4 ms·

I wonder if he’s happy. I mean, genuine question, not a snark. There’s obviously important reasons to be “productive” but there are many reasons to just let go,

by dmje 6y ago

I wonder if he’s happy. I mean, genuine question, not a snark. There’s obviously important reasons to be “productive” but there are many reasons to just let go, too. I wonder what his mental health looks like.

maxerickson 6y ago
He probably had $10 million close to 30 years ago, so I'd guess he is pretty happy. The number is somewhat arbitrary, but it's enough money to spend most of your time doing what you want to do. Not enough to chase every whim, but enough that what you end up doing with the bulk of your time is a choice.
- Toine 6y ago
  > He probably had $10 million close to 30 years ago, so I'd guess he is pretty happy. This is the saddest thing I've read recently
  - maxerickson 6y ago
    Just wait until you read about 2020.
  - robjan 6y ago
    I think the unwritten part of that sentence is "so he can quit what he's doing whenever he wants, but he chooses to live like this"
    - dmje 6y ago
      ...kinda the important part of the sentence too. Plenty of totally depressed millionaires out there...
  - TuringNYC 6y ago
    >> >> He probably had $10 million close to 30 years ago, so I'd guess he is pretty happy. >> This is the saddest thing I've read recently I read something sadder recently -- a mother in the US who was crying because she couldn't afford insulin for her child. Seriously, sure, money doesnt solve all problems. But it sure as heck solves most problems. It adds others, but not as big as the ones it takes away. (FYI, i've lived across the income spectrum thru my life from $10k/yr w/o healthcare to top 1%)
OneGuy123 6y ago
You belive that he is forcing himself to "be productive" and to "work so much". What you have missed is that he loves what he does. It's not that "he is so disciplined": it's that he lives for this kind of things that is why he can do so much things and in such "extreme" manner. But only an outside observer would mark these as "extreme". You say "to just let go": the mistake on your end here is that you are projecting your own disinterest in the things he does on him. He is not like you, and I'm not saying that you should be like him. It's just that that is his natural tendency. Yours is different. So he doesn't need to "let go" because he is not suffering: he is most likely enjoying his life much more that you are yours since he lives, breathes and makes money of his hobby.
layoutIfNeeded 6y ago
I think being “productive” [1] is a hobby for him. Some people organize their vinyl collection with painstaking detail, others build dioramas. [1] I’m putting it in quotes, because it seems that the output of all this “productivity” consist mostly of filing cabinets and databases filled with mundane information about his life.
- jodrellblank 6y ago
  You must have missed last year when he announced his fundamental Theory of Everything? https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2020/04/finally-we-may-have-a-path-to-the-fundamental-theory-of-physics-and-its-beautiful/ https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2020/04/finally-we-may-h... Or the bit where he runs Wolfram Research, a company with hundreds of employees and hundreds of millions a year in turnover which makes Mathematica?
  - layoutIfNeeded 6y ago
    You must have missed that his Fundamental Theory Of Everything™ is just a bunch of pretty pictures, a few blog posts and promotional videos on YouTube. That's not how science is done, and that's exactly why physicists at large don't take him seriously.
    - jodrellblank 6y ago
      If physicists at large say "that's not how science is done" that renders the work which went into it non-existant and turns it into "mundane information about his life"? No, clearly it doesn't.
mark_l_watson 6y ago
He is married, works with his son, and does what he loves for his work. I would bet a lot of money that he is happy and lives a fulfilled life.
- dmje 6y ago
  Good answer.
- rubicon33 6y ago
  He also mentions this, right at the beginning of the article: > I’m a person who’s only satisfied if I feel I’m being productive. For anyone who is like this, you know exactly what he means. This is likely the result of the way you were raised, but for some of us, our mental health in adulthood really does hinge on feeling productive or not. Whether that's healthy is a ship that sailed when we were just children. Instilled in us is a deep need to feel productive, and that's how we feel happy. So yes, I think he's probably as happy as he can be.
TuringNYC 6y ago
For some people, organizing the chaos in the background helps remove the stress of the chaos -- and allows you to focus on things that make you happy.

by dmje 6y ago

maxerickson 6y ago

He probably had $10 million close to 30 years ago, so I'd guess he is pretty happy. The number is somewhat arbitrary, but it's enough money to spend most of your time doing what you want to do. Not enough to chase every whim, but enough that what you end up doing with the bulk of your time is a choice.

