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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 10th, 2023

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  • I think a problem here is that technological advancement and technological progress are not necessarily the same thing. I don’t think that every new piece of technology that pushes us further into some kind of strange new world necessarily is good for humanity, or society, or even just the individual. I think this is some of what you’re noting in your post here. Sure, on the whole the internet has probably been a net positive for Humanity, but one can’t deny that at the same time there are a lot of strikingly negative aspects of the internet, and that it’s further and seemingly endless encroachment on our lives is deleterious.

    I think that as I’ve gotten older I’ve become a bit more technology averse, or at the least a bit more suspicious of technology, than I used to be as a child, and maybe part of that is becoming a father, but at the very least I can respect where you’re coming from and I agree with you. It seems like our world is just a never-ending carousel of novelty and we’re never allowed to just absorb and respect the things that we have before something new comes in and shifts the paradigm.




  • Well my comment has more upvotes on it than yours, therefore I can objectively posit that my explanation has greater meaning than yours, therefore I am right and you are wrong. This explanation has zero flaws in it whatsoever.

    In all seriousness, I appreciate the comment and I generally feel that you encapsulated the idea more eloquently than I did.


  • The way I look at it, the big difference is between existentialism and absurdism lie in the problem of universalism. An existentialist is in many cases also going to be a Christian, possibly a Christian who is having a lot of doubt in their faith or struggling with the problem of evil, things like that. Existential philosophy tries to square the fact that we exist as moral beings but we seem to live in a world that lacks a universal concept of morality, so where does our morality even come from if it is not universal? To the existentialist, morality IS the underlying basic law of nature, and thus morality is itself a higher meaning, but morality is not applied universally, and this is a great conflict.

    Absurdists, I feel, ultimately accept the fact that morality is NOT necessarily the basic underlying law of nature. Morality is subjective and it is personal, and it is messy and often falls short. I imagine that the absurdists have already gone through the existentialist crisis and come out on the other side with an acceptance of the seeming meaninglessness of it all, of the fact that our moral scruples are ultimately just a way to cope with existence and not some Higher Truth that we must strive towards.

    So, in short:

    • Nihilism: Life is meaningless, and all pursuit of meaning is futile. — universalist, negative.
    • Existentialism: Life lacks inherent meaning, but we must create our own meaning in a world that often seems indifferent. — subjective (not necessarily universalist), can range from negative to positive.
    • Absurdism: Life is inherently meaningless, but we can choose to create and embrace our own meaning, even in the face of the absurd. — subjective, generally positive.

  • I literally have never had a hard time finding real maple syrup unless I’m in a gas station or something.

    Maybe it’s because I’m in the Midwest and sugar maple is absolutely everywhere, but it’s very, very easy to find real maple. Yes it’s more expensive, and absolutely yes it tastes far better.

    Maple syrup to “pancake syrup” is like real butter to hydrogenated palm oil. My mother uses the Blue Bonnet margarine, and I used to use it growing up. As an adult I’ve only used real stick butter and god, going back home sometimes for dinner can really suck. Margarine is so chemical-tasting, how the hell do people butter their toast with it?