3 ms·

> Hats off to those who find motivation to live without that. My motivation is that the odds of me actually existing in the first place are so long that I'd be

> Hats off to those who find motivation to live without that. My motivation is that the odds of me actually existing in the first place are so long that I'd be a fool to waste my brief time in the universe. Looked at through that point of view everything is amazing from a tree leaf to the latest giga image of Orion. "Given enough time, Hydrogen starts to wonder where it came from, and where its going." - Edward Robert Harrison. Think of all the amount of time and events that had to take place for you to be able to contemplate the universe. Spend some time looking at https://orion2020v5b.spaceforeverybody.com/ https://orion2020v5b.spaceforeverybody.com/ zoom in and realise that everyone of those white dots is a star, they where around for millions or billions of years before the statistically unlikely event that led you to be able to look at the dots, they'll largely be around for billion years after you are gone, to me that is the true meaning of awe - that I can sit here with a coffee and get to in a very small way comprehend a very small part of a vast universe. I get to appreciate it because a million and a half years ago my ancestor took the left path and not the right, the one with the predator, I get to appreciate it because two thousand years ago my ancestor didn't drink from the strange smelling stream and because 40 years ago the cashier at the petrol station agreed to a date with the security guard doing the cash pickup, it's all random, there is no meaning but what we ascribe.

ta1234567890 6y ago
> it's all random, there is no meaning but what we ascribe As Yoda would say, "there is no why" https://youtube.com/watch?v=TJ8KIzkCAto https://youtube.com/watch?v=TJ8KIzkCAto
notsureaboutpg 6y ago
>it's all random, there is no meaning but what we ascribe This kind of thinking is bizarre to me, I genuinely want to understand this. I don't believe we all exist randomly or that our existence was an accident. I am a deeply religious person precisely because I don't believe all of this is random. If all is random, why does every person who claims to believe this not live as if it were true. Almost all of these people plan out their lives and their retirements, etc. etc. and then claim that everything is random. Why do you say "I'd be a fool to waste your brief time in the universe" if your brief time here is an accident. It's a fluke and nothing you do during your time here matters at all because you yourself don't matter at all, so why pretend that doing good and spending your time wisely is important? Sorry if I sound harsh, but I really wish to understand this kind of thought, and you just never can talk about this kind of stuff this way with people in real life.
- noir_lord 6y ago
  I plan for the future because the probabilities make it likely that I'll be around in 25 years. > "I'd be a fool to waste your brief time in the universe" To me that means the odds of me existing are so small that out of personal curiosity I want to appreciate it. > It's a fluke and nothing you do during your time here matters at all because you yourself don't matter at all. Yep - nothing I do one way or the other will meaningfully affect the universe or it's future, only the people/society around me that I care about. Odds are 100 years from now I'll be utterly forgotten. > so why pretend that doing good and spending your time wisely is important? Treat others as you would treat yourself, I treat people well in the hope/expectation they'll do the same, I care about the environment because I don't want my step-son or other kids his age to grow up in a world worse than I did.

ta1234567890 6y ago

> it's all random, there is no meaning but what we ascribe As Yoda would say, "there is no why" https://youtube.com/watch?v=TJ8KIzkCAto https://youtube.com/watch?v=TJ8KIzkCAto

notsureaboutpg 6y ago

>it's all random, there is no meaning but what we ascribe This kind of thinking is bizarre to me, I genuinely want to understand this. I don't believe we all exist randomly or that our existence was an accident. I am a deeply religious person precisely because I don't believe all of this is random. If all is random, why does every person who claims to believe this not live as if it were true. Almost all of these people plan out their lives and their retirements, etc. etc. and then claim that everything is random. Why do you say "I'd be a fool to waste your brief time in the universe" if your brief time here is an accident. It's a fluke and nothing you do during your time here matters at all because you yourself don't matter at all, so why pretend that doing good and spending your time wisely is important? Sorry if I sound harsh, but I really wish to understand this kind of thought, and you just never can talk about this kind of stuff this way with people in real life.

noir_lord 6y ago
I plan for the future because the probabilities make it likely that I'll be around in 25 years. > "I'd be a fool to waste your brief time in the universe" To me that means the odds of me existing are so small that out of personal curiosity I want to appreciate it. > It's a fluke and nothing you do during your time here matters at all because you yourself don't matter at all. Yep - nothing I do one way or the other will meaningfully affect the universe or it's future, only the people/society around me that I care about. Odds are 100 years from now I'll be utterly forgotten. > so why pretend that doing good and spending your time wisely is important? Treat others as you would treat yourself, I treat people well in the hope/expectation they'll do the same, I care about the environment because I don't want my step-son or other kids his age to grow up in a world worse than I did.