Wednesday, March 11, 2020

What Gives Humans Value?

This is an excerpt from "How Not to Become a Millennial." It's arguably the most important segment in the book as it applies to every one and speaks directly to the only point and purpose you have on this planet - to be of value to others.

But what is value?
How is it determined?
How is it conferred?
Or is it intangible and philosophically undefinable?  

The truth is it's very simple, concrete, and obvious.  It's whether people have the courage to admit what the nature of value is.

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"Imagine you are the most talented heart surgeon in the world.  Or perhaps the best chef on the planet.  Maybe you’re the best musical composer of all time.  Or perhaps you are simply the greatest mom in the history of moms.

Now put yourself alone on Mars with nobody around you.

What you will soon realize is that without other people it doesn’t matter that you’re the greatest surgeon, the greatest chef, the best music composer, or the universe’s greatest mom.  Without other people to recognize or avail themselves of your abilities you have no value.  You are technically worthless.

Predictably, some will argue that you have at least some philosophical value in being the best.  That just because you are a music composer on Mars and create the universe’s greatest song doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.  It’s a great song that just needs somebody to discover it.  But that makes the point even more so.  Not until somebody else discovers it will it have purpose, meaning, or value.  It will remain a piece of paper with notes written on it, indistinguishable from the matter of Martian dust that surrounds it until another sentient being finds it and can appreciate it.

This is the key thing to understand about value – specifically, what gives humans value.  That you cannot be an individual and confer value upon yourself.  The option to declare yourself “valuable” or “worthy” does not exist.  Value is completely dependent upon the existence of other people.  And it can only originate from and be given by other people.

Therefore, if you wish to have any value (at least here on planet Earth), you need to do one of two things.  You either produce something of value other humans will willingly transact their time for through the use of money (as money is nothing more than their time converted into a physical exchangeable form), or you be an interesting enough human that people willingly spend their time directly with you as friends, colleagues, or lovers.  But in either case, you will soon realize it is the transference of humans’ only and most precious commodity – time – that determines all value in society.  Not money.  Not traits.  Not your gender.  And not your political religion.  Other people’s time.

This makes perfect sense since time is really the only commodity humans have.  It is the only currency they can trade in.  And so it should be no surprise that what ultimately determines the value of an individual human is how much of other people’s time they command either through the labor they offer or being such an interesting person people willingly want to spend their time with them.  But to achieve either, be you a highly-paid surgeon or simply “The World’s Most Interesting Man,” there is only one way to do it.

Through accomplishments.

And accomplishments are all that really matter in life.

It takes absolutely nothing to be “Latino.”  It takes absolutely nothing to be “female.”  It takes absolutely nothing to be a “pacifist.”  And it takes absolutely nothing to declare yourself a “tanqueraysexual.”  Nobody cares.  Nobody is going to pay you for it.  Your traits offer nothing of value to anyone.  But if you’re a surgeon or a hang-glider or a software engineer or an entrepreneur or a beautiful woman or a race car driver or somebody who is in great physical shape, you not only likely command a very high wage, but are sought after by friends and the opposite sex alike.

Alas, given the choice as to whether people would spend their precious time with “The World’s Most Interesting Man” or “The World’s Most Typical Millennial,” there’s no choice.  Everybody will want to invest their time with the accomplished individual over the person who’s masturbating over their traits, their sociology degree, and demanding BGI.  And it’s also why we can all readily identify “The World’s Most Interesting Man” (though fictional), but have a blurred non-descript image of “The World’s Most Typical Millennial.”  One is accomplished.  The other merely exists.  One has value.  The other does not.  And at the genetic level you want to trade your time with people of value because quality people improve your life.

Regardless, this explains why accomplishments have value and traits do not. Why people who try to make a living on their traits are usually impoverished panhandlers compared to those who make a living through their accomplishments.  There is demand for accomplishments, but not traits.  But this also presents younger generations a very clear choice in life.  A fork in the road that will determine whether you piss away your life or make it count.  And it’s simply whether you want to live an accomplished life or not.

