From: John M Grigg (starman125@lycos.com)
Date: Mon Oct 09 2000 - 00:02:52 MDT
Greg Burch shared with us:
But all things may well not be equal. The next 20 years for someone just getting out of college in 2000 are going to be different in many ways than the last 20 years have been for me and others my age. What if some of our more optimistic techno-social musings here regarding the next couple of decades turn out to be true, and being in the right place at the right time - with enough cash in hand - means the difference between being on the cutting edge of the transformation of the human animal and watching from the sidelines? Five or six years of "goofing off" could mean the difference between being a player and a spectator in the biggest game of all time.
It's a tough question, and one I don't have any answers to. Some balance between the two paths is probably best, at least at first. Choosing options that leave you as much personal freedom as possible, while still "getting started" on a career is going to be a tough job, but one you've got to keep in mind, because 1) we can't be SURE that the Big Changes will happen very quickly and 2) there really is no time like the present: We LIVE in the present and we LEARN in the present and too much sacrifice of the present is just miserliness with our own spirits.
Good luck . . .
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This is about the most powerful thing I have ever read on this list. I had been thinking about these very points long before I read Greg's post.
these words hit me the hardest:
What if some of our more optimistic techno-social musings here regarding the next couple of decades turn out to be true, and being in the right place at the right time - with enough cash in hand - means the difference between being on the cutting edge of the transformation of the human animal and watching from the sidelines? Five or six years of "goofing off" could mean the difference between being a player and a spectator in the biggest game of all time.
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This could happen in a myriad of ways. Cutting edge life-extension treatments could prove for a number of decades to be very expensive and out of reach to many. Max and Natasha recently went to an age management clinic and I must admit I am thirty-three but could not afford to go myself. The tailored health guidelines they get could add many years to their lives. They might just barely cross the indefinite lifespan finish line while I don't make it. And I do think both Max and Natasha have lived the balanced lives people strive for.
I can proudly say I am about to put in my paperwork for life insurance and if all goes well I will fairly soon have that and also a cryonics policy. I plan to have enough life insurance that I can have a sizeable sum growing interest for me as I chill in a dewar. With my luck money will no longer matter or my account will have been wiped out in some record destroying disaster.
Also, those with the money and knowledge can acquire(and have acquired) so much wealth from wallstreet and the ecommerce boom. I already feel SO behind these individuals and may never catch up or even hold my own. I worry that by the time I have some serious money to invest I will no longer be in a period of great financial opportunity. And even if I am; I will not know how to properly invest to take advantage of it. I remember Max More saying how he would give up a body part just to go back in time and invest in Microsoft before it became so valued. I have similar wishes.
In a way life has always been something where people must be aware that they can fall behind. A single person can decide they want to marry but have lost the youthfulness to get the kind of mate they want. I have seen this happen a number of times in my own life.
They can say oneday they will get an education and a good-paying job but never get around to it. They have a unexpected child or get married and then they never are able to accomplish that goal.
I feel so lucky just to have been born in a first-world nation! I have opportunities so many in the third-world just would never get even if they had ambition. Education, health care and at least some civil liberties are among the blessings I count. Cryonics for many of them is unknown and might as well be since they could never afford or access it.
I feel fortunate also for having had a good mother who though far from perfect did try hard to love and encourage me. She loves traditional religion but also can deeply appreciate a series like Cosmos.
I am also grateful for my good health. So many fall prey to environmental or hereditary timebombs that take them before their time. Most all of us can feel relieved to be healthy and at least have some options should disaster strike.
I am trying to say that we have been given so much and are so lucky compared to millions alive today. In a sense we all have won the lottery... But, we still must take the opportunities given us and develop them. If only everyone could have the chances we do.
I agree with Greg Burch that it is quite the challenge to have a successful and time-consuming career while also being balanced in one's life. Personally, I would want a wonderful lifepartner beside me should I make it to the pinnacle that may be reached in the next several decades. But to be worthy of such a person I must have developed myself in numerous ways, including professional.
sincerely,
John Grigg
10% cash back on all your calls through 2000 at Lycos Communications at
http://comm.lycos.com
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