the meaning of life
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I was interested in the meaning of life, so rather than getting caught up in philosophical debates, I just went to the dictionary:
"The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, response to stimuli, producing stimuli to seek a desired response, adaptation to the environment, and adaptation of the environment, originating with the organism."
From this definition, and my prior experiences with the UNIX operating system, I drew the following values, rules, and mottoes.
From "metabolism/growth":
- Focus: Do one thing well (at a time); multitasking is a lie.
- Gadgetry: Use mechanical tools to keep it simple; it's cheaper and guaranteed to always work.
- Modesty: Never be too proud to use what you are, what you have, or what you know; there's only so much time, matter, and energy to go around.
From "reproduction / adaptation of the environment":
- Education: Learn everything you can, at every age; trial and error is the only way we learn; but keep a voltmeter handy, so you don't become a memorable lesson in failure.
- Leverage: Use or build the right tool for the job; a bigger hammer is rarely the right answer.
- Judiciousness: Think ahead, but don't worship your plans; best to be not unprepared for the future.
From "reciprocal stimulus/response":
- Authenticity: Be who you are; even a bent wire can carry a great light.
- Networking: Network, by whatever means you're most comfortable with; we are all born to connect with our world.
- Initiative: Patch it now; the Next Big Thing is rarely next or big, and often it doesn't even become a thing.
From "adaptation to the environment":
- Belief: Make efficient assumptions; if you don't take Physics for granted, you will never be able to do anything; but remember, if God created the universe, he created it with Physics, so don't go looking for some other kind of magic.
- Doubt: Don't choke on the enlightenment kool-aid; distrust all claims for the one true way.
- Honesty: Say what you mean; nothing is truer than the truth.
From "originating with the organism":
- Curiosity: Asking "why" is The One Thing that is uniquely human; "always the more beautiful answer who asks the more beautiful question" [Cummings].
- Kookiness: Fly by your own lights, even if that makes you weird; "nothing can bring you [real] peace but the triumph of [your own] principles" [Emerson].
- Objectivity: Prime Directive: Never interfere with reality unless you feel invited to do so; circumstances are a valid invitation to intervene in the natural order of things, but choose wisely.