[quote]vroom wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Down time and wasting time alone is unnatural.
I’ll bet our ancestors did not have a lot of time to do nothing.
Where the hell do you get this? Even wild animals will spend a day lazing around after they’ve made a kill and eaten their fill. At least unless something comes along and tries to eat them.
We have to be the only species that finds the need to work endlessly even after our needs are met. Yes, I know, but wants aren’t needs.[/quote]
I’m pretty sure many “ancestors” ran out of shit to do. That is why there are cave paintings and why many stories were retold over and over again before they were ever written down. I’m pretty sure there was plenty of fucking going on as well.
[quote]Imen de Naars wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
The Beast wrote:
I guess it’s better than having real problems to deal with though.
LOL. Exactly. I tell people who get bored to stop being self-depressin, pseudo-intellectual weenies and to go volunteer at an animal shelter or soup kitchen.
You can’t make one comment which is not full of hatred, can’t you?
[/quote]
I agree with Imen. Just because I get a feeling of boredom, it doesn’t mean I am a “self-depressin, pseudo-intellectual weenie”. Just from the responses, there were a few people who understood and feel the same way.
[quote]PtrDR wrote:
We all have a spiritual void in our heart that can only be filled by The Lord. HE created us this way.
Its the only thing throughout history that makes any sense of life.[/quote]
You know, I was brought up without any religion. My parents didn’t force me into anything. They left me to make my mind up for myself. As such, I consider myself agnostic(leaning towards atheist). Reflecting on this, I think that It brings a lack of purpose to life.
Religion gives a structure and purpose to life, instead of living in the unknowing. Which might be a problem.
And as for what vroom said, I think that electronics and how society has evolved might have a lot to do with it.
I work around computers 8 hours a day and am pretty much paid to surf the web. Its almost like I am constantly being bombarded with information(data/media). Maybe what I really need is to clear my head. Get back to nature.
[quote]Chickenmcnug wrote:
PtrDR wrote:
We all have a spiritual void in our heart that can only be filled by The Lord. HE created us this way.
Its the only thing throughout history that makes any sense of life.
You know, I was brought up without any religion. My parents didn’t force me into anything. They left me to make my mind up for myself. As such, I consider myself agnostic(leaning towards atheist). Reflecting on this, I think that It brings a lack of purpose to life.
Religion gives a structure and purpose to life, instead of living in the unknowing. Which might be a problem.
And as for what vroom said, I think that electronics and how society has evolved might have a lot to do with it.
I work around computers 8 hours a day and am pretty much paid to surf the web. Its almost like I am constantly being bombarded with information(data/media). Maybe what I really need is to clear my head. Get back to nature.[/quote]
As long as you understand that the problem you seem to be facing is something many do find answers to in religion…regardless of how many others seem to hate that concept.
Interesting thread topic. I was actually thinking the other day why does it seem there were so many smarter men a hundred or so years ago and not today. I think today as a society people are smarter but where are all the geniuses like Einstein, Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin and the countless others. No doubt there are some extraordinarilly brilliant people alive today but still doesn’t seem as many as past centuries in terms of useful accomplishments.
This really got me thinking and the only real answers I could come up with is people just had more free time and less distractions. We’ve all been through power outages and know what it’s like to be back in the stone age but imagine being without modern conviences 24/7. You’d have a lot more time to think, more time to imagine, build, theorize, experiment.
This ties into your question because I think people today feel compelled to always be busy almost like it’s cool to be in a rush to be doing something, anything. For the best of me I can’t figure out why. My advice would be to stop trying to do something just for the sake of doing it and to find new things you enjoy. Hell even go to a big park with tons of people and start up a basketball or football game. God knows how many times I’ve done that and had a great time.
