[sverige]

One is a genius of entertainment. He's on TV five times a week. TV doesn't do him justice -- he's much more interesting in person. He always knows exactly what to say in any given situation.

One is a genius of memory. He memorized the entire Norton Anthology of Poetry when he was a child. (I'm not even kidding.) In college we all played a game where we would give him the first line of a poem. He would then supply the title of the poem, the author, the year it was published, and generally the rest of the poem, or at least the rest of the first verse. He's a college professor. You've never heard of him, but his students invariably love him. He changes people one at a time.

There are others in this group who are very accomplished in publishing, acting, comedy. I also know a guy whose name is associated with the creation ("discovery") of several elements. (I suspect he glows in the dark from all the radiation he has absorbed, but I haven't actually confirmed that.) Tough crowd if you're in a mood to compare yourself.

[xapata]

No need to restrict yourself to friends. Feynman, Da Vinci, Alexander the Great, ... there are countless individuals who have done more.

I used to (and still occasionally) suffer from staring out into the stars at night and realizing how insignificant I am. We should all be like Zaphod, eh?

Just remind yourself that life in an absurd universe is pointless, so there's no need to achieve anything beyond having a nice snack and a beer this evening.

To be honest, the thing that's most improved my happiness is exercise. It wasn't that long ago I (re)discovered the joy that you can observe on the faces of small children when they run for the sake of feeling their muscles move.

[sverige]

I am reminded that Julius Caesar was very distraught upon reaching the age of 33 years and realizing that Alexander had accomplished everything of his life by that age.

And yes, exercise is excellent for nearly every malady. (See Plato for specifics.)

[xapata]

Oh man, totally forgot that one. 33 came and went! I guess it's too late to conquer the world.

[da02]

Do any of them have any quarks or eccentricities? What are their views of politics and economics?

[sverige]

With the exception of the poet, who is quite conservative and traditional, they universally participate in the leftist hivemind. All of them (including the conservative) are quite eccentric sexually, and in different ways, based on what they have said and I have seen. Beyond that, they are only eccentric in the particular calculus of their flaws, as is each individual when closely observed.

[da02]

I'm sorry, but I feel compelled to ask: "eccentric sexually"? Overactive libido or something else?

[jacobush]

Could just as well be inactive

[da02]

You're right. I'm also afraid of what the answer would be.

[sverige]

One had the loveliest wife you'd ever want to meet, a great match for each other, yet he couldn't stop himself from having serial affairs. He even asked me and others for help 15 years ago, but couldn't stop. He is now a lonely middle-aged guy striving to paper over the self-inflicted pain. (I know this, despite his denials, because I've known him for over 30 years.)

One has been completely inactive as far as I can tell, but the sense of "repression" has always been strong. I have no idea what the root of this is, but mutual friends have all commented on it at some point.

As for the remainder, it is best to draw the curtain of modesty over the scene.