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And he pities me!

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carturo222
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02 Aug 2009, 11:28 pm

A few weeks ago, a very close friend of mine commented on the purely trivial detail that the sequence of hour and date that was expressed as 04:05:06 07/08/09 was never to occur again. It was a common meme during those days, and he subscribed to the notion that that apparently unique sequence made a point about how irreplaceably valuable each single moment was.

While I conceded his point about the uniqueness of each moment, I couldn't resist the urge to point out how really contingent and arbitrary our measurements of time were. My explanation versed on numerical systems, starting points for counting years, AM vs PM, etc. After hearing how I demolished his fantasy of numerical irrepeatability, he said, "You know, these are the moments when I really pity you."

I replied, "Don't pity me. Seeing the world through my eyes is a privilege you can't begin to imagine."

I don't think he believed me.



Bullwinkle
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03 Aug 2009, 3:23 am

carturo222 wrote:
A few weeks ago, a very close friend of mine commented on the purely trivial detail that the sequence of hour and date that was expressed as 04:05:06 07/08/09 was never to occur again. It was a common meme during those days, and he subscribed to the notion that that apparently unique sequence made a point about how irreplaceably valuable each single moment was.

While I conceded his point about the uniqueness of each moment, I couldn't resist the urge to point out how really contingent and arbitrary our measurements of time were. My explanation versed on numerical systems, starting points for counting years, AM vs PM, etc. After hearing how I demolished his fantasy of numerical irrepeatability, he said, "You know, these are the moments when I really pity you."

I replied, "Don't pity me. Seeing the world through my eyes is a privilege you can't begin to imagine."

I don't think he believed me.


But why did he pity you? I'd suspect that was his way of defending his (as you correctly pointed out) burst bubble. As for your last statement, every person on earth can say the same thing with equal veracity.



ad2009
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03 Aug 2009, 1:12 pm

You should have stopped with your concession on the uniqueness of each moment. You kind of missed the point of what he was saying and there was really no need to go into all of that. It may be interesting to you, but resisting the urge to say things like that will take you far in life.

I think the reason why he said I pity you is that you have yet to discover that and thus have to deal with the consequences.



elderwanda
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03 Aug 2009, 4:59 pm

ad2009 wrote:
You should have stopped with your concession on the uniqueness of each moment. You kind of missed the point of what he was saying and there was really no need to go into all of that. It may be interesting to you, but resisting the urge to say things like that will take you far in life.

I think the reason why he said I pity you is that you have yet to discover that and thus have to deal with the consequences.


I agree.