[the_snooze]

>because my goals were not ones that could be objectively measured

This is something that technically-minded people can take to heart more. There's a lot of value in things that can't be objectively measured. For instance, I'm in a bunch of group chats with various friends. I don't always interact with it (i.e., my "engagement" is fairly low), but I derive a lot of enjoyment from those. Why? Because I like those people. Can I put a number on how much I like those people? No, because I'm not a socially stunted robot.

[tialaramex]

> There's a lot of value in things that can't be objectively measured

Or maybe there isn't much value, since apparently you wouldn't be able to tell. Except, you can tell, and so actually they can be measured. You don't want to measure them, but that's not the same thing.

> Can I put a number on how much I like those people? No, because I'm not a socially stunted robot.

You don't want to put a number on it. That's fine. But can it be done? Of course it can. In fact even if we insist on trying never to think about it that way, we make decisions based on how much we like people all the time. I've never measured how far it is from where I live to the supermarket. Why would I? But it would be silly to claim I can't put a number on it, I just chose not to.

[atoav]

The point is that putting a number on it might not capture the meaning and the context humans put into it. There is so many ways to do this wrong, that sometimes it is just better to have someone who loves the topic and tells you: "yep it is going good", if it is indeed going good.

[mhall119]

So many things are qualitative, but not quantitative. They can be measured, but not counted. Happiness is one of those, you can say that you are "more happy" or "less happy" from one day to the next, but you can't count happiness, you can't put a number on it.