: First of all, happy birthday, balik balak.
Second of all... I have no idea either, I just got here..
I guess we just keep pushing through in life going from one point to another, figuring out its ups and downs, that's just how life goes.. Honestly, I don't think spiraling down the philosophical lane is going to to much good to one.
: im considering the importance of the last sentence to be tremendous...
: I don't know, I just turned 18 too.
: Buckle up, fellow soldier
: Happy Birthday, OP. Hope you have an amazing year ahead.
My perspective has been evolving constantly since I was 18. I am more practical now, I say things on people's faces and don't gossip on the back. Definitely have less tolerance to nasty, opportunists and toxic a-holes.
Any advice to my younger self? Nothing much. I had a good childhood. I was innocent, naive and stupid, that's how kids are supposed to be. So glad we didn't have social media growing up.
So I was a pretty much normal child. Won't change anything about it.
: > say things on people's faces
Have been in a lot of troubles for these, now I like to think like a chess game
: Good for you, dude. Have a good birthday!
: First of all, Happy Bday OP!
To think about this, on your 18th b'day, is quite impressive.
I can relate with you (kind of). Ever since I got into philosophy, I used to have a mix of thoughts and emotions.
Hopeless, thinking life doesn't really make sense most of the time,
hopeful about the future,
Lots of confusion as to 'how to live'- should I enjoy life a lil bit more or...this time isn't going to come back again, time to hustle and grind
Should I be more social or...just myself?
The thing I realised is that I was just thinking and thinking and thinking about something which people usually figure out by doing
We all are trying to figure out what is exactly going on in our lives and I think, we all continue to do that till we kick the bucket at the end
Also, everybody experiences different situations in their life. So it's better to not take everybody's advice very seriously, coz it's not necessary that if 'a certain way of living' worked for someone, that it might work for you as well. Well that's one life lesson I've learnt the hard way.
: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. What i understood is that adaptation is the key;
and figuring stuffs out on the way, (might not be at that moment but 2 steps ahead) is better. Thinking 20 steps ahead ain't practical, nor at step 0. Am i right?
: Yes. More of flexibility and balance, less of overthinking
: 28 here.
Things I learnt about the world is : Nothing is secure.Your ability to accept the truth that's not in your favor and make necessary changes, is what will help you in the long run.
Insurance company benefits from your fear of dying early.
Education system benefits from your fear of not being enough.
Political system benefits from your fear of being outnumbered by a differing ideology.
Economic system is being run by big corporates who are cashing on arbitrage from funds "saved" by fearful people.
That the entire Human Social System works on Fear psychosis. Each human has their own set of challenges and no one is above another in terms of wealth or education. Yes, having these two definitely allows you some leverage in certain aspects. That's it. That you can be entirely in right and still be admonished.
Enlightenment and scientific discoveries have not entirely changed the basic essence of Herbert Spencer's "Survival of the fittest"; it has just transformed the instrument of "Power".
That human mind is an empty vessel. Everything you read in the books is not necessarily how things are going on in the world.
If you're from Science background, Read Art; and vice-versa.
While Science makes you Rational, Art makes you humane. In real Life, you'll need a mix of both.
At 18 you've people in your circle doing the same things, there seems to be an inherent familiarity. It gives you a sense of safety.
At 28, some people are doing the same thing, but not necessarily in your circle; that can give you a FOMO and make you despise your Life. Don't do it, it's pointless. The people who seem to be happy on Social media are doing the exact same thing.
: Reading your comment put a smile on my face. Although I'm not 18 anymore, i think I needed to read this, because it resonates so much with me. You have put down some Universal values to certain universal struggles a person has to face, no matter if they are 18, or 25, or 30. :)
: > it has just transformed the instrument of "Power"
😭 So much well said. Everyone puts be down for saying this.
Loved your comment..really thought provoking.
Im from a science background, I try to read as much broadly as possible.. just try though.. Feynman lectures are my favourite so are Tarapodo Ray and Bibhutibhushan's writings. Im assuming it'll help me someday to look things from a different perspective..
Learnt a lot, thank you, thank you once again
: I stumbled upon Feynman too and indeed felt very inspired by his modesty.
By chance happenstance watched Oppenheimer recently, while reading him, came to know he was one of the scientist who worked on the project. (albeit for a brief period of time and the movie has looked over that part). One would absolutely go bonkers knowing all these great minds knew each other.
