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I think the takeaway here is that you can choose to go away if you have the option and the privilege to do so. No one will hold it against you and those who do
by approxim8ion 6y ago
I think the takeaway here is that you can choose to go away if you have the option and the privilege to do so. No one will hold it against you and those who do will be gone around the same time you will, give or take a few years. But you don't leave things in more capable hands. The people you idolize exist and are doing what they're doing irrespective of you. Their motivations are their own, however. There's no guarantee that they are willing to or interested in solving the problems you want to solve or see solved. There's no guarantee they even view them as problems. On this ship I think we can do with all hands on deck, but that is me being optimistic and looking for reasons to hold on just as much as you.
- spiritplumber 6y agoI do not idolize Elon Musk and I definitely do not idolize Mitch McConnel. I acknowledge that they have vastly more power than I do. In Musk's case, specifically, he has been doing most of the stuff I've been doing, only better (I doubt he writes intentionally cheesy sci-fi, or designs free board games). I don't think I can cope with that.
- AnimalMuppet 6y agoYou can't be a better Elon Musk than Elon Musk. Don't try. But Elon Musk can't be a better you than you are, either. OK, there's some overlap. Be you anyway - all of you, the parts that overlap and the parts that don't. You can't do what Musk is doing in rockets? OK. Don't give up in despair. Especially don't give up on all of you because someone is doing what a part of you wanted to do. Take that part of you and find a worthwhile place to use it.
- spiritplumber 6y agoOK, but objectively, he's succeeding at being a better me than I am.
- re_riley 6y agoNo, he really isn't. Last I checked you're not into exporting a million slaves to mars and then blockading the earth with space junk. I hope?
- spiritplumber 6y agoTempting, but I don't think I'm sufficiently ruthless to actually go thru with it. I think me going overboard on generosity in the past has shown that. Anyway, I clearly don't have the right skill set :)
- approxim8ion 6y agoThere's enough things to do for it not to be a hindrance, imo.
- spiritplumber 6y agoHow do you mean? Who/what is "it" in your sentence?
- approxim8ion 6y ago"It" being the things Elon or whoever else is doing better than you at the moment. There is a finite set of things they can do, and an even smaller subset that they are interested in doing, and an EVEN smaller subset of that that they would end up doing in their lifetimes. The set of problems that humanity is facing seems much larger to me, and I would assume it's just a matter of either putting your weight behind something you care about as you have been doing, because every worthy cause can do with as much support as it gets, or you find something more niche that others haven't thrown their weight behind for example.
- spiritplumber 6y agoThank you! I tried to help with OSMS last year. It felt unsatisfying. I'd turn stuff in, send out new designs, and people would thank Gui. Gui's a good guy but this made me like him less, although I'm rational enough to know that it's not his fault.