[jorgesborges]

The best advice — real wisdom, in fact — is often readily available as platitudes on door mats or fridge magnets but they don’t resonate with us. Because real wisdom and the best advice is useless without a certain time and experience to recognize it, and a great deal of practice in putting it to life.

I first recognized this learning to meditate. Life is impermanent and leads to suffering so stop cravings and avoiding! Okay, well I’ve heard that a million times so what. But then learning to observe my experience a lightbulb goes goes on.

[WJW]

Most advice is quite specific for people in certain circumstances and useless or even harmful for people outside those circumstances.

Should you save save up for retirement and be generally financially sensible? Of course, but there are plenty of exceptions. For example, for the terminally ill it is terrible advice, and neither is the traditional "save 10% of income and invest in index funds" advice applicable to newly minted millionaires who have just won the startup lottery.

"Turn the other cheek" is great advice 99% of the time, but terrible advice in a relationship with an abusive spouse.

"When in doubt, assume stupidity over malice" is extremely easy to abuse by malicious actors.

In general, even well-meaning advice givers on the internet often don't realize that their advice is not universally applicable or forget to add a warning label stating the same. (And, of course, not everyone on the internet is well-meaning in the first place)

[adventured]

> Should you save save up for retirement and be generally financially sensible? ... For example, for the terminally ill it is terrible advice

No it's not terrible advice. People that are terminally ill will quite commonly have loved ones that can benefit after their passing from their being financially prudent rather than spendthrift. That can involve children, young adults, widow/ers, and all manner of contexts (disabled brother that you've helped across your lifetime, and you worry about their situation after you're gone).

[atoav]

As someone's loved one I'd rather have them go broke and inherit nothing than see them choose death to give me money.