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What is the point of life?

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Adam Munich

Mon Nov 28 2011, 02:29AM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

I really don't know. I've always been the one told to change the world for the better somehow, to invent something new. Lately though, attempt after attempt has been bleak, with many ideas being crappy, good ideas failing and others just not coming to fruition. The junkbox was a failed attempt, and another website I've spent 5 months coding is starting to seem like a waste of time. All of my ideas for real products are only geek-toys, nothing any normal person would buy. After every failed attempt my self confidence drops, and about now it's pretty much nil. At this point I'm afraid to try anything new. Hell I haven't even done anything with my hobby for the past 4 months.

So if I don't have what it takes to invent, what is the point of life? I'll always look upon myself as a failure, someone who couldn't achieve their goals. Even if I do end up landing a 60k a year job or something, I'd still be lonely and feel unaccomplished.

Carbon_Rod

Mon Nov 28 2011, 03:08AM

Registered Member #65 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
Location:
Posts: 1155

Existential crisis...

Andyman

Mon Nov 28 2011, 03:43AM

Registered Member #1083 Joined: Mon Oct 29 2007, 06:16PM
Location: Upland, California
Posts: 256

If you want an interesting read, read some of Albert Camus' works, specifically The Myth of Sisyphus. He was sort of the "creator" of the philosophy of the absurd. Basically, he claimed that human existence is absurd and ultimately has no point, and the man who can realize that will be better off, because this realization frees him to live life to its fullest. Or something like that. Had to do a 10 page research paper on his works, blehhh

Adam Munich

Mon Nov 28 2011, 03:49AM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

I dunno. I have some pretty cool ideas, but don't know the slightest bit about manufacturing them, or finding someone to help with that. Really that's the only goal I have at this point, to invent something.

Often I feel I'd be happier as a vagabond.

Tetris

Mon Nov 28 2011, 03:57AM

Registered Member #4016 Joined: Thu Jul 21 2011, 01:52AM
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 660

Compare it to my IRL social life. I don't have one. But I just HAVE FUN with my life by just taking time to smell the flowers (metaphorically of course-- I have very bad pollen allergies). So just, as my dad says rephrased, get your ass off the computer and go play outside hee hee. But really, life is full of ups and downs. Don't let this be an impediment. Hey, my dad is starting a company called PageNetWorld. He doesn't have a single client yet because of roadblocks, but he won't give up. If he gets 100 clients, since the business is small, my family will get millions a year. Sure my dad earned 300k a year before, but its the motivation to the end goal--a successful comany that keeps him going. So don't give up on anything, gren. I'd have given up on my own failcoil if I didn't forsee a wonderful future ahead of me (also I shouldn't because there is probably only one hv girl for every 1000 hv boys..). So gren just go build a SGTC to make yourself happy with hobby again. if you can't do that, i always entertain myself by messing with glash boards. A very nice book you can read is Margaret Cheney's Tesla Man out of Time book. Its 16 dollars at B&N. also what I do when I am bored is photoshop. I am soon to be certified. I learned it all from tutorials. I can email you them, you can learn them, and set up a pay-pal thing and make pics for others. :3 I am too young to set up a pay pal, but I still PS. more things to do is just take a walk... see what's around. Or visit Orlando if you can. It's very nice here.

be sure to look at the school directly across the street from universal! Anyways it's like 11PM here and tomorrow school starts (noo I want another week of break!!!) and I am probably creating a wall of text (its related to the subject, mads...) so I will say good night/afternoon/morning to you now.

Oh and also... word of advice. The simplest of ideas can take you the farthest.

I'll leave you to ponder that thought.

Turkey9

Mon Nov 28 2011, 04:23AM

Registered Member #1451 Joined: Wed Apr 23 2008, 03:48AM
Location: Boulder, Co
Posts: 661

I personally hate to use an analogy based on Edison because of his war with Tesla, but here we go. It is said that Edison created a thousand failed light bulbs before he finally got one that worked.

Once your perseverance pays off and you get that one hit invention, you'll look back with fond memories on all the hard years of failed ideas. Just enjoy the creative life that you have chosen and it will all pay off.

Adam Munich

Mon Nov 28 2011, 05:36AM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

Hrm. Well there is another thing I could do to make my life more fun: become a youtube whore like kipkay. People loved my teravolt.org stuff, and so far making how-tos is the only thing I'm good at. Hell, I still get 6000 visits a month and I haven't written anything in half a year.

If only I had those 5 months back. Oh well, time to install wordpress on my website.

LIFE LESSON LEARNED: If something works, you better damn well stick to it and not spend 5 months coding an open CMS.

Carbon_Rod

Mon Nov 28 2011, 07:43AM

Registered Member #65 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
Location:
Posts: 1155

@Grenadier
Been down that path... have people started emailing demanding you support code you gave away years ago for free....

These days, I generally contribute to upstream GPL projects that have a large developer base. It is rarely worth your time to "reinvent the wheel" just to have it become another orphan project. However, the project management skills you learned are invaluable no matter what you try to build next.

Notably, CMS like wordpress or joomla are just a worse brand of dog-food than Drupal.

The post on Google's development projects is quite normal:

Cheers,

Steve Conner

Mon Nov 28 2011, 09:10AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

You're too young to feel like a real failure yet. Wait till you're 40.

What is the point of life? It's DNA's idea for making more of itself. The drive to invent things probably fits into that, as it is an obvious evolutionary advantage, starting with the original game changers like clothes, fire and pointy spears. Maybe it got a bit out of hand lately, it is hard to see the evolutionary advantage of, say, Wordpress.

Where "you" as an individual fit in is less clear, and people like Camus have written about it far more eloquently than I could. But the DNA probably couldn't care less about your existential crisis as long as it continues to propagate.

Adam Munich

Mon Nov 28 2011, 12:00PM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

I'm just looking for something that makes me feel worthwhile. Youtube fame would be pretty cool I guess, and there really aren't any mad scientists on youtube yet.

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