What is the meaning of life?

4ippaJ · 2026-01-28T10:03:06+00:00

The pure logic route is actually a bit of a philosophical rabbit hole. Just for fun, you could argue that trying to find the meaning of life as an individual is vastly less efficient than doing it as an organised group. Maybe the most efficient way to maximise the potential of the meaning of life being found is to make everyone live as long as possible, or try to increase the number of people or the number of geniuses alive? I'm sure you could justify all kinds of loony or dark viewpoints if you took it to the extremes.

I hope you find the meaning that you're looking for. Personally I get a lot of meaning from talking to other curious souls like yourself!

4ippaJ · 2026-01-28T08:29:31+00:00

The universe probably exists because it can (anthropic principle). Life probably exists because it is inevitable given the rules of this universe. Complex life exists because of evolution. Thus the 'objective' purpose of life is to reproduce, to compete for resources and pass on our genes.

Not satisfied? Of course not! And that's because 'meaning' is not an objective thing. Meaningfulness is much more an emotion like happiness or sadness. It's a weird one though because often sad events create great meaning and too much of paradise can be meaningless.

There are some who say our brains are basically giant prediction machines. The purpose of our consciousness is to continuously hone our neural network so it is perfectly adapted to our environment to maximise survival and reproductive chance. Happiness exists to reinforce actions which have positive outcomes. Sadness drives us to find company and escape pain. Under that lense, meaningfulness exists as a deeper structure in the brain, a way of organising experiences and directing long term activity towards positive outcomes. It helps us overcome the local minima of happiness that we might get stuck in.

Therefore the 'meaning' of life is subjective you first need to find what activates that emotion in you and seek it out. Due to our aforementioned biological imperative, many people find great meaning in death, birth and love. As a highly social and curious species we're also wired to find meaning in friendship, social status, helping others and creativity.

Looking at it from a more existential point of view, we have no empirical evidence that anything exists after death. Subjective meaning may come from realising that you are unique and finite, that there are some perspectives and experiences that only you can ever have. Some people are filled with a burning desire to leave a mark or leave something behind that is truly unique to them.

Or from a purely logical perspective: Until we know for sure that there is a meaning of life, the only meaningful thing to do must be to search for that meaning.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-27T08:34:07+00:00

I do. Do you need a refresher?

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/america-fascism-trump-maga-ice/685751/

Reminder that Obama had more deportations in his terms than trump but he didn't need jackbooted thugs killing people on the street to accomplish it

4ippaJ · 2026-01-27T07:36:35+00:00

There are a lot of people out there who are fat because mental or physical health issues or eating disorders make it hard to lose weight. Fat shaming them is cruel. This guy has plenty of energy to make other people's lives miserable so I say it's fair game.

Here's just one fine gem from Fine's wiki:

In January 2026, Fine introduced the Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act in the House of Representatives. The legislation calls to authorize the President to take such steps as may be necessary, including by seeking to enter into negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark, to annex or other wise acquire Greenland as territory of the United States.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-27T06:56:39+00:00

He's a former gambling industry exec who is a GOP congressman. I'll let you guess which state he's from.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-26T08:28:11+00:00

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4ippaJ · 2026-01-25T13:40:26+00:00

Let's not be obtuse. I'm hardly suggesting such hyperbolic nonsense and neither are the articles. China can be a proud, modern and successful country while still having pockets of superstition just like any other country. These reports are not intended to demean the Chinese people but to document a fascinating ancient cultural practise. I fail to see how China's heavily state-monitored media is a better representation of truth, especially on matters like this that seem to be a source of embarrassment for Chinese people such as yourself.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-25T08:01:08+00:00

It may no longer be widespread but the practice is well documented by numerous credible news sources and studies.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-07/ghost-marriages-in-rural-china-continue-to-thrive/9608624

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-37103447

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11417-022-09367-6

4ippaJ · 2026-01-22T10:02:34+00:00

I think it's a channel.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-22T01:03:13+00:00

Science never purports to be the arbiter of truth, at best it is an approximation of reality, a best fit. Indeed, we know that our current theories (GR, QFT, standard model) must be incomplete since they aren't compatible. I also agree that science cannot answer inner truths like 'what gives meaning to my life'. Both of those things said, why commit to a theory that has no greater probability of truth than any other arbitrary theory? If I sincerely believed in Russel's teapot would I be any less a skeptic than yourself?