The path to an accomplished life may be rigorous, arduous, challenging, and difficult, but you will become an accomplished individual.  You will be an accountant, a father, a mother, a builder, a kayaker, a distiller, a grandma, a motorcyclist, an inventor, or whatever it is you set out to be.  You will not only have a volume of work and a legacy to leave behind, but you will have been handsomely compensated for your profession and ideally loved by all the people in your life.  You will not once mention in your list of accomplishments a “trait” you had or a “belief” you held because it will have never occurred to you to mention such stupid things.  And when you die you will have no regrets because you will have made your life count being of professional value to society and being of personal value to the people you loved and cared about.

The other path is the one officially sanctioned by the Millennial political religion.  A seemingly easier path, that is in reality the really hard path.  One where society not only owes you a living, but *must* value you simply because your mother did not abort you.  That in merely existing you are somehow great, of value, and of worth to society.  And there is no need to labor or toil to accomplish anything in life because you are blessed with having “Trait X” and “Trait Y,” not to mention you hold “Belief A” and “Belief B” - the politically correct views that are of ultimate human value.  But as you constantly panhandle your way through life, trying to get the world to worship your traits, precious seconds tick away as nobody wants to have anything to do with you, either through employment or a personal life.  And what people do spend their time with you are usually the same low-grade caliber of people, equally wasting their time on this planet.  And upon your death bed nobody will care, nobody will attend, and like most people’s lives, it will not have mattered.  You will have left no genuine legacy, rendering your existence in this universe truly pointless.  And the truest testament as to just what a pathetic life you will have lived will be that the biggest accomplishment in life will have been your “College Experience.”  A college degree that got you nowhere except poverty.

There is no clearer picture to younger generations than what the costs and consequences are in choosing traits over accomplishments in life than the Millennial generation.  And while the Millennials were heavily lobbied to value things they were born with over what they actually did after they were born, it doesn’t change the fact that they still chose the wrong path and consequently destroyed their lives.  And even though your parents, your teachers, your counselors, your politicians, the media, and nearly every institution will do everything they can to get you to value your traits over your abilities, for your own sake and your own precious life you cannot put any value in your traits.  You must derive all your value in life through your accomplishments.  Because if you don’t you simply will have no reason to live."

7 comments:

  1. "Without other people to recognize or avail themselves of your abilities you have no value. You are technically worthless."

    Quite the contrary. The test that you survive on Mars in an environment you are unprepared for is itself a testament to your worth. It is called Survival. Fact it is the sole and ultimate test of worth. Without survival there are no great compositions, great souffles, or well balanced children.

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  2. Anonymous3:28 PM

    Survival is just not dying. Just as being is having been born. Yes on Mars you are an astronaut. But in downtown north america?

    All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.

    Too bad so many abdicate that decision

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  3. This is very Randian, except that you are replacing money with time. I do agree that, in this context, time (attention span) is the measure of all value.

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  4. I would argue that survival (whether on mars or in the Womb) has no value, except to the survivor. It's just a necessary precondition to having value.

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  5. What Gives Humans Value?

    Well first of all, we do have internal value as a human being. This I would argue is what we would call - your basic self. But this is really a description of what is commonly known as, 'a state of being.' And therefore, such is un-measurable. For it is in the sense of objectivity only something that can be experienced (or sensed, might be a better way of putting it). So as such then, in this context, has no measurable value. For it is more in line with being the start point of what constitutes measurable value. And so, it is really a prerequisite for true measurable value.

    For instance, such is the same in principle as what it means to BE OBJECTIVE in your thinking. For to truly be objective in ones thinking, you must become fully conscious/present....and mentally stand apart from what needs to be considered. In other words, your start point requires that you not be caught up in your head, but stood in a state of pure being. Which mentally speaking, means to be standing at a place of neutrality...or zero.

    Because, zero is what it means to 'be objective' (notice it is called, 'be objective', not, think objective). This place of intrinsic but un-measurable value then, is the prerequisite for the needed thoughts that you will find...and the thoughts then, are the 'measurable value' in the objective world...(which still may not involve other people but it is still measurable value).

    So intrinsic value is merely un-measurable value. But it is still a value in this context and is therefore indispensable to measurable value. Certain traits do have value too, but are based on being measured by their usefulness in the world...For example...honesty! Or how about another example, for example my ability to problem solve. An ability, is a skill that once again is the perquisite to my competence in the world and therefore my value to myself and other people. But it is still therefore - of/a value and is therefore still a measure of my value as an individual.

