Comment by zabana | Hacker News Reader

Comment by zabana | Hacker News Reader

I simply don't watch, listen or expose myself to any type of news (except HN). I've essentially blocked every single mainstream news outlet (TV, Press, Radio) on twitter, I'm not on facebook so I would suggest you suspend your account if you have one (but keep messenger if you use it), don't be tempted to google anything related to that "toilet paper virus".

This has two main benefits IMO:

1. you short circuit the mainstream media's agenda: provoke fear to generate clicks and keep your eyeballs stuck on the screen which means more revenue for them.

2. When you put yourself in situations of severe stress, you release that stress hormone (whose name I'm unable to recall) which can and will have a negative effect on your body putting you at even more risk of becoming ill. (this has happened to me earlier last year)

Last piece of advice: in your downtime, try to call your friends, family members if you're on your own, play video games with them online, have fun, watch comedy movies / shows etc ... Don't let this get to your head, that's how you beat the virus.

I say all this because in my area, the vibe and energy is so off and negative it feels like everytime I go out I'm about to meet to group of zombies ready to eat me alive (a la walking dead).

Just wash your hands, and the rest will fall into place. At this point there's not much one can do, people die everyday from countless numbers of illnesses and diseases, the world will move on eventually.

I don't know if it's a western thing or what, but it feels like people in this part of the world are craving for a catastrophic scenario like that to unfold so they can feel part of something greater than themselves, it's quite unsettling.

Oh, and also, use this time to re-evaluate your goals and aspirations in this life, because you've only got one. Apologize to the people you hurt and forgive those who've hurt you, make peace with yourself and smile to people when you see them, lift the atmosphere up a bit, because the media sure isn't going to do that.

Finally, as one meme I've found on the www yesterday so brilliantly put it: WW3 never happened and the Australia fires eventually stopped.

Sorry I went on a bit of rant, but I had to get this off my chest.

Cheers mate

> craving for a catastrophic scenario like that to unfold so they can feel part of something greater than themselves

This reminds me of a recent piece in the NYT about despair[1]. I thought that a discussion of meaning was conspicuously absent. I think that religion and civic life has so utterly failed to provide any substantive meaning of life for most people in a manifestly secular world, that is isn't the least bit surprising to me that a growing number of people are experiencing existential despair.

A genuine catastrophic scenario can easily be seen as a source of richness, excitement, and meaning that many deeply crave, even if they don't realize it consciously. We humans are starved for such meaning.

[1] http://archive.ph/Qhjyn

This is why I really do believe that family (or the opportunity to have a fam) is all we have.

What about art, mathematics, fiction, music, etc?

Those things are important, even special, but at the end of your life, you'll want family by your side, not a painting.

But that's quite different from your original statement. We weren't talking about what matters at the end of one's life.

You simply said "[family is] all we have". I think it's fair to interpret that as applicable to any point in one's life, or broadly all of one's life (barring emergencies), not just on one's deathbed.

Life is pretty long. It's great to have family, and I love mine. But I can't admire them all day.

My instinct tells me that the fraction of the human population which derives substantial, enduring meaning from art, mathematics, fiction, music, etc. is extremely slim. These things are complementary or perhaps supplementary to a larger void of cosmic meaning.

As Camus wrote:

> There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.

To me, art, mathematics, fiction, music, etc. are not what comes to mind when I answer that question.

As I recall about The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus concluded that life is fundamentally absurd and meaningless, and "what counts ... is the most living." The absurd man of Camus "enjoys a freedom with regard to common rules." [had to look that up]

So I don't think Camus would necessarily accept family as universally what makes life worth living, if that is what you meant.

To me, the rejection of art, mathematics, fiction, music makes life that much less worth living. Family is one of my essential values, but so are many other things. It is not a competition in any sense.

Words of wisdom. Thank you. The human level doesn't get so much consideration here on HN -- and yet it matters more than any other thing.

Protect yourself, your family, and simply do good for others as much as you can.

> stress hormone

Cortisol? :D

I agree with all your points. I uh after checking twitter (I never checked twitter before as much especially local news), I am panicking more about the fact that we have so many people who actually believes in some seriously messed up stuff.

Even if twitter is not representative of total population, seeing only that on my screen made me anxious and I realised why we are becoming a surveillance state worse than China for quite some time.

Thanks, nice advice. I avoid TV and watch my usual Youtube feeds. And I benefit from free classical concerts and virtual museum visits.

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