Just a brief “you should read this” note about Tim Urban’s Wait but Why site (a continual classic) and a series he’s been producing about society.
It takes hours to read, thoroughly, but worth the payoff. He exposes some clever, insightful glimpses into human behavior, couched in a Twinkie-consumable format.
I recommend it.
My personal favorite, a topic I’ve mentioned here before, DNA is our master.
For all who participated, we enjoyed thirty days of Stewie the Stoic’s take on Seneca’s philosophy of being a Stoic. Specifically, about fifty of Sececa’s letters to Lucilius, an acolyte and fellow, budding Stoic.
Death & Fortune
These were the two dominant topics that we found in nearly every writing example we analyzed. If we weren’t discussing the actual End, we were talking about our “awareness of self” along the way—to the End. That, in addition to how fortune (or misfortune) taunts us into betraying ourselves.
These will be the points with which I’ll be stumbling away, drunk on philosophy.
That’s pretty much it, for now.
Thanks for tagging along.
[Quote courtesy of Seneca]
[Although Seneca was a rich old bastard, we’ll have to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to understanding how one might separate one’s fortune from one’s pursuit of what he calls philosophy. In order to develop a “love of wisdom”, money need not influence one’s progress. Although, I’d bet that being frickin’ rich makes it one hell of a lot easier to pretend to be poor than actually being poor.
On the flip side, having disdain for the finer things in life, that is, being poor, might jade one to believe they can attain their wisdom all the more readily as they have no bright, sparkly objects to distract them.
The one thing I find curious in reading all of these pontifications is, jeeze, they sure had a lot of time to pontificate over the smallest of topics. Yeah, I’m wasting a few minutes here and there on this endeavor. But, the effort these Stoics put into just being Stoic, from what I can tell, hell, I’d like to have a life like that.]
[Quotes provided by Seneca]
[Up from the ashes,
up from the ashes,
grow the roses of success.
Grow the ro, grow the ro, grow the roses…
Sing it with me now.]
[Quotes courtesy of a proverb that Seneca in turn quotes]
[Seneca lays claim to Lucilius’ progress but reciprocates with the admission that merely beginning an undertaking, to become wise, good or content is far more important than one might think. Certainly, tenacity must see you through, especially in the face of adversity. But the most adverse condition we often encounter is our own reticence to get up and out the door.]
[Quotes courtesy of Seneca.]
[Wouldn’t you know it. This whole fiasco has just been dis’d by the one dude to whom it all was dedicated. Ungrateful prat! Ah, well, you can’t win ’em all. You win some you lose some. Beggars can’t be choosers. Don’t look this gift horse in the mouth because one in the hand is worth…
Oh, wait. That was his point. Quotes should not be quoted. Let your voice sing notes never heard. Let the twist of your perspective unravel my own. — Anonymole]
[Quotes (like farts) courtesy of Seneca]
[Annnnnnd, we’re back with death. Two more of Seneca’s letters to Lucilius slathered with thoughts of death and how it should be approached. I’m gonna skip any more thoughts of Mori from now on. So, hang in there.]
