Joss Whedon’s take [Joss Whedon panel SDCC 2015]:Â
“The world is a random and meaningless terrifying place, and then we all – spoiler alert – die.†…but “A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.”
“…the main function of the human brain, the primary instant function, is storytelling. Memory is storytelling. If we all remembered everything, we would be Rain Man, and would not be socially active… at all. We learn to forget and we learn to also distort, and from the very beginning we’re learning to tell a story about ourselves.â€
“storytelling and the shared experience of what that gives us”
You all are the hero of your story.
Angel (TV show by Joss Whedon):
“If there’s no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters… , then all that matters is what we do. ‘Cause that’s all there is. What we do. Now. Today. Because, if there’s no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.â€
Mark Zuckerberg’s take [Lex Fridman Podcast #267]: human connection, to create and build
“…human connection is the meaning.”… “it’s a thing that our society probably systematically undervalues”
“I just remember when I was growing up and in school, it’s like do your homework and then go play with your friends after. And it’s like no. What if playing with your friends is the point?”
“people tend to think about that stuff as wasting time, or that’s like what you do in the free time that you have. But like what if that’s actually the point?”
Nier: Automata and Adam Millard’s reading of it:
Nier: Automata also have a nihilistic view: “Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle… and wonder if we’ll ever have the chance to kill him.”
“How can we derive meaning from a fundamentally meaningless world?”
“… by sharing that meaninglessness. In a world that doesn’t care about you, where bad things happen whether you like it or not, and where your very existence is cosmically arbitrary, the only real source of meaning is in how you relate to the only other thing that can understand where you’re coming from. Other people.”
“[Pod 153]: Everything that lives is designed to end. They are perpetually trapped in a never ending spiral of life and death. However… life is all about the struggle withing this cycle. That is what “we” believe.” … “[Pod 042]: I am embarrassed.” … “I must look very silly. [Pod 153]: Do not feel bad about it. We are alive, after all. And being alive is pretty much a constant stream of embarrassment.” … “[Pod 042]: A future is not given to you. It is something you must take for yourself.”
So… good luck figuring out what is the meaning of *your* life.