: Ok so I would tell myself that you can have as much as talent as you want but thik somoy thik jaygaye Naa pauchale sob jinish britha. India is a very competitive country & chesta koro je taratari financially independent hoi jao. Cheleder somaje status taka diye. Time passes like water, ato taratari pass hobe je ki bolbo ai jono don't waste time.
: ha ekdom ... manchi purotai..bastob oirokom e ..
: Fuck less, work more
: 🙏 the most practical answer to every question indeed
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: read The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
: Thanks for the recommendation,
dostoevsky has always been in my reading list but never got a chance
: Happy birthday OP!!
18 yr old me was quite cocky and sometimes dismissive. I like to think I’ve evolved to see the good in people in the 11 years since then.
Also I’d tell my old self to keep up with friends more. Didn’t realize how fast life changes and your old companions vanish.
: > keep up with friends more
I'll try my best 🥲
: Me to my younger self : Don't waste time studying , have fun , steal my father's money and invest in bitcoin .
: Considering index funds as of now 🥲
Fun? Never had a chance to go out of town or spend money buying anything 'unnecessary', it has been tight budget always :')
: Don't work hard. The world is kind only to the rich and lucky people.
: hard work is subjective. intensity depends from person to person.
i'll take the opposite of what you say, negative reinforcement learning is a thing after all
: Wanting peace and development in the world from wanting wars and battles.
: I'd tell these to my younger self. These are also some observations I've cleaned over the years:
18-22 are some of the amazing years you'll have in your life, if everything goes right. You'll be going to college soon, making new friends and meeting all kinds of people...and doing all kinds of things, most of which you've never done before. Make sure to follow the principle of "it's not that deep, I'm not going to take life seriously", and allow yourself to get embraced by the craziness that these years of youth brings. I myself spent these crucial years (although, I'm only a few years older now from 22) being anxious about my career and studies, only to realise that it'll all fall into place eventually and to get carried away by overthinking and unchecked anxiety prevents me from enjoying what I have/had at that present moment. It wasn't as deep as I had thought it was.
I'd also suggest, to keep an open mind to All kinds of experience, and to not outright decline any opportunity/experience that comes your way. Of course, you'll have to weigh the pros and cons of things and not be a fool to dive straight into danger - but, keep an open mind, and don't say No to things that seem foreign to you.
Also remember, that the friends that you make during this period, might not be your life-long friends. That doesn't mean, that their friendship doesn't matter. It matters, because they'll be a part of a very crucial phase of your life. You might lose them over the years, but it'll be amazing while it lasts. And who knows, maybe some of the friendships will also last? All the best!!
: I've noted down the points. Thanks!!!
: There is a fundamental mistake you are making. Whom to think like?. If you try to think like someone then I can't even think. You should only think like yourself. Yes, your thinking may be influenced but never try to think like someone. It's their truth. Find your truth by yourself.
: trying, will keep on trying
: Happy Birthday!!
When I was 18, I was delusional. I was in love and I didn't know what to do with my life because I wanted to do everything all at once. When I was 18, smartphones were becoming a thing and long distance prem was fuelled by SMS packs. 18 years e jokhon college e jachchi, DC++ (file sharing over network) ar unlimited fast internet peye prothom baar duniya ta bhalo kore bujhchi. Tokhon cigarettes were cheap and majhe modhye sosta whiskey. Bandhu Der songe jamming, ar academically tike thaka. Tokhon chilam kottor Marxist, anarchist perhaps. This was life.
Ekhon internet is crappier, not a fun place that it used to be. We are more connected and yet more distant than ever. Ekhon Davidoff er cigarettes ar honey whiskey afford korte paari, but oi bondhura nei jader songe byapar gulo enjoy kora jay. Everyone is scattered around the globe. 18 years e je premika, shei aj wife. I am probably more of a technological anarchist, I understand the philosophy of intelligence and language better than ever. From frowning on the idea of wealth accumulation, bideshe giyei prothom salary peyei SIP kora. Things have changed!
So, I would tell my younger self to slow down. I would tell him not to over-induldge, not to take relationships for granted. Maybe arektu responsible thakte bolbo, maybe concepts gulo arektu clear korte bolbo. Hoyto bolbo to live some more, explore genuine human connections more.
But then, hoyto etota sabdhani ba responsibile hole jibon ta je carefree bhabe lead korechi, sheta partam na. This is what growing up perhaps. Life (and time) humbles you, has you taking things slow. Happy Birthday again!
: Dada, tomar comment ta khub personally hit korlo.
