The Signal vs The Noise
There was once a man named Steve who lived what people often called an unconventional life. He never indulged in life's pleasures like the others around him. His taste buds never met the sweet flavors of ice cream after a meal because he didn’t eat for pleasure. He never roared with laughter during a classic movie because he said “movies are a waste of time” Many people believed Steve had wasted his life as he dedicated it all to work. He was a seemingly joyless man, only concerned with the “important things”.
Years later, looking back, Steve remembers his old frustrations and old environment and how much life has changed. He looks at the present day and notices how much his work has shaped society. For better or worse his inventions have made massive impacts in shaping human behavior and those who once surrounded him cannot remember the fleeting joys that once consumed their life. Not one of his peers could recall the flavor of ice cream they had 20 years ago, the joke they laughed at while intoxicated, or the movie they watched on Sunday evening. Instead, as they look around, they feel their health deteriorating and notice the lack of impact their lives had on the community they live in. It was this stark contrast that solidified the philosophy Steve had come to live by:
Everything we do starts as an impulse from the brain. We feel urges to eat, to sleep, to procreate. Some of these are vital, but others are just noise. Steve didn't succumb to the urge to eat when he'd already had a nutritious meal; he saw it as a waste of resources and attention. He didn't grab his phone to scroll for hours, either. Instead, after an impulse, Steve first determined whether acting on it was a waste of time. It was this discipline that allowed him to accomplish so much. He experienced the exhilarating ebb and flow of failing and succeeding, leading to an immense feeling of accomplishment in his later days. To those who thought he was wasting his life by missing classic movies and sweet desserts, Steve would argue that this profound ebb and flow was far more enjoyable than any film, and to miss that was the true waste. He observed his peers, driven only by the pursuit of constant gratification. They bounced from pleasure to pleasure, sacrificing their health and time. Their thoughts were consumed by self-indulgence, by things that would either numb or fleetingly satisfy their internal cravings. Steve rarely encountered anyone who was outwardly concerned, who had spent years trying to enrich their community. Instead, he saw people trying to climb a ladder only to reach the top and realize it led to emptiness, relying on medication to keep them from ending it all. It seemed no one had figured out life wasn't about consumption, but about what you could do for the people around you and the earth beneath your feet. The path they believed would lead to eternal joy – focusing solely on self-enrichment – was, in fact, the path to eternal despair. They hadn't recognized this, instead jumping from one fleeting pleasure to the next, desperate to escape the ache of their own unfulfilled lives.