One's first step in wisdom is to question everything — and one's last is to come to terms with everything. — Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
My goal is simple. It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all. — Stephen Hawking
Beyond mere physical survival, my life revolves around these questions. If you can answer any of them for me, I'd greatly appreciate it. :-)
Consider this a living document. Life gets ever more complex, it seems.
How should I spend my time? How intensely and frequently should I do various activities? Which actions improve my life, and which don't?
More specifically:
Much of modern life involves acquiring knowledge, but I haven't put much thought into how to best do so. Time is precious, so I want to a) only concern myself with useful knowledge, b) maximize the amount of material learned, and c) minimize the time spent learning it.
Quite the task.
Language separates us. In my quest to learn other languages, I've come to appreciate this. Language is complex, subtle, and hard. As an adult, studying a language requires incredible time, effort, and will, even for one close to English such as French or German.
Who knows how many wonderful people I'll never interact with simply because they don't speak a language I do? What opportunities are missed? What would be the best solution?
This is related to my next question:
There are billions of people on this planet. How many have you met? But a small fraction. How many will you meet in the course of your lifetime? More, but still a small fraction. Of these, how many will you interact with on a more than superficial level? Again, a small fraction. Now, how optimal is this subset of humanity for you?
Not very, which leads us to the question of how we can improve on this. Simply put, how can I find the right people (e.g., colleagues, friends, lovers, even enemies) for me?
Last update: 29 October 2003