> wanted to do everything all at once
😭 shotti tai. Ichha kore physics niye pore aro egiye jai, oidike mone hoye engineering pele ta charbo kno? Econometrics o interesting lage!
> long distance prem was fuelled by SMS packs
SMS na hok, unlimited internet akhon, ebong oi shei long distance e.
>Bandhu Der songe jamming, ar academically tike thaka
Majhe modhhe icha kore abr gaan kora start kori! Tabla te dhulo jomche
academically tike thaktei to dom bar hochhe
> Tokhon chilam kottor Marxist, anarchist perhaps
Mithha bolbo na, onekta influenced hoye chilam 16-17 te eshe, akhon oshob er theke dure, shobta mone monei thak
> So, I would tell my younger self to slow down. I would tell him not to over-induldge, not to take relationships for granted. Maybe arektu responsible thakte bolbo, maybe concepts gulo arektu clear korte bolbo. Hoyto bolbo to live some more, explore genuine human connections more.
Dhore nilam ama k e bolcho, khub khub dhonnobad
Shomoye bodleche, shob e alada tomader shomoye r theke, kintu kichu jinish jmon ti chilo orokom e theke jae..
: Khoob khoob bhalo theko ar egiye jao. Baaki to Reddit e adda hotei thakbe!
: Many Many happy returns Op. Focus on your career. You will feel like rest a bit or i can do it later or other day. Just dont do it. Be very punctual about your timings, make a schedule or routine and follow that rigorously. Im 31 years old, yes i got success in terms of my salary and all. I do earn more than average but, now i realise that i did wasted a lot of time in my teenage years. I feel regret that i was careless and to get the success i have i had to work like crazy 14 hours or more day for two years. So my advice is study, develop skills and self taught yourself things you are interested in. Let go from all your expectations because when you start working it would be easier for you to migrate into new reality/life.
: Read Godel’s Incompleteness Theorem in 2nd year of engineering. Everything changed. Now I had mathematical proof that all ideologies are “incomplete”. It helped me become a lot less “aantelectual” and helped me focus on the structure of epistemology with a mathematical logic twist. What is knowledge, belief, and how you can use what kind of logic to arrive at them?
Decomposing any ideology to it’s constituent axioms and rules of inference is the most sure way to detect it’s “incompleteness” boundaries, and detecting BS.
: thanks ive saved your comment for further research in the future. few days back i had looked into godel incompleteness theorem while looking into https://github.com/NeoVertex1/SuperPrompt/blob/2d892d58eaa162ee9d08bbad102ba73dcef7a3a5/Readme.md?plain=1#L162 , got a vague superficial idea of what it is..could not grasp it completely though.
: Just remember to never do "philosophy" without mathematical rigor. That way lies BS. If you can't do Lambda Calculus, you can't do logic. What you can do is at best a Simulacrum. Worrying about the "incompleteness" (~"boundary conditions", "dependencies", "risks") of anything complex is what any scientific endeavor do most of the time. In my line of work, I spend 90% obsessing over these boundaries, if I was designing semiconductor chips or rocket engines - that would be 99.99999% of the time. I went to Shantiniketan. My metamorphosis from 17YO "aantel" wandering about in USS to 20YO no-BS me was striking to say the least.
chhaptilak: Happy birthday! I am 39 and I believe I have changed in every year of my life, so my mind is basically Ship of Theseus compared to when I was 18. And I hope to change further as I age, otherwise what good are my life experiences?
As I get older, I find that my ideological stance has softened to empathize with and make space for people I might not necessarily relate to, people who might not have met my high standards as an 18 year old. I have now met enough people to not believe in “first impressions” and “body language”, and neither align myself with a particular ideology anymore. I have become more impatient and outspoken than before, and probably a lot more cynical, especially of establishment figures (like Elon Musk ;D). I have great faith in the younger generation to change the world for better and I wish that my generation left the world a better and more habitable place for the young. I am still chasing career goals, but ambition has taken a backseat to family, and material things have bowed out to experiences.
I recommend the book “Designing Your Life”, I wish that you read it as a young person. I certainly became more intentional and mindful about my priorities in life after reading it a few years back. I don’t know if it made me selfish or self-aware, but I find myself thinking about my legacy - about what I want the sum total of my life to be, but also in a rather mundane way - I recently made a last will and testament purely to make the logistics of my death a bit easier for my family.
Apprehensive-Key9995: That's a wonderful journey, I love your comment, re-read 2 times and saving it for future.
Will definitely give that book a read!
Thanks a lot, all the best wishes :D