4 ms·
To exist.
by orestarod 6y ago
To exist.
- TeMPOraL 6y agoExistence is table stakes. All interesting things happen on top of it.
- esperent 6y agoNonetheless, it's a very freeing view to consider that just by existing you've already succeeded. Everything that comes after is an adventure. You've already beaten far, far greater odds just by being here than anything you'll accomplish in life.
- perfmode 6y agois there a greater mystery than existence itself?
- antepodius 6y agoSomething being more mysterious doesn't make it more interesting. What's my private key? It's a mystery, but not a very interesting one. Why does the universe exist? It's mysterious, maybe the most mysterious thing of all, and 8lit's interesting, but I'd say it's not the most interesting question of them all.
- perfmode 6y agoby mystery, i mean much more than that which is not known. i mean to convey: something that is difficult or impossible to explain. something that is deeply interesting and provokes wonderment. what is more difficult to explain and understand than the fundamental nature of existence? perhaps it is not apparently immediately _useful_. but in a cosmic sense, of what use is it to understand thought objects in the world when there is a complete lack of understanding of the consciousness in which these thought objects arise? i’m curious what are some candidates for “most interesting question of them all” in your view. this is something which sparks a genuine curiosity in me and would love to hear your perspective.
- TeMPOraL 6y agoExistence is a mystery indeed, but in this context, it's not an achievement. It's a starting condition for all achievements.
- perfmode 6y agohow do we know that achievement is of value? how is it possible to know what is _actually_ of value as opposed to what is _apparently_ of value? in your profile you mention: > I do software nowadays, but I'm constantly looking for opportunities to do something actually useful for humanity. how does one arrive at a belief about what is useful?
- TeMPOraL 6y ago> how is it possible to know what is _actually_ of value as opposed to what is _apparently_ of value? It's in our heads, but since we all run the same hardware architecture, it generalizes quite well.
- perfmode 6y agoit is evident that people don’t actually converge on singular sets of beliefs in this way. but for sake of argument let’s put that aside and suppose we actually do. even with this, this doesn’t address the concern of actuality versus appearance. consensus reality has been wrong in the past, and can be shown wrong again. so how can you be so sure?