5 ms·
Why Do I Exist?
A world in which Elon Musk exists doesn't need me in it.
He's doing most of what I have been wanting to do (cheap access to space, resilient internet and power grid, making stuff in the USA, green tech, autonomous vehicles; you probably know me and my work, no need to relist it) but he has been doing it better than I have.
On top of that, he has been doing it more efficiently than I have from a financial perspective, meaning that my own efforts' opportunity costs and benefits balance out to a net negative.
Therefore, the most rational thing for me to do is to give him all my money and intellectual property, and then go away.
Do I have the fortitude?
I've spent weeks arranging a small apartment for two homeless people, they move in on the 8th and are in a motel for a few days to clean up and so on. I funded it with meme stocks, and it cost me time. It dawned on me that an Elon Musk or even a Mitch McConnell could have dealt with it with one phone call. What's the use of me?
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20140927.png This was me 2 months ago. I made a bunch of PPE last year, at my expense. My dad got a civic award for it. Again, all my efforts could've been replaced by one phone call from someone younger and richer.
What's the point of me? I am not suicidal, but is it not my professional duty to make room for those who can do things so much more efficiently than I?
- _throwawayaway 6y agoI'd say you'd have to launch at least one highly successful payment service first then move on to those other things.
- spiritplumber 6y agoThere's a lot of those now though. I remember doing e-gold stuff in the early 2000s, not much came of it.
- pestatije 6y agoAh, but you are part of the world. You need yourself in the world, otherwise you are bust.
- spiritplumber 6y agoI'm not sure if I do. Trying to figure it out.
- dazc 6y agoHow fast would Usain Bolt run if there were no other runners in the race? Even if you have no chance of winning, you are still making a difference.
- spiritplumber 6y agoSo the point of me is to be filler for the real players? I don't know if that's a good reason to live.
- dazc 6y agoWithout you the world is a lesser place. What more reason do you need?
- spiritplumber 6y agoThat's the thing though. Rationally, if without me the world is in fact a better place, should I not go away? It seems to me that it would be a better place.
- pestatije 6y agoElon might be able to send people to Mars, but will he prepare soup for my daughter? No way he won't, unless he gets some millions in bitcoin for it. But that wouldn't be too efficient either.
- spiritplumber 6y agoI like cooking for people, haven't had much occasion to do so this past year....
- approxim8ion 6y ago>It dawned on me that an Elon Musk or even a Mitch McConnell could have dealt with it with one phone call. But did they?
- spiritplumber 6y agoNot as far as I know, which is puzzling.
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoDon't be puzzled. They have finite time. They have finite information. You're placing them on too high a pedestal, higher than they deserve. They aren't God; they're just people with some fame. And even God doesn't usually just fix things. He uses people to do the fixing. Even the biggest fix - salvation - was wrapped in flesh.
- spiritplumber 6y agoI don't think you'd like my theology, but just in case you do, have you read Left Beyond? https://www.deviantart.com/spiritplumber/art/Left-Beyond-Additional-material-842711345 https://www.deviantart.com/spiritplumber/art/Left-Beyond-Add...
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoI have not. Summary?
- spiritplumber 6y agoSummary: The Rapture happens in 1996, as described by the Left Behind novels. As has been made fun in Fred Clark's extensive liveblogging/review of those novels, the Antichrist hires some hypercompetent person to run the new world order's FCC / cable / internet company. This is the story of that person and, most importantly, of that organization. They have 7 years in which to figure out how to cancel the Apocalypse even as it happens all around them. Beating up God is hard, especially if God has control of the narrative...
- troyjfarrell 6y agoI'm sorry that you celebrated your birthday alone. That's not fun. Don't beat yourself up because you think that someone younger and richer can solve the problems that you are solving more effectively. The reality is that someone younger and richer is not interested in solving the problems that you are actually solving. Elon is working on space, but he's not working on helping the homeless. The world is bigger than it seems and your impact on it is beyond what you can see. Don't worry that you aren't Elon Musk. Your post, thus your existence, reminded me to get back to looking into emergency mesh networks. (I looked at your submissions and comments.) One of my clients is a clinic in a place that is expecting a natural disaster and will likely lose communications when that disaster happens. Your work on LoRa and ESP32s may end up saving the lives of people you've never known.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- spiritplumber 6y agoThanks, let me know if I can help with it. I'm happy to do custom work for stuff like that.
- ksaj 6y ago> It dawned on me that an Elon Musk or even a Mitch McConnell could have dealt with it with one phone call. What's the use of me? You have done for those people what folks like Musk and McConnell did not and probably would not do for them. And you did it more efficiently than the people you helped could. Without your efforts, they'd probably still be homeless. You might be comparing your efforts to the wrong side of the scale. At least to the people you helped, you were far more important and useful than Musk or McConnell were. It sucks that your dad usurped the recognition. There's probably more to that story that we haven't been privy to, though. > I made a bunch of PPE last year, at my expense. My dad got a civic award for it. If you go into consulting, this will pretty much define your life.
- spiritplumber 6y agoHow do you mean about consulting? I do engineering consulting and small scale production. In my culture that sort of thing is common, I'm just a little salty about it because I did the work and someone else got the experience of the reward. Same with the NY maker faire awards 10 years ago. I did the work, I stayed home because my roommate had the flu and needed someone to look after her + I didn't want to accidentally get a bunch of people sick in case I caught it, someone else got to go on stage, receive the reward, get an interview in the new york times, etc. My experience was to get a little blue ribbon in the mail, looking at it, and then mailing it to my mom.
- ksaj 6y agoIt says something positive about your character that you helped those two people out, then missed out on the recognition experience because you were helping someone else out. The people who matter know it was you who helped them. > How do you mean about consulting? You described it how I meant it. It happens to everyone in consulting every time you end up sub-contracting, unless you're a Musk or McConnell with a high level of name recognition. It's a waste of self-worth to wallow around lamenting a lack of public credit and/or fame. By asking "Why Do I Exist?" you are not giving yourself credit for what you've actually done. Those two people, and your roommate, aren't thinking "Gee, I wish I got someone rich and famous to help me more efficiently!"