People like to be productive and feel usefull thats why you enjoy working, being around friends, working out ect
when your not doing these things you try to please your self in other ways travel, buying expensive things
my advice? get a new hoby that you can do in your limited free time, I dont enjoy any kind of work however lifting weights is something I like and I get to see phisical changes in my body and strength from it daily and with the internet I stay buisey by reading different things
[quote]E-man wrote:
Interesting thread topic. I was actually thinking the other day why does it seem there were so many smarter men a hundred or so years ago and not today. I think today as a society people are smarter but where are all the geniuses like Einstein, Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin and the countless others. No doubt there are some extraordinarilly brilliant people alive today but still doesn’t seem as many as past centuries in terms of useful accomplishments. [/quote]
There is only one Einstein. How many other people on the planet do you think there were for every Einstein when he was alive?
The people you mentioned stand out because they were not like everyone else, not because they were all in the same high school class with Socrates and George Washington Carver.
[quote]vroom wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Down time and wasting time alone is unnatural.
I’ll bet our ancestors did not have a lot of time to do nothing.
Where the hell do you get this? Even wild animals will spend a day lazing around after they’ve made a kill and eaten their fill. At least unless something comes along and tries to eat them.
We have to be the only species that finds the need to work endlessly even after our needs are met. Yes, I know, but wants aren’t needs.[/quote]
Where do I get it? History books, museums etc.
Our ancestors spent much of their downtime making/mending tools, telling stories etc. Very little time to sit alone and do nothing.
The OP is bummed out when he has downtime alone and ends up doing nothing.
[quote]Imen de Naars wrote:
You can’t make one comment which is not full of hatred, can’t you?
[/quote]
LOL. Sure. I give praise when it’s deserved. If there is a good physique transformation, i’m one of the first guys giving propers. where are you in those threads?
if someone is upset because he’s “bored,” wtf am i supposed to say? “stop being so stupid and read a book” comes to mind. “pick up a hobby” “go help someone in need” also comes to mind.
i have not been bored for several years. how could i be with the internet? there is so much to see and learn.
it seems you don’t like my style. that’s fine. you be the fourm hand-holder.
I do think its worth mentioning that alot (not all) of our ancestors had a belief and relationship with The Lord.
Not “religion” per se,(I have a personal relationship with Christ, not a religious set of practices) but a relationship with God on some scale.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
E-man wrote:
Interesting thread topic. I was actually thinking the other day why does it seem there were so many smarter men a hundred or so years ago and not today. I think today as a society people are smarter but where are all the geniuses like Einstein, Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin and the countless others. No doubt there are some extraordinarilly brilliant people alive today but still doesn’t seem as many as past centuries in terms of useful accomplishments.
There is only one Einstein. How many other people on the planet do you think there were for every Einstein when he was alive?
The people you mentioned stand out because they were not like everyone else, not because they were all in the same high school class with Socrates and George Washington Carver.[/quote]
When’s the last time you heard news of a brillaint man doing something absolutely jaw-dropping? I’m still pretty young but the last true genius I can remember as far as major world altering contributions is Robert Oppenheimer. Just for the record I don’t consider the invertor of the PS3 or the newest slimist mobile phone to be a genius. I’m just stating that in a world filled with so much knowledge and possibility it would only seem natural there’d be a lot more discoveries. My main point was that there would probably be many more advancements in virtually every field if people would quit filling their lives with hectic meaningless bullshit just to “feel” busy and therefore important and would have more free time to think. I realize men of that magnitude only come along every couple hundred years but it seems like there was a lot more of them in the past than in the present.
[quote]E-man wrote:
When’s the last time you heard news of a brillaint man doing something absolutely jaw-dropping? I’m still pretty young but the last true genius I can remember as far as major world altering contributions is Robert Oppenheimer. Just for the record I don’t consider the invertor of the PS3 or the newest slimist mobile phone to be a genius. I’m just stating that in a world filled with so much knowledge and possibility it would only seem natural there’d be a lot more discoveries. My main point was that there would probably be many more advancements in virtually every field if people would quit filling their lives with hectic meaningless bullshit just to “feel” busy and therefore important and would have more free time to think. I realize men of that magnitude only come along every couple hundred years but it seems like there was a lot more of them in the past than in the present.
[/quote]
The worth of inventions is not credited by the generation they come from but by the generation that sees its greatest use in retrospect.
