| From: Alicia | 13/04/99
19:39:18 |
| Subject: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6620 |
| Without wanting to open a can of
worms, what are peoples ideas of the age old question of the meaning of
life? (and don't quote from The Life Of Brian, please).. Like, what is our
purpose in life? | |
| From: Nicole | 13/04/99
19:47:54 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6621 |
| It's not the life of Brian, it's
"The Meaning of Life" (Der). And it is 42 (or 54 in a perfect universe) ehhehe Fairy Blessings Nicole | |
| From: Brad Moore | 13/04/99
20:09:35 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6624 |
| The only one i can find is to
feel good about yourself & your time on this mortal coil, (by helping
others?) so try & have a good time. Remember you're here for a good
time NOT a long time (by cosmic
standards) | |
| From: Rhys | 13/04/99
20:10:56 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6625 |
| The Meaning of Life What is our purpose? Why are we here? Why must the answer, like mud seem so clear? Are we here to procreate, recreate, estimate, fornicate? Are we here to just perceive, God's love receive, to believe or not believe? Are we here to query things, or invent things; to wear gold rings, or evolve wings? No-one knows, (not I at least) and on that note this poem has ceased. rhys | |
| From: sam | 13/04/99
21:23:06 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6646 |
| It is very simple. Life is not yours I control it. [cue: dramatic organ music] gwhha ha ha | |
| From: James Richmond (Avatar) | 13/04/99
23:18:51 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6653 |
| I think you're mistaken, evil
Sam! There can be only one! *even more dramatic organ music and maniacal laughter Gawhahaha!* JR | |
| From: God | 13/04/99
23:23:25 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6654 |
| I'd help, but I'm busy dealing
with the latest virgin sacrifice! Maybe I'll feel like it
later. | |
| From: God (Avatar) | 14/04/99
8:43:05 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6676 |
Who's impersonating me??? Huh! As if *I* would not be an avatar! For the record I'm not interested in virgin sacrifices (too much hard work...;o) and I do play dice with the universe. Better hope I don't "crap out" soon...!! | |
| From: Courtney | 14/04/99
10:38:04 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6686 |
| as I recall it (and I could be
wrong) wasn't 42 the ANSWER to the question of the meaning of
life? Haven't read that in a while! Courtney | |
| From: Chris (Avatar) | 14/04/99
10:44:39 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6688 |
Why does there need to be a meaning for life?? Well, arguably it is an effective evolutionary strategy to believe there is a meaning for life - just as it is an equally effective strategy to believe in life after death. The former drives our social and behavioural evolution and allows us to function as an integrated society. I recall seeing a statistical analysis of how individual members fare rebelling against society. It is a competition between the need for members to sometimes forgo the good of the individual to further the good of the society versus the obvious need for the individual to concentrate on the personal advancement to the exclusion of all else. (As Mr Spock so aptly summed up in his death scene at the end of star trek 2). Without the constraints of "morality", "ethics", etc, the needs of the individual will always win out - the individual survival drive is stronger. Which is why we have evolved a complex tapestry of meanings for life including social mores and morals, ethics, etc. In addition the evolution of the "afterlife" scenario serves the purpose of a value-add which can defeat the survival drive altogether - you give up your life now and you can still win out in the "afterlife". It also helps us deal with the foreknowledge of our own death (important in social evolution). Humanity is not that much more highly evolved on an individual scale. Left to fend on our own without our society we are no longer masters of the earth. It is our society which is the most successful example of evolution on the planet, and the meaning for life is one of its building blocks. Hope this helps! Chris | |
| From: jem | 14/04/99
18:34:37 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6764 |
| The meaning of life is to
understand that you will never understand so just get over it and be
thankful that you live such a quaquaversal
existence. | |
| From: Cam (Avatar) | 15/04/99
15:15:38 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6916 |
Hey God! good to see you put in an appearance on this humble forum. However, I'm still not convinced that you're really who you say you are just because your name appears in red. How about a small miracle just to convince the disbelievers among us? Nothing spectacular - a sneak preview of next week's tatslotto numbers would do fine! | |
| From: REN | 15/04/99
18:49:15 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
6948 |
| Great poem Rhys.... As for the meaning of life...Hmmmmmm....it is what you want it to mean. For me, life invites you to 'live' and experience the myriad of things it has to offer. It also has some intrinsic link to doing good unto others. | |
| From: God (Avatar) | 16/04/99
14:36:02 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
7053 |
Ah. I see we have a doubting Cam amongst us. Cameron, my son, my poor troubled man lost in a sea of misgiving... I cannot prove my existence to you for proof denies faith and without faith I cannot exist. Perhaps a minor demonstration may, however, be in order. Your universe contains an infinite number of suns, about which orbit an infinite number of planets. Not all of these sustain life - in fact only a finite number do. The average population spread by planet across the universe may be found by dividing the number of planets with life on them by the total number of planets. As any of your regular science people will confirm, a finite number divided by an infinite number yields zero. The average population of your universe being zero, its sum must also be zero. There is, therefore, no life in the universe. You, Cameron, don't exist. Sufficient? GOD | |
| From: Cam (Avatar) | 16/04/99
16:12:12 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
7070 |
| Thanks for attempting to put me
straight GOD old mate, but I see a flaw in your almighty logic.
Even if a minute fraction of an infinite number of planets have life, that's still an infinite number. Before you tell me that you werent talking about fractions or percentages, comparing infinite and finite quantities doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But then again, I'm only a puny mortal. But if I don't exist, you must be talking to yourself. Besides, this news that the universe is infinite will come as a shock to cosmologists. Will you tell them, or shall I? Oh well, I appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule of wreaking havoc on the Balkans to chat with a disbeliever like me. PS: How's the young bloke? Have his hands and feet healed yet? That artificial insemination thing was a mean trick to play on his mum. Should I be watching out for lightning bolts? | |
| From: Alan | 16/04/99
21:42:16 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
7141 |
| OK GOD 1. If the rest of us assume Dr Karl to be of near god status, why isn't he a avatar? Obviously your not a humble god. 2. Are you the type of god that's into necrophillia? One could only assume so if you find virgins to much work. I patiently await your scoff! // // \\ \\ // // | |
| From: Alan | 16/04/99
21:48:29 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
7142 |
| Or should that be
wroth? | |
| From: Daryl | 17/04/99
8:34:35 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
7162 |
| What is an
Avatar | |
| From: al | 24/04/99
10:12:38 |
| Subject: re: Meaning of Life...? | post id:
8309 |
| A thorny question, and there are
as many answers as there are people who attempt to answer it. This is my intuitive thought on the subject; THE MEANING OF LIFE IS LEARNING HOW TO DIE. That should open up a whole new can o' worms on exactly what it means to die, but that will do for now. One further though tfor the faithful... The dividing line between science and religion and art is not always definite. | |