peter wrote:I once heard immortality described in these terms:
You are standing on a beach and each grain of sand represents a full human lifespan. You live the length of time of every grain of sand on that beach end to end - and still you haven't started. This time, all of that time, for all of those grains of sand is represented in just one of the grains of sand and again you live the massively extended period of time represented by every grain of sand .........And yet still, you haven't started. And so on it goes.
Too much I think.
Only a mortal would think that's too much.
"If you can't tell the difference, what difference does it make?"
What is it they say, "millions long for immortality, who struggle to occupy themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."
President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
"I know what America is. America is a thing that you can move very easily. Move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way." (Benjamin Netenyahu 2001.)
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
peter wrote:What is it they say, "millions long for immortality, who struggle to occupy themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."
New as yet undreamt of possibilities would suddenly present themselves with immortality that were previously unattainable due to the rather short life span of a human. Of course it would be an added bonus if you were both immortal and indestructible. Imagine traveling to another solar system. Time and age wouldn't be a factor. Crushing boredom perhaps but not age or the threat of death.
"If you can't tell the difference, what difference does it make?"
aTOMiC wrote:if you were both immortal and indestructible.
Yea...lots of writers have talked about one without the other...mostly they tend to say immortality without [near]-indestructibility makes the race isolate, insulate, stagnate. heh...and they usually end up losing anyway, the caution/preservation CAUSES the feared outcome.
And there is a lot of real science and real history to back up the view.
Conservative=Suicidal. [[conservative in a more-than political sense---and not to dismiss that liberal and risk-ignorers have their own paths to extinction]]
Most of the "wisdom" about how death is necessary---or even GOOD--- annoys me. They literally have no idea what they're talking about. They MIGHT be right, but it is 100% speculative, a pure guess. You never know till you try it...and I'll gladly "sacrifice" and "risk" my mortality and go first if people need someone to test it before committing.
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler] the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass. "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
I think I'm going to try to be much more optimistic this year: I'm an inveterate worrier by nature and it doesn't really serve me well in terms of my overall peace of mind. It's difficult to see how one can overcome an inherent aspect of new character - can it even be done! Does anyone have any experience or tips on how such an 'unpicking' could be attempted (short of hypnosis - that I will not do! )
President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
"I know what America is. America is a thing that you can move very easily. Move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way." (Benjamin Netenyahu 2001.)
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
Don't look at me; my pessimism is bone-deep. I think it technically can be done, but you have to genuinely want it and be willing to put a fair amount of effort into it. A good friend of mine is a hardcore Buddhist (is that a thing?), and he's always going on about how one should live in the 'now' without dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
I think a certain amount of worry about the future is necessary, but that could just be my pessimism speaking.
Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?
I'm not good with the future, but it's more to do with the aphantasia than with equanimity.
That said, I personally find that embracing the fact that nothing matters and everything is impermanent makes worry largely pointless.
In general, I try and divide it into constructive worry and non-constructive worry...constructive worry, I can do something about, so do it and stop worrying.
The other kind you can't do anything about, so worrying is pointless.
I'm beset by a constant plague of the 'What-ifs'. It's not healthy, and it leads to anxiety, which is definitely not healthy or productive. It is a good idea to have a plan in the event that things fall apart, but I tend to live on the constant edge of expecting the sky to fall at any moment. That makes it difficult for me to take risks, which can be good and bad. I get stuck in crap jobs because I'm afraid of change. I tell myself that things could be worse, but I don't generally expect them to get better. That expectation ensures that I remain in this rut.
In short, I have a very good picture of what my problems are, but it would take a catastrophe for me to do anything about them. I'm sure there will eventually be a catastrophe, because that's part of the whole deal.
Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?
I think the thing about making things better is that you actively have to do something. Me, I'm generally too lazy and apathetic to do that, but at least the way things are is pretty good in general.
Apparently the super-rich, sensing the imminent breakdown of western society are heading in droves for the outbacks of New Zealand, the lifeboat destination of choice in which to ride out the coming storm (think Trump, the rise of the robots, global climate change etc). Chief amongst those fleeing for the hills are the tech-billionaires (Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal is the latest), arch contributers to the very world they see as on the brink of collapse!
President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
"I know what America is. America is a thing that you can move very easily. Move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way." (Benjamin Netenyahu 2001.)
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
I suppose if I were a billionaire, and God willing I will be soon, I would find the most geologically and atmospherically stable location and buy up as much land there as possible. Then I would build a state of the art secure structure that can withstand as many worst case scenarios as I could dream up, especially zombie apocalypse and direct asteroid impact. Since my new home will have every creature comfort I can dream up and will be self sustaining for at least a decade all I have to do is relax.
But something would screw it up somehow and I'd probably have to move to New Zealand anyway.
"If you can't tell the difference, what difference does it make?"
A journalist said a very wise thing in respect of the Bosnian crisis that could apply equally well to the fast fragmenting countries of Europe: once you have pulled people apart it takes little to push them against each other again.
President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
"I know what America is. America is a thing that you can move very easily. Move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way." (Benjamin Netenyahu 2001.)
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
I'm never bored if I have any say over what I'm doing.