That means while you may discount the worth of the “cell phone” (Martin Cooper), that doesn’t mean that history books that look back at our time period won’t grant it even more credit. Do you think everyone from Carver’s generation recognized what he discovered in peanuts? While we consider the use of penicillin an afterthought today and over-prescribe it, Fleming probably had to fight hard to get others to recognize what he found.
The truth is, you really don’t know everything people are discovering today…and I doubt there are any fewer people who stand out in the crowd than before. There may even be more. Your children and grandchildren will be the ones that grant them more credit, not you specifically.
Also, if you want “jaw dropping” in medicine, look up Ben Carson. He is possibly one of the most incredible people I have ever met. You may also want to read his book, “Gifted Hands”.
Find something you want to be good at and work at it every day. It could really be anything…building a better body, getting really good in a given profession, whatever. Just make sure that when you lay down at night, most of the time you can say you did something to get better at what it is you want to get better at.
If your doing that, there is no reason to feel frustrated or ashamed by down time. You will probably come to miss it at some point in your life.
I think the humanitarian efforts of Gates are absolutely jaw dropping, E-man. He also did a little something for the computer world I believe. Lets not forget Hawking either. If there is anybody on the planet who’s word is law, its him.
[quote]E-man wrote:
When’s the last time you heard news of a brillaint man doing something absolutely jaw-dropping? I’m still pretty young but the last true genius I can remember as far as major world altering contributions is Robert Oppenheimer. Just for the record I don’t consider the invertor of the PS3 or the newest slimist mobile phone to be a genius. I’m just stating that in a world filled with so much knowledge and possibility it would only seem natural there’d be a lot more discoveries. My main point was that there would probably be many more advancements in virtually every field if people would quit filling their lives with hectic meaningless bullshit just to “feel” busy and therefore important and would have more free time to think. I realize men of that magnitude only come along every couple hundred years but it seems like there was a lot more of them in the past than in the present.
[/quote]
That’s because most people consider what pair of pantys brittany spears takes off, to be a jaw dropping technologicle advancement…
However if you looked around on the internet you could find things like this.
What about nasa planning on installing a self sufficient lunar base. The list can go on, but I think we are at the point now where its common to see advancements. Because of that its not a big deal anymore. Anyways if you pay attention to whats going on around you, you will catch those little things that a lot of people seem to miss, or maybe no one appreciates it. I dunno.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Imen de Naars wrote:
I fail to understand how the last sentence is connected to the first paragraph you wrote, if not as a cheap catchphrase.
It is related because I think many here (possibly not you, but who knows) simply like to jump on bandwagons. There are people on this site who can’t stand me simply because they read that someone else can’t. I personally could care less, but it usually results in ridiculous posts like that guy in the “rant for smaller guys” thread. He didn’t even have a point (other than to claim he was not a “fan” of mine)…and really, neither do you right here in this one.
Cool, you don’t like Cali-law. Some of the shit he writes may be ridiculous. However, I doubt I am alone in seeing that he can contribute where even many “regular members” can’t.[/quote]
I don’t even dislike him, actually. He just made a string of posts that were all on the line of “fuck you”, so I thought it had kinda to be noted.
[quote]E-man wrote:
Interesting thread topic. I was actually thinking the other day why does it seem there were so many smarter men a hundred or so years ago and not today.[/quote]
That’s actually the opposite of what it the case. People are, on average, much smarter. However, since the whole population has shifted, the percentage of people that are smarter than everybody else always remains the same and thus, they are always (and bound to remain so) a few.
[quote]
I think today as a society people are smarter but where are all the geniuses like Einstein, Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin and the countless others. No doubt there are some extraordinarilly brilliant people alive today but still doesn’t seem as many as past centuries in terms of useful accomplishments. [/quote]
Well, the temporal frame of reference is obviously extended if you take Einstein, Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin as compared to the post-WWII society. The lifespan of the inventors you mentioned covers at least one hundred years.
I work around computers 8 hours a day and am pretty much paid to surf the web. Its almost like I am constantly being bombarded with information(data/media). Maybe what I really need is to clear my head. Get back to nature.[/quote]