11 Comments
User's avatar
Carsten Stolz's avatar

"Do you see what they’re doing? They’re giving people purpose and meaning! Literally handing it out like free candy!"

I love the "they can't keep getting away with it!" energy of this line.

Siddhesh's avatar

More pop culture examples of ancestors:

The climax of almost any sports movie features the protagonist reliving memories of his coaches/parents/people who guided him.

In deathly hallows, Harry meets his parents one last time before his ultimate battle with Voldemort.

Akash Kulgod's avatar

Man this is powerful stuff. Gratitude for the flame and the light

Johnson's avatar

Non ironically my favorite movie, one of my favorite lines. This is beautifully inspiring, my “what’s so great about historical figures” attitude in my youth (probably stemming mostly from ego) robbed me of the great sense of purpose that comes from being part of a long line of people trying to push humanity forward. I’m slowly trying to capture that now, to see for myself the project that was the Silk Road is one of the reasons I came to Central Asia

Peldie's avatar

"We are the dreams of our predecessors made flesh"

This is a great observation which I'll think about on many occasions from now on.

Parakeet's avatar

Visa this is GAS

Solarchitect's avatar

Epic writing. Got me worked up for my ancestry-flow well.

Prince🔸's avatar

I do not know what to say except that I am profoundly grateful for this articulation of this precious truth that burns within my soul.

I know of few who have so directly written about that which I refer to as The Torch of Intelligence, and even among those writings, this is the clearest and most essential piece.

I hope that, one day, I can take this essay, mash it together with my journal entries and Eliezer's "The Power of Intelligence" (https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aiQabnugDhcrFtr9n/the-power-of-intelligence) to write something even truer.

For now, I offer thanks. And the cheap, untrustworthy assertion that I am serious about carrying this Torch forward and passing it on.

visakan veerasamy's avatar

Go for it!! it’s always worth rearticulating, each additional torch contributes something

Prince🔸's avatar

Thanks for the encouragement Visa!

I love the effort you put into nurturing people around you. Writing an encouraging comment like this is cheap and can make a huge difference in someone’s trajectory. Especially coming from someone that someone respects and looks up to.

Most of the time, the impact isn't huge. But I believe the times when it is more than pay for all the times it isn't.

Yet most people don't write such replies or do so only rarely. You are exceptional in this regard and I appreciate that.

I can only imagine the vast indirect positive influence you will have had a century from now via the thousands of kind responses you gave to ambitious nerds like me.

Amanda George | ikhigai's avatar

Gonna cry!! I can't believe I haven't delved head first into all your stuff yet.

If they all speak to me the way this did (and I think they will)

I'm going to go further in my Journey than i ever thought possible

Can't wait 🌠