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In the big picture you're expendable. But in the lives of certain people, you are not. Things like being humble, being full of love, establishing and maintain r

In the big picture you're expendable. But in the lives of certain people, you are not. Things like being humble, being full of love, establishing and maintain relationships do help one feel fulfilled. One thing that definitely does not help is casting these things as moments and not processes. We strive to be better at our jobs each day, why not at our character? A bucket list is probably not a good comparison. Being of character is a process, not a list of events. Lastly, I think we should try to be people of character not only because it's fulfilling, but because it's good for society. (I'm not saying you're particularly against character, but this is still a good point to bring up.) A good example of this is avoiding gratuitous negativity on Hacker News. It encourages better conversations and can be grounded in humility.

alexashka 12y ago
It is certainly a big part of life - being well liked. Not feeling like you're expendable in terms of your family/friends is quite important. The thing about 'character' is that it's empty words. See, you 'think' we should 'try to be people of character.' 'It's good for society.' All of these ideas are empty ideas. Nobody is going to cease being the way they are because... well... we should try to be not like that... Why? because... 'character' and 'good for society.' Gags It's when people are out of touch with what happens when you are a selfish prick long enough, that these words get spoken. See, the reason people need to work together and not be delusional or ego-maniacs, is because that's the ONLY way we can survive. People who have not lived around poverty or places where you NEED to be able to rely on others for basic things, oftentimes don't get this. When you grow your own food at a cottage and your water hose ceases working, you NEED to be able to go and ask the neighbour for help. When you cut yourself and you are out of bandages, you NEED to be able to go and ask the neighbour. When people know this, not 'think' they should 'have character' because 'it's good for society' but when they KNOW that without this, we'd be SCREWED, then things fall in place. It goes in waves - people move to cities, raise kids who never have to rely on anybody and everything 'just works somehow', tend to grow up selfish and clueless, end up making terrible decisions until we have to come together to fix it and then when we do, we remember oh... this is what makes it all work - working together. And then everything is fine, until it is not and then we come together and fix it again, if we can :)

alexashka 12y ago

It is certainly a big part of life - being well liked. Not feeling like you're expendable in terms of your family/friends is quite important. The thing about 'character' is that it's empty words. See, you 'think' we should 'try to be people of character.' 'It's good for society.' All of these ideas are empty ideas. Nobody is going to cease being the way they are because... well... we should try to be not like that... Why? because... 'character' and 'good for society.' Gags It's when people are out of touch with what happens when you are a selfish prick long enough, that these words get spoken. See, the reason people need to work together and not be delusional or ego-maniacs, is because that's the ONLY way we can survive. People who have not lived around poverty or places where you NEED to be able to rely on others for basic things, oftentimes don't get this. When you grow your own food at a cottage and your water hose ceases working, you NEED to be able to go and ask the neighbour for help. When you cut yourself and you are out of bandages, you NEED to be able to go and ask the neighbour. When people know this, not 'think' they should 'have character' because 'it's good for society' but when they KNOW that without this, we'd be SCREWED, then things fall in place. It goes in waves - people move to cities, raise kids who never have to rely on anybody and everything 'just works somehow', tend to grow up selfish and clueless, end up making terrible decisions until we have to come together to fix it and then when we do, we remember oh... this is what makes it all work - working together. And then everything is fine, until it is not and then we come together and fix it again, if we can :)