Great Stupid Accomplishments
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:14 pm
Undoubtedly this is a sign of my growing old, but I find myself frequently rolling my figurative eyes as I hear and read about people who have devoted their lives to one thing or another, and have reached the pinnacle of success at something that is of profoundly dubious value.
Mountain climbers. Really, who gives a shit? You train for months, risk your life, waste untold stretches of time and substantial resources, and do considerable damage to your body, in order to climb to the top of a hill. What a collossal waste.
Marathoners, ultra-marathoners, and for goodness sake, Iron-person Tri-athletes. Give me a fucking break. Yes, it's a monumental undertaking and it takes a lot of work, drive, determination, and all that stuff, but it is a criminal waste of time. Just because "Exercise is good," does not mean that "Exercise raised to the fourth power is better." I would bet good money that ninety well-planned minutes a week in a weight room and doing fifteen minutes of interval training every couple days can result in far better overall health (and vastly fewer injuries) than running a marathon a month - which a lot of people do.
Working (pick a number - 60, 70, 80) hours a week at a salaried job, and being proud of it. You gotta be either (1) incompetent, (2) incredibly inefficient, or (3) neurotic, to do this on an ongoing basis. Work is not life, and vice versa. "Work" is merely a means to an end, not an end in itself, even if you are a doctor - and especially if you are a lawyer. I have had a few times in my life when I've had to respond to short-term emergencies in the work place and work a ton of hours - for maybe a month or so. But I would have quit if it were permanent. This is not something to be proud of. Life is too short.
Graduate degrees. Most of them are a gigantic waste of time and effort, and do not constitute an "accomplishment" of any real significance, particularly when they are pursued before the "student" has done anything in the Real World. Obviously, professional degrees are a different story, as they are necessary to pursue the particular profession. I get the sense that there are hundreds of thousands of young Americans who are right now pursuing masters degrees in various subjects just because they couldn't find a job when they graduated from college. And as dumb as this is, it is dumb on steroids when done with borrowed money.
Mountain climbers. Really, who gives a shit? You train for months, risk your life, waste untold stretches of time and substantial resources, and do considerable damage to your body, in order to climb to the top of a hill. What a collossal waste.
Marathoners, ultra-marathoners, and for goodness sake, Iron-person Tri-athletes. Give me a fucking break. Yes, it's a monumental undertaking and it takes a lot of work, drive, determination, and all that stuff, but it is a criminal waste of time. Just because "Exercise is good," does not mean that "Exercise raised to the fourth power is better." I would bet good money that ninety well-planned minutes a week in a weight room and doing fifteen minutes of interval training every couple days can result in far better overall health (and vastly fewer injuries) than running a marathon a month - which a lot of people do.
Working (pick a number - 60, 70, 80) hours a week at a salaried job, and being proud of it. You gotta be either (1) incompetent, (2) incredibly inefficient, or (3) neurotic, to do this on an ongoing basis. Work is not life, and vice versa. "Work" is merely a means to an end, not an end in itself, even if you are a doctor - and especially if you are a lawyer. I have had a few times in my life when I've had to respond to short-term emergencies in the work place and work a ton of hours - for maybe a month or so. But I would have quit if it were permanent. This is not something to be proud of. Life is too short.
Graduate degrees. Most of them are a gigantic waste of time and effort, and do not constitute an "accomplishment" of any real significance, particularly when they are pursued before the "student" has done anything in the Real World. Obviously, professional degrees are a different story, as they are necessary to pursue the particular profession. I get the sense that there are hundreds of thousands of young Americans who are right now pursuing masters degrees in various subjects just because they couldn't find a job when they graduated from college. And as dumb as this is, it is dumb on steroids when done with borrowed money.
all