Toine 6y ago
> He probably had $10 million close to 30 years ago, so I'd guess he is pretty happy. This is the saddest thing I've read recently
- maxerickson 6y ago
  Just wait until you read about 2020.
- robjan 6y ago
  I think the unwritten part of that sentence is "so he can quit what he's doing whenever he wants, but he chooses to live like this"
  - dmje 6y ago
    ...kinda the important part of the sentence too. Plenty of totally depressed millionaires out there...
- TuringNYC 6y ago
  >> >> He probably had $10 million close to 30 years ago, so I'd guess he is pretty happy. >> This is the saddest thing I've read recently I read something sadder recently -- a mother in the US who was crying because she couldn't afford insulin for her child. Seriously, sure, money doesnt solve all problems. But it sure as heck solves most problems. It adds others, but not as big as the ones it takes away. (FYI, i've lived across the income spectrum thru my life from $10k/yr w/o healthcare to top 1%)

OneGuy123 6y ago

You belive that he is forcing himself to "be productive" and to "work so much". What you have missed is that he loves what he does. It's not that "he is so disciplined": it's that he lives for this kind of things that is why he can do so much things and in such "extreme" manner. But only an outside observer would mark these as "extreme". You say "to just let go": the mistake on your end here is that you are projecting your own disinterest in the things he does on him. He is not like you, and I'm not saying that you should be like him. It's just that that is his natural tendency. Yours is different. So he doesn't need to "let go" because he is not suffering: he is most likely enjoying his life much more that you are yours since he lives, breathes and makes money of his hobby.

layoutIfNeeded 6y ago

I think being “productive” [1] is a hobby for him. Some people organize their vinyl collection with painstaking detail, others build dioramas. [1] I’m putting it in quotes, because it seems that the output of all this “productivity” consist mostly of filing cabinets and databases filled with mundane information about his life.

jodrellblank 6y ago
You must have missed last year when he announced his fundamental Theory of Everything? https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2020/04/finally-we-may-have-a-path-to-the-fundamental-theory-of-physics-and-its-beautiful/ https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2020/04/finally-we-may-h... Or the bit where he runs Wolfram Research, a company with hundreds of employees and hundreds of millions a year in turnover which makes Mathematica?
- layoutIfNeeded 6y ago
  You must have missed that his Fundamental Theory Of Everything™ is just a bunch of pretty pictures, a few blog posts and promotional videos on YouTube. That's not how science is done, and that's exactly why physicists at large don't take him seriously.
  - jodrellblank 6y ago
    If physicists at large say "that's not how science is done" that renders the work which went into it non-existant and turns it into "mundane information about his life"? No, clearly it doesn't.

mark_l_watson 6y ago

He is married, works with his son, and does what he loves for his work. I would bet a lot of money that he is happy and lives a fulfilled life.

dmje 6y ago
Good answer.
rubicon33 6y ago
He also mentions this, right at the beginning of the article: > I’m a person who’s only satisfied if I feel I’m being productive. For anyone who is like this, you know exactly what he means. This is likely the result of the way you were raised, but for some of us, our mental health in adulthood really does hinge on feeling productive or not. Whether that's healthy is a ship that sailed when we were just children. Instilled in us is a deep need to feel productive, and that's how we feel happy. So yes, I think he's probably as happy as he can be.

TuringNYC 6y ago

For some people, organizing the chaos in the background helps remove the stress of the chaos -- and allows you to focus on things that make you happy.