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Comment by danielbln | Hacker News Reader

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danielbln

Death will come for you regardless of your productivity.

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I know, but if I get twice as much done, its like living twice as long ;)

I know its nonsense, but it makes an intuitive sense in the absence of a better way to deal with existential anxiety.

For some, productivity equals virtue.

A virtuous life is always better than a lazy or vicious life. So you die having lived a better life. And (at least for us catholics AFAIK), a virtuous life leads to heavens.

"vicious" Think you meant to say "vacuous"

"Vicious" also means "full of vice", which is probably the more apt context here (since it's being contrasted with virtue).

As a US Catholic, I find much greater value in family time, volunteering, and jus the regular things I do to help people in my community. Work productivity is not on my list of "virtues".

Catholics have far better news than that you get to heaven on the basis of personal productivity. Consider these questions: When and why was toil introduced? Did the prodigal son have riches when he returned to the father to justify himself? Did the Pharisees need to have bread with them? Did the crowd have enough bread? Who provided sufficient bread: the vine or the lost sheep? If virtue is productivity, then why does God say that there is a rest for his people? Did he rest on the seventh day because he was not as virtuous as Pharaoh's taskmasters?

Industriousness is wise, but all is vanity and the fool when he dies goes to the same place as the wise.

All correct, though there is also the part about burying a lent talent and returning it without "interest".

But what if we hack death??

Joking, obviously. But it is amusing how many people (Kurzweil, Harari) seriously have faith in this (and believe there is something novel in this pursuit).

I see no harm in pursuing the impossible, in moderation of course.

After all if we didn't, we wouldn't have tried landing on the moon, among myriad other things.

I know that submissions with no substance are frowned upon here, but I just wanted to tell you that for some reason your comment is the funniest one I read in quite some time.

Maybe because of my lifelong struggle with productivity and procrastination... Cheers!

Yes, but you can either die having achieved your goals, or die with them unmet.

But then again, nothing makes you feel more empty than achieving a goal...

That's not my experience. I need to be making progress to be sane. Achieving something small everyday makes me have confidence in life and a sense of control. This is crucial to keep existential dread at bay. I have a calendar where I track life events (good and bad). It's wonderful to look back and remember that, tlin the last two years, even though I feel like I haven't changed, actually a lot has.

Achieving something is hence a source of joy. But so is eating food.

Achieving something evokes a feeling of loss that you have to bear until you've found whatever is next. It's not unlike experiencing a death or break-up. This happens when you finish a book, video game, or TV show you've invested a fair bit of time in. We are driven to cope with this feeling by seeking what's next.

You won't know either way. Few people die knowing they will.

You’re dead though. What does it matter?

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