cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/questions/p/1386281/why-do-people-want-to-live-long-beyond-50-years-old
It does not make sense to me why people would want to live beyond 50 years old, especially since health problems start becoming more frequent around that age.
Which makes me ask: Why do people wish to live long beyond the age of 50?
For me it is, and for you yours is, which I guess if you follow the logic means there is no ‘sole correct one’ :)
Wouldn’t you get tired? Have you not read/heard stories and fables of characters who got that wish and ended up regretting it, because all they cherish moves on while theyre stuck forever? Also this is kinda my misunderstanding with the concept of heaven - eternity would become boring. And, what if your neighbour in heaven ends up being incredibly annoying and youre stuck next to him for ever. Euugh ;P
I see, well thats another difference between us. My matterring or lack thereof has no impact on the things I enjoy and whether I choose to engage in those activities. I dont enjoy programming because I matter, I enjoy it because I simply do, and thats the only reason I do it. Same goes for reading books, or playing games. Whether I matter has no effect on whether I will do things I enjoy or not. Thats the way I see it.
The way I see it, and I touched on this in an earlier comment, we very rarely matter even in a local scale, over even a small time frame of a lifetime or two.
I just realised that we are discussing something which relies heavily on the concept of “mattering”, but we very likely have entirely different understandings of what the word actually means, so Im interested to read what it means for you.
For me to matter means to have made a change, positive or negative (hopefully former, sadly more common to be the latter), the effects of which will be felt beyond the immediate group of people ‘present’ or even alive when the action takes place, and to be remembered for it. Alexander the Great is an example of this. Thousands of years after he is gone, his name is remembered, and he certainly shaped the world in one way or another.
I am also enjoying our discussion, not despite our clear differences in opinion but because of them :)
And I am also not trying or expect to change your mind.
I’ll just work with the “mattering” side of things. Though, I do appreciate everything else you’ve said. For me, mattering is impossible on a cosmic scale. For who I am, it’s also impossible on a historic/large scale. I’ll never be a leader or do anything worthy of history books or even a biography. That’s okay, I wouldn’t want to. On the “big” side, I’m an engineer working in electrical generation. Right now it’s nothing special but it does keep the lights on for many. Eventually with enough experience, luck and growth I hope to work on the nuclear side of things. I’ll never invent a thing that changes anything. But hopefully I’ll be part of a better future and cleaner energy. Being a little cog on a machine that big feels weighty and good. On the “small” scale, I’m a good member of my community. I spend about 16 hours a month volunteering with a really great animal shelter. I own/operate a small farm. ROUGH numbers, I sell about a quarter, keep about a quarter and donate about half of the things I produce. Its just enough money for me to consider it a moderately expensive hobby. That makes me matter to a small number of people, which in turn, makes me and my actions matter. I recognize the nihilistic point of it ultimately not tipping the grand scale at all. But for a minute something I produced kept a person fed whether they paid for it or not, that matters to me. Ironically both things are done kind of selfishly so that I can feel I matter.