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Are most people really happy? Would You Like Another Plate of This (shit)? zarzuelazen Send a noteboard - 29/07/2011 04:37:38 AM
Thought provoking article. Guy discussing life extension and cryonics wondering why most people aren't interested. He thinks most people aren't really happy with life (even though they *say* they are on surveys).

"Humans were not evolved to be confined to a fixed space day-after-day and to do boring and repetitive work which is usually personally meaningless, and is done on the orders of others who are also omnipresent to supervise its execution. That is the working definition of hell for hunter-gatherers and they are uniformly both horrified and disgusted to to see “civilized” man behave in this way."

"The alarm clock goes off. You must get out of bed and start your day. You wanted to stay up later the previous night and catch that late TV program, chat a little longer with friends at the pub, but you couldn’t… You are sleepy and you really want to turn the alarm off and go back to bed. Of course, you can’t do that, because you must go to work. For the vast majority of people that is not a prospect that fills them with joy or anticipation. Your work is OK, or at least not “bad,” but you have to go to the same place every day and you have to do what one or more other people tell you to do..."

"Then there are the other people you must necessarily interact with. Several of the people you work with are complete monsters, in fact, they despise you and they go out of their way to make your job and your hours at work more difficult. And the customers! Most are OK, but some are horrible – encounters with them leave you shaking, and sometimes fearful for your job..."

"Others whom you work with are better compensated, and those that own the enterprise you work for are getting rich from it, and that rankles. But, beyond these concerns, this isn’t what you really wanted to do with your life and your time. When you were fifteen, you wanted to _______________, to travel, to see the world, and to meet interesting people and do interesting things. Instead, here you are. And every day you are a little older and a little more run-down..."

"You had such high hopes for your marriage and children. But instead of being something that greatly amplified your joy, they have proved a source of frustration, and in some cases, almost unbearable irritation and grief. The sexual spark that enervated your relationship with this current wife scarcely survived the third year of marriage. Now, sex is desultory, clinical, and rarely offers much satisfaction. You feel guilty watching people on the Internet have what looks like really fantastic sex..."

"Your sphere of options is incredibly narrow. You don’t see it that way, but that is the reality. Except for 2 weeks a year, and scattered holidays in between, your life is mostly the same – and it isn’t exciting and you don’t enjoy being told what to do all the time. In fact, if you didn’t need the money, you’d beat your boss senseless, or at very least, walk out and never come back.

...And that is the reality that most people, the world over, labor under almost every day of their lives."
Would You Like Another Plate of This?
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Are most people really happy? Would You Like Another Plate of This (shit)? - 29/07/2011 04:37:38 AM 935 Views
Eh ... I doubt it's a lack of happiness. - 29/07/2011 05:39:10 AM 543 Views
one of humans greatest strength is we evolved with the ability to adapt - 29/07/2011 11:56:45 AM 476 Views
I think that's only the beginning of flaws in his argument. - 29/07/2011 09:54:27 PM 482 Views
I'm really happy. With my current life. - 29/07/2011 12:07:43 PM 469 Views
yes but you are still young - 29/07/2011 12:39:14 PM 434 Views
There's a difference between being young again when I'm older, and waking up 100 years after death - 29/07/2011 08:31:22 PM 448 Views
from a curiosity standpoint, I think random has a point - 29/07/2011 09:56:25 PM 680 Views
I would only want to be revived to see humanity colonizing another planet ... - 30/07/2011 02:49:43 AM 437 Views
32 is still pretty young - 29/07/2011 10:16:29 PM 470 Views
I have days like that, but it isn't my life. - 29/07/2011 01:18:29 PM 471 Views

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