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> But on the other hand, one of the main reasons I love HN is that there are still plenty of posts that are just about hacking/tinkering, without concern for 'u

> But on the other hand, one of the main reasons I love HN is that there are still plenty of posts that are just about hacking/tinkering, without concern for 'usefulness' and 'purpose'. In fact, more effort put into something as silly as possible often makes the whole thing even more delightful. Indeed, this is what makes most of us engineers. But if I separate myself from it and look at it from the outside, we "waste" a ton of time doing things that... well... don't matter. The exceptional few make advances most of us dream of, and they contribute a lot to the advancements of engineering. Many of us just tinker for the sake of it. I respect people want to do what makes them happy, but I find the lack of interest in solving problems bigger than what can fit inside a hard drive a bit... depressing. It feels like resignation. > On the one hand I completely understand your point, and from the perspective of one 'culture' it feels like a waste of time and instead we should focus on 'getting things done' and 'making an impact' (in the shape of a successful business or whatnot). I don't think it needs to be a business, just something that serves as a testament to a legacy that says "I left the planet in better shape than I found it." The world could benefit a lot from more stoicism, and I think we'll need it in the future that's to come.

mercer 9y ago
I can understand your point of view, but I think there are two assumptions there that many would not agree with. The first assumption is that it is better to advance engineering, or somehow 'leave a mark' (fame?), or 'make the world a better place', than to simply live a happy life, all else being equal. While personally I do enjoy it to see others enjoying or being grateful for the fruits of my labor, I don't actually consider this a good incentive. I'm a huge fan of the 'wu-wei' concept in taoism though. And while I'm still actively figuring out how to apply all this to my life, I generally find that some (and possibly most) of the most intensely happy moments in my life were rather... insular and independent of (rational) 'context'. The second assumption is that the kinds of things we engineers do are a net benefit to the world. I've begun to doubt that, despite my love for all things engineering. If I were to do anything that has a large enough impact to 'matter', there's always a chance that this might end up having unintended consequences that also matter. I can think of many pursuits that seem more unambiguously 'good'. All that said, it's possible that you are either 'wired' to want to make the world a better place, or that your life took a path where this is who you've becoming. By my own logic, I can't really disagree with you wanting to pursue that! Just offering a different point of view.

mercer 9y ago

I can understand your point of view, but I think there are two assumptions there that many would not agree with. The first assumption is that it is better to advance engineering, or somehow 'leave a mark' (fame?), or 'make the world a better place', than to simply live a happy life, all else being equal. While personally I do enjoy it to see others enjoying or being grateful for the fruits of my labor, I don't actually consider this a good incentive. I'm a huge fan of the 'wu-wei' concept in taoism though. And while I'm still actively figuring out how to apply all this to my life, I generally find that some (and possibly most) of the most intensely happy moments in my life were rather... insular and independent of (rational) 'context'. The second assumption is that the kinds of things we engineers do are a net benefit to the world. I've begun to doubt that, despite my love for all things engineering. If I were to do anything that has a large enough impact to 'matter', there's always a chance that this might end up having unintended consequences that also matter. I can think of many pursuits that seem more unambiguously 'good'. All that said, it's possible that you are either 'wired' to want to make the world a better place, or that your life took a path where this is who you've becoming. By my own logic, I can't really disagree with you wanting to pursue that! Just offering a different point of view.