I mildly resent the conclusions of the author, that Stanwix's life was "motionless" or "stationary." On the contrary it sounds like he went a great many places,

I mildly resent the conclusions of the author, that Stanwix's life was "motionless" or "stationary." On the contrary it sounds like he went a great many places, met a great many people, and was involved in a great many things. He traveled by sea to Shanghai, walked many miles along unsettled Central American coastlines to reach a distant city (having to bury a companion along the way), was involved in an actual shipwreck, and so on. Sounds perfectly adventurous to me. What did he have to do to qualify as having a "greater" life, write a new JavaScript framework? Not everyone creates the great American novel. That doesn't make your life "lesser." If anything it might mean you spent less time at a desk by yourself.