4 ms·

FWIW, I think it's also a mindset choice. Some of my coworkers over the years have been very consistent at believing that the world is on the brink of The End T

FWIW, I think it's also a mindset choice. Some of my coworkers over the years have been very consistent at believing that the world is on the brink of The End Times ... at all times. They're conditioned to it. What about living here during the Cuban Missile Crisis? Who would think to have children when nuclear devastation is imminent? (Which comes to mind because I saw a pamphlet on Reddit yesterday for a DIY nuclear bomb shelter from the '50s. Imagine that... thinking it's soooo likely that you'll die in a nuclear war that you're digging holes in your back yard...) Compared to "social media, climate change, and access to drugs" omg... if you had a choice between active, prolonged fear of nuclear annihilation being likely and ... "mean people on social media", which'd you choose, really? Anyway. When you find the right person, well, "Life, ah, finds a way." ;-)

sk2020 5y ago
> Nuclear bomb shelters were an irrational response to unjustified fears stoked by the media. We need to have a talk about COVID-19…
- newswasboring 5y ago
  How is the response to covid irrational? 4.5 million people have already died from it.
  - sk2020 5y ago
    60 million people die of some cause every year. What is your threshold for global despotism to be an acceptable response?
  - WillSlim95 5y ago
    4.5 million after taking all precautions and overloading medical systems of countries. Think how large that number would have been if we had gone our lives normally. Would have made the 1918 pandemic look like a picnic.
  - dgfitz 5y ago
    This conversation must happen daily on this site. Re-reading the same arguments from opposing viewpoints is really getting old. Did you want a genuine response to your question was was it inflammatory?
    - newswasboring 5y ago
      I don't see this conversation daily on HN. And as someone who has lost people to this disease I can't let go of any instance of this.
jrs235 5y ago
I often have a pessimistic outlook of the future myself and I'm trying to change that. >Some of my coworkers over the years have been very consistent at believing that the world is on the brink of The End Times ... at all times. I've had similar thoughts too. They began in my teens. It's been decades now and it's exhausting. >What about living here during the Cuban Missile Crisis? I recently watched Ken Burns "The Dust Bowl" documentary[1]. If one thinks living now is bad, imagine living during that period and in that place (watch it to better understand)! Seeing pictures of the dust storms coming reminds me the The Nothing from "The Neverending Story" [2]. The Nothing rolls along annihilating everything it covers. It's terrifying to think about. Here's an interesting excerpt from the movie: https://poorvillains.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/the-nothing-and-its-servant-gmork-in-the-never-ending-story-1984/ https://poorvillains.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/the-nothing-an... [1] https://kenburns.com/films/dust-bowl/ https://kenburns.com/films/dust-bowl/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NeverEnding_Story_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NeverEnding_Story_(film)
- mcphage 5y ago
  I agree Gmork is definitely not the major villain of The Neverending Story. He's "servant of the power behind the nothing", but The Nothing isn't a weapon, it's more like the realization of a metaphor inside Fantasia. There are people in our world, who (for example) push for engagement at all costs, and don't care about what the results are—and that poisoning of peoples' hearts is what in Fantasia becomes the nothing. The dialog between Atreyu and Gmork is longer in the the book, and one thing it mentions that I don't believe the movie does, is that when the creatures of Fantasia fall into the nothing, in the real world they become lies. > 'When your turn comes to jump into the Nothing, you too will be a nameless servant of power, with no will of your own. Who knows what use they will make of you? Maybe you'll persuade people to buy things they don't need, or hate things they know nothing about, or hold beliefs that make them easy to handle, or doubt the truths that might save them. It's really an excellent passage. Anyway: the movie covers only about the first third of the book, and the book is quite wonderful, and I highly recommend it. I love the movie, too—I'm glad we have both.

sk2020 5y ago

> Nuclear bomb shelters were an irrational response to unjustified fears stoked by the media. We need to have a talk about COVID-19…

newswasboring 5y ago
How is the response to covid irrational? 4.5 million people have already died from it.
- sk2020 5y ago
  60 million people die of some cause every year. What is your threshold for global despotism to be an acceptable response?
- WillSlim95 5y ago
  4.5 million after taking all precautions and overloading medical systems of countries. Think how large that number would have been if we had gone our lives normally. Would have made the 1918 pandemic look like a picnic.
- dgfitz 5y ago
  This conversation must happen daily on this site. Re-reading the same arguments from opposing viewpoints is really getting old. Did you want a genuine response to your question was was it inflammatory?
  - newswasboring 5y ago
    I don't see this conversation daily on HN. And as someone who has lost people to this disease I can't let go of any instance of this.

jrs235 5y ago

I often have a pessimistic outlook of the future myself and I'm trying to change that. >Some of my coworkers over the years have been very consistent at believing that the world is on the brink of The End Times ... at all times. I've had similar thoughts too. They began in my teens. It's been decades now and it's exhausting. >What about living here during the Cuban Missile Crisis? I recently watched Ken Burns "The Dust Bowl" documentary[1]. If one thinks living now is bad, imagine living during that period and in that place (watch it to better understand)! Seeing pictures of the dust storms coming reminds me the The Nothing from "The Neverending Story" [2]. The Nothing rolls along annihilating everything it covers. It's terrifying to think about. Here's an interesting excerpt from the movie: https://poorvillains.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/the-nothing-and-its-servant-gmork-in-the-never-ending-story-1984/ https://poorvillains.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/the-nothing-an... [1] https://kenburns.com/films/dust-bowl/ https://kenburns.com/films/dust-bowl/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NeverEnding_Story_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NeverEnding_Story_(film)

mcphage 5y ago
I agree Gmork is definitely not the major villain of The Neverending Story. He's "servant of the power behind the nothing", but The Nothing isn't a weapon, it's more like the realization of a metaphor inside Fantasia. There are people in our world, who (for example) push for engagement at all costs, and don't care about what the results are—and that poisoning of peoples' hearts is what in Fantasia becomes the nothing. The dialog between Atreyu and Gmork is longer in the the book, and one thing it mentions that I don't believe the movie does, is that when the creatures of Fantasia fall into the nothing, in the real world they become lies. > 'When your turn comes to jump into the Nothing, you too will be a nameless servant of power, with no will of your own. Who knows what use they will make of you? Maybe you'll persuade people to buy things they don't need, or hate things they know nothing about, or hold beliefs that make them easy to handle, or doubt the truths that might save them. It's really an excellent passage. Anyway: the movie covers only about the first third of the book, and the book is quite wonderful, and I highly recommend it. I love the movie, too—I'm glad we have both.