The Tragedy of Life

For all things philosophical.

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tonterias
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by tonterias »

One can get jaded after being exposed to something. Everything will lose it's novelty or freshness.
But for me the excitement or enjoyment can come back again after awhile.
One small example is this.
I've played video games until I got tired of them. Then I would uninstall them.
But a year later or maybe two years later I will want to play them again.
So I reinstall them and start playing them.
I listen to one type of music till I get tired of hearing it, then I start listening to something else.
However later on I will want to play the same music again that I had originally gotten sick of listening to
before.
So for me interest in things goes in a cycle of interesting/boring.
duszek
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by duszek »

I see the point, tonterias, and I agree.

One can also need a break from people or books.
After a while one is happy to resume the relationship, sometimes on a higher level because in the meantime one was able to grow a bit.

It happens often to me that I stop reading a good book (who has developed into a friend) and after a while I resume, with great interest.
In a novel by Barbara Vine I seem to have found a kindred soul although she is very different from me too. After a break I resumed studying her development and of those around her.
The same applies to Justin from "The Constant Gardener".

I would rather not finish a book at all because when it is finished I cannot resume it and it is as if a friend died. :cry:
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Sculptor
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by Sculptor »

duszek wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 5:43 pm Yes, I agree, Sculptor.

Internet is a fountain of excitement which we will not be able to explore in our short lives.
But how much of it is right and is it possible to overdo it or to get fed up with it ?
Your eyes can grow tired of staring at the screen, your back will pain after a while.

And apart from this: will you not crave a completely new kind of experience after a while ?
There is always something more to find.
I reflected the other day being stuck inside as a child on a rainy day watching the rivulets of rain from the inside of the window pain. The Internet of 1965. Kept my imagination going for ages. You just have to have the right attitude.
THink of all the books that remain unread, to TV and film unseen. They are being made faster than you can read and watch.
Right now I am listening to a Track iv'e not heard for decades. I am transported into the sci-fi book I was reading when first I heard it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZfXEJ0awyI
I can't be bored. There are too many rocks to lift to look under. Too many skies to see, and watch change.
What the fuck is the matter with people?

The only tragedy of life is that it has to end
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Agent Smith
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by Agent Smith »

This is a great post cum question. An extrapolation that some may find dubious, but I'm not among these naysayers, no I'm not.

Tragedy, as so defined in the OP, seems to be inevitable for everyone. I wonder though if it really is true for E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E if you know what I mean. :?:
promethean75
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by promethean75 »

"This is a great post cum question."

that's not how it usually works for me, smith. we don't get into deep philosophical conversations and she normally just goes home afterwards.

Zing!

Thank u, thank u... really, u guys are great.
duszek
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by duszek »

An artist like a sculptor leads an interesting life because they create something new.
A secret agent is excited by the circumstances of their work.

A normal person is more challenged if they wish things to happen in their lives.
duszek
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by duszek »

If one is interested in something (inter-esse = inbetween-be) one is involved and in action and alive.

The opposite is detachment.
(And yet buddhists crave detachment as a means to overcome the tragedy of life. Interesting, isn´t it ? :) Sorry, I couldn´t resist this one.)

One way to become involved and interested could be to join UK Listeners, a hotline for those who need a willing ear.

Another point:
People who fret are over-interested in what´s going on around them.
People who suffer from paranoia (nuisance everywhere) are negatively over-interested in what´s going on around them.

One needs to wisely manage the degree of one´s interestedness.
If you worry about nuisance looming everywhere detach yourself.
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Agent Smith
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by Agent Smith »

promethean75 wrote: Wed Mar 01, 2023 6:53 pm "This is a great post cum question."

that's not how it usually works for me, smith. we don't get into deep philosophical conversations and she normally just goes home afterwards.

Zing!

Thank u, thank u... really, u guys are great.
You lucky bastard! :mrgreen:
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Agent Smith
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by Agent Smith »

The tragedy of life is :cry:
duszek
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by duszek »

There helplines in some countries.
In a novel UK Listeners are mentioned. Do they really exist ?

It can be draining to listen to people who are unhappy and need someone to talk to about it.
It is a kind of anonymous psychotherapy.

Has anyone here made personal experience with it ?
duszek
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by duszek »

People who call such helplines probably often lack social skills and it is not possible to really help them because it takes time to learn social skills.

Some people suffer from delusions and need someone to listen to these delusions without judging them. A listener can fortify these delusions by not contradicting.

Some people play games by appealing to the feeling of compassion or pity. Some of them are psychopaths, many are harmless but stuck in a strategy that does not work and never will.

Would it help to tell an unhappy person unpleasant truths ?
duszek
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by duszek »

AI would be better at listening to a caller who needs to talk:

1. It does not get impatient or drained.
2. It has the best possible answers and reactions.
3. The caller does not have to feel embarassed or ashamed.
duszek
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by duszek »

AI would be also a perfect match-maker for all those who need to find someone to talk to.
It could analyze voice samples and information about predilections, expectations and - most importantly - what gets on someone´s nerves and is unbearable.
Our friends and family are not always the perfect people to talk to.

Psychotherapists and psychiatrists are highly qualified but two aspects impair the deal:

1. a client needs to pay for the service (it is not a question of cost but a question of humiliation, "it´s only if I pay someone then I will get someone to talk to who understands me)

2. a client needs to remind themselves constantly that they cannot start liking the person they talk to, they need to combat a feeling of closeness which grows naturally when we finally find someone who understands us.

These two negative aspects disappear if a client hires AI instead of a human therapist.
promethean75
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by promethean75 »

only if a person unknowingly engaged in conversation with a p-zombie they thought wuz a real person, would the conversation feel authentic to the person.

but if he knows he's talking to a GPT-4, he'll not receive the content of the convo the same way... as he would receive advice from a caring friend who through empathy can identify with the problem, etc.

instead the computer's dialogue is received like an instructional, disinterested, clinical, like reading a brochure at the mental health clinic. seventeen ways to avoid depression, etc.

anything nuanced enough to seem human  e.g., a sense of humor, the person would know is fabricated.

the only exception would be an experiment with a toddler and a robot p-zombie. would the kid feel the inauthenticity of the convo if he doesn't yet comprehend or understand what AI is. that is, if he doesn't know robot humans are possible, he wouldn't be able to know whether or not he wuz talkin to one.

discuss.
Walker
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Re: The Tragedy of Life

Post by Walker »

promethean75 wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 1:09 pmdiscuss
I wonder if any machines have composed anything in e-prime.

Could be the new Turing Test.

An inability to do The E-Prime might indicate Zombification.
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