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I am incredibly thankful for the internet, and to all the people who have created and shared videos and wrote books that helped to pull me out of the deep dark
by rayalez 10y ago
I am incredibly thankful for the internet, and to all the people who have created and shared videos and wrote books that helped to pull me out of the deep dark hole of ignorance/hopelessness/depression.
I come from a pretty dark environment, and I can't count the times when the access to the internet and information created by brilliant people have literally saved my life. And, perhaps more importantly, made it worth living.
I am thankful for Owen Cook, Paul Graham, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Ayn Rand, Dan Harmon, Randall Munroe, Louis CK, and countless other brilliant and bright people. They are my heroes, they have created things that inspired me, and taught me about the world, and brought a lot of joy into my life.
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I am also very thankful for the fact that I have discovered 3D graphics at a very early age. It showed me what it feels like to be extremely passionate about something, and how awesome and fun it can be to create things. It taught me to think and to learn things and to care about my craft, and to pursue mastery at what I do. It drove me to learn English language and, ultimately, opened to me the world of everything else that I love and care about.
- ue_ 10y agoOut of interest, what about Ayn Rand's writing in particular, or what themes, were appealing to you? If you do not mind saying, of course. It's a good list of people.
- rayalez 10y agoShe showed me how to think well. She is amazing at writing in a clear, precise way that demonstrates the thinking process of a rational person. She taught me to face reality and deal with it rationally, instead of flinching away from it and trying to ignore/rationalize things. To solve problems by thinking about things deeply, determining the best course of action, and then pursuing it. To think for myself, from the first principles, to rely on my own judgement, to have the courage to believe in what makes sense to me. To take responsibility for my life(for my choices and their results). She taught me about determining my values and optimizing for them, choosing a purpose and pursuing it, stepping on a path to mastery and striving to become an expert at what I do. She inspired my interest in engineering, science, entrepreneurship, rationality. Her heroes(Dagny, Hank Rearden) gave me a vision for the kind of person I want to be. The massive impact Atlas Shrugged had on my life, and the amazing quality of her writing, made me want to become a good writer.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]