is: http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Everybody+S+Free+To+Wear+Sunscreen/7280048 http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Everybody+S+Free+To+Wea...
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]

guelo 17y ago

Sunscreen is harmful. The threat of skin cancer is much less than the dangers of the diseases related to lack of sunlight which is blocked by sunscreen. The diseases include osteoporosis, prostate cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, depression, colon cancer, schizophrenia, rickets, psoriasis, SAD, chronic vitamin D deficiency, diabetes and even obesity. Much better advice: Get out in the sun, lose the sunscreen!

guelo 17y ago
WTF? Could people at least give a reason why they're downvoting this. The info about the dangers of sunscreen is true. "Vitamin D deficiency is an unrecognized epidemic among both children and adults in the United States" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15585788 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15585788
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- dunstad 17y ago
  If you had said "Sunscreen can be harmful" as opposed to "Sunscreen is harmful", your message might have been better received. Sunscreen is just a tool. It can do good things for you if you use it properly, and bad things if you don't.
- wtallis 17y ago
  Your comment implies that sunscreen can cause any of several conditions whose causes are actually completely unknown. The excessive use of sunscreen can merely exacerbate those conditions by further reducing vitamin D levels. For those of us who are healthy and drink plenty of milk, wearing sunscreen when we're out in the sun for a long time is a great way to stay healthy.
  - csytan 17y ago
    Agreed. In addition, you don't need much sun exposure to get satisfactory vitamin D levels. From the article: """ Sensible sun exposure (usually 5-10 min of exposure of the arms and legs or the hands, arms, and face, 2 or 3 times per week) and increased dietary and supplemental vitamin D intakes are reasonable approaches to guarantee vitamin D sufficiency. """

primodemus 17y ago

Instantes If I were able to live my life anew, In the next I would try to commit more errors. I would not try to be so perfect, I would relax more. I would be more foolish than I've been, In fact, I would take few things seriously. I would be less hygienic. I would run more risks, take more vacations , contemplate more sunsets, climb more mountains, swim more rivers. I would go to more places where I've never been, I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans, I would have more real problems and less imaginary ones. I was one of those people that lived sensibly and prolifically each minute of his life; Of course I had moments of happiness. If I could go back I would try to have only good moments. Because if you didn't know, of that is life made: only of moments; Don't lose the now. I was one of those that never went anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, an umbrella, and a parachute; If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends. I would take more cart rides, contemplate more dawns, and play with more children, If I had another life ahead of me. But already you see, I am 85, and I know that I am dying. Jorge Luis Borges

basugasubaku 17y ago
The attribution of this poem to Borges is controversial. At least one Wikipedia article states that the original author is one Don Herold: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Herold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Herold EDIT: Curiously, the original article is often misattributed to Vonnegut: http://www.google.com/search?q=sunscreen+vonnegut http://www.google.com/search?q=sunscreen+vonnegut

nazgulnarsil 17y ago

humanity's greatest asset, by far, is our ability to learn from others' mistakes as well as our own.

julius_geezer 17y ago

One could go on and on giving examples; as good as any is near the end of T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land": Datta: what have we given? My friend, blood shaking my heart The awful daring of a moment's surrender Which an age of prudence can never retract By this, and this only, we have existed Which is not to be found in our obituaries Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor In our empty rooms.

yason 17y ago

I would remind my younger self to dare more and more boldly as the resulting gains can be great and the resulting losses are usually indifferent. In general I wouldn't want to change anything for there is really no experience in my life that I wouldn't have needed for growing, that wouldn't have tried to teach me something. However, the outcome of this teaching is gradually learning life. But you can't learn any quicker than you want to, and you will want to learn no more than you dare to receive. Thus, dare more and take whatever lesson that comes out of it.

wallflower 17y ago

Just watched the surprisingly good "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" "Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss. It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you. Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it. Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it. For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. "