[VMG]

> Attempting to summit Everest is meaningful in part because one out of every ten climbers making the final push doesn't make it home alive.

How does that make it more meaningful? Does the fact that it can be deadly make playing russian roulette meaningful too then?

[danenania]

I'd say so. It may not be meaningful in the life accomplishment sense, but I'd imagine that staring death in the face in those moments before the click is probably about as vivid and emotionally intense as life can get. An experience doesn't have to be virtuous or reasonable to be meaningful.

I find this conversation pretty bizarre. Of course climbing Mount Everest is meaningful. It's used ubiquitously as a metaphor for the ultimate in human achievement! Just because it may be selfish or egotistically motivated in some circumstances doesn't mean it isn't a deeply meaningful and symbolic challenge to undertake.