In today’s post I will give you the answers to three unanswerable questions (no pressure on me there!).
They are:
- If time travel is possible, why have we never met a time traveller?
- Why do bad things happen to good people?
- What is the meaning of life
If time travel is possible why do we never meet them?
Assuming time travel is a possibility, such technology we can assume could only be developed with the collaboration of the greatest minds and innovations.
To have those resources, would require someone with deep pockets, so the invention of time travel would be a benefit for the privileged few rather than for the masses.
- Have the most money.
- Bring the right people together.
- Are born at the right time for the technology to make time travel a reality.
Forget the one percentage – this is a new level of privilege! With this in mind it would mean a traveller from the future is not a common occurrence like some tourist ticking it off like a bucket list feat.
Such publicly sharing innovation would also endure the burdens of ethics, and government red tape, therefore time travellers would operate in the shadows.
Why do bad things happen to good people?
The no fun answer is that life is unfair, it’s just how things are.
The world is a chaotic mess, and when you think about it, it’s impossible to be so black and white about people. Think not of people as good or bad, but different shades of grey.
With this understanding that not everything is so simple, you can also not say that when things happen to you, you can’t simply define it as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
I mean – how do you define losing your car keys? I guess it’s bad? But if you compare it to finding out your significant other is having an affair, or that you have cancer, it seem insignificant in comparison.
You could judge what is bad on the individuals character – if you’ve never faced any hardship in your life, dropping those keys somewhere could be the most devastating thing.
There could also be an element of negativity bias – we are more likely to remember the bad things happening to us, than all the good things.
When you combine that with our likelihood to see ourselves, as the heroes to our story, and everyone who is positively connect to us as one of “the good guys”, when things go wrong, we might see this as karma being wrong!
Negativity bias kicks in whenever we see bad things (sudden deaths, loss of jobs, illnesses) happens to those we deem good, and those we see good things (perfect life, big house, attractive spouse) from the bad guys (such as your ex, people who said mean things to you at school, a dictator boss) and we see the world as unjust.
What is the meaning of life?
If you’re not the type to turn to religious texts, you might think the meaning of life can’t be defined – life is one big accident, and we just have to find some personal motivation of what to do with yourself until your time is done.
In Douglas Adams book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, when the computer Deep Thought is asked the meaning of the life, the universe and everything, the artificial intelligence system eventually answers with “42.”
Upon protest that that is all it’s got to answer after seven and a half million years’ work the computer says:
“I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you’ve never actually known what the question is.”
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
In Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, the viewer watches a convoluted series of sketches that does nothing to answer the film’s title, until just before the closing credits, where Michael Palin in drag gives a blasé answer:
“try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
With all the philosophy, religious teachings, academic thinking, it’s probably quite appropriate for someone like myself to instead opt for refer to mindless pop culture to answer the difficult questions.
What you can take away is:
- Asking for the meaning of life is the wrong question to ask
- Instead find true meaning by how you choose to carry yourself – in your interests, making meaningful connections, look after your health, and make the world a better place than when you first entered it.
Close
There you go – the answer to the big questions you’ve always wanted to know. If I’m still blogging in nine years maybe I’ll answer more probing topics like “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”
If you want to help other lost souls looking for guidance to the unanswered questions – like, subscribe, comment, and share this post with everyone you know!
Wishing you the best in your success
James @Perfect Manifesto
Perfect Manifesto 
Apparently in the ASCII language, the most basic computer software, ’42′ is the designation for an asterisk, which can stand in for anything or everything. Like you said the question what is the meaning of life is too broad, and instead we need to ask “what meaning do I attach to my life?” and even that will not be definite, for throughout our lives we go through different stages and phases, so that meaning is subject to change over time.
Since there is no definitive answer, it doesn’t mean there isn’t one, except that we get to choose for ourselves what we want it to be!
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That’s interesting to know, I’m wondering if that was some sort of geeky reference Douglas Adams was alluding to when he wrote Hitchhikers guide!
Find meaning to our lives, but let it change as your life evolves!
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I had heard that it was in direct reference to the code! “Find meaning to our lives, but let it change as your life evolves!” – strongly agree with you!
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