[mirimir]

I used to feel that way. But now I'm old enough that I'm pretty confident that I'll die before shit gets too bad. I'd feel differently if I had kids, but I don't. So mostly I'm left with ironic amusement.

If I were younger, and/or had young family, maybe I'd be doing more. As it is, I spent maybe a decade working on climate change issues at an NGO. And my carbon footprint is relatively low. I don't commute, or travel long distances, I don't eat much meat, and my home is very well insulated. My main sin is running too many computers. But at least I've switched to SSDs.

[konschubert]

I know that this is my personal view on life, but: If you don't care at all about what happens after you're dead, what's the purpose of your life? You'll be dead and it won't have mattered a bit that you're been here.

[scotty79]

You can just accept that life has no purpose.

This removes anxiety about fulfilling your purpose.

Nihilism can be a source of great comfort when practised by optimist. :)

[batiudrami]

Acknowledging that life has no purpose (as I believe) does nothing to alleviate my concern for the future suffering of others, however.

[mirimir]

If you're strongly moved, you could commit your life to doing something about it. But it's also important to keep in mind that none of this likely matters long term, on the scale of millenia. Future historians will likely consider these times as far more tragic than the fall of Rome. But that's how it goes.

[scotty79]

You could do some mind tricks with the use of nihilism to care less about their suffering but I think I agree with you.

Optimism helps more with that. Just be sure that they'll figure something out eventually.

[mirimir]

In my case, not exactly nihilism, but est/Landmark. Basically, there is no innate meaning or purpose, only whatever you say that there is. As a biologist, of course, I'd add that there's selection for reproductive fitness. But that's readily ignorable, if you're paying attention.

[bigbugbag]

Maybe from a selfish and individualistic point of view (which is one of the reason things are going in the wrong direction), but if you have empathy and care about others people and life forms it is a very different matter.

[mirimir]

I feel strange saying this, but really, it's not going to be that bad. Sure, human civilization may collapse. Billions will die. And we're pretty much locked into an historic extinction event.

But the human race won't get wiped out. And the global ecosystem will recover. It's not like Earth will flip into Venus mode. In a million years or two, this will all be just a blip.

[konschubert]

> Its not like Earth will flip into Venus mode

Sure?

[mirimir]

I'm pretty sure. Or at least, this reviewer is pretty sure.[0]

> Later calculations showed they were right — a Venus-type runaway on our planet is scarcely possible, even if we burn all available fossil fuels.

0) https://history.aip.org/climate/Venus.htm

[mirimir]

Having fun is the best I've come up with. And yes, working on stuff that I care about. But that's part of what I consider having fun. Long term, I'll be dead, no matter what.

[konschubert]

But see, that's my point. How can you or I find joy in building a better database or whatever if there will be nobody to use it in 100 years?

[mirimir]

OK, so let's say that you really care about this. Maybe consider what could you do about it. Instead of building a better database or whatever.

[fredsir]

I don’t think it matters as much if what you do in actuality ends up making a significant difference. What matters is that you did what you could. From the perspectives of future societies, you and I will be blips anyways, so that’s irrelevant. But how can one be contempt with knowing that they didn’t try to make a difference, and that their mark on the world disappears when the energy has left their body and their corpse has been burned and buried, I do not understand, because if you don’t (try to) leave anything of value behind, your existence is practically for nothing, except for maybe even a net negative.

[mirimir]

I agree. And I did spend a decade on it. But now my main focus is online privacy and freedom.

[heurist]

Joy is a mental process that has nothing to do with anyone outside of you. The fun is in building, thinking, designing.

[bigbugbag]

You can be pretty confident most people will die before shit gets too bad, also confident that most people will die (latest estimation I heard was over 75% before 2060).

But unless you're over 70-80 you will have to face the shit, it has already been happening for some time now and is accelerating.

[mirimir]

I'm not quite there, but getting close :)