    Let's take another example of living ALONE on Mars. Let's take the idea that i run upon some problem on Mars that if not solved, will result in me being killed. Now let's say that I objectively work out the solution to this problem and as a result then, I save my own life. This then is just one more example of how I have demonstrated/proven my own value, without any need of anyone else. And so, the irreducible of this subject is this...

    an individual's value is measured based upon ones OBJECTIVE COMPETENCE/ USEFULNESS and not just measured based upon other people. However, if you are to assert that, your intrinsic/basic self/being - value is equal to someone who has achieved any form of 'objective competence/usefulness' is unequivocally false, because, objective competence/usefulness can ONLY BE ATTAINED by an individuals own EFFORT....and intrinsic value quite simply isn't because it just is.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What Gives Humans Value?

    Well first of all, we do have internal value as a human being. This I would argue is what we would call - your basic self. But this is really a description of what is commonly known as, 'a state of being.' And therefore, such is un-measurable. For it is in the sense of objectivity only something that can be experienced (or sensed, might be a better way of putting it). So as such then, in this context, has no measurable value. For it is more in line with being the start point of what constitutes measurable value. And so, it is really a prerequisite for true measurable value.

    For instance, such is the same in principle as what it means to BE OBJECTIVE in your thinking. For to truly be objective in ones thinking, you must become fully conscious/present....and mentally stand apart from what needs to be considered. In other words, your start point requires that you not be caught up in your head, but stood in a state of pure being. Which mentally speaking, means to be standing at a place of neutrality...or zero.

    Because, zero is what it means to 'be objective' (notice it is called, 'be objective', not, think objective). This place of intrinsic but un-measurable value then, is the prerequisite for the needed thoughts that you will find...and the thoughts then, are the 'measurable value' in the objective world...(which still may not involve other people but it is still measurable value).

    So intrinsic value is merely un-measurable value. But it is still a value in this context and is therefore indispensable to measurable value. Certain traits do have value too, but are based on being measured by their usefulness in the world...For example...honesty! Or how about another example, for example my ability to problem solve. An ability, is a skill that once again is the perquisite to my competence in the world and therefore my value to myself and other people. But it is still therefore - of/a value and is therefore still a measure of my value as an individual.

    Let's take another example of living ALONE on Mars. Let's take the idea that i run upon some problem on Mars that if not solved, will result in me being killed. Now let's say that I objectively work out the solution to this problem and as a result then, I save my own life. This then is just one more example of how I have demonstrated/proven my own value, without any need of anyone else. And so, the irreducible of this subject is this...

    an individual's value is measured based upon ones OBJECTIVE COMPETENCE/ USEFULNESS and not just measured based upon other people. However, if you are to assert that, your intrinsic/basic self/being - value is equal to someone who has achieved any form of 'objective competence/usefulness' is unequivocally false, because, objective competence/usefulness can ONLY BE ATTAINED by an individuals own EFFORT....and intrinsic value quite simply isn't because it just is.

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  7. Just to add to my above comment then, what we have with Millenial ideology in regards individual value, is this. What they seem to be claiming is that self esteem is inherent and therefore you don't need to do anything to keep it. This is totally false!!! Having a sense of your basic sense of self may have in and of itself, a sense of a good feeling...but the problem is, such is not static. For such is merely the start point of our choices in the world. And such choices either increases our self esteem, or undermines it.

    for example, children, we are all born with the innocent inherent good feeling, nature/basic self. And if this is built upon by getting our needs met then that is all good and well But if it's the case that we didn't have our needs met...(especially our mental and emotional needs), then we are going to have beliefs that are not going to be very healthy. Such beliefs will be irrational in some form or another. In terms of our self-esteem, we will probably not like ourselves very much. So in order to align ourselves with reality then, we would need to root such beliefs out and meet our own needs as a adult, in order to feel genuine self-esteem!

    What creates genuine self-esteem then, is productive choices. In other words, being competent based on what is needed or required of each situation we find ourselves in on our pathways in life. Such efficacy in life is based on mentally integrating reality. Such naturally leads to high self-esteem. On the other hand, if we do the opposite, ie, make decisions based upon whims, laziness, what we want to be true (rather than what actually is factual) etc, then the effect of such an approach overall, is low self-esteem. And no amount of lies, affirmations, ("I love myself". I am feeling great"...etc) can possibly create genuine feelings of self-esteem in the long run. For reality ALWAYS reasserts itself.

    ReplyDelete