The complete and utter pointlessness of life

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"There are two ways for a person to live: You can live as if everything is a miracle. The other is to live as if nothing is a miracle."

-Albert Einstein

What a crock of crap.

Although most of Einstein's work in physics has justifiably overturned a good deal of Newtonian physics, his unfortunate wording of his approach to religion and a deity has frequently been wildly misinterpreted for individual personal prejudices. A miracle is considered to be something occurring in contravention to the laws of nature and it seems most unlikely Einstein believed this to be a common phenomenon. He was most likely addressing his sense of awe at the strangeness and magnitude of things he observed and understood in the universe.

What a thoughtful and eloquent response.

Can any one person accurately conclude that based on his or her limited point of view, 'line of sight', perspective or whatever the right word for that idea is?

It is sort of an "I'm not flawless therefore I shouldn't exist" way of thinking.
Here's some homework, come back in two or three days with the names of everyone who is flawless and back that up with detailed records of their every thought and every action.


Which, by definition, means you will have a positive effect on some others.

"Fairness" may not be the right concept for what I want to say, but it's the closest word I can find to my thoughts right now.
A person takes the above line of thought and then says to themselves, "I won't have a positive effect on some, therefore I won't make an effort to have an effect on any." Is that fair to the people that there would have been a positive effect on?
There's probably another implied globalization of "since I can't have a positive effect on every life my life is worthless." Wrong.

Sort of an, "I can't cook fried eggs worth a d@@@, therefore I won't ever make an effort to eat anything else again." approach.
Not exactly rational.
Perhaps an allegorical expression of an emotion.
But nowhere near a logical connection between those two points.

Last edited by southwestforests on 28 Jul 2009, 6:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

Parts of it.

I find the part of the universe in grease traps and plugged up toilets not to my liking.

ruveyn

Oh, so you think that different parts of the universe are separate, that it's not all ONE. It seems to be a common perception. I think this is why people feel isolated. They don't see themselves as a part of all this, beautiful sunsets and clogged drains included.

Your sense of awe and beauty is an internal affair like a headache or lust for some woman or delight in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Don't expect the entire species to necessarily agree with you.

Yeah, I guess I really should know better by now. I guess I'm just thick-headed.

Good you realize that an emotion does not have to be general.

I regard sunsets and plugged up toilets as quite different things. Have you ever tried to use a plunger on a sunset?

ruveyn

Thank-you.

The plunger and the toilet are made of the same stuff as the sun. All is just shifting, temporary forms.

And there are a good many common elements in your last dinner and it's resulting excrement. But luckily I have learned to discriminate. I hope, for your health's sake and the sake of your palate you have developed some skill in the matter.

sorry i have not read any of the posts in this thread (i will after i post). i am just posting to the topic title.

my life is "pointless". it is very well rounded and has no points upon which things snag themselves.

i need no "purpose" to live. my life has no real purpose. it is only an expression of awareness.

i was not alive for eternity before i was born, and i will not be alive for eternity after i die.
but for now, i live at the junction between 2 eternities of non existence.

one may say that it is impossible for there to be 2 eternities, because that implies 2 infinity's, and infinity is all encompassing.

well a "ray" is a line that starts from a point, and it is infinitely long.
another ray that starts at the same point but is headed 180 degrees in the other direction is also infinitely long.

my "blink" of consciousness that exists at the origin of these 2 rays of "eternal non existence" is the center of my being.

it is always "now" no matter when it is, and it is always "here" no matter where i am.
the central origin of my universe is always inside my core of consciousness.
there is infinite distance to the left of me, and infinite distance to the right of me, and infinite distance above me, and infinite distance below me.

therefore i must be in the center of the universe.

i guess the same is true for everyone.

my universe dies when i do.

but i have seen other people die, and the world i see proceeds normally without them.
trucks still pound the highways and everyone goes to work, and people laugh etc as per normal after anyone has died. one persons death is like one dim unnoticed star dying in the heavens. the people on the streets would have no idea and it is not influential on their days proceedings.

that is how i see life and i am happy with it. i do not like to see my animals die because i want them with me all the way on my little consciousness trip.

it is a difficult question for my mind as i am not endowed with "philosophical" talent.

i will just say that while i am alive, i enjoy that i can see, and when i die, i will not know i am not alive and i will not care.