From: underdog@leland.Stanford.EDU (Dwight Joe)
Subject: Re: Depression
Organization: Miners for a Heart of Gold
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 20:53:32 GMT

In article <lynn.921213154811@fusion.physics.auburn.edu>
lynn@physics.auburn.edu (Owen P Lynn) writes:
>What I've always found to get me in a really good funk, is
>to just think about my life, and how utterly meaningless
>and empty the whole world is around me. Some of my favorite
>personal points to ponder:
>         1. I'm a lifeless geek.
>            a. I'm 20 and still a virgin
>            b. I've had only one date
>            c. My chances at meeting members of the opposite
>               sex can only go DOWN as time increases. A
>               graduate student who finds love? Shyeah,
>               and monkeys might fly outa my butt. And how
>               many professional scientists find love at the
>               workplace? NOT MANY.
>            d. For all intents and purposes, I am INVISIBLE
>               to members of the opposite sex.


Owen, I'm not going to tell you that it will all work out.  I'm
not going to tell you that life is fair.  I would be lying.

I can you that you are not alone.  I used to know quite a few people in
your predicament.  One of the best ways to deal with this is to drink
some alcohol.

Afterwards, when you are still a little tipsy and not quite so
depressed, a solution (or not) might dawn on you.  One strategy might
be to seek out women (Can't live with 'em!  Can't live without 'em!)
who are in a similar predicament as you.  Rare as they might be, they
do exist.  Trust me.

If that doesn't work, you can always drink some more.  An hour of
contentment in a day full of misery is better than nothing.

>         2. The more we know about the universe, the more it
>            seems pointless.
>            a. everything outside of earth is extremely hostile
>               to human life.
>            b. 2nd law of thermodynamics
>            c. big bang
>            d. big crunch

No argument from me.  (b), as I've said before, guarantees that we
eventually decompose into cold nothingness.  Sooner or later, we all
die, regardless of whether we believe in reincarnation.

But remember that for the _now_, there is alcohol.

>         3. Humans are incredibly selfish, greedy, stupid animals
>            with no long term memory, and no ability to think
>            about the future. Who cares what happens? We're all
>            going to be dead very soon, with respect to the universe,
>            and even geological history. We're just a flash in the
>            pan.

Again, I agree with this.  That's why I think that the situations 
described in "Senseless Beauty and Random Acts of Kindness"[1] are incredibly
unrealistic.  Sure.  _Some_ tiny group of people are like that, but in
general, people are self-serving.  The degree of self-serving depends, to some
extent, on the cultural group--with some groups having more jerks than others.

>Hope that helps -- NOT

No.  Nothing really helps.  Especially not with Christmas coming around the
corner.  Except possibly for the part about the birth of someone who preached
a philosophy of total love, this holiday is about the stupidest most
depressing holiday around.

[1] Could someone tell me the correct title of the article to which I'm
referring?  I keep forgetting the name.  Maybe, I want to forget.  Hmmm...

Maybe, I can ask my roommate for a can of his Coors.  Oh well.
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