Why bother?

[Jiggerj]

Not looking for sympathy, so I ask that you please direct your responses to the question of why the mind still yearns to learn.

 

Seven years ago I was told by my doctor that I was ready to have a massive stroke at any moment. Obviously, this didn't happen. But, now my veins are so clogged that I can't walk a hundred feet without having to stop to rest. I get severe chest pains on a weekly basis. And I'm so tired all the time. Long story short - my time is pretty much up.

 

And yet, my mind STILL wants to learn about all the wonders of the universe. Why? What is it about the brain that makes it not want to just give up? After living for seven years under a cloud of immenent death, I've certainly had plenty of time to make my peace with the certainty of death. If I were subconsciously in denial and desperate for a cure, I would think that my mind would hunger for medical knowledge, and that's just not the case.

 

My mind yearns to see a real extraterrestrial just once before I die. I want to go fishing on one of the ice moons of Jupiter; row a boat on a methane lake on Saturn's moon, Triton; see a black hole eat up a giant dead planet. I want to learn the maths of science (Gawd, I wish I had learned that!).

 

I've heard that when elephants know they are going to die, they are compelled to go off to some burial ground. Is it instinct? Are they mentally aware and simply accept death?

 

Why aren't we like the elephants? Why does the human mind still grasp for the things of the living when it knows that death is calling?

 

P.S. To prove that I am ready and willing to die, I fully believe that the next fifty years are going to be an absolute nightmare, and I don't want any part of it. Good luck to all the young, you're going to need it!

Edited February 14, 2012 by Jiggerj

[IronMan79]

The Man Brain is a Pattern Searching Machine, hence it automatically always wants to process Information and new Information. You may want to check out all of nameta9's posts on www.ilovephilosophy.com such as:

 

http://www.ilovephilosophy.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=176611

 

or

 

http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/63868-information-relationship/

 

or

 

http://instantsingularity.blogspot.com/

[Divagating the Future]

Not looking for sympathy, so I ask that you please direct your responses to the question of why the mind still yearns to learn.

 

Seven years ago I was told by my doctor that I was ready to have a massive stroke at any moment. Obviously, this didn't happen. But, now my veins are so clogged that I can't walk a hundred feet without having to stop to rest. I get severe chest pains on a weekly basis. And I'm so tired all the time. Long story short - my time is pretty much up.

 

And yet, my mind STILL wants to learn about all the wonders of the universe. Why? What is it about the brain that makes it not want to just give up? After living for seven years under a cloud of immenent death, I've certainly had plenty of time to make my peace with the certainty of death. If I were subconsciously in denial and desperate for a cure, I would think that my mind would hunger for medical knowledge, and that's just not the case.

 

My mind yearns to see a real extraterrestrial just once before I die. I want to go fishing on one of the ice moons of Jupiter; row a boat on a methane lake on Saturn's moon, Triton; see a black hole eat up a giant dead planet. I want to learn the maths of science (Gawd, I wish I had learned that!).

 

I've heard that when elephants know they are going to die, they are compelled to go off to some burial ground. Is it instinct? Are they mentally aware and simply accept death?

 

Why aren't we like the elephants? Why does the human mind still grasp for the things of the living when it knows that death is calling?

 

P.S. To prove that I am ready and willing to die, I fully believe that the next fifty years are going to be an absolute nightmare, and I don't want any part of it. Good luck to all the young, you're going to need it!

 

You and I both are on the same team.

 

Maybe perchance we can be friends. Go to my profile and think it over.

 

Ushie

Edited February 16, 2012 by Queen of Wands

[Jiggerj]

You and I both are on the same team.

 

Maybe perchance we can be friends. Go to my profile and think it over.

 

Ushie

 

Hey! I got this response in my email and the word 'team' was spelled tema. What a relief! I've posted things where I KNEW didn't misspell a word, but it came up wrong anyway. Just glad it's not me!