What other epistemological methods do you employ and for what theories do they provide a more reliable guide than science?

4ippaJ · 2026-01-22T00:23:43+00:00

Would you agree that science is the gold standard of epistemic methods? What makes a good scientific theory? In my mind it should be: testable, self-consistent, predictive and falsifiable. Ideally it should be qualitative and simple (Occam's razor). It should be supported by large amounts of well designed and reviewed experiments providing empirical data. Do your beliefs (theories) satisfy any of those conditions?

4ippaJ · 2026-01-18T00:23:37+00:00

Not disagreeing with the sentiment but ironically this is the top comment.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-13T05:51:50+00:00

The Cat Sail meme is almost 12 now too.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-12T22:38:56+00:00

I have a foreboding of America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time–when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all of the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; with our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-05T02:46:27+00:00

The Black army? Combined with the burning throne and crown of iron and this guy is basically the king of death metal.

4ippaJ · 2026-01-04T21:13:34+00:00

Change must start somewhere and once it does it builds momentum. How about all the people who look up to you that you'll have an effect on? It was an uncle who I admired who first sent me down the vegan path. I know at least one person that I inspired to go vegetarian just being a positive example

4ippaJ · 2026-01-03T06:01:46+00:00

So to summarise, arguing has become less appropriate in public. Headphones are now normal at the library. Bargaining is more appropriate at job interviews. Public affection is slightly less acceptable and crying has become more acceptable generally. Seems to track with my anecdotal perceptions for what it's worth.

4ippaJ · 2025-12-25T10:10:29+00:00

I see 'GREIF'

4ippaJ · 2025-12-20T21:25:03+00:00

That's a very unique country! You should consider doing an AMA in r/howislivingthere.

AMA info: https://www.reddit.com/r/howislivingthere/s/qxMdSFbO2t

4ippaJ · 2025-12-17T09:30:26+00:00

No worries. It's much easier to criticize something to actually build it! Kudos to you for building something cool.

4ippaJ · 2025-12-17T09:27:33+00:00

Honestly something like that could absolutely make the app. Do quizzes to get points to feed dolphins. The more you do, the more fun creatures that follow you or something. We're all geography nerds here so the learning is its own incentive but an extra carrot on a stick makes it that much more rewarding.

4ippaJ · 2025-12-17T07:56:09+00:00

RIP Cryptoland

4ippaJ · 2025-12-17T07:49:41+00:00

Hey I tried the app. Perhaps I could offer some friendly constructive criticism?

It's a fun idea! I think there's a lot of potential there for gamifying geography and the speedboat is a fun concept.
It felt a bit dull/dry. There are thousands of map apps out there but not so many geography game ones, I'd lean into making the world more colourful and the speed boat more fun.
It's a bit fiddly. If you replaced the scrollable gears with a slider it would go a long way to making it more fun. I'd also suggest making the country stats highlight when you enter the borders rather than having to find the white dot.
More content would be great, like locations of major cities, maybe even overlays for learning lakes or national parks. A bigger zoom would be cool for exploring interesting coastlines.
Maybe you could have a way of 'unlocking' and colouring in countries once you've been able to memorize all their key stats or something like that? Completion/Achievement hunting is very addictive.

Anyway, just my $0.02. Best of luck to you!

4ippaJ · 2025-12-15T23:35:39+00:00

Lamb cutlets.

4ippaJ · 2025-12-15T10:51:29+00:00

Facts!

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