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on one hand, i think i’d strongly prefer a world where more people kept an explicit goal of improving the world and used that as one of the primary criteria for making decisions like what job to work at after college.

you know how in ‘avatar’, whenever aang enters the avatar state we see all the past avatars? that’s what i see every time i look at the world. everywhere i look, i see the work of all the people who came before me, and how other humans were instrumental in designing and building and maintaining almost every aspect of our civilizationyou expect me t... See more

look at the sandwich you’re eating. you didn’t grow the lettuce or the wheat or the tomatoes, or crush the wheat into flour or cut the lettuce or tomatoes. you didn’t bring all the ingredients to the restaurant, and you didn’t cook any of them yourself. you didn’t design or construct the building or the cooking equipment. other people had to do all... See more

on the other hand, i don’t really believe in obligation to the past, especially because obligation is often used to guilt or pressure people into specific behaviors, especially because that guilt or pressure often results in needless anxiety.