Your post reminded me of Seneca’s book “On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It,” which I read earlier this year, and the following quote:
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.”
Thank you for the kind words. And ah, I’ve only read bits of Seneca secondhand but absolutely need to dive straight in. Thank you for sharing such a wonderfully relevant and inspiring quote.
Your exploration of the human mind's paradoxical nature is thought-provoking and beautifully articulated. I appreciated your insights on the finite nature of our cognitive resources contrasted with the infinite potential of our memories and imagination. This piece offers a profound reflection on embracing our limitations while seeking meaning. It's such a beautiful piece.
Despite your outstanding writing and the entertaining idea of consciousness existing forever, the concept ultimately reflects the grandiosity of human instinct and our deep-seated fear of death. It's an attempt to avoid the only certainty in life—that just as birth is inevitable, so is death. The notion that consciousness could extend beyond the physical limits of the brain, across multiple dimensions, is not grounded in scientific evidence. It remains speculative at best, much like saying there are 24 tiny teacups orbiting an asteroid—there’s no way to disprove it, but that doesn’t make it a credible or realistic idea. Similarly, claiming that an invisible unicorn lives in my backyard might be imaginative, but without evidence, it holds no weight in the realm of serious inquiry. Just because something can't be disproven doesn't mean it has any merit or validity in a scientific context.
Thanks for reading, Ash. I agree wholeheartedly. When I refer to the parochial sense that consciousness could extend beyond the physical limits of the brain, I'm referring specifically to the subjective, familiar feeling that it could -- not to any reality where that could truly happen. Here, I wanted to contrast that inalienable feeling of mental infinity we have with the much more sobering reality that all of that mental life is based in a biological organ that needs constant resources and faces an inevitable demise. As you say, that feeling of mental infinity does reflect our grandiose instincts and evolved fear of death -- and it emerges from a long tradition of viewing the human mind as special and unique. But, ultimately, we must return to our current scientific understanding of the brain and how it paints such a vivid picture for us in every single moment, until it stops. I'll never get tired of trumpeting the brain's reality over the myths and stories and intuitions that often prevail.
And thank you for the kind words about my writing. Really glad to have you -- and your keen insight -- here.
I’m glad you found that quote valuable. I, too, see a lot of promise and longevity ahead. Even more than that, I see more and more ways for human mental power to stretch out into the world, much farther than its traditional confines, allowing us to do more with less.
Excellent post!
Your post reminded me of Seneca’s book “On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It,” which I read earlier this year, and the following quote:
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.”
Thank you for the kind words. And ah, I’ve only read bits of Seneca secondhand but absolutely need to dive straight in. Thank you for sharing such a wonderfully relevant and inspiring quote.
Beautiful piece. But unfortunately, I cannot help (at 3224 weeks and counting) feeling depressed by it. Only the tears are infinite
Thanks, Johnnie. I’m glad it resonated and hope that you find our finite infinity more inspiring than depressing.
Your exploration of the human mind's paradoxical nature is thought-provoking and beautifully articulated. I appreciated your insights on the finite nature of our cognitive resources contrasted with the infinite potential of our memories and imagination. This piece offers a profound reflection on embracing our limitations while seeking meaning. It's such a beautiful piece.
Thank you, Jon. I really appreciate the kind words.
Despite your outstanding writing and the entertaining idea of consciousness existing forever, the concept ultimately reflects the grandiosity of human instinct and our deep-seated fear of death. It's an attempt to avoid the only certainty in life—that just as birth is inevitable, so is death. The notion that consciousness could extend beyond the physical limits of the brain, across multiple dimensions, is not grounded in scientific evidence. It remains speculative at best, much like saying there are 24 tiny teacups orbiting an asteroid—there’s no way to disprove it, but that doesn’t make it a credible or realistic idea. Similarly, claiming that an invisible unicorn lives in my backyard might be imaginative, but without evidence, it holds no weight in the realm of serious inquiry. Just because something can't be disproven doesn't mean it has any merit or validity in a scientific context.
Thanks for reading, Ash. I agree wholeheartedly. When I refer to the parochial sense that consciousness could extend beyond the physical limits of the brain, I'm referring specifically to the subjective, familiar feeling that it could -- not to any reality where that could truly happen. Here, I wanted to contrast that inalienable feeling of mental infinity we have with the much more sobering reality that all of that mental life is based in a biological organ that needs constant resources and faces an inevitable demise. As you say, that feeling of mental infinity does reflect our grandiose instincts and evolved fear of death -- and it emerges from a long tradition of viewing the human mind as special and unique. But, ultimately, we must return to our current scientific understanding of the brain and how it paints such a vivid picture for us in every single moment, until it stops. I'll never get tired of trumpeting the brain's reality over the myths and stories and intuitions that often prevail.
And thank you for the kind words about my writing. Really glad to have you -- and your keen insight -- here.
'Technology, in all its dueling wonder and horror, appears to gradually grant us the infinity we’ve long sought after.'
I genuinely feel like this is the direction we're heading; advances in science, technology and medicine can help prolong our lives in various ways.
I’m glad you found that quote valuable. I, too, see a lot of promise and longevity ahead. Even more than that, I see more and more ways for human mental power to stretch out into the world, much farther than its traditional confines, allowing us to do more with less.
A nice quiet walk in a cemetery helps to remind me of limits. The creative challenge is to explore what we can do with the time that we have.
A sobering way to cope with the reality of feeling infinite in a finite existence. Here’s to making progress on that creative challenge every day.