[extropy-chat] Boredom in old age: pot belly

[R.Coyote]

" Extropianism for the Elderly"

One of the tricks to enthusiasm is to refuse to succumb to pot belly,  The
negative somatic feedback from ones de-conditioned body has a profound
effect on outlook, It's challenging to be an Eeyore when one is in top
shape.

Another thing I see is the lemming like volition  to trade the illusion of
security and amassing "stuff" for the liberty to mine the cafeteria of
experiences life offers, nothing heals the soul quite as quickly as AIRPORT.





"We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual
war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on
television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods,
and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're
very, very pissed off." -TD

Robert
Trailerpark Transhumanist


----- Original Message -----
From: "Hal Finney" <hal at finney.org>
To: <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 10:40 AM
Subject: RE: [extropy-chat] Boredom in old age


> I remember when I was young and just getting started working, I noticed
> there were different ways that older people approached their jobs, as well
> as life itself.  The more common attitude was a kind of bitter fatalism,
> a sense of disappointment.  Things were going badly and getting worse.
> They were grumpy and unhappy, warning against mistakes but mostly being
> ignored.
>
> Generally these were people who had not been all that succeessful, who
> were doing the same work that they had done 20 years before.  So it is
> understandable that they might be bitter and unhappy.
>
> I also ran into a few old people who were quite different, who were
> optimistic and energetic, full of ideas and enthusiasm.  These were
> mostly people who had been successful in their careers, who had advanced
> to relatively important positions.  Another group like this were older
> college professors who were still active and pursuing their research.
>
> It is not easy to distinguish cause and effect here.  Were people happy
> or unhappy because of their success or lack of it?  Or were their basic
> approaches to problems influencing their career paths?
>
> As I get older, I can see how cynicism creeps in.  I still have mostly
> the same goals and the same basic belief that they are possible, but
> more and more I perceive that much of the support for these projects is
> based on unfounded optimism and sloppy thinking.  I become impatient
> with one-sided perspectives and want to see both the pro and the con
> positions represented fairly.
>
> A case in point is the recent online nanotech debate, where the spin from
> "our side" is that Drexler whipped Smalley's butt.  I don't perceive it
> that way at all.  I thought Drexler was evasive and slippery, and from my
> current perspective I see this as a persistent strategy.  You can never
> pin him down.  Whenever someone claims that something won't work, he just
> calls "strawman" and says if that doesn't work, we'll do it some other
> way.  But since he never comes out with a specific, concrete proposal,
> he has a perfect defense.  You can't critique what doesn't exist.
>
> I need to write up these thoughts in more detail, but here again I
> find myself facing the same barriers which had defeated the older
> engineers I observed as a youth.  I know that it will be an enormous
> battle, offering pessimism where everyone only wants to hear good news.
> I doubt that it will do any good, because even the cautions of a Nobel
> prize winner are ignored.  And I question whether I have the energy to
> engage in the kind of hard debate which would be necessary to give these
> issues the kind of hearing that they deserve.
>
> Those old men I knew had given up.  They were convinced that our
> plans and projects would mostly fail, but they were unable to make
> persuasive arguments.  Too many times in the past they had tried and
> failed, had gained reputations as naysayers, as not being team players.
> These reputations had probably helped to mire them in their dead end jobs.
> And by then they had nothing left but bitterness, pro forma objections,
> and head-shaking predictions of doom.
>
> I don't think any of us wants to end up like that.  I certainly don't,
> and yet I feel myself creeping in that direction.  What can we do about
> it?
>
> I have a couple of ideas.  The first, and simpler, is to try to couple
> pessimism with optimism.  This is basically the idea of what Max called
> Dynamic Optimism.  Dynamic optimism is realistic.  It's not a matter of
> wearing rose colored glasses.  You see the problems, but you also try
> to look at them as challenges rather than obstacles.  Rather than just
> opposing what won't work, figure out what will give the best shot at
> working, and become a proponent of that alternative.  This way you are,
> in a sense, a leader rather than dead weight.  Maybe nobody is following
> you at the moment, but it is a crucial difference in perspective.
>
> But sometimes this approach is difficult.  You have a situation where
> every path seems doomed, and you can't imagine a solution that will work.
> Pessimism is pervasive, even becoming depression.  In this case the second
> idea comes in, which is based on a philosophy I have long believed in,
> of being faithful to oneself.  Try to think of yourself not as a person
> living in a moment of time, but as a being who spans an entire lifetime.
> Give credit to the person you were in the past.  Think of his goals as
> well as your own, and try to honor both of them.  Remember how you felt
> when you were young, and even if you don't feel that way now, try to
> act in a manner which respects those feelings.
>
> As you feel the pessimism of age encroaching, understand that this is
> not necessarily a matter of wisdom and experience.  It can be hormones
> and neuroanatomy.  Your brain is changing, your body is changing.
> Don't assume that your beliefs now are necessarily more valid than your
> old ones.
>
> The idea, then, is to try to hold to a sliver of optimism, even if you
> don't believe it in your gut, or in your hormones.  Fight your tendencies
> to cynicism.  Admire the optimism and energy of youth rather than pity it.
> Give support where you can, and avoid being an obstacle to those who
> are moving forward.
>
> So there you have it, Extropianism for the Elderly.  I'm not quite
> there yet, but most of us will face these issues eventually.  Give some
> thought to how you want to age, and realize that your own mental habits
> today are putting you on a path which may be much more ingrained a few
> decades from now.
>
> Hal
> _______________________________________________
> extropy-chat mailing list
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo/extropy-chat