- What happens when you die?
- What if all of this is meaningless?
- Why do parents says to their kids, “In the REAL world, blah blah”?
- What is the real world?
- Does high school matter?
- Should one go to college?
- What does success mean?
- Why won’t that other person like me?
My kids are wondering what is their place in this world. What matters and what doesn’t. I am doing my best to guide them to a place of happiness, but I am only 50% sure I am leading them in a positive direction.
In the real world, you have to earn money to pay bills so your kids can have nice things. In the real world, you have a boss that you have to get along with. In the real world, you have kids who struggle in school because of a bad teacher or schoolyard bully. In the real world, you struggle.
But the kids have lives too. They have no rights, can’t drive, can’t earn money. They are virtual slaves of their parents and teachers. They have hormones raging and pimples and social terror on a daily basis. Their lives are way more stressful than mine. Their world is just as real as mine.
What if none of this matters? God, I hope not. I hope that I never die. I hope that I can scan my consciousness into a nanobot swarm and live forever. Please science, save me. Save me from this “real” world. I want to live forever in virtual reality.
Some people find this thought strange or crazy or scary. I find it liberating and empowering. There is a very real chance that we will live forever with modern science/medicine. In a world like that, what would matter?
Science is my God and I will live forever in the kingdom of nanobots. I will be able to create my own heaven-like reality. Science will make heaven true. And I won’t even have to die to get it. Science is a sweet religion.
Whatya think?