TG posted:barring scifi shit like subspace or hyperspace, theres no reason to believe matter can travel faster than the speed of light, so interstellar travel isnt really that feasible even for very advanced civilizations
yep
LaserJew posted:It's going well enough considering all of the above; thanks for asking.
I'm dividing my time between general counseling for a small investment group owned/run by college friends and my own project, which is regulatory consulting for marijuana dispensaries first in Colorado and hopefully eventually the rest of the United States. I'm close to finalizing my first audit report for a dispensary which has been engaging. As a hobby I've been indulging some of my creative urges: urban-psychadelic fused graphic design and programmable all-over LED gloves.
I've cut my spending significantly due to the drastic decrease in income from my current pursuits. It hasn't been difficult; I was in a job I hated that took up most of my time so I dealt with it by throwing money at what little free time I was allotted. Now I have more time but less money/prestige (my grandma is so worried) and that's alright with me.
I've become less interested in controlling/affecting my external circumstances, which were objectively very comfortable but provided only superficial happiness and heavy cynicism. More time is now being spent on self-reflection in an effort to arrive at some sort of lasting internal peace. I realize this is the benefit of massive privilege but I'm done feeling guilty about that because it hasn't helped anyone; I just feel extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to pause and reflect. Not sure what the future holds but I'm optimistic that I can build a life I'm proud of irrespective of external judgments. I think it will ultimately include fostering the aforementioned opportunity for self realization in others but it's too soon to tell... physician heal thyself and whatnot.
I still feel totally lost but that feeling is so much more honest than whatever the hell I was thinking that got me protecting insurance company dollars in court.
that sounds really cool. i think it's a bit presumptive to assume that self-reflection is the sphere of the privileged only, though stereotypical "backpacking through europe" type "reflection" certainly is (and i guess LED/LSD gloves, too).
eventually some of those marijuana businesses will need in-house counseling; might be a future opportunity for you
i think that struggling against this and using what capabilities we have to fight the total shit state of all things is worth doing even if its futile, probably because i read too much camus as a teenager and as a result have permanent brain damage.
also claiming self-reflexivity as the realm of the privileged is classist bullshit
VoxNihili posted:that sounds really cool. i think it's a bit presumptive to assume that self-reflection is the sphere of the privileged only, though stereotypical "backpacking through europe" type "reflection" certainly is (and i guess LED/LSD gloves, too).
eventually some of those marijuana businesses will need in-house counseling; might be a future opportunity for you
its a step forward I suppose. I'm not investing significant time into my art projects but coming up with a mostly original idea and engineering it (gloves) is a new process to me that brings some satisfaction even if it is completely nonfunctional.
shriekingviolet posted:also claiming self-reflexivity as the realm of the privileged is classist bullshit
All I meant by that statement was I was unable to pause during my previous job because it consumed so much of my waking life. After being fired, I was able to maneuver myself into a better work situation with less tax on my conscious time but also less pay. Less pay was an option because of privilege (in my case). If less pay wasn't an option, the better work situation wouldn't have occurred, and I would not have been able to devote the time to reflexivity that I am now.
Edited by LaserJew ()
tpaine posted:how can you be so pessimistic about the world?? Everything's great if you ignore everything!
I, for one, am not arguing that you shouldn't be pessimistic about the world. I'm arguing that the only true greatness is individual fortitude in the face of conscious existential terror.
shriekingviolet posted:i think that struggling against this and using what capabilities we have to fight the total shit state of all things is worth doing even if its futile, probably because i read too much camus as a teenager and as a result have permanent brain damage.
I'm not sure that struggling/fighting the total shit state of all things is as valuable as coming to terms with it if it is truly futile. If it's futile, perhaps better to accept it (if you can) and then, where possible, attempt to "judo" it into less awful outcomes for sentient life.
Edited by LaserJew ()
gyrofry posted:LaserJew
he's not the hero we deserve, but he's the hero we need right now
shriekingviolet posted:terror really is the right response though. i think that ultimately tpaine is right about the shitty being of humanity, and possibly the very underlying cosmic order is predisposed towards the crap status of all beings. evolutionary development by its nature elevates asshole sociopathic predation, altruistic/symbiotic systems are exceptions that in no way contest the rule that the universe is A Bad Place. also mass extinctions are inherently tied to adaption/development of organisms, and i see no reason why "higher intelligence" will give a pass to any organism that has overdominated its environment, if anything it appears to make it highly more likely. the geological record of industrial humanity's brief timeframe so far will already appear as a mass extinction event to (nonexistent) future paleontology.
i think that struggling against this and using what capabilities we have to fight the total shit state of all things is worth doing even if its futile, probably because i read too much camus as a teenager and as a result have permanent brain damage.
also claiming self-reflexivity as the realm of the privileged is classist bullshit
paralytic existential terror is never the "right" response because if anything it frees one from the burden of attempting to effect any sort of change, leaving you an empty shell of a being and ultimately serving to "confirm" your foundational belief that nothing can every be done to change anything. this leads one down the path of endless, ineffectual whinging and eventually results in horrors such as this forum's very existence
I think I was attracted to this place because the abyss of despair that so many folks here seem to be wallowing in is really the breakthrough point. everyone who struggles reaches a burnout point where they either give up and join the established hegemony, or they despair of their efforts and enter a really dark period. (or they get shot first if they're not white kids) Pushing through that to the other side and carrying on despite that despair is when you will become a True Revolutionary Soldier or whatever. yall have so much potential
VoxNihili posted:what youre describing is called the fermi paradox, tpaine, and there are lots of potential explanations that dont inevitably result in existential terror
My explanation is that we're the biggest losers in the galaxy and the cooler races would sooner be caught dead then be associated with us.
First contact is going to be awkward and humiliating.
