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Related: it strikes me as a paradox that we are envious of people in their 20s because they have their whole life ahead of them, and feel sorry for people in th
by isolli 4y ago
Related: it strikes me as a paradox that we are envious of people in their 20s because they have their whole life ahead of them, and feel sorry for people in their 80s who have their life behind them. Does it mean we value the potential more than the realized? Is a potential life worth more, perhaps because it still contains all the promises of potential futures, while a life lived has been whittled down to a single path, with all the mistakes and regrets that it entails?
- schappim 4y ago> Does it mean we value the potential more than the realized? Yup, just like a pitch to a VC is easier with magical future potential numbers, rather than realised numbers. Potential is only limited by imagination, and realised numbers can’t be changed!
- californical 4y agoI think it might even just be that living life is awesome in general (overall, though there are obvious ups and downs). So the more you have left to live, the better
- isolli 4y agoTrue, but the 80-year old is guaranteed to have lived that many years, while the 20-year old could die tomorrow...
- jhgb 4y agoIsn't there a bit of a sunk cost fallacy there? You can't influence the past but you can influence the future. That's why we care more about the